University strategies for preserving and innovating Uzbek musical arts using audio archiving technologies

Abstract

The preservation of Uzbek musical arts, particularly the Shashmaqom tradition and regional folk practices, has historically relied on oral transmission and memory. However, the twentieth century introduced analog recording technologies, and the twenty-first century has brought digital audio archiving, machine listening, and high‑resolution signal processing into the domain of cultural heritage management. Universities in Uzbekistan and beyond are uniquely positioned to lead this transformation, not merely as repositories of historical recordings but as active laboratories for technological innovation that serves both preservation and pedagogy. This article examines university‑led strategies for audio archiving of Uzbek music, focusing on three interconnected areas: the digitization and metadata standardization of Soviet‑era reel‑to‑reel collections, the application of digital signal processing (DSP) for noise reduction and microtonal analysis of maqom performances, and the development of interactive student access systems that allow time‑stretched, spectrogram‑linked playback for aural training. Drawing on case studies from the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan and collaborative projects with technical universities in Europe and East Asia, the article argues that audio archiving technologies, when implemented through thoughtful university strategies, can achieve more than passive preservation. They can generate new scholarly insights into Uzbek ornamentation practices, support the revitalization of endangered regional variants, and create scalable pedagogical tools that extend the reach of master musicians beyond the traditional usta‑shogird setting. Technical challenges including storage standards, format obsolescence, and the need for culturally informed metadata schemas are addressed alongside institutional recommendations for sustainable archiving workflows.