Music history, also known as historical musicology, is a specialized field dedicated to studying music from a historical perspective, primarily focusing on the notated "art music" of Western cultures, distinct from ethnomusicology's broader scope. Researchers employ diverse methods like source studies, paleography, and musical analysis to produce scholarly articles, composer biographies, new musical editions, and explore music's societal role. While some initial instruction may occur earlier, formal music history education is predominantly offered at colleges and universities, with courses ranging from broad "music appreciation" for general readers to in-depth studies for music majors spanning the Middle Ages to the present era. The discipline's research combines establishing factual data, often through extensive archival work (increasingly available digitally), with interpreting that information to deepen our understanding of musical evolution and its cultural context.