Editing Ethnomusicology (section)

==== Analytical methodologies ====
Ethnomusicology has yet to establish standards for analysis, despite efforts by analysts such as Kolinski, [[Béla Bartók]], and von Hornbostel.<ref name=Nettl2005/>

Perhaps the first attempt was the development of the [[Cent (music)|cent]] as a unit of pitch by [[Phonetics|phonetician]] and mathematician [[Alexander John Ellis|Alexander J. Ellis]] (1885).<ref>Stock, Jonathan. 2007. "Alexander J. Ellis and His Place in the History of Ethnomusicology." ''Ethnomusicology'' 51(2): 306, 308.</ref> Prior to this invention, pitches were described by measurements of [[frequency]], judged inferior since the frequency distance between two notes varies across the octaves (pitch spectrum).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stock |first=Jonathan P. J. |date=2007-04-01 |title=Alexander J. Ellis and His Place in the History of Ethnomusicology |journal=Ethnomusicology |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=306–325 |doi=10.2307/20174527 |issn=0014-1836}}</ref> 

The cents system allowed any interval to have a fixed numerical representation, regardless of its specific pitch level.<ref>Stock, Jonathan. 2007. "Alexander J. Ellis and His Place in the History of Ethnomusicology." ''Ethnomusicology'' 51(2): 306-25.</ref> His system divided each [[octave]] into 1200 cents (100 cents separating each [[semitone]]). This allowed precise comparisons of music that used different, often individual- or culture-specific, pitch systems.<ref>Stock, Jonathan. 2007. "Alexander J. Ellis and His Place in the History of Ethnomusicology." ''Ethnomusicology'' 51(2): 308.</ref> Pitch systems in countries such as India, Japan, and China varied "not only [in] the absolute pitch of each note, but also necessarily the intervals between them".<ref>Ellis, Alexander J. 1885. "On the Musical Scales of Various Nations." ''Journal of the Society of Arts'' 33: 490.</ref> He concluded that the real pitch of a [[Scale (music)|musical scale]] can only be determined when "heard as played by a native musician" and even then, "obtain that particular musician's tuning".<ref>Ellis, Alexander J. 1885. "On the Musical Scales of Various Nations." ''Journal of the Society of Arts'' 33: 490, 491.</ref> Ellis's study was an early example of comparative fieldwork.

[[Alan Lomax]]'s method of [[cantometrics]] analyzed songs to model human behavior in different cultures. He cited a [[correlation]] between musical traits and those of the native culture.<ref name="Lomax, Alan Pp. 3-33">Lomax, Alan. 1978 [1968]. ''Folk Song Style and Culture.'' New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books. p. 143.</ref> Cantometrics involved qualitative scoring based on song characteristics, seeking commonalities.

Kolinski measured the distance between the initial and final tones in melodic patterns. Kolinski used this approach to reject the early binary of European and non-European. He observed markers of "basic similarities in the psycho-physical constitution of mankind".<ref name="Kolinski, Mieczyslaw 1957">Kolinski, Mieczyslaw. 1957. "Ethnomusicology, Its Problems and Methods." Ethnomusicology 1(10): 1-7.</ref> Kolinski employed his method to disprove von Hornbostel's hypothesis that European music generally had ascending melodic lines, while other music featured descending melodic lines.

Feld conducted descriptive ethnographic studies treating "sound as a cultural system"<ref name=":6">Feld, Steven. 1984 "Sound Structure as Social structure." Ethnomusicology 28(3): 383-409.</ref> in his studies of [[Kaluli people]] of [[Papua New Guinea]], instead opting for [[Sociomusicology|sociomusical]] methods.