Über Ziele und Ansätze der angewandten Musikethnologie als Ausdruck sozialer Verantwortung

This article functions as an introduction to the following articles of this themed issue of Die Musikforschung. It frames the idea of an applied ethnomusicology, understood as an approach guided by principles of social responsibility, and as scholarship, knowledge and understanding put to practical use. The article discusses the emergence and relevance of applied ethnomusicology in Anglophone academia as well as the German-speaking world and gives insight into different fields in which applied ethnomusicology can be practiced: from traditional areas such as musical archives and museums to activism against social justice and for the rights of indigenous people and minorities, activism for musical and cultural sustainability or health, to musicological interventions in conflict situations and, finally, ethnomusicological contributions to music pedagogy. The authors do not claim to present a final definition of applied ethnomusicology, but rather aim to demonstrate the potential of this field and to show problems emerging in the course of ethnomusicological projects of an applied character.