The Relevancy of Ethnomusicology to
the Study of British Folk Music
Ethnomusicology has an image problem. Insofar as anyone has heard of ethnomusicologists at all, there is a fairly common feeling (and not unjustified, bearing in mind what ethnomusicologists collectively seem to do) that ethnomusicology is, exclusively, the study of non-Western musics. Actually, this isn't so. Ethnomusicologists study Western traditions also, albeit not in huge numbers in Britain – but even here, our sparseness in the study of local traditions is probably no more marked than our sparseness in the study of overseas traditions. (There are just two British ethnomusicologists who work on Chinese music, for instance, which means that we have something like 1/8 of the world's population each; I'm happy to let the other chap take on most of these.) As we shall see below, and although the international connections are important, where ethnomusicology differs from the other fields of music studies – and where it may offer ideas of potential utility to those studying British folk traditions – is not really a function of geographical scope at all.
Sometimes, the term ethnomusicology itself is perceived as pretentious. On a practical level, there seem too many syllables, an apt reminder of the word-spinning so enjoyed by us impractical academics, perhaps. Then there are those who sense in this term the essence of something unsavourily colonialist (that E-word prefix). In fact, and as far as I know, the original intention underlying the coining of this word was neither overly academic (quite the contrary, as we shall see in a moment) nor pejorative – this was not supposed to be the science of the sounds of 'ethnics'.
Instead, those who proposed and a...
... middle of paper ...
...versity of Chicago Press, 1995.
Alan P. Merriam, The Anthropology of Music. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1964.
Timothy Rice, May It Fill Your Soul: Experiencing Bulgarian Music. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994.
Gilbert Rouget, Music and Trance: A Theory of the Relations between Music and Possession, transl. Brunhilde Biebuyck. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1985
Anthony Seeger, Why Suy Sing: A Musical Anthropology of an Amazonian People. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1987.
Thomas Turino, Moving Away from Silence: Music of the Peruvian Altiplano and the Experience of Urban Migration. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1993.
3. CDs
Instruments of the World. CD with huge booklet from Chant du Monde
Voices of the World. 3-CD set with book from Chant du Monde
Veloso, Caetano, and Barbara Einzig. Tropical Truth: A Story of Music and Revolution in Brazil. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo, 2003. Print.
DeFalco, Amelia. "Jungle creatures and dancing apes: modern primitivism and Nella Larsen's Quicksand." Mosaic [Winnipeg] 38.2 (2005): 19+. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Schwartz, Boris. Music and Musical Life in Soviet Russia, 1917-1981. 2nd edition. Indiana University Press, 1983.
DeFalco, Amelia. "Jungle creatures and dancing apes: modern primitivism and Nella Larsen's Quicksand." Mosaic [Winnipeg] 38.2 (2005): 19+. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Olsen, Dale, and Daniel Sheehy. The Garland Handbook of Latin American Music. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 2000.
Oct. 29: Puerto Rican Music Between Rafael Hernandez and Rafael Cortijo. Guest Lecture by Prof. Lise Waxer, Music Dept., Trinity College
Hmong music is an interesting subject when looking at the effects it has on culture, language, and attitudes of Hmong youths today. Being a music major, it is always pleasing to study music of another culture. Hmong music is substantially different to the music that is used in Western society. It has different sounds, origins, and uses. Looking at Paul Hillmer’s A People’s History of the Hmong along with two other articles, Kinh Tien Vu’s Hmong Youth Arts Culture: Music Teaching and Learning in Community Settings and Nicholas Frederick Poss’, Hmong Music and Language Cognition: An Interdisciplinary Investigation, the relationship between the music of the Hmong and the language can be explored. One article also looks at the way younger generations
Peña, Manuel H. "Ritual Structure in a Chicano Dance." University of Texas Press: Latin American Music Review Spring- Summer 1980 1.1 (1980): 47-73. Print.
Cultural appropriation is a great injustice that is plagued throughout the history of music. As humans began to settle down into communities and civilizations, people now had time to focus on activities and studies other than those needed for basic survival. All over the world, humans began making music and art. Each group of people developed their own musical instruments, as well as their own guidelines and expectations of what music was and should be. As time went on and these civilizations began to convolve, so did their music. Some composers in Europe heard compositions from Asia and took influence from their styles and techniques, and vice versa. On the surface this seems quite harmless, and I admit that it is in this circumstance. However, it wasn’t always this just.
“How Musical is Man?” was published in 1974. This book was written by John Blacking, a musician turned social anthropologist. His goal in writing this ethnography, and several other papers during this same time period, was to compare the experience of music-making that takes place within different cultures and societies throughout the world. In this book, he discusses and describes the musicology of the Venda people in South Africa. Though he does go to Africa to research and learn about the Venda people and their music, he specifically states that his book is “not a scholarly study of human musicality” (ix), but rather it is a summary (written from his point of view), which is both expressive and entertaining, of several different issues and ideas that he has seemingly been contemplating for some time.
2011 Hijra and Sadhin Neither Man Nor Woman in India In Explorations in Cultural Anthropology. Colleen E. Boyd and Luke Eric Lassiter, eds. Pp. 259-273. Plymouth, UK: AltaMira Press.
Throughout the semester, various styles of music and the aspects of culture associated with these styles have been analyzed. Musical elements such as dynamics, texture, form, timbre, melody, instruments, etc., have been used to thoroughly explore each kind of music from different areas of the world, with an emphasis in music from Africa, India and Indonesia. These aspects of music go far beyond just music itself. Culture also plays a huge role in music and the accompanying musical elements. Each country and culture has a different style and distinctiveness that add to what makes the music of that certain culture unique. Music in Africa may differ dramatically from music in Indonesia or India not only due to those certain elements but also due to how it is interpreted by people and what it represents for those people. In addition to this, what one may consider music in one culture may not be music to another. These differences have been made apparent in the several demonstrations that we have been exposed to in class.
Ethnocentrism is a commonly used word in terms of social issues, ethnicity and ethnic relations. According to Anthropologist Ken Barger, “Ethnocentrism" is used to define an individual’s way of thinking and/or the judgements as to one group being inferior to their own. Everyone is ethnocentric as it cannot be avoided, however ethnocentrism can also be negative and defined as: making false assumptions about others ways based on their limited experience and cultural
... its proper expressions, structure and grammar. Moreover, each language is linked to a specific dialect which is associated with educational, economic, social and historical conditions. Moreover, cultural variations also exist in the rules for general discourse in oral communication. Similar to verbal communication, there are also variations in non-verbal communication between cultures. Gestures, facial expressions, sense of time and personal distance take different forms in different cultures. Furthermore, there is an infinite number of cultural diversities which are at the root of intercultural miscommunication. Variations in values , social relationships, religion, economy and politics consist of only a few of these diversities. These differences can be the source of ethnocentrism, if one becomes over patriotic in regards to one’s own culture. Ethnocentrism, is the concept which states that we tend to judge other cultures through our own. Ethnocentric behavior, can cause racism and chauvinism, as in the case of the Second World War. However, intercultural problems can be avoided if we all develop mindfulness, a sense of flexibility and seek information about the other culture.