 He edited the "Newsletter of the Society for Ethnomusicology" from 1952 to 1957, and he edited the journal "Ethnomusicology" from 1957 to 1958.Merriam's initial work was based on fieldwork carried out in his native Montana and central Africa.He undertook extensive field research among the Flathead Indians of Montana in 1950 (for his PhD) and again in 1958.