Analytical Approaches to Music of South Asia, Volume 2 (2024)

We are excited to announce the second volume of the multi-disciplinary online journal, Analytical Approaches to Music of South Asia (AAMSA). It is affiliated with the International Foundation for the Theory and Analysis of World Musics, which is itself a research unit in the Barry S. Brook Center for Music Research and Documentation at the City University of New York Graduate Center.

We invite contributions relating to any music of South Asia or the diaspora, past or present.¹ Contributions should address questions relating to the realities of musical sound, performance, repertoires and systems, and should analyze music-related data critically and systematically. Within this objective we are open to the widest possible range of subject matter and methodologies, including: quantitative and qualitative approaches; transcription and analysis of performance or notated repertoires; comparative analysis of specific items, performances, or styles; mathematical approaches and computational analysis; evidence for the history of theory and performance; linguistic and cognitive approaches; organological and iconographical research; processes of composition and improvisation; relationships between music and dance, gesture, or the visual arts; soundscape analysis; etc. The music analyzed may be traditional or contemporary, popular or classical, folk, tribal, religious, film, jazz etc. Meta-analyses, considering the implications of particular analytical approaches and their social, disciplinary, historical, ethnographic, colonial etc. contexts, will be welcome.

Contributions may be submitted in the form of written texts, and/or non-text formats such as video presentations, annotated performances, computer visualizations etc. They will be published in English, but authors are welcome to add a summary in an appropriate South Asian language.² Any system of music representation that adequately supports the chosen analytical approach may be used, including sargam-based, staff-based, and graphic systems, whether manually or automatically generated, and authors are encouraged to combine any non-sargam system with sargam. Audio and video examples may be incorporated, provided any necessary permissions have been obtained by the author. Guidelines for authors can be found on this page, and authors are encouraged to contact the editors to discuss potential submissions.

Contributions will appear on a rolling basis: that is, each contribution will be published when ready; published contributions will be collected into a volume at the end of each calendar year. Thanks to the sponsorship of IFTAWM, the journal will be fully Open Access (platinum), with no charge for publication or access. Contributions deemed potentially suitable for the journal will be anonymously peer reviewed.

Articles should be between 5,000 and 12,000 words in length, including bibliography, footnotes, captions and appendices. Audio-visual presentations should not be more than 30 minutes in length. All submissions should be accompanied by an abstract of 200–300 words and a list of 4–8 keywords. Please send all submissions to managingeditor@southasia.iftawm.org.

AAMSA is committed to inclusivity and diversity of authorship, particularly welcomes contributions from under-represented groups, and aims to promote dialogue between scholars within and outside the South Asian region. Multi-author collaborative research is encouraged.

We look forward to hearing from you!

¹ South Asia is considered to include India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and their constituent regions. Related traditions in adjacent countries, such as Afghanistan, Tibet, etc. are also included. “The diaspora” implies any community of South Asian origin anywhere in the world.

² Authors may choose whether to adopt UK or US spelling conventions. Contributions may be edited for English usage.