Practical experiential approaches to sound, music, and media in musicological education

Conference on December 11 & 12, 2025

Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Department of Musicology

Keynotes: Andreas Fickers and Joanna Szczepańska-Antosik

Call for Papers / Abstract

Media and technologies for synthesis, recording, processing, and distribution of sound have become important subjects of music research. Examples include the history of sound recording (Sterne 2003, Katz 2010, Horning 2013, Bennett 2019), the significance of technical devices in music scenes (Theberge 1997, Butler 2014, Herbst/Menze 2021), or musical analysis oriented toward sound and music production processes (Zagorsky-Thomas 2016, Hepworth-Sawyer et al. 2019).

Across the intersection of musicology, media studies, sound studies, and other disciplines, new disciplinary branches such as Music Production Research (Bennett & Bates 2019; Bourbon & Zagorski 2020) have emerged, which have developed their own theoretical approaches and methods for researching recorded and technically mediated music. Today, knowledge of audio-technical processes and a sensory sensitivity for the design of sound are no longer regarded merely as engineering expertise, but as part of cultural practices that shape musical activity from the ground up and must therefore also be part of musicological questions and knowledge.

Such knowledge is often implicit, ‘tacit knowledge’ and therefore observable as practice or musical action. Therefore, ethnographic, praxeological, and artistic research methods are particularly frequently applied in this field, for example in the form of field research (Bürkner 2013; Bates 2017; Huschner 2016), reenactments (Fickers/van den Oever 2022; Meynell 2017), and media experiments in artistic research (Badura et al 2015, van der Heijden/Kolkowski 2023). These approaches suggest that in many cases observations informed by one’s own experiential practical approaches aid in gaining a deeper understanding of media-cultural-musicological phenomena.

This shift is also taking root in musicological teaching, for instance in new chairs, module regulations, and degree programs. At locations such as Bonn, Oldenburg, Berlin (HU), Lüneburg, Hildesheim, and Halle (Saale), as well as in London, Agder, Huddersfield, or Concordia, recording studio technology, synthesizers, DIY electronics, and Digital Audio Workstations are becoming essential elements of musicological education. The practical engagement with sound and its production contexts ranges from the history of the tape recorder to introductory courses in miking and mixing techniques to listening sessions that focus on the sonic design of ›produced music.‹ This engagement often takes place in university-owned recording studios. These ›toolscapes‹ of music production prove to be particularly suitable places for practice-oriented learning. (King & Hemonides 2016).

The conference brings together a cross-section of materially and practically oriented research and teaching and offers space for discussions on how current scientific and didactic approaches can benefit from each other.

This raises the following questions:

(1) Which basic practical sound knowledge should be part of a musicological education? What is the relationship between scientific (musical acoustics) and music-psychological approaches (sound perception, auditory physiology) and research centered on cultural aspects such as sound studies or pop musical analysis? What forms of implicit or ›embodied‹ knowledge, what practical abilities in handling analog and digital audio technology, and what systematic training of technical hearing or critical listening skills are required for sound and music analysis today?

(2) How can these contents be integrated into the framework of academic education in a contemporary and didactically meaningful way without becoming too superficial or too specialized? What role does the relationship between in-person teaching and digital learning offerings play? What methods and ideas for seminar or semester structures exist? We will present our own procedures and learning formats in the beta version of our hybrid teaching platform METRONOM, on which, in addition to a module for technical ear training for musicologists, we provide material and instructions for the experiential-practical teaching of sound (technologies) and music media works in classroom teaching, especially in forms of re-enactment.

(3) How relevant are sound and media technologies as aspects of musical design not only for contemporary musicological education but also for practice-oriented professional fields? What knowledge is required in journalistic fields such as radio, press, and online media, in curatorial and museal contexts, in concert and theater, archives, publishing, and music management?

(4) How should the recording studio be set up as a learning space for musicology? How can it help students gain a deeper understanding of production processes in the context of sound technologies without overloading the learning process? Which ‘toolscapes’ offer inspiring environments for sound-related project work? What didactic as well as practical-technical challenges should be considered in this special learning environment?

We invite you to submit proposals for individual presentations, panels, workshops, and posters related, but not restricted to, the following topics:

·        Technical ear training / Critical listening skills

·        Musical applications of recording technology

·        Handling of time- and style-specific devices and production environments (Multitrack, MPCs, Push, etc.)

·        Elaboration and performance of electroacoustic and experimental music in teaching

·        Experiential/practical approaches in sound studies

·        Artistic research in music and sound art

·        Modular synthesizers in teaching

·        Sound description and language in music analysis

·        Use of digital tools in musicological sound and music analysis (Sonic Visualizer, etc.)

·        Realization/production of recordings as student research in the studio

·        Hybrid formats and use of digital learning platforms

·        Higher education didactic methods related to audio technology

·        Historically and culturally comparative perspectives on the above questions

We explicitly understand ›Hands on Sonic Skills‹ as a learning, working, and workshop conference. Therefore, we ask you to consider organizing workshops (60-90 min) focusing on special teaching methods or topics, in addition to classical presentations (20 min + 10 min discussion) and joint panels (90 min). A poster session will provide the opportunity to exchange ideas about methods, didactics, and individual student projects. Smaller technical experiments and setups are explicitly encouraged.

The conference is organized as part of the educational research project METRONOM – Media Transformation of Musical Knowledge (2024-2026). Funding is provided by FREIRAUM financed by the BMBF and administered by the Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education (STIL). The conference is organized at the research section Music and Media, headed by Prof. Dr. Golo Föllmer. Team: Alan van Keeken, Sebastian Schwesinger, Lukas Iden, and Katja Lux.

Conference languages are German and English. Participation is free of charge.

Please send your abstract (max. 400 words) and CV (max. 100 words) by April 30, 2025, indicating your preferred format, to alan.van-keeken@musikwiss.uni-halle.de

Literatur/e:

Badura, Jens et al (2015): Künstlerische Forschung. Ein Handbuch, Zürich/Berlin.

Bates, Eliot (2016), Digital tradition: Arrangement and labor in Istanbul’s recording studio culture, New York.

Bennett, Samantha and Bates, Eliot (2018), ‘The Production of Music and Sound: A Multidisciplinary Critique’, in Bennett and Bates (eds), Critical Approaches to the Production of Music and Sound, New York, pp. 1–22.

Bennett, Samantha (2019), Modern Records, Maverick Methods: Technology and Process in Popular Music Record Production 1978-2000, New York.

Bourbon, Andrew and Zagorski-Thomas, Simon (eds) (2020), The Bloomsbury Handbook of Music Production., New York.

Bürkner, Hans-Joachim (2013): Trackproduktion als Trial and Error? in: Bürkner et al (eds): Akustisches Kapital. Wertschöpfung in der Musikwirtschaft, Bielefeld, pp. 45-98.

Butler, Mark J. (2014), Playing with something that runs: Technology, improvisation, and composition in DJ and laptop performance, Oxford.

Fickers, Andreas and van der Oever, Annie (2022), Doing Experimental Media Archaeology, Berlin/Boston.

Herbst, Jan Peter and Menze, Jonas (2021), Gear Aquisition Syndrome: Consumption of Instruments and Technology in Popular Music, Huddersfield.

Hepworth-Sawyer, Russ, Hodgson, Jay and Marrington, Mark (eds) (2019), Producing music. Perspectives on music production series, New York.

Huschner, Roland (2016), “[…] if it would be me producing the song…”: Eine Studie zu den Prozessen in Tonstudios der populären Musikproduktion, Humboldt-Universität Berlin.

Katz, Mark (2010), Capturing Sound: How Technology Has Changed Music, London.

King, Andrew and Himonides, Evangelos (eds) (2016), Music, Technology, and Education: Critical Perspectives, London and New York.

Meynell, Anthony (2017), How Recording Studios Used Technology to Invoke the Psychedelic Experience: The difference in staging techniques in British and American recordings in the late 1960s, London.

Rosati, Tommaso and Hsu, Timothy (2025), Play with Sound: Manual for Electronic Musicians and Other Sound Explorers, London.

Schmidt-Horning, Susan (2013), Chasing Sound: Technology, Culture and the Art of Recording from Edison to the L.P, Baltimore.

Sterne, Jonathan (2003), The Audible Past: Cultural Origins of Sound Reproduction., Durham.

Théberge, Paul (1997), Any Sound you can imagine: Making Music/Consuming Technology, Hanover.

van der Heijden, Tim and Kolkowski, Alexander (2023), Doing Experimental Media Archeology, Berlin/Boston.

Zagorski-Thomas, Simon (2016), ‘An Analysis of Space, Gesture and Interaction in Kings of Leon’s Sex on Fire’, in Moore, von Appen and Doehring (eds), Song Interpretation in 21st-Century Pop Music, London, pp. 115–33.

Call for Papers

Special Issue of Rock Music Studies

Rock in South America: Argentina, Chile, and PeruSpecial Issue of Rock Music Studies

Rock in South America: Argentina, Chile, and Peru

Guest Editors:

César Albornoz, Pontificia Universidad Católica, Chile

Lisa Di Cione, Universidad de Buenos Aires; Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche; Instituto Nacional de Musicología “Carlos Vega,” Argentina

Sergio Pisfil, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Perú

Contact: rockensudamerica.archpe@gmail.com

Rock Music Studies invites article proposals for a special issue exploring the unique characteristics of rock music written, produced, and performed in South America, with a particular focus on music created in Argentina, Chile, and Peru from the second half of the 20th century to the present.

By the late 1950s, Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries in the Americas had been introduced to Elvis Presley, danced to “Rock Around the Clock,” and watched the film Blackboard Jungle. In the 1960s, Beatlemania swept through the region, the Rolling Stones sparked controversy, and heated debates about the hippie movement took place. Over time, Anglo-American rock evolved into something uniquely Latin American, shaped by a new language, distinct sounds, and a deeply rooted social experience.

South American rock has since become a subject of rigorous study. Traditional academia, investigative journalism, fan communities, and other spaces have contributed to publications and networks that foster dialogue and analysis. One recent example is the First International Congress of Peruvian Rock Studies, held in Lima in December 2024. This event included two keynote speakers from Chile and Argentina, offering a platform not only to share research from different regions but also to explore the connections between them. These three countries share patterns of cultural production that, through appropriation and reinterpretation, have created industries in constant exchange. Furthermore, in recent decades, all three nations have experienced violent dictatorships, political unrest, and underdevelopment—historical realities that have shaped the evolution of rock in distinct ways.

This Call for Papers invites contributions on South American rock, which understand rock as more than just a mainstream phenomenon of grand, mythic narratives, taking into account that it is also about everyday stories, shaped by local context. While South American rock has challenged the dominance of the white, Anglo-American, colonial, and Eurocentric rock star, it has also, at times, reinforced those narratives. Similarly, this special issue invites consideration of the fact that issues of gender, race, nation, power, violence, and self-construction are not relegated to the past, but remain central to contemporary discussions about voice, embodiment, performance, and celebrity.

While South America as a whole has distinct cultural characteristics worthy of study, focusing on Peru, Chile, and Argentina offers compelling case studies for examining a shared sonic and material legacy, with similarities and differences that call for interdisciplinary analysis.

Contributions are welcome on topics including, but not limited to:

• History and memory
• Epistemologies and theoretical frameworks
• The art of record production
• Live music studies
• Cultural industries
• Rock, labor, and markets
• Legislation and copyright
• Media ana mediation
• Celebrity and stardom
• Archives, collections, and heritage
• Decolonial studies: processes of “nationalization” and “regionalization”
• Rock, the State, and politics
• Identity and dissidence
• Intersectional studies (gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, disability, etc.)
• Music theory and analysis

• Consumption and communities
• Bodies and performance
• Artificial intelligence and augmented reality

Prospective contributors should submit a 500-word abstract and a brief CV by April 30, 2025, to rockensudamerica.archpe@gmail.com. Proposals are welcome in either English or Spanish. Selected authors will be notified by May 30, 2025. Full manuscripts, written in English and between 6,000 and 8,000 words, will be due by October 15, 2025.

Popular Music History Special Issue for November 2025

The twenty-first century is defined by numerous wars. Unlike the large-scale global conflicts of the 20th century, today’s wars are predominantly localized. More broadly, conflicts shape lives politically, socially, and privately. Popular music has always played a dual role in such contexts: it has been used to mobilize masses for war while also serving as a medium for resistance. Anti-war songs are plentiful, ranging from the Italian “Bella ciao,” through the pacifist anthems of the Vietnam War era, to modern examples of resistance during the Intifada. As long as violent conflict has existed, so too have songs of resistance, such as “Biladi biladi” (“O my country!”) from Egypt’s 1919 revolution, or “Min djibalina” (“From our mountains”), opposing colonization.

Pro-war songs, while less common, do exist, particularly in forms that encourage or inspire soldiers. A distinct category includes anti-war songs often misinterpreted as patriotic, such as Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” Another group comprises acts that focus their entire repertoire on historical events and wartime heroism, as exemplified by the Swedish metal band Sabaton.

War is also closely tied to migration, as displaced communities bring their cultural heritage, including music, to new places. These migrations can foster closer cultural bonds among communities, whether in foreign lands or domestically, while simultaneously generating new forms of popular music born from displacement.

Armed conflicts disrupt both physical and virtual connections. Access to social media and the internet becomes uncertain, with communication lines severed. However, history shows that new modes of connection and musicking emerge during such disruptions. Collective and personal memories play a significant role in shaping collective emotions and delineating the boundaries between allies and adversaries.

Popular Music History invites contributions for a special issue examining the role of music in the context of war, focusing on how music portrays, critiques, or supports conflict. Submissions may address any armed conflict in history and its relation to popular music. Suggested topics include, but are not limited to:

• The role of war songs
• Popular music as a means of fostering community during war
• The impact of war on migrants and their music
• Popular music as a tool of manipulation
• Music in marching and combat
• Resistance through popular music
• Narratives of war and peace in popular music
• Online music consumption during wartime
• Nationalism in the history of popular music
• The intersection of popular music genres and war
• Warfare and popular music
• The popular music business during armed conflicts

The proposed timeline for the publication process is as follows:

31.01.2025: Deadline for submitting extended abstracts (feedback on abstracts will be provided within 10 days; authors may skip this step and submit full papers by the end of May 2025; if you wish to submit abstract, please sent it to: b.peter [ at ] rug.nl and patryk.galuszka [at] uni.lodz.pl)

31.05.2025: Deadline for submitting full manuscripts (please submit your paper via journal’s submission system)

31.08.2025: Editorial decisions sent to authors for revisions

31.10.2025: Deadline for submitting revised papers

30.11.2025: Special issue published.