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Last updated 12th June 2025
Biography
Professor Dr. Dr. phil. habil. Jan Herbst is a popular music scholar, musicologist, music producer, and guitar player who joined the University of Huddersfield in August 2017 as a Lecturer and is now Professor of Music. He is Principal Investigator of the AHRC-funded projects’ Heaviness in Metal Music Production’ (HiMMP) (www.himmp.net) and ‘Songwriting Camps in the 21st Century’ (SC21) (www.songwritingcamps.net), as well as of several externally funded post-doctoral fellowships.
Besides his interests in the practical aspects of music production and technology, he is deeply engaged in research. He has published more than 80 books, articles, chapters, and encyclopaedia articles and regularly presents research papers in various countries. His published work focuses on the areas of popular music studies (in particular rock/metal music studies), music business and industries studies, the art of record production, and music technology.
Jan is a member of several international editorial boards for journals (IASPM Journal, Metal Music Studies, Samples) and book series (Beiträge zur Popularmusikforschung, texte zur populären musik by the German Society for Popular Music) and is editor of the Companion series of Cambridge University Press. Jan is a regular peer-reviewer of leading music journals, including Psychology of Music, Metal Music Studies, Rock Music Studies, IASPM Journal, and Journal of the Acoustical Society of America and reviewer of Routledge’s 'Perspectives on Music Production' book series. He also serves as Treasurer on the IASPM UK & I executive committee.
Jan has taught popular music studies, music production, music analysis, empirical musicology, music history, and music theory as Guest Lecturer, Lecturer, and Interim Professor at the Universities of Paderborn, Bielefeld, Detmold, Muenster, and Lueneburg (all in Germany) and Berne (Switzerland). As a professional guitarist, he was also a Lecturer in Guitar Performance (2006-2012) at a music institute and Head of Music at a vocational college (2012-2015).
Research Expertise and Interests
Jan works in various areas of popular music studies, music analysis, systematic musicology, and the art of record production. Previous and current research includes:
Books
(2025): Heaviness in Metal Music Production: Learn From the Masters (with Mark Mynett; Routledge, forthcoming)
(2025): Heaviness in Metal Music Production: How and Why It Works (with Mark Mynett; Routledge, forthcoming)
(2025): Popular Music Songwriting as Cultural, Creative, and Economic Practice (with Michael Ahlers and Knut Holtstraeter; Waxmann, forthcoming)
(2024): The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar (with Steve Waksman). Link to publisher/book information
(2023): The Cambridge Companion to Metal Music. Link to publisher/book information
(2023): Rock Guitar Virtuosos: Advances in Electric Guitar Playing, Technology and Culture (with Alexander Vallejo; forthcoming). Link to publisher/book information
(2022): Rammstein's 'Deutschland'. Pop, Politics, Provocation [translation]. Link to publisher/book information
(2021): Gear Acquisition Syndrome. Consumption of Instruments and Technology in Popular Music. Link to publisher/book information
(2016): The Guitar Distortion in Rock Music. A Study on Playability and Aesthetics [translation]. Link to publisher/book information
(2014): Network Sound. An Educational Challenge of Popular Music [translation]. Link to publisher/book information
Other projects
• The role(s) of the music producer
• The work realities of professional session musicians
• Heaviness in metal music production
• Music on the blockchain (Web 3)
• Music business and industries studies
• Teutonic metal and cultural sonic signifiers in music production
• Guitar virtuosity and ‘shredding’
• Rock and metal guitar riffs
• Production of the rock and metal guitar sound
• Musicians’ usage of and opinions on musical equipment
• Gear acquisition syndrome
• Guitar amplification technologies
• History of popular music
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
PhD, The Electric Guitar in Rock Music: Guitar Playing, Technology, and Culture (Higher Doctorate: PD and Dr. habil.), Leuphana University Luneburg
Award Date: 29 Jan 2025
PhD, Metal Music in the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1980s and 1990s: Record Production, Industry, and Heritage
Award Date: 1 Dec 2023
Master, Distortion as a “Revolution” in Rock Music’s Guitar Playing: An Experimental and Analytical Study on the Effect of Distortion on Playing Technique, Phrasing and Composition, University of Paderborn
Award Date: 16 Jan 2016
PhD, Network Sound: An Educational Challenge of Popular Music, University of Paderborn
Award Date: 2 May 2014
Master, The Computer as a Tool for Activity-Oriented Music Education, University of Paderborn
Award Date: 4 May 2011
Research Expertise and Interests
- Popular Music Studies
- Metal Music Studies
- Art of Record Production
- Music Production
- Music Technology
- Music Analysis
- Musicology
- Empirical Research
- Guitar
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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EMV: Extreme Metal Vocals: Musical Expression, Technique, and Cultural Meaning
1/09/22 → 31/08/25
Project: Research
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SC21: Songwriting Camps in the 21st Century
Herbst, J., Ahlers, M., Barber, S. & Williams, K.
1/02/23 → 31/01/26
Project: Research
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Collaboration in an Online Environment: Creativity in Popular Music Songwriting and Production During Covid-19 Lockdowns
Pietrzak, J. N. & Herbst, J., 5 May 2025, Song and Popular Culture: Popular Music Songwriting as Cultural, Creative, and Economic Practice. Ahlers, M., Herbst, J-P. & Holtsträter, K. (eds.). Münster: Waxmann Verlag GMBH, Vol. 69. p. 111-136 26 p. (Yearbook 'Lied und Populäre Kultur / Song and Popular Culture' of the Centre for Popular Culture and Music; vol. 69).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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Contemporary Approaches to Metal Music Mixing and Production: Heavy Metal, Death Metal, and Metalcore
Herbst, J. & Mynett, M., 13 Jun 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) The Routledge Handbook to Metal Music Composition: Evolution of Structure, Expression, and Production. Burns, L. & Scotto, C. (eds.). 1st ed. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 13 p. (Routledge Music Handbooks).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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Heaviness in Metal Music Production: How and Why It Works
Herbst, J. & Mynett, M., 31 Mar 2025, (Accepted/In press) Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
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Heaviness in Metal Music Production: Learn from the Masters
Herbst, J. & Mynett, M., 31 Mar 2025, (Accepted/In press) Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
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Preface: Song and Popular Culture: Popular Music Songwriting as Cultural, Creative, and Economic Practice
Ahlers, M., Herbst, J. & Holtsträter, K., 5 May 2025, Song and Popular Culture: Popular Music Songwriting as Cultural, Creative, and Economic Practice. Ahlers, M., Herbst, J-P. & Holtsträter, K. (eds.). M ed. Münster: Waxmann Verlag GMBH, Vol. 69. p. 9-12 4 p. (Yearbook 'Lied und Populäre Kultur / Song and Popular Culture' of the Centre for Popular Culture and Music).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
Datasets
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Heaviness in Metal Music Production
Herbst, J. (Creator) & Mynett, M. (Creator), University of Huddersfield, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34696/9s05-wv03, https://huddersfield.box.com/s/8gren2ma4kesvf5vwip2axzz1v8sawur and 6 more links, https://huddersfield.box.com/s/e6a7brjnrhaob75iakhp1inci4t3nsk5, https://huddersfield.box.com/s/hfqzp26ql5h99dsgossbomiumlfkneqm, https://huddersfield.box.com/s/kpkq2tld897wpce5imwldfnj9du5rg7b, https://huddersfield.box.com/s/22n7zgile9mhbs6grmn8y59me5v9jn44, https://huddersfield.box.com/s/nrhqu7pa8vkflnmwbkyw8e4zyz8hzn4j, https://huddersfield.box.com/s/g47kk5riyd1a26jzngz1e0vc8c0g8ygo (show fewer)
Dataset
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Summary of Gear Acquisition Syndrome book
Herbst, J. (Creator) & Menze, J. (Contributor), University of Huddersfield Press, 29 Jul 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34696/61g5-zd65, https://huddersfield.box.com/s/4j6cozj0v8rlau8drq5d5fzcrxw11f5t
Dataset
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Standardisation in Mixing Metal Music
Herbst, J. (Creator) & Mynett, M. (Creator), University of Huddersfield, 2022
DOI: 10.34696/tk4n-cv52, https://huddersfield.app.box.com/s/nrhqu7pa8vkflnmwbkyw8e4zyz8hzn4j
Dataset
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Contemporary Approaches to Metal Music Mixing and Production
Herbst, J. (Creator) & Mynett, M. (Creator), University of Huddersfield, 2022
DOI: 10.34696/ynmh-vq27, https://huddersfield.box.com/s/kpkq2tld897wpce5imwldfnj9du5rg7b
Dataset
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Variance and Commonality in Metal Music Mixing Practice
Herbst, J. (Creator) & Mynett, M. (Creator), University of Huddersfield, 2022
DOI: 10.34696/av1p-7631, https://huddersfield.box.com/s/e6a7brjnrhaob75iakhp1inci4t3nsk5
Dataset
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Deconstructing Metal Music Production’s ‘Heaviness’ Aesthetic
Jan Herbst (Speaker) & Mark Mynett (Speaker)
3 Jun 2025 → 6 Jun 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Invited talk
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The Platformization of Songwriting: An Exploration of the Interplay between Technological Constraints, Creative Agency, and Cultural Production
Carsten Wernicke (Speaker) & Jan Herbst (Speaker)
2 May 2025 → 3 May 2025Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation
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German Society for Popular Music (External organisation)
Jan Herbst (Member)
2025 → …Activity: Membership types › Membership of a Society or Institute
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Journal of Music Production Research (Journal)
Jan Herbst (Reviewer)
3 Oct 2024 → …Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Publication Peer-review
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Bloomsbury Academic (Publisher)
Jan Herbst (Reviewer)
Oct 2024Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work types › Publication Peer-review
Press/Media
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Rethinking the Electric Guitar with two of it's Leading Historians: Jan Herbst, Steve Waksman
16/05/25
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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Harte Schale, weicher Kern: Die eigenwillige Welt des Heavy Metal [Hard Shell, Soft Core: The Idiosyncratic World of Heavy Metal
31/07/24
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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“You better be ready to prove it’s something you can do”: Giacomo Turra got exposed – but real guitar virtuosos are being wrongly accused of fakery, too
22/04/24
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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We met the academics who study shred guitar for a living
Jan Herbst & Alexander Vallejo
16/02/24
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment
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A new study by UK academics says the modern-day guitar virtuoso is torn between perfection and authenticity – and must be a cultural entrepreneur
Jan Herbst & Alexander Vallejo
13/12/23
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Other