Ethnographic Sound Archives Online

Ethnographic Sound Archives Online is a digitized collection of over 6,000 previously unpublished historical audio field recordings of music from around the world, accompanied by supporting field notes and ethnographers’ metadata. These recordings allow for the study of music in its cultural context. The majority of materials in the collection were recorded during the early days of ethnomousicology as a discipline, the 1960s - 1980s. Highlights include Mark Slobin’s survey of Afghan music, Nazir Jairazbhoy’s survey of classical Indian music, and Hugh Tracey’s survey of southern and central African music. Materials created by ethnomusicologists that accompany each recording, such as handwritten notes, images, and videos, aim to show how people perform music in cultural contexts. 

Historically, ethnomusicologists tried to preserve music performances that were believed to be in danger of being forgotten. This tended to put the ethnomusicologist in a position of power relative to the community whose music they studied, and it also tended to treat music as a preservable element isolated from a surrounding culture. Today, many ethnomusicologists strive to collaborate with the community, respect local knowledge structures, and promote sustainability of musical traditions rather than mere preservation. As you use this collection, you may consider how the different ethnomusicologists position themselves relative to the communities whose music they document. 

This collection may also be cross-searched with other anthropology and ethnography collections in ProQuest One Anthropology.