Organoology is a branch of sciences which investigates in all kinds of sound producing instruments in view of their sound makings, instruments making, classification, history and music cultures.
For musicologists or ethnomusicologists, this term is much familiar than someone in other fields (see BrainyMedia.com 2003).
Generally, the objects of organology is considered as "musical instruments," but there are some difficalties in taking this term as self-explanatory because the connotation of this word may change in varieties of views from different music cultures.
To put in other way, what is considered as a "musical" instrument may change in cultures, because what is considered as musical or music may also change in different cultures.
Organology was praimarily a science of classification for musical instruments, however, organology in contemporary view point will look such sound producing instruments as medium of human beings for creating rich musical cultures.
There are some other definitions as follows, in which the term "musical instruments" is used as self-explanatory and the deep and wide conotation of this term may be killed.
The science of musical instruments including their classification and development throughout history and cultures as well as the technical study of how they produce sound.(COLE 2003)
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