Performance and the Score: an Ethnomusicological Perspective

Through semi-structured interviews spanning over six years and in three different countries, this article explores the manner in which performers with different musical backgrounds interact with music notation of western and non-western origin. The aim is to highlight the participants’ cultural perspectives and intellectual mindsets which influence their logic of what consists of a musical score, and how it is to be addressed in performance. The interviews presented here reveal that the relationship between musicians and the written aspect of music is not uniform, even within performers of comparably similar music traditions, as the role of music and its textual representation themselves are not uniform in their goals and operational mode