APLIKÁCIA DIGITÁLNYCH TECHNOLÓGIÍ VO VÝSKUME TRADIČNEJ INŠTRUMENTÁLNEJ HUDBY NA SLOVENSKU

Comparative musical science, later ethnomusicology, was born and, in the positive sense of the word, developed in close relation to the historic development of audio-visual recording technologies. Especially its music analysis methods went through an important process of improvement in the last third of the 20th century in connection with the fast development of digital and later information and communication technologies and, above all, with the intensive improvement of technological devices which are capable of visualising the physical parameters of sound signals. This paper describes the background of the most important areas of ethnomusicological research of folk musical instruments in Slovakia in the context of the international scientific discourse. It deals with the forms of application of digital technologies in ethnoorganological research, the methodological issues associated with the sound recording of musical performers and, finally, with the specificities of the analysis of instrumental music sound records with an emphasis on the current research of playing styles. Digital technologies play a key role in all research stages leading to the understanding of the vocal essence of traditional music. This relates to several distinctive theoretical and methodological issues, a selection of which is discussed in the final part of the text.