musicology

[ myoo-zi-kol-uh-jee ]

noun

1. the scholarly or scientific study of music, as in historical research, musical theory, or the physical nature of sound.

musicology

/ ˌmjuːzɪˈkɒlədʒɪ; ˌmjuːzɪkəˈlɒdʒɪkəl /

noun

1. the scholarly study of music

Derived Forms

• ˌmusicoˈlogically, adverb
• ˌmusiˈcologist, noun
• musicological, adjective

Other Words From

• mu·si·co·log·i·cal [myoo-zi-k, uh, -, loj, -i-k, uh, l], adjective
• musi·co·logi·cal·ly adverb
• musi·colo·gist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of musicology¹

First recorded in 1905–10; music + -o- + -logy

Example Sentences

Ted Albrecht, a professor emeritus of musicology at Kent State University in Ohio and author of a recent book on the Ninth Symphony, described the scene.

From New York Times

This quarter, Malabuyo is taking three classes, including a musicology course and a theater class, that all meet online.

From Los Angeles Times

“People … imagine it as being some kind of validation of that artist,” Robert Fink, a professor of musicology and humanities at UCLA, said of such course offerings.

From Los Angeles Times

As the musicology podcast Switched On Pop recently observed, Vampire gathers pace in the second verse, with galloping drums that suggest a chase scene - but it all ends on an unresolved chord.

From BBC

"The Book of Laughter and Forgetting calls itself a novel, although it is part fairy tale, part literary criticism, part political tract, part musicology, and part autobiography," The New York Times wrote in a review.

From Reuters