Njål Ølnes

Short description

Njål Ølnes is professor at the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies. He holds an PhD in performance practice from the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. From 2016-2020, Ølnes was a postdoctoral fellow at the jazz programme, NTNU, where he examined relational functions in the interplay and investigated how the concept of ‘roles’ can be vital in understanding the improvised interaction.

Ølnes is a jazz saxophonist and has used his musicianship as a basis for research, for example in the article Å forska på eiga speling.

The research uses Aural Sonology analyses as a method and combine these with research in the art of music performance.

This year, Ølnes released the duo album Bird Food together with pianist Ole Fredrik Norbye.

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In addition, Ølnes is included in a new anthology that explores the question through practices that center on musical imitation-based learning. It highlights the value of learning music "by ear" — through active listening and with the body as the primary instrument. The anthology Listening with the body - musical imitation learning in practice and theory was published in conjunction with Moldejazz this summer.

Citation: Ølnes, N. (2025). Musikalske utgravingar: Om kunstnarleg metode i ensembleundervisninga med folkemusikkstudentar ved Norges musikkhøgskole. I M. Solli, D. A. A. Engen & S. Finke (Red.), MusPed: Research: Vol. 10. Å lytte med kroppen – musikalsk imitasjonslæring i praksis og teori (pp. 101–126). Cappelen Damm Akademisk. https://cdforskning.no/cdf/catalog/book/257