Questions tagged [musicology]

The scholarly study of music, particularly different musical cultures and traditions

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Why are birds never out of key when they sing?

Why are birds never out of key when they sing? In fact, this is not just about birds; almost all creatures that make pleasant sounds (except us) never make a note out of key. How is this possible?
Quazi Irfan
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What defines "contemporary art music"?

As an introduction, I'm not talking about contemporary pop music. I'm doing a brief write-up on contemporary art music written in the past 25 years. The very vague definition of contemporary art music that my assignment gives is: "music written in…
user10329
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Where does punta music originate from?

I know bachata comes from the Dominican Republic. Which country does punta music originate from?
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if music is universal does that also mean anyone can enjoy most music genres/styles?

I hear some people in my personal life sometimes say that they only like a few genres or one specific genre of music like just rock, hip-hop, or classical. This didn't make much sense to me though because if they can't at least somewhat enjoy most,…
SumiPiano
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In musicology, what is a key profile?

What is a "key profile"? Krumhansl-Schmuckler developed an algorithm that aids in finding the key of a piece of music. The algorithm depends on pitches and durations and requires the generation of a key profile. What is a C-major key profile and a…
user3168961
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What is it that makes music from different cultures/regions sound different?

I have always wondered what it is that makes music from different cultures/regions sound different from each other? For example, if we compare Western music, Indian music, Chinese music they all sound so different from each other. Nor do I come…
O S
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Is Major/Minor tonality the right term for this

When a song has both a major and a minor feel at the same time. I'm not talking about major sounding minor song or vice versa. I'm talking about a song that isn't strictly one or the other. Some examples I can think of are The Velvet Swing by…
user44401
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Celtic music uses todays acoustic guitar?

Can I use the traditional acoustic guitar to compose Celtic songs? Were they actually used in Celtic music history? If not, what's the name of the acoustic guitars they actually used?
Jess_
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