On Organology: Introduction to the Organology Special Issue

Abstract

Organology, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, concerns “the study of the history of musical instruments.” This very narrow definition focuses on the past, and perhaps frames the field as a division of broader historical scholarship. But if you ask an organologist for a definition of organology, their answer will invariably point to a broad range of fields stretching across the humanities and sciences. This introduction to the double special issue, and the nine articles within, consider organology through various approaches, demonstrating the reach of the field beyond object-based study, and nodding to the possibility of an expanded field.