Analysis: The Herding of Sacred Cows?

Abstract

n the relatively brief history of ethnomusicology, we have witnessed the promulgation of a wide array of methods for treating music. Most of these methods have received little discussion. It would seem that each has a discrete existence, unquestioningly accepted and passed along only to its creator's students. There are a few exceptions to this; however, for the most part, there has been little of the debate and disagreement which is the developmental essence of other subjects. For the past ninety years, ethnomusicology has addressed itself to the study of music, both as a sound phenomenon and as a behavioral manifestation. The study of musical sound systems per se has an even longer history. Yet no general agreement has been reached; few hypotheses have been discussed or tested. This lack of agreement may be explained, although not excused, by the diversity of training of ethnomusicologists. Some of us were trained as anthropologists; some, as musicologists; few indeed were trained in both disciplines, and some were trained in neither. We are at present united only by a common interest in music. The potential for the development of ethnomusicology is great. A constant stream of new ideas is possible, due to the variety of our training. These ideas, drawn from several different disciplines, could result in the development of a field of study which is tremendously dynamic. Without communication, however, none of this is possible. It is common for a field to exhibit diversity at the beginning. This is particularly true when the actual subject matter of that field is itself quite varied. We have only to look at the history of anthropological theory to understand that that discipline, with its holistic ideal and encyclopedic goals, went through a beginning not unlike our own (see Lowie, 1937). Ethnomusicology has now passed through its infancy. It is time for us to begin the task of summarizing, amalgamating, incorporating, and testing. It is not wise that we should continue to operate in isolation from one another. First, there is the danger that, after several generations of students, we will no longer be able to bridge the already widening terminological and conceptual gap. More importantly, we need the exchange of ideas, the testing of hypotheses in different societies. Only through this process can we ever