About

A MUSICOLOGICAL AND ENTHNOMUSICOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND RESOURCE CENTRE

The Music Archive of Monash University (MAMU) is open to all Monash staff and students, researchers, musicians and interested members of the public. Our collection contains valuable research materials including field recordings, rare musical instruments, scores, sheet music, publications, maps, memorabilia, photographs and slides acquired since the foundation of the University’s original Department of Music in 1965.

The collection also includes puppets, masks, textiles and diverse other musical, dance and theatrical materials. Since the 1970s, items from the Archive have been used extensively for teaching, research, publications, concert performances and public exhibitions.

Take a virtual tour of the archive.

A large proportion of MAMU’s holdings were initially acquired by staff and students who carried out ethnomusicological fieldwork. Its holdings have heritage and restorative potential. For example, audio and audiovisual recordings from Aceh remain a living testament of certain music and cultural traditions that could have been irretrievably lost when whole village communities were wiped out by the 2004 tsunami.

The Archive’s collections have been developing for almost 50 years, and during this time, several notable collections have been acquired:

Louise Lightfoot (1902-1979) collection that contains South and Southeast Asian music, dance and theatre materials

Jeune Scott-Kemball (1914-1986) collection of Javanese music and wayang theatre from 1930-1950

Raja Sourindra Mohun Tagore collection of rare nineteenth century Indian instruments

Renaissance collection of shawms and crumhorns

Alice Moyle (1908-2005) collection of cylinder recordings of early twentieth century Aboriginal music

Vera Bradford (1904-2004) collection that includes correspondence, music books, photographs, programs and other mementos from her performance career

Nechama Patkin OAM (1939-2010) collection of instruments, recordings and other memorabilia showing her many involvements in the Australian music scene.

John Noble bequest of exquisitely crafted textiles from Indonesia and neighbouring Southeast Asian regions.

Jeff Pressing (1946-2002) collection of jazz and music books. He had a scientific approach to creativity and actively encouraged aspiring jazz musicians in Melbourne.

The friendly staff at MAMU can help you:

find rare sheet music or recordings of your instrument

find unpublished material to use in your essays

access musical instruments, puppets, costumes and more from other cultures

search the private collections bequeathed by musicians.