A scholar who studies music across different cultures and ethnic groups, examining how music reflects and shapes cultural identity.
From ethno- + musicologist (from music + -ologist). The discipline emerged formally in the 1950s as scholars realized Western classical music was just one musical tradition among thousands.
Ethnomusicologists have documented that music serves universal functions—ceremonies, courtship, storytelling—but every culture solves 'how to make meaningful sound' in wildly different ways, from Australian didgeridoos to Andean pan pipes.
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