 Neither should be considered as an end in itself; the two must be joined into a wider understanding.This definition of ethnomusicology comes in response to a number of other important ethnomusicology authors, such as Jaap Kunst, who defined ethnomusicology via the types of music studied in the field,

Merriam’s own definition of ethnomusicology concerns a more general idea set with which the field of ethnomusicology is concerned with.In his own words, he defines it simply as “the study of music in culture” (cite Merriam’s 1960 work here).