2520 Schoenberg Music Building
Box 951657
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1657
Ethnomusicology
310-825-8381
Ethnomusicology entails the study of all kinds of music from across the world, drawing upon a variety of disciplinary perspectives. The Department of Ethnomusicology, the largest and first of its kind at a U.S. university, offers courses on music from virtually every region of the world, courses on the music of diverse groups in the U.S., and courses on popular music and film music. Many courses focus on how musical art and practice relate to other aspects of culture, society, politics, and economics. Courses are also given on the philosophy and aesthetics of music. In addition to lecture courses, the department offers performance ensemble courses in several world and American music traditions. Most of the performance courses are also open to nonmajors. Many academic courses are open to nonmajors and prior knowledge of music is not expected or required. The Ethnomusicology Department aspires to promote productive collaborations between performance and scholarship, to advance cross-cultural global understandings of music, and to provide preparatory training for a broad range of careers in music after students graduate.
