Foreword

Many ethnomusicologists might consider “comparative musicology” primarily a historical category, pointing to a major predecessor of today’s mainstream ethnomusicology. In the historical overviews, the start of comparative musicology is usually related to Europe in the year 1885, when Guido Adler and Alexander John Ellis published their relevant and well-known writings, while its end corresponds to the appearance of anthropologically influenced ethnomusicology in the United States in the 1950s. For some scholars, such as Bruno Nettl, there was a line of continuity between the two, while for other scholars, such as Jeff Todd Titon, the new direction, reflected in the foundation and orientation of The Society for Ethnomusicology, indeed meant a new start. From today’s global perspective, we witness the co-existence of diversely defined ethnomusicologies, in which the legacies of (European) folk music research (from the second half of the 18th century on), comparative musicology, and (American mainstream) ethnomusicology continue to co-exist, mostly under the shared name “ethnomusicology.” Bearing this in mind, the re-emergence of “comparative musicology” in the title of this book might look surprising—at least to the readers unfamiliar with the article “Toward a New Comparative Musicology,” which Patrick E. Savage co-wrote with neuroscientist Steven Brown, his mentor at that time, in 2013. The co-authors emphasized classification, cultural evolution, human history, universals, and biological evolution as key processes for comparative musicological analysis. The current book benefits from a decade of additional interdisciplinary thinking and reflection, contributing to the further development of evolutionary and other theories, and refinements of scientific methodology. Savage does not think of “comparative musicology” as an alternative name for “ethnomusicology,” which some of our colleagues dislike for understandable reasons. He claims legitimacy for a specific research realm which remains an important part of what many of us think about and do, and proposes valuable theoretical and methodological frames for encounters with a comparative view of the world. As a thinker with diverse educational backgrounds, experiences of life in different parts of the world (New Zealand, USA, Canada, Japan, UK), and a globally oriented mindset, he has much to say about the subject and the resulting book indeed offers a myriad of ideas as well as practical tools to be applied. Savage’s global view mirrors the worldwide frame of the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD), in which he has been an active member for many years. The Council’s markers, such as the World Network, scholarly gatherings on different continents, publications on themes from a wide variety of places, relations with UNESCO, and the diverse thematic and geographical foci of its Study Groups create a space for exploration of mutually beneficial encounters with Savage’s book. Study Groups on Sound, Movement and the Sciences, on Global History of Music, on Multipart Music, and one of the newest ones—on Multispecies Sound and Movement, are the ones with arguably the most direct applicable potential. This book is a strong statement of the author who, in his own words, “loves music, science, and the world,” praises multidisciplinary inclusivity and collaborative research, and addresses in depth the crucial domains of evolution, diversity, and universality for a new generation of researchers. His firmly studied past of comparative musicology and awareness of its shortcomings allows him to build his current initiative on a solid ground, bringing together culture bearers, ethnomusicologists, and scientists from around the world within the intellectual atmosphere of decoloniality. Finally, I wish to commend his own financial support of the open access format of the book published by a renowned publisher with global presence, with the aim to ensure the book’s access to a wide variety of readers all over the globe, regardless of the economic situation in their countries. Svanibor Pettan, PhD Past President, International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance University of Ljubljana, Slovenia May, 2025