DESCRIPTION:
In this clip from www.artistshousemusic.org - Susan McClary, Professor of Musicology at the University of California, Los Angeles, speaks at length about her field and the challenges that its discoveries present to musicians. She addresses the difficulty in interpreting music of past centuries, why context matters when preparing to perform a piece of music, the history of improvisation in Western music, the effect of recording technology on how people hear music, and finally how to get started on a career in musicology.