If you want your studies to help you reach places you have never dreamed of, a good PhD supervisor is a must. The content of PhD studies in music and in other areas vary around the world. I managed to see how things work in England, Israel, and Czech. I also heard about PhD programs in the USA. My impression is that choosing the right PhD supervisor is very important for one’s success.

In this post I will write about a few things that one should pay attention to when one chooses a supervisor:

1. Find someone that you get along with. This is very important since you must keep in good relationship with your supervisor. I met people who were very disappointed with their supervisor and believe me, this is no joke. A PhD student needs much support all along the way.

2. If you want to now how to publish find a supervisor who publishes. Look into the publication list of your candidate supervisor. If there are many articles and books, this is usually a good sign. A creative supervisor can give you the tools to be creative yourself.

3. Do you like what he or she write? Read some of the books and articles that you candidate supervisor wrote. You do not need to read all of the article or book: you could read the introduction and the final paragraphs. Perhaps also some selected parts in the middle. Look at the contents of the book/s, glance through the bibliography and index. You can learn a lot about the major issues that your supervisor is interested in. When you choose a subject or prepare a research proposal, make sure that is has some things in common with the interests of your supervisor.

4. Communicate with your supervisor. Write emails to your supervisor and ask questions. You can learn a lot not only from what he or she write you, but also from how they write you have what they do not write to you. It is also recommendable to meet your future supervisor before your start your studies. I flied from the Czech Republic to England to meet my supervisor and it turned out to be something that helped me make a decision to come to study there. I suspect that it also helped me to receive several scholarships.

5. Speak to people who studied with your supervisor. I did not do this, but if you can, so do it. Students who have studies with your supervisor can tell you lots of information about how it is to study with him or her.

6. The position of your supervisor in the department. The is not the most important thing, however, one cannot deny that the higher the position of your supervisor is in the department, the better he or she are in a position to help you.

As a non-English scholar I have a great dilemma what language to chose when I write about music. I have written a few articles in Hebrew but my PhD dissertation and most of my research thereafter was written in English.

There and issues against and for writing in English or Hebrew. If one writes in English, one can reach a larger audience. There are more scholars that can read what one writes and comment on it. This is the reason why I decided to write my blog in English.

The reason to write in Hebrew is that I think in this language, and express myself better in it. I am aware that my English might sound strange to native English speakers (I hope that what I say compensates on it). One swims more easily in his or her mother tongue.

Another to write in Hebrew is that there is very little written in this language available to Hebrew readers. Young music lovers, who do not read English (or simple find it hard to read in this language), have very little to read. Why should all the latest research on music arrive to Israel only ten years after it was first published (the sad truth is that it usually does not arrive to Israel at all).

The dilemma will never end. But solutions must be found.

I have recently wrote a new article about Schoenberg’s Piano Piece Op. 33a. This piece is usually discussed in terms of ‘absolute music’: 12 tone technique and ‘abstract’ sonata form. Building on performance theories, Susan McClary’s work on gender narratives in ‘absolute music’ and other cultural studies, I analyze the score and early recordings in order to examine how what I call ‘transgender’ narratives are constructed within this piece. The aim is to discuss some of cultural issues that are invoked by this composition and interpretations thereof, in a manner that is relevant to the immediate experience of listeners. Towards the end of the article I betray the method I used up to this point by exposing its cultural and social ideology. I end with a discussion on the role of the musicologist as an interpreter and creator of narratives.

If you like to read the article (and send me comments) you are welcome to read more on Transgender performance in Op. 33a…

The methods one uses in order to do research on music are extremely important for achieving satisfactory results. It is useful to examine the methods that experienced musicologists (or researchers from other areas) use, in order to combine one or more methods according to one’s aims and the music that is being examined. Imagination and listening is extremely important. Yet, using the right methods or developing new ones are also part of the creative process.

Since the 1990s musicology, especially the so-called “New musicology” tends to openly discuss its methods.

When one goes into book shops in Israel, one cannot not notice that there are no music books. You could find a few song books, usually popular song books. But you will rarely find books about music. There are a few books that where translated into Hebrew. The most important one that was lately translated is Music: A Short Introduction by Nicholas Cook. This is a great book and it will probable contribute much to the dull musicological scene in Israel.

I lately went to a book shop called “Sipur pashut” in Neve Tzedek. It is a wonderful book shop with critical books on a large variety of subjects: philosophy, literature, film, art and more. Yet also here the music section was almost not existent. When I approached the person behind the desk, I was told that when they will enlarge the store they will have room for music books. It seems to me that Israel in general has no room for music books.

Why read books about music if you could simply listen to music?
Good music books make you listen to music differently. It is not only music that changes the lives of many people. It is also the words “around” it: discussions with friends, what is during a radio broadcast, what one reads in the newspaper, and what you could discover in a book.

When I write about music, it is usually out of a process where I started to listen to a certain piece of music differently. I wish to share this experience with my readers.

This is what happened in my last research trip to Berlin. As a result of extensive reading and listening, I began to hear things connected to gender in Schoenberg’s Piano Piece, Op. 33a. You can read a draft of the article in the “Drafts for comments” section of this website.

I hereby call all Israeli readers of this post to approach your local book shop and ask: “Why no books about music? Think about it!”