Nico Schüler – författare

Otto E. Laske gehört zu den bedeutendsten Persönlichkeiten im Umfeld von Künstlicher Intelligenz und Musik. Er ist der Begründer einer interdisziplinären «Kognitiven Musikwissenschaft». Seine frühen Schriften, die zwischen 1970 und 1974 am Utrechter Institut für Sonologie verfaßt wurden, waren bahnbrechend in vielerlei Hinsicht, vor allem aber im Hinblick auf die Erforschung generativer musikalischer Grammatiken sowie kognitiver Bedingtheiten musikalischen Handelns und musikalischen Problemlösens. Die Utrechter Schriften, deren theoretisches und praktisches Potential bis heute nur von wenigen Wissenschaftlern aufgegriffen wurde, werden mit diesem Band zum ersten Mal der breiten Öffentlichkeit zugänglich gemacht.

Although all research makes use of specific research methods, much music scholarship is being published without any reference to, or reflection on, the premises of the methods employed. In other words, published articles and books are often lacking a discussion of the scope and limitations of the research methods. Furthermore, music theory, musicology, ethnomusicology, music psychology, etc., are not independent disciplines, nor is research in those areas an activity to be defined once and for all. These areas have strong methodological relationships to each other as well as to areas outside the field of music. This book discusses some of the methodological premises, on which music research in the areas of music theory, (ethno-) musicology, and music psychology is based, and focuses on selected interdisciplinary approaches. It also discusses teaching approaches to music theory.

This book consists primarily of papers presented at the international symposium Approaches to Music Research: Between Practice and Epistemology, held in Ljubljana (Slovenia) in May 2008. Scholars from various music research areas offered heterogeneous views of one central issue: the relations between music-research ideals and practices. The intention was to offer a reflection concerning disciplinary intersections as ideal-typical formations in which different contemporary musicological practices meet each other, either positively or in more negative terms. The topoi of the symposium discussed elemental, difficult-to-answer questions about the position that musicology holds within the humanities and sciences. The symposium especially encouraged case studies of basic epistemological reflections with an emphasis on the practice of music research from any field.

The concept of «musica mathematica» seeks to accurately examine the intersection of two seemingly radically different subject areas. From the perspective of a European perception, the definition of the science of music was a result of the Pythagorean concept of universal harmony. The Pythagoreans were the first in European culture to raise the issue of uniting music and mathematics, sound and number. In the three parts of the monograph, versatile cases of the intersection of music and mathematics are displayed, moving from philosophical and aesthetic considerations about mathesis to practical studies, discussing the interaction between music and other kinds of art (architecture, painting, poetry and literature), and providing a practical research of contemporary music compositions.

This book gives a critical account of various methods used in music analysis. In the first chapter, a number of current approaches such as semiotics, musical implications, Schenkerian analysis, and generative theory are demonstrated on Mozart’s K. 331 theme. Five essays deal with important concepts in music analysis: ambiguity, formal proportions, and similarity within and between works. A further chapter provides a discussion of probability, kinship, and influence – decisive criteria when judging musical plagiarism. The last essay, studying a piece by Schubert, sifts the prospects of deciphering a composer’s sexual leanings from his music.

This volume uncovers the rich yet largely overlooked musical worlds of the late nineteenth century, moving beyond established canons to explore everyday practices in homes, schools, churches, theaters, and public spaces. Bringing together transatlantic perspectives from the United States and the German Empire, it reveals how amateur music-making, popular entertainment, minority cultures, and evolving music markets shaped diverse musical lives. By rethinking traditional historiography, the book draws attention to hidden repertoires and social contexts, highlighting the roles of education, urban culture, and networks of performance. It emphasizes cultural inquiry and develops new methodological approaches to studying marginalized practices. Through interdisciplinary dialogue and case studies, it demonstrates how these "invisible" musical cultures were essential to the formation of modern musical life.

At the conference «Musicology 1966-2000: A Practical Program,» on May 26, 1966, Jan LaRue speculated «that computer analysis will become one of the most important directions in musicology for the next generation…» Having passed the year 2000, we have to realize that LaRue’s prediction did not come true: neither for computer-assisted music analysis, nor for computer-applications in music research in general. This volume is intended to initiate a more critical discussion of computer-applications in music research and to present concepts, methods, and results of newest research in this area.