Welcome to the Blog!

Welcome to (what might be) the first musicology blog you've come across!

Pleasure to meet you!  I'm Hannah. 

Some stuff about me.  I'm 24 years old.  Single.  Living in Provo, Utah.  I got my Bachelor's Degree in Music Education at Brigham Young University.  Upon my graduation, I immediately jumped back into BYU to get my Master of Arts in Musicology.  I finished my first semester last Fall (2013), and I intend to graduate Winter of 2017.  I have hopes of getting a PhD somewhere awesome.  Don't know where that is, yet, but I've got some time to figure that out.

In the meantime, I'm currently just taking seminar classes, learning German, and trying to find a good Master's Thesis topic.  I'm interested in modern music, particularly avant-garde and multi-media works. Since I have some history in choral education and extended vocal technique, odds are that my emphasis will be in vocal music.  But who knows?  That's part of what this blog journey is about.

What is a musicologist?  

To put it simply, musicology is a fancy word for music history.  Musicologists primarily fill the role of music historians.  They are interested in music's place in the course of mainly Western history.  Some major topics covered in research done by musicologists include:
-- biographies and works of composers, performers, and librettists
-- historical trends in style and compositional approach
-- motivations, meanings, and interpretations of musical works
-- musical technology, including innovations in musical instruments, music printing, etc.
-- music's place in the world of society and culture (class conflict, LGBT and gender studies, political movements, current philosophies, etc.)

Musicology works intimately with other branches of musical study, including:
-- Music theory: This is a more technical approach to music, focusing mostly on the "nuts and bolts" of how music is put together.  Theorists love to analyze music not as a historical artifact, but as simply a series of sonic patterns and organizations that can be analyzed without any historical context.
-- Ethnomusicology: The study of music's role in culture, primarily focusing on non-Western musics.
-- Musical performance, composition, and production: Of course, the field of musicology would come to naught if it weren't for the music makers, which not only create new music, but also continue to interpret and re-interpret music that has been around for a long time.
-- Musical Criticism: Critics of music provide value judgements for performances, recordings, and compositions, and thus give historians a glimpse of what audiences from both past and present valued in a musical work.


Why this blog? 

I've written personal blogs before, but I'm feeling the need for a space that is strictly professional, dealing with subjects I encounter as I pursue professorship.  As much as I would enjoy benefiting readers' lives through this account, I also feel like keeping consistent track of my progress will benefit me.

Perhaps I should break things down into two categories:  What this blog WILL be, and what this blog will NOT be:

This blog WILL be: 

1. A daily log of my activities in the field of musicology.  This will include progress reports on papers I'm writing, books I'm reading, research I am performing, and interactions I have with other members of my field and similar fields.  I know some people are interested in what a day in the life of a musicologist looks like.  Here's where you can find out.
2. An opportunity to share information about some of the subjects I am studying in polished prose.  Every so often, you come across a gem -- a quote, a theory, a research technique, or just an epiphany.  I want to share those gems.
3. A springboard for advocacy.  Some of you may not know much about what musicology is.  Let me tell you now, it is AWESOME.  One of my supreme goals in this career is to plant an interest in music history into the hearts of young people, particularly young musicians.  Maybe someday I'll tell you about how I got to musicology as my life's path, but for now, I'll simply say that I would not be where I am today if it weren't for inspiring people.

This blog will NOT be: 

1.  A review site.  I'm not interested in giving my opinions about performances, lectures, or media.  I have other blogs for that (namely, my personal blog, Thinking in Color).  I am not a critic.  I am also not a professional musician.  My realm of expertise is in discovering truth through music, not judging its quality.
2.  A note dump.  I do not intend on presenting every factoid I come across on this site.  As amazing as it is to learn that Pergolesi died when he was only 26 years old, I don't think that merits a blog post.  I'll try to use discretion with information I find and only put up the aforementioned gems -- things that actually involve some personal insight on my part.
3.  A personal diary.  Hopefully you won't find much information about my personal life on this blog.  Of course it's hard to completely separate the personal from the professional.  Especially when your professional dealings are in such an emotionally-charged and personally-connective medium as music.  But I will do my best.  You will not find anything on this site about food I've eaten, vacations I've taken, boys I've dated, poetry I've written, novels I've read, etc.  You won't even find anything on music I listen to for fun while I'm running or cleaning the house.

So you made it through the first post.  Happy musicking!!