Musicology, the academic study of the subject of music, is studied in universities and music

conservatories. The earliest definitions from the 19th century defined three sub-disciplines of
musicology: systematic musicology, historical musicology, and comparative musicology
or ethnomusicology. In 2010-era scholarship, one is more likely to encounter a division of the
discipline into music theory, music history, and ethnomusicology. Research in musicology has often
been enriched by cross-disciplinary work, for example in the field of psychoacoustics. The study of
music of non-Western cultures, and the cultural study of music, is called ethnomusicology. Students
can pursue the undergraduate study of musicology, ethnomusicology, music history, and music
theory through several different types of degrees, including bachelor's degrees, master's degrees
and PhD degrees.
Music theory
Music theory is the study of music, generally in a highly technical manner outside of other
disciplines. More broadly it refers to any study of music, usually related in some form with
compositional concerns, and may include mathematics, physics, and anthropology. What is most
commonly taught in beginning music theory classes are guidelines to write in the style of
the common practice period, or tonal music. Theory, even of music of the common practice period,
may take many other forms. Musical set theory is the application of mathematical set theory to
music, first applied to atonal music. Speculative music theory, contrasted with analytic music theory,
is devoted to the analysis and synthesis of music materials, for example tuning systems, generally
as preparation for composition.
Zoomusicology
Zoomusicology is the study of the music of non-human animals, or the musical aspects of sounds
produced by non-human animals. As George Herzog (1941) asked, "do animals have
music?" François-Bernard Mâche's Musique, mythe, nature, ou les Dauphins d'Arion (1983), a study
of "ornitho-musicology" using a technique of Nicolas Ruwet's Langage, musique,
poésie (1972) paradigmatic segmentation analysis, shows that bird songs are organised according
to a repetition-transformation principle. Jean-Jacques Nattiez (1990), argues that "in the last
analysis, it is a human being who decides what is and is not musical, even when the sound is not of
human origin. If we acknowledge that sound is not organised and conceptualised (that is, made to
form music) merely by its producer, but by the mind that perceives it, then music is uniquely human."
Ethnomusicology
Main article: Ethnomusicology
Ethnomusicologist Frances Densmore recording Blackfoot chief Mountain Chief for the Bureau of American
Ethnology (1916)

In the West, much of the history of music that is taught deals with the Western civilization's art
music, which is known as classical music. The history of music in non-Western cultures ("world
music" or the field of "ethnomusicology"), which typically covers music from Africa and Asia is also
taught in Western universities. This includes the documented classical traditions of Asian countries
outside the influence of Western Europe, as well as the folk or indigenous music of various other
cultures. Popular or folk styles of music in non-Western countries varied widely from culture to
culture, and from period to period. Different cultures emphasised different instruments, techniques,
singing styles and uses for music. Music has been used for entertainment, ceremonies, rituals,
religious purposes and for practical and artistic communication. Non-Western music has also been
used for propaganda purposes, as was the case with Chinese opera during the Cultural Revolution.
There is a host of music classifications for non-Western music, many of which are caught up in the
argument over the definition of music. Among the largest of these is the division between classical
music (or "art" music), and popular music (or commercial music – including non-Western styles of
rock, country, and pop music-related styles). Some genres do not fit neatly into one of these "big
two" classifications, (such as folk music, world music, or jazz-related music).
As world cultures have come into greater global contact, their indigenous musical styles have often
merged with other styles, which produces new styles. For example, the United
States bluegrass style contains elements from Anglo-Irish, Scottish, Irish, German and African
instrumental and vocal traditions, which were able to fuse in the United States' multi-ethnic "melting
pot" society. Some types of world music contain a mixture of non-Western indigenous styles with
Western pop music elements. Genres of music are determined as much by tradition and
presentation as by the actual music. Some works, like George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, are
claimed by both jazz and classical music, while Gershwin's Porgy and Bess and Leonard
Bernstein's West Side Story are claimed by both opera and the Broadway musical tradition. Many
current music festivals for non-Western music include bands and singers from a particular musical
genre, such as world music.
Indian music, for example, is one of the oldest and longest living types of music, and is still widely
heard and performed in South Asia, as well as internationally (especially since the 1960s). Indian
music has mainly three forms of classical music, Hindustani, Carnatic, and Dhrupad styles. It has
also a large repertoire of styles, which involve only percussion music such as the talavadya
performances famous in South India.

Music therapy
Main article: Music therapy

A music therapist from a "Blues in the Schools" program plays harmonica with a US Navy sailor at a Naval
Therapy Center.
Music therapy is an interpersonal process in which a trained therapist uses music and all of its
facets—physical, emotional, mental, social, aesthetic, and spiritual—to help clients to improve or
maintain their health. In some instances, the client's needs are addressed directly through music; in
others they are addressed through the relationships that develop between the client and therapist.
Music therapy is used with individuals of all ages and with a variety of conditions, including:
psychiatric disorders, medical problems, physical disabilities, sensory impairments, developmental
disabilities, substance abuse issues, communication disorders, interpersonal problems, and aging. It
is also used to improve learning, build self-esteem, reduce stress, support physical exercise, and
facilitate a host of other health-related activities. Music therapists may encourage clients to sing, play
instruments, create songs, or do other musical activities.
One of the earliest mentions of music therapy was in Al-Farabi's (c. 872–950) treatise Meanings of
the Intellect, which described the therapeutic effects of music on the soul.[85][verification needed] Music has
long been used to help people deal with their emotions. In the 17th century, the scholar Robert
Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy argued that music and dance were critical in treating mental
illness, especially melancholia.[86] He noted that music has an "excellent power ...to expel many other
diseases" and he called it "a sovereign remedy against despair and melancholy." He pointed out that
in Antiquity, Canus, a Rhodian fiddler, used music to "make a melancholy man merry, ...a lover more
enamoured, a religious man more devout."[87][88][89] In the Ottoman Empire, mental illnesses were
treated with music.[90] In November 2006, Dr. Michael J. Crawford[91] and his colleagues also found
that music therapy helped schizophrenic patients.[92]
Albert Einstein had a lifelong love of music (particularly the works of Bach and Mozart),[93] once
stating that life without playing music would be inconceivable to him. In some interviews Einstein
even attributed much of his scientific intuition to music, with his son Hans recounting that "whenever
he felt that he had come to the end of the road or into a difficult situation in his work, he would take
refuge in music, and that would usually resolve all his difficulties." Something in the music, according
to Michele and Robert Root-Bernstein in Psychology Today, "would guide his thoughts in new and
creative directions."[94] It has been said that Einstein considered Mozart's music to reveal a universal
harmony that Einstein believed existed in the universe, "as if the great Wolfgang Amadeus did not
'create' his beautifully clear music at all, but simply discovered it already made. This perspective
parallels, remarkably, Einstein’s views on the ultimate simplicity of nature and its explanation and
statement via essentially simple mathematical expressions."[95] A review suggests that music may be
effective for improving subjective sleep quality in adults with insomnia symptoms.[96] Music is also
being used in clinical rehabilitation of cognitive and motor disorders.[97]