Musicology in 1000 words or less—it’s not as easy as it sounds.  Since the formation and defense of an argument requires many words and many pages, most musicological writing is necessarily longwinded.  We spend so much time digging in the archives, analyzing music, or honing the perfect sentence that it becomes difficult to leave anything out.  It’s all interesting...to us.  The reality is that not everything makes it into an article, or a dissertation, or a book. The reality is that too much is left unsaid.

As the old adage goes, “one scholar’s archival detritus is another’s dissertation.”  This is not to say that Amusicology.com is a landfill for discarded musicological discourse.  We like to keep things short, sweet, and pithy.  In a perfect world, this will be a place where your insightful idea can live on.  It is our hope that the essays featured on our site will prompt future work on the given subject, item, or problem.

That is where you come in.  When you register, you can leave feedback for the author and others to read.  Each contributor is encouraged to respond to comments.  Think of it as a virtual conference that is constantly in session.

FAQ

Q:  Who put the “A” in Amusicology?
A:  Ryan and Drew did.

Q:  What does the "A" stand for?
A:  There are many answers to this.  1) “A” plain and simple.  A single musicological idea is what we’re all about.  2) “Amusing” 3) “Abrupt” 4) “Anarchist” 5) “About”

Q:  1,000 words or less.  Really?
A:  Yep.  However, we don't count block quotes towards the word limit.

Q:  How can I publish something on Amusicology.com?
A:  If you have an idea, please email us.  See Drew's post regarding our contact info.

Q:  Who are you guys?
A:  Ryan and Drew are both PhD candidates in the historical musicology program at Harvard University.  Drew is currently writing a dissertation on John Kirkpatrick, the tireless promoter of Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, and American composers.  Ryan plans to work on a George Gershwin topic (or something learned about on amusicology.com).