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Ethnomusicologist
Studies music in its cultural context — how music shapes and reflects societies around the world.
Did you know?
Ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax advised Carl Sagan on the world music for the Voyager Golden Record, launched into space in 1977.
How subjects help
- Music: Record and write down songs and rhythms from traditions around the world.
- Sociology: Study how music brings people together at weddings, festivals and protests.
- History: Trace how instruments and song styles travelled and changed over time.
- Languages: Translate song lyrics and interview musicians in their own language.
A famous name
Alan Lomax: Ethnomusicologist who made thousands of field recordings of folk music around the world from the 1930s.
Try it yourself: Record a family memory interview
- Pick a theme, like their childhood home or school. Write five questions in time order.
- Make them open questions that need more than yes or no, like "Can you describe the house you lived in?" Don't suggest the answer.
- Before you start, explain what the recording is for, and that they can skip any question or stop at any time.
- Ask one question at a time and listen without interrupting. Silences are fine.
- Afterwards, write a short summary: the three most surprising things you learned. Keep the recording private.
Historians and archivists record, summarise and store interviews like this so that ordinary people's memories become part of history.
Adapted from Oral History Society: For beginners.
Also try: Build dig layers in a tub.
Known for it in
USA, UK, France, India, Brazil