170 likes | 506 Views
Introduction to World Music. Dr. Tamara Livingston http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~tlivings/worldmusic.htm. Course Goals. Think critically about music Be able to see music as more than “just entertainment” Understand how music means; how is musical meaning created?
E N D
Introduction to World Music Dr. Tamara Livingston http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~tlivings/worldmusic.htm
Course Goals • Think critically about music • Be able to see music as more than “just entertainment” • Understand how music means; how is musical meaning created? • Develop respect for the significance of non-Western music systems in their respective cultures
Ethnomusicology • The study of music in culture (cultural context); the study of music as culture. • Sounds • Concepts • Behaviors
Defining the Issues • “Music” or “Musics” • Music systems: is Western Art Music one or many music systems? • Universality vs. Differences • Universal language vs. “personal” music • Defining Music • Politics of Music (musical meaning and discord) (exs. Wagner in Israel; Mozart in Berlin)
Music Examples • Is it “music”? • What can we say about it? • What does it mean? • How does it mean? (what other information might we need before addressing this?)
Defining Music • Soundscape – the characteristic sounds of a particular place, both human and nonhuman – R. Murray Schafer (Canadian composer) • Music is … “sound that is humanly patterned or organized” – J. Blacking (British ethnomusicologist) • Music-culture – the way of life of a people, learned and transmitted from generation to generation, as it relates to music.
Culture • “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” – E.B. Tyler (anthropologist)
Elements of a Musical Performance MUSIC PERFORMERS AUDIENCE TIME AND SPACE
A Music-Culture Model AFFECTIVE EXPERIENCE PERFORMANCE COMMUNITY MEMORY/HISTORY
Another Music-Culture Model SOUND: Melody Rhythm and Meter Texture Form CONCEPT BEHAVIOR Aesthetics Ethos Theory Meanings Repertoires Identity History How music is produced Who produces it Who participates Ritual Rules Audience/Performer interaction Movement
Thinking / Writing About Music • Why do we need music-culture models? Isn’t music analysis all that is needed? • Why do ethnomusicologists seem to be more interested in cultural aspects rather than the “music itself”?
Description and Theory • Description of musical practice includes: Face-to-face observation and participation; insider interviews; fieldwork (immersion in a music-culture) • Theoretical analysis: attempts to ground the “what” in the “why” by linking description to meaning within a cultural context;
Ethnomusicological Theories • Cultural Evolutionism and Diffusionism (Comparative) • Structural-Functional Approaches • Linguistic Approaches • Marxist Approaches • Performance Theory • Gender, Ethnicity and Identity Approaches • Postmodernism, Postcolonialism, and Globalism
Analysis Example • Gilberto Gil (Brazilian Singer/Songwriter), from “The Spirit of Samba: The Black Music of Brazil,” Jeremy Marre.