What kind of music research can be conducted at Uniarts Helsinki?
At our university, research and music practices engage in close interaction. Our artistic research renews and expands the field of music research and introduces new methods and research subjects into our research activities.
Focus on multimethodology, internationality and collaboration
Our research interests include various aspects of music-making, performance, reception, teaching and learning, the history of musical practices and music structures, the relationship between music and the mind, musical interaction, the philosophy and aesthetics of music as well as the interaction between music, audiences and society. International collaboration is also an integral part of our research activities. Our research combines diverse perspectives through multimethodological and interdisciplinary approaches.
Our researchers and research units are continuously engaging in collaboration with other units within the Sibelius Academy and within Uniarts Helsinki. International collaboration is also a fundamental part of our research activities.
Where is music research carried out?
We conduct music research across multiple units at Uniarts Helsinki: at the Uniarts Helsinki Research Institute, at the Sibelius Academy’s MuTri Doctoral School and Research Unit, at the DocMus Doctoral School, within individual departments and as part of various research projects.
Showcasing music research
You can explore the music research conducted at Uniarts Helsinki through various publications, concerts connected to artistic research, online broadcasts and a variety of research events.
Research in music performance
Research and doctoral studies in music performance focus on musician research, performance practices, the history and empirical study of performance, instrument pedagogy, music institutions, as well as artistic research. Other research areas include music semiology, post-tonal music theory, philosophy of music, music history and psychodynamic approaches to creativity and music-related phenomena.
Research in folk music
We are a leading, internationally well-networked unit in folk music and a pioneer in folk music pedagogy. We publish our research results to support teaching and as the outcome of studies, and the results can be explored in the Satasarvi publication, for example.
Research in church music
Research in church music at the Sibelius Academy focuses on Lutheran music culture, Latin chant and various aspects of organ art (organ music, organ playing and organ building). The research may be historical, systematic or artistic, and it addresses the significance, use, performance practices, repertoire and practitioners of church music.
Research on Latin chant from the Middle Ages is called Gregorian studies, while hymn research is known as hymnology and instrument research is referred to as organology. In artistic research, the artist-researcher utilises musical processes and outcomes as either material or methodology, aiming at innovations in musical practices such as new music for a church service. Church music research often crosses disciplinary boundaries. Areas like music theory, ethnomusicology, history, practical theology, education, aesthetics and social psychology provide valuable theoretical and methodological tools for researchers of church music.
Cultural study of music
At Uniarts Helsinki, the cultural study of music is based on ethnomusicological, cultural, and cultural-historical research approaches. In this field, all musical practices are considered equally valuable both as cultural phenomena and as research subjects. Unlike traditional disciplines of arts research, the cultural study of music embraces the chaos of the present day in approaching musical and cultural practices. Here, the concept and boundaries of art are consciously questioned: music and musicality are not seen as the exclusive talents of a select few but as inherently human traits. Notions of good or bad music are consequently relative and historical and heavily influenced by the power dynamics of the time. Music is never merely art or entertainment but always irreversibly human, and therefore also political.
Research in music history
Our history-related research is widely connected to music performance and composition, but our music historians have also broad networks within both Finnish and international research communities. The Sibelius Academy has hosted numerous music history research events, the most significant being the Sibelius Academy Symposium on Music History, held every two years, with the latest in 2022. An essential forum for research and doctoral studies in the history field is the Uniarts Helsinki History Forum, a network for Finnish historians where music has been a central theme.
Research in music history at the Sibelius Academy is wide-ranging. Scholars explore traditional themes such as composers and musicians, the history of music styles, concert practices, opera history, the history of ideologies in music and the history of performance, as well as topics like the history of women in music, the musical activities of the working class and immigrants and the history of technological mediation and dissemination of music.
Research in music education
Our research in music education is internationally esteemed and continuously utilised in our teaching and in our related evaluation and development practices. A research-oriented approach is strongly integrated into our bachelor’s and master’s education. Our researchers are active in leading international networks in music education, such as ISME. The latest music education research is regularly published in the peer-reviewed Finnish Journal of Music Education. Music education researchers and research projects are based at CERADA and the Music Education Department at the Sibelius Academy.
Research in music technology
Research in music technology focuses on themes closely related to the creation and performance of music and the use of technology. We aim to address the unique needs of experimental musicians through the development of various tools and platforms. Our research topics include spatial sound, extended instruments and synthesis technologies, the relationship between the body and performance, listening and ecological approaches to sound. We explore techniques for interacting with sound and the ways that these techniques can be used. We are also interested in understanding the use and value of music technology from human and cultural perspectives. We form an international and interdisciplinary research community, where doctoral students’ projects play a significant role.
Research in composition and music theory
The focus in research, artistic activities and doctoral education in composition and music theory is on compositional and theoretical questions. Key strengths of our music theory research include music analysis, Sibelius studies and music-historical research. Graduates from the Sibelius Academy are not only leading composers and music theorists but also researchers who work in expert roles that require an in-depth knowledge of music both in Finland and internationally.
Research in Jazz music
The Jazz department at the Sibelius Academy is an acclaimed community with a long history of international affiliations. Our research focuses on jazz improvisation, composition, expressive techniques, and instrument specific subjects. We specialize in artistic research but conventional research on historical as well as pedagogic jazz subjects is also encouraged.
Research in Global music
The Global Music programme provides a leading international platform for students focussing on cultural diversity, intercultural, transcultural, and socially engaged practices. The community is comprised of musicians, pedagogues, and researchers from diverse backgrounds, with strong links to international networks. The connected seminar on Global Music and Community Engagement creates an inclusive, shared space in which to support and deepen each student’s artistic practice, research, and identity through reflecting on each other’s work, as well as the wider international field and interconnected theoretical, artistic, and academic frameworks.