Definitions and History
New musicology seeks to question the research methods of traditional musicology by displacing positivism, working in partnership with outside disciplines, including the humanities and social sciences, and by questioning accepted musical knowledge. New musicology scholars seek ways to apply anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, gender studies, feminism, and history to the study of music. The study of new musicology does not follow a consistent methodology and definitions of new musicology vary widely.
In 1980 Joseph Kerman published the article "How We Got into analysis, and How to Get Out," calling for a change in musicology. He asked for "a new breadth and flexibility in academic music criticism " (Kerman, 1994, 30) that would extend to musical discourse, critical theory and analysis. In the words of Rose Rosengard Subotnik: "For me...the notion of an intimate relationship between music and society functions not as a distant goal but as a starting point of great immediacy...the goal of which is to articulate something essential about why any particular music is the way it is in particular, that is, to achieve insight into the character of its identity."
Susan McClary suggests that New Musicology defines music as: "a medium that participates in social formation by influencing the ways we perceive our feelings, our bodies, our desires, our very subjectivities—even if it does so surreptitiously, without most of us knowing how." (Brett, 1994).
New Musicology focuses more on cultural studies through analysis and criticism of music, and it accords more weight to the sociology of musicians and institutions and to non-canonical genres of music including jazz and popular music than traditional musicology. This has caused many musicologists to question the previously held views of authenticity and make assessments based on critical musicology, which is "concerned with finding some kind of synthesis between analysis and a consideration of social meaning" (Beard and Gloag, 2005, 38).
New Musicologists question the processes of canonization. Gary Tomlinson suggests that meaning be searched out in a 'series of interrelated historical narratives that surround the musical subject' (Beard and Gloag, 2005, 123) – a "web of culture" (Tomlinson, 1984). For example, the work of Beethoven has been examined from a new perspective by studying his reception and influence in terms of masculine hegemony. This is seen as an essential contrast with the works of Schubert (especially with reference to the latter's supposed homosexuality).
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