Ethnomusicology is the study of music in its social context. In the past, the field consisted of scholars from Europe and the United States studying non-European musics. Today, scholars study popular music, classical music, and folk music traditions from this viewpoint.
The following online sources provide more information on the methodologies and results of current ethnomusicological studies:
Music Online: The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music consists of scholarly articles about music from around the world. It is available online through Ball State's database subscriptions (log in required from off campus), and on the Music Collection Reference shelves at ML 100 .G16 1998 (CDs available from the Music Collection counter)