A musical experience is marked by the synthesis of passion and rationality, emotion and understanding, and body and mind. Ferrara demonstrates that each method of musical analysis confines musical significance to a single level: formal methods explain musical syntax; phenemonological methods describe the sound-in-time; and hermeneutic approaches interpret referential meanings. Ferrara devises an eclectic method that provides bridges for musical sound, form, and reference. In response to the multiplicity of levels of musical significance, Ferrara's eclectic method draws upon a wide-ranging number of conventional and non-conventional approaches to musical analysis which results in a dialectic of methods. Referential meanings are concretized, clarified, and delimited by the degree to which they can be grounded in the sound-in-time and formal elements; the latter are reexamined, expanded, and enriched by referential insights. In the last two chapters, the eclectic method is tested through analyses of works by Bela Bartok and David Zinn. This book is intended for trained music listeners and performers, music analysts, musicologists, and those interested in aesthetics and the development of music and music education.

This Fifth Edition presents an updated and practical approach to the research concepts, techniques, and sources from the 4th edition. A new chapter concerning music and technology covers the current available resources for students and researchers. Other updates include separate chapters on philosophical inquiry and aesthetic inquiry becoming integrated, formulating and implementing research problems, and aligning qualitative research with recent concepts and techniques. This is an essential tool for students tackling problems as varied as research proposals, field research strategies, data analysis, and statistical techniques. Researchers will find current sources and concise instruction in the formulation of a research proposal, its implementation, and dissemination of research results.