Applied Ethnomusicology in Iran: A framework for solving cultural and social problems through music

Applied ethnomusicology is a growing trend across arts and humanities, towards the societal usefulness of academic work. In the second half of the twentieth century, it involved a variety of activities, such as holding festivals to preserve traditional music. In the 21st century, the second major trend in applied ethnomusicology has emerged i.e. music is seen as a tool to solve social problems. Some of the most common areas in applied ethnomusicology are: trying to realize the rights of deprived cultural and musical groups, protecting musical rights in the form of archival projects, trying to realize cultural and musical rights of minorities, efforts to protect the natural and social environments of musical cultures, participation in crises such as war and health and, cross-cultural music education. Applied ethnomusicology, in its modern sense, has no place in the current discourse in Iran. In other words, no trace of applied ethnomusicology can be found among the approved lectures and post-graduate dissertations in this field. In short, the potential of applied ethnomusicology has been widely neglected in the cultural policy of Iran. Among cultural opportunities offered by applied ethnomusicology include: redefining deprived cultural-musical groups and supporting them within the framework of popular festivals in the country, Establishment of regional music archives in deprived areas in order to have a lasting impact on the musical life of those regions, provide solutions to improve cultural-musical conditions of Afghan immigrants.