Creating a Global Music History

Abstract

The authors use the mission statement of the ICTM Study Group on Global Music History to present issues they faced in writing a global music history intended for use in schools of music (conservatories) in the United States. They argue that all global music histories will of necessity be written from some position on the globe, not from “outer space”; explain how they constructed a chronology going back thousands of years from sound recordings all made in the twentieth century; and outline their pedagogical goal of introducing music students to the full range of human music making today.