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Writing About Music

Luca Chiantore, Áurea Domínguez y Sílvia Martínez

First edition: 2016. Second enlarged edition: 2018.

Tchaikovsky, Chaikovski, Tschaikowsky, or…Chaicovsqui? Why is it wrong in Spanish to write Sonata Op. 111 No. 32? Bebop, be bop, or be-bop? How does one approach research in music? What should be quoted, when should it be quoted, and why quote something anyway? How do you bring Spanish-language writing on music into line with international rules for quotes? How do you mention Facebook posts or YouTube videos?

When it comes to writing about music, these and many other questions do not have just a single answer. The lack of shared criteria is a fact to deal with, and this is particularly true in regard to the Spanish language, where there are an increasing number of models imported from the English language that do not adjust well to the specificities of our tongue. All this takes place in a context that is bubbling with activity; Ibero-American musicology has a fast-growing presence internationally, and we face daily confrontations in order to integrate in scientific exchange on a global scale. Meanwhile, connecting musical practice to the theoretical university context poses big challenges for all.

This unprecedented style manual is the product of a long process of analysis and comparison with texts published in other languages. It is written both with students in mind and for both music professionals and musicologists, offering a coherent framework for tackling the writing of texts on musical subjects, and it does so from the starting point of the heterogenous reality of Spanish-speaking countries.