Teaching Staff
Ralf von Appen
Ralf von Appen
Director of the Institute for Popular Music
Univ.-Prof. Mag.art. Dr.phil.
Theory and History of Popular Music
Courses
- Theory & History of Popular Music
- History of Popular Music
- Introduction to Popular Music
- Research Seminar
- Master’s Thesis Seminar
- Doctoral Seminar
- Privatissimum
Biography
After graduate studies in musicology, philosophy and psychology at Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany, Ralf von Appen worked as a teaching and research assistant in Bremen and Giessen where he received a doctorate in musicology in 2007 and deputized the professorship for music pedagogy from 2017 to 2019. In 2019 he became Professor for the Theory and History of Popular Music at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He has published widely about the history, psychology, aesthetics and analysis of popular music and presented papers at conferences all across Europe. Ralf von Appen has been chairman of the German Society for Popular Music Studies (GfPM) from 2008-2020. He is also a member of the International Association for the Study of Popular Music and has been elected co-editor of the annual book series Beitraege zur Popularmusikforschung.
Publications
- (with David S. Carter) Finding a Fingerprint. Microtiming and Tempo Variability in Five Renowned Rock Drummers. Revue Musicale OICRM 12/2 (2025), p. 80-106.
- (with David S. Carter) Tempo Variability in Billboard Hot 100 Songs, 1966-1995: Patterns, Click Tracks, and Historical Change. Intégral 38 (2025), p. 61-91.
- (with David S. Carter) Measuring the Myth: Microtiming and Tempo Variability in the Music of the Rolling Stones. Theory & Practice. The Journal of the Music Theory Society of New York State 49 (2025), p. 91-158.
- (with Hans Aerts & Julia Freund) Special Issue Analyses and Theories of Popular Music. Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Musiktheorie 22/1 (2025)
- (together with Evelyn Annuß, Sarah Chaker, Silke Felber, Andrea Glauser, Therese Kaufmann, Susanne Lettow). Populismus kritisieren. Kunst – Politik – Geschlecht. Bielefeld/Wien: transcript/mdw press.
- (together with Sarah Chaker, Michael Huber, Sean Prieske). „Parallelgesellschaften“ in populärer Musik? Abgrenzungen – Annäherungen – Perspektiven. (= Beiträge zur Popularmusikforschung Bd. 48). Bielefeld: transcript 2024.
- „All the Things You Are” – Die materielle Kultur populärer Musik. (= Beiträge zur Popularmusikforschung Bd. 47). Edited jointly with Peter Klose. Bielefeld: transcript 2023.
- One Nation Under a Groove – „Nation“ als Kategorie populärer Musik. (= Beiträge zur Popularmusikforschung Bd. 46). Edited jointly with Thorsten Hindrichs. Bielefeld: transcript 2020.
- (Des-)Orientierungen. Machtkritische Perspektiven auf populäre Musik. (= Beiträge zur Popularmusikforschung Bd. 45). Edited jointly with Mario Dunkel. Bielefeld: transcript 2019.
- Pop weiter denken. Neue Anstöße aus Jazz Studies, Philosophie, Musiktheorie und Geschichte (= Beiträge zur Popularmusikforschung Bd. 44). Edited jointly with André Doehring. Bielefeld: transcript 2018.
- Song Interpretation in 21st-Century Pop Music. Edited jointly with André Doehring, Dietrich Helms and Allan F. Moore. Farnham and Burlington: Ashgate 2015.
- Populäre Musik. Geschichte – Kontexte – Forschungsperspektiven (= Kompendien Musik Bd. 14). Edited jointly with Martin Pfleiderer, Nils Grosch. Laaber: Laaber 2014.
- „Analysing and Interpreting Song Forms.“ In: The Bloomsbury Handbock of Rock Music Research. Edited jointly with Allan F. Moore and Paul Carr. London u. New York: Bloomsbury 2020, p. 91-106.
- „Musik-Recycling. Formen der Intertextualität in populärer Musik am Beispiel von Irving Berlin und KRS-One.“ In: Zwischen Transfer und Transformation: Horizonte der Rezeption von Musik (= Wiener Veröffentlichungen zur Musikwissenschaft). Edited jointly with Michele Callela u. Benedikt Leßmann. Wien: Hollitzer, 2020, p. 193-213 (together with Steffen Peter).
- AABA, Refrain, Chorus, Bridge, Pre-Chorus – Song Forms and their Historical Development. Edited jointly with Markus Frei-Hauenschild, 2015. In: Samples 13, www.gfpm-samples.de/Samples13/appenfrei.pdf
- Pop mit Wellmer als Kunst hören. ‚Spiele um Bedeutung’ und ‚bedeutsame Gehalte’ in Coldplays ‚Clocks’. In: Von der Autonomie des Klangs zur Heteronomie der Musik. Musikwissenschaftliche Antworten auf Musikphilosophie. Edited jointly with Nikolaus Urbanek and Melanie Wald-Fuhrmann. Stuttgart 2018: J.B. Metzler, p. 49-69.
- Populäre Musik. Grundlagen der Begriffsbestimmung. In: Was ist Popmusik? Edited jointly with Timo Hoyer, Carsten Kries and Dirk Stederoth. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft 2017, p. 71-91.