Titon, Jeff Todd. 2008. “Knowing Fieldwork.” In Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology edited by Gregory F. Barz and Timothy J. Cooley, 25-41. New York: Oxford University Press.
In his article, Jeff Titon writes that fieldwork should focus on understanding a culture’s music through performance-participation rather than on explaining a culture’s music through data gathering. Titon makes the interesting observation that when asked to talk about their music, the “[subjects] often speak in terms of personal experience and understanding rather than offer systematic explanation” (36). By observing that cultures rank personal/communal experience over musical systems and by claiming that “musically is socially constructed cultural phenomenon” (30) rather than having a scientific distinction, Titon enforces his idea that music needs to be understood through the cultural relationships between the performers and through the unique experience of making music, which he elegantly describes as being a “radical form of suspension” (32) where there is “no longer any self awareness” (32).
I agree with Titon’s approach to understanding music by communally participating in or experiencing its creation; I think a lot of American pop music could not be fully “understood” simply by doing field research or analyzing harmonies; the community “vibe” of the rock musicians and listeners during the Summer of Love is just as if not more important than the structural analysis of songs those musicians wrote. So how can ethnomusicological writing and lectures change to accommodate observations? Should universities offer more music master classes where people can encounter the communal experience of making music? Should lectures about specific cultures’ music be supplemented with these classes?
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Critical Review #3
Agawu, Kofi. 2003.“The Ethics of Observation.” Representing African Music. New York: Routledge.
In the chapter “The Ethics of Observation” from his book Representing African Music, Kofi Agawu observes that there has been little discussion about ethics in the field of ethnomusicology. Instead of trying to construct his own model of what is ethical in ethnographic research, Agawu’s writing initiates this conversation about ethics by posing questions about the ethics of his own and his colleagues research, most of which he leaves unanswered.
In addressing his own fieldwork experience, for example, Agawu cites one event in which he lied to an African chief in order the protect the safety of an individual in his research team (212) and then poses the ethical question “is there virtue in deception?” (213). In addressing his colleague Kisliuk’s research, Agawu explores the ethics of protecting a culture from globalization, if that culture welcomes it (217). In addition to posing more questions about his own and Kisliuk’s very reflexive research, he also lists other ethical dilemmas, such as the ethics of studying inappropriately obtained field recordings or writing about secret ceremonies (204).
Agawu’s primary purpose for presenting these and other ethical dilemmas is to show the lack of formal discussion about ethics in ethnomusicology writing. What bothers me about Aqawu’s writing is that he never answers any of his own general questions or attempts to formulate how to answer these questions. Aqawu eventually proposes his own stance on ethics in ethnomusicology stating that ethnomusicologists should adopt an “ethical attitude” (220) while doing fieldwork. However, he then says that this attitude “cannot be defined in terms of praxis, as a set of prescriptions for social action” (220) and that “concrete prescriptions risk betraying their own thorough imbrications in the intricacies of local context” (220). If Aqawu is saying that ethical practices are closely tied to their specific contexts, then how can there be an organized, intelligent discussion about ethics in something as large and general as a whole field of humanities? How is he then justified in being critical of this lack of discussion?
The ethical dilemmas Aqawu poses and does answer deal exclusively with specific situations. If Aqawu is actually trying to be critical about the lack of ethnomusicologists’ reflexivity and discussion of ethics in the specifics of their own work, then he should clarify this.
In the chapter “The Ethics of Observation” from his book Representing African Music, Kofi Agawu observes that there has been little discussion about ethics in the field of ethnomusicology. Instead of trying to construct his own model of what is ethical in ethnographic research, Agawu’s writing initiates this conversation about ethics by posing questions about the ethics of his own and his colleagues research, most of which he leaves unanswered.
In addressing his own fieldwork experience, for example, Agawu cites one event in which he lied to an African chief in order the protect the safety of an individual in his research team (212) and then poses the ethical question “is there virtue in deception?” (213). In addressing his colleague Kisliuk’s research, Agawu explores the ethics of protecting a culture from globalization, if that culture welcomes it (217). In addition to posing more questions about his own and Kisliuk’s very reflexive research, he also lists other ethical dilemmas, such as the ethics of studying inappropriately obtained field recordings or writing about secret ceremonies (204).
Agawu’s primary purpose for presenting these and other ethical dilemmas is to show the lack of formal discussion about ethics in ethnomusicology writing. What bothers me about Aqawu’s writing is that he never answers any of his own general questions or attempts to formulate how to answer these questions. Aqawu eventually proposes his own stance on ethics in ethnomusicology stating that ethnomusicologists should adopt an “ethical attitude” (220) while doing fieldwork. However, he then says that this attitude “cannot be defined in terms of praxis, as a set of prescriptions for social action” (220) and that “concrete prescriptions risk betraying their own thorough imbrications in the intricacies of local context” (220). If Aqawu is saying that ethical practices are closely tied to their specific contexts, then how can there be an organized, intelligent discussion about ethics in something as large and general as a whole field of humanities? How is he then justified in being critical of this lack of discussion?
The ethical dilemmas Aqawu poses and does answer deal exclusively with specific situations. If Aqawu is actually trying to be critical about the lack of ethnomusicologists’ reflexivity and discussion of ethics in the specifics of their own work, then he should clarify this.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Fieldwork Project Topic
As of right now, I will be doing my fieldwork presentation on ARRR!!!, the all-pirate a cappella group from Brown University, still pending official approval by the group. Besides my interest to learn more about Northern European sea shanties, I’m also curious about the role of ARRR!!!’s music in not only creating a unique aural experience, but a unique theatrical experience as well. I would like to explore how ARRR!!!’s music contributes to their image on campus, and how that image in turn contributes to this theatrical component of their performances. I’m also interested to learn about what the pirates think of their music, their role in the performances, and their image on campus.
SEM History Post
Reading the 1950s Society of Ethnomusicology journals was at times cynically entertaining. The authors often referred to cultures with less-than-politically-correct adjectives such as “primitive” (May 1957, 15), or did such ethically sketchy things as selling field recordings for profit: “Folkways Records…announced discount of 33 1/3% on all ethnic recordings to members of the Society of Ethnomusicologists” (January 1956, 28). These observations were not unexpected given the time period. I had imagined that the articles would be condescending towards other cultures, but I was surprised that they barely discussed the cultures they were studying at all. Many of the SEM articles from the 1950s placed more emphasis on the collection of “music-data” such as recordings, transcriptions, and technical descriptions of instruments, than on the role or development of music in a culture. The SEM articles from 2007 focused more on the role of music in cultures.
The first article I came across when skimming the 1950s SEM Journals was “An Apache Fiddle” by David P. McAllester (September 1956, 1-5). In the article, the author provides lots of detail about the physical specifications, construction, and sound of this unique one-stringed fiddle (McAllester lists specific dimensions, transcribes melodies, and included a diagram) but ignores the role of the fiddle in the Apache culture. McAllester barely acknowledges interacting with Apaches and offers no explanation as to the role of this fiddle music in their culture, focusing instead on the instrument as end. This emphasis on concrete music-data rather than cultural context made the article read less like an anthropology paper, which would synthesize ideas, and more like a how-to book or an architect’s blue-prints. In the same 1956 SEM journal, McAllester gives a positive review of another colleague’s musicological work in central and South America , sighting Samuel Marti’s contributions of “thirty-six transcriptions” and “photographs of ancient and modern instruments” (28). This review again places emphasis on music-data; the author commends Marti on his documentation of the sound and the tools that manifest sound. The ethnomusicologist has completely detached the culture from the concrete aspects of his project.
Mantle Hood, in an article about research methods (January 1957, 2-8), sums-up this 1950s emphasis on music-data, stating that “the ethnomusicologist is a research scholar, and he aims primarily at knowledge about music” (2). This 1950s definition for the role of an ethnomusicologist surprised me and reads more like the definition for the role of a music theorist. Based on all the readings we’ve done so far for Music 1900, it seems that a modern ethnomusicologist might revise Hood’s definition to read “the ethnomusicologist is a research scholar, and he/she aims primarily at understanding the relationship of cultures to music and music to cultures.” Whereas Hood’s definition of “ethnomusicologist” puts emphasis on the tangible qualities of music, this alternate definition values the interplay between culture and music.
The SEM articles I read from 2007 support the newer definition I proposed. In her article “Stepping Across the Divide: Hasidic Music in Today’s Yiddish Canon” (Spring/Summer 2007, 205-237) Abigail Wood spends three pages introducing the Hasidic culture, reflexively prefacing with a description of her experience in Hasidic Brooklyn, before even mentioning music. When she does mention music, Wood first describes the role two closely associated musics, paraliturgical song in Hasidic culture, and klezmer music in secular Jewish culture, before even mentioning her own fieldwork. Her own work does not expound upon the descriptions of both groups’ music. Instead, it focuses on the relationship between these groups. Similarly, Timothy Rommen’s article “’Localize It’: Rock, Cosmopolitanism, and the Nation in Trinidad” (Fall 2007, 371-401) does not focus on describing rock music from Trinidad, but mainly details the role of rock music in Trinidadian culture.
The shift in focus from the earlier to later SEM journals’ articles suggests a gradual shift in the field of ethnomusicology in the last half-century. The focus turns away from a scientific approach, focused on collecting, preserving, and theoretically analyzing music-data, towards a literary or social-science approach, focused on explaining musical-cultural phenomenon.
The first article I came across when skimming the 1950s SEM Journals was “An Apache Fiddle” by David P. McAllester (September 1956, 1-5). In the article, the author provides lots of detail about the physical specifications, construction, and sound of this unique one-stringed fiddle (McAllester lists specific dimensions, transcribes melodies, and included a diagram) but ignores the role of the fiddle in the Apache culture. McAllester barely acknowledges interacting with Apaches and offers no explanation as to the role of this fiddle music in their culture, focusing instead on the instrument as end. This emphasis on concrete music-data rather than cultural context made the article read less like an anthropology paper, which would synthesize ideas, and more like a how-to book or an architect’s blue-prints. In the same 1956 SEM journal, McAllester gives a positive review of another colleague’s musicological work in central and South America , sighting Samuel Marti’s contributions of “thirty-six transcriptions” and “photographs of ancient and modern instruments” (28). This review again places emphasis on music-data; the author commends Marti on his documentation of the sound and the tools that manifest sound. The ethnomusicologist has completely detached the culture from the concrete aspects of his project.
Mantle Hood, in an article about research methods (January 1957, 2-8), sums-up this 1950s emphasis on music-data, stating that “the ethnomusicologist is a research scholar, and he aims primarily at knowledge about music” (2). This 1950s definition for the role of an ethnomusicologist surprised me and reads more like the definition for the role of a music theorist. Based on all the readings we’ve done so far for Music 1900, it seems that a modern ethnomusicologist might revise Hood’s definition to read “the ethnomusicologist is a research scholar, and he/she aims primarily at understanding the relationship of cultures to music and music to cultures.” Whereas Hood’s definition of “ethnomusicologist” puts emphasis on the tangible qualities of music, this alternate definition values the interplay between culture and music.
The SEM articles I read from 2007 support the newer definition I proposed. In her article “Stepping Across the Divide: Hasidic Music in Today’s Yiddish Canon” (Spring/Summer 2007, 205-237) Abigail Wood spends three pages introducing the Hasidic culture, reflexively prefacing with a description of her experience in Hasidic Brooklyn, before even mentioning music. When she does mention music, Wood first describes the role two closely associated musics, paraliturgical song in Hasidic culture, and klezmer music in secular Jewish culture, before even mentioning her own fieldwork. Her own work does not expound upon the descriptions of both groups’ music. Instead, it focuses on the relationship between these groups. Similarly, Timothy Rommen’s article “’Localize It’: Rock, Cosmopolitanism, and the Nation in Trinidad” (Fall 2007, 371-401) does not focus on describing rock music from Trinidad, but mainly details the role of rock music in Trinidadian culture.
The shift in focus from the earlier to later SEM journals’ articles suggests a gradual shift in the field of ethnomusicology in the last half-century. The focus turns away from a scientific approach, focused on collecting, preserving, and theoretically analyzing music-data, towards a literary or social-science approach, focused on explaining musical-cultural phenomenon.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Critical Review #2
Shelemay, Kay Kaufman. 1997. “The Ethnomusicologist, Ethnographic Method, and the Transmission of Tradition.” Shadows in the Field: New Perspectives for Fieldwork in Ethnomusicology, Barz and Cooley (2008): 41-56.
The main point I feel Shelemay makes in this article is that ethnomusicologists doing fieldwork have a noticeable impact on cultures’ music. She sights three different case studies, her experience with Syrian Jews and others’ studies of Japanese-Hawaiian Drummers (1549-150) and the Falasha of Ethiopia (150), where cultures saw the fieldworker as someone who would keep their traditions alive. In some cases, the ethnomusicologist not only documented their music culture, but their presence and research contributed to the spreading of interest in that music. I previously knew that ethnomusicologists mediated between the “community and outsiders” (151), helping to promote understanding and writing for an audience that may not be familiar with the culture. What I did not know, and what Shelemay points out, is that an ethnomusicologist can give insight on a culture’s music to the people who actually produce it (151).
I see Shelemay’s thesis as positive one, even though she stays neutral about the effect of ethnomusicologists on cultures’ music. So my question is what is the benefit of ethnomusicologists not having a relationship with a music culture? I agree with what Shelemay is saying, but I don’t see any overarching ethical problems with them. Don’t these relationships enrich an ethnomusicologist’s research?
The main point I feel Shelemay makes in this article is that ethnomusicologists doing fieldwork have a noticeable impact on cultures’ music. She sights three different case studies, her experience with Syrian Jews and others’ studies of Japanese-Hawaiian Drummers (1549-150) and the Falasha of Ethiopia (150), where cultures saw the fieldworker as someone who would keep their traditions alive. In some cases, the ethnomusicologist not only documented their music culture, but their presence and research contributed to the spreading of interest in that music. I previously knew that ethnomusicologists mediated between the “community and outsiders” (151), helping to promote understanding and writing for an audience that may not be familiar with the culture. What I did not know, and what Shelemay points out, is that an ethnomusicologist can give insight on a culture’s music to the people who actually produce it (151).
I see Shelemay’s thesis as positive one, even though she stays neutral about the effect of ethnomusicologists on cultures’ music. So my question is what is the benefit of ethnomusicologists not having a relationship with a music culture? I agree with what Shelemay is saying, but I don’t see any overarching ethical problems with them. Don’t these relationships enrich an ethnomusicologist’s research?
Monday, September 15, 2008
Critical Review #1
Handler, Richard and Jocelyn Linnekin. “Tradition, Genuine or Spurious.” Journal of American Folklore 97.385 (1984): 273-290.
The main point I feel Hander and Linnekin make is that the classical definition of the word “tradition” as a culture’s traits and customs that are passed down and definable, is incorrect. Instead, they show through case studies that “traditions” can be better understood as symbolic reinterpretations of the past. I have always thought of traditions as tangible or at least list-able, so this well-argued perspective made me reevaluate how I think about traditions.
The authors makes a convincing argument by sighting examples in which traditions perceived as being passed-down were actually rediscovered by professionals and presented in modern contexts that have little to do with their original context. Not only are these traditions not passed-down, in their new context and by being understood as “traditional,” they are also infused with new meaning [280]. For example, where a child’s toy from the past was just a child’s toy, now it is a symbol of craftsmanship. The authors also argue that even activities that are passed down always derive their meaning from a “modern context” [283]. For example, comparisons to modern cities may infuse a passed-down country living and farming lifestyle with purity or other characteristics that did not exist in the past.
In saying that tradition is constantly being reinterpreted, Hander and Linnekin imply that there is can never be a static representation of tradition. How does this challenge the idea of tradition in music, especially music deemed as “traditional” such folk or Irish fiddling?
The main point I feel Hander and Linnekin make is that the classical definition of the word “tradition” as a culture’s traits and customs that are passed down and definable, is incorrect. Instead, they show through case studies that “traditions” can be better understood as symbolic reinterpretations of the past. I have always thought of traditions as tangible or at least list-able, so this well-argued perspective made me reevaluate how I think about traditions.
The authors makes a convincing argument by sighting examples in which traditions perceived as being passed-down were actually rediscovered by professionals and presented in modern contexts that have little to do with their original context. Not only are these traditions not passed-down, in their new context and by being understood as “traditional,” they are also infused with new meaning [280]. For example, where a child’s toy from the past was just a child’s toy, now it is a symbol of craftsmanship. The authors also argue that even activities that are passed down always derive their meaning from a “modern context” [283]. For example, comparisons to modern cities may infuse a passed-down country living and farming lifestyle with purity or other characteristics that did not exist in the past.
In saying that tradition is constantly being reinterpreted, Hander and Linnekin imply that there is can never be a static representation of tradition. How does this challenge the idea of tradition in music, especially music deemed as “traditional” such folk or Irish fiddling?
24-Hour Music Log: 10 AM, Saturday 13th September- 10 AM, Sunday 14th September
To put some of the locations in context, here is a quick summary of my log-day. My dad drove me up from Brown to my dentist appointment in Massachusetts. My family then went out for lunch with my brother for his birthday and came home for his birthday party. My dad drove me back to Brown the following morning. Interestingly, I did not pick any of the music.
Log: 10 AM, Saturday 13th September- 10 AM, Sunday 14th September
Car
10:23 AM. CD Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. Listened to entire album.
11:16 AM. Banjo finger picking solo piece about road kill stew. Interlude during Car Talk radio show.
11:18 AM. Radio Commercial. Simple drum beat with rock rhythm guitar.
11:19 AM. Radio Commercial. Intro theme to “All Things Considered” Straight ahead jazz piece with piano, bass, and horn section.
11:20 AM. "Dawggy Mountain Breakdown" by David Grisman. Blue grass finger picking banjo with violin accompaniment. The Car Talk theme song.
Dentist’s Office
11:25 AM. Commercial music. There is a TV in waiting room.
Erie synthesized keyboard music behind Goosebumps commercial.
Cheesy Rock featuring saxophones, guitar, and drums behind action toy commercial.
Epic neo-classical choral music behind a Yu Gi Oh! commercial.
Big Band swing music behind a cartoon commercial.
11:28 AM. TV show music for cartoon “Chaotic.” Synthesized classical mood music.
11:40 AM. Commercial music again.
“Blueberry Pop Tart Blues.” Slow vocal-and-guitar blues piece sung by a pop tart.
Dentist’s Chair
11:40 AM-12:07 PM. Soft rock and soft pop playing continuously over the XM radio in room my teeth are cleaned in. “Bay I Love Your Way” by Big Mountain and “MMMBop” by Hanson.
Dentist’s Office
12:15 PM. String quartet music drifting in from another room in office, synthesized smooth saxophone jazz from infomercial on TV
Car
12:15 PM. CD Sound of a Trio, by Oscar Peterson. “Green Dolphin Street”
Diner
2:00 PM. Spanish big band music with horn section and male vocals coming from restaurant across the street.
Car
2:23 PM. Somalian Bantu music segment on NPR
2:28 PM. Changed radio station. Straight-ahead Jazz. Oscar Peterson’s “Girl Talk.”
Party
5:50 PM. Radio on while guests arrive. Another public radio jazz show.
Perez Predo, “Hi Ho Hi Ho.” Electric organ jazz/funk version of a Snow White song
Fats Waller, “Get Some Cash for Your Trash”
Charles Brown, “Bad Mistake”
6:25 PM. Uncle plays Russian folk songs on acoustic guitar
7:40-8:00 PM. My dad (upright bass), uncle (ukelele), brother (piano) start playing music
A-minor blues
Cannonball Adderly, “Mercy Mercy Mercy”
John Coltrane, “Equinox”
9:35 PM. My brother plays “old school” Rhythm and Blues, Latin big band riffs on the piano
Watching TV
11:50 PM. Corny fast saxophone jazz accompanying an SNL skit followed by rap from the musical guest, Little Wayne
Car
9:45 AM. CD Flowers by the Rolling Stones.
“My Girl” cover
“Backstreet Girl”
“Please Go Home”
“Mother’s Little Helper”
Log: 10 AM, Saturday 13th September- 10 AM, Sunday 14th September
Car
10:23 AM. CD Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. Listened to entire album.
11:16 AM. Banjo finger picking solo piece about road kill stew. Interlude during Car Talk radio show.
11:18 AM. Radio Commercial. Simple drum beat with rock rhythm guitar.
11:19 AM. Radio Commercial. Intro theme to “All Things Considered” Straight ahead jazz piece with piano, bass, and horn section.
11:20 AM. "Dawggy Mountain Breakdown" by David Grisman. Blue grass finger picking banjo with violin accompaniment. The Car Talk theme song.
Dentist’s Office
11:25 AM. Commercial music. There is a TV in waiting room.
Erie synthesized keyboard music behind Goosebumps commercial.
Cheesy Rock featuring saxophones, guitar, and drums behind action toy commercial.
Epic neo-classical choral music behind a Yu Gi Oh! commercial.
Big Band swing music behind a cartoon commercial.
11:28 AM. TV show music for cartoon “Chaotic.” Synthesized classical mood music.
11:40 AM. Commercial music again.
“Blueberry Pop Tart Blues.” Slow vocal-and-guitar blues piece sung by a pop tart.
Dentist’s Chair
11:40 AM-12:07 PM. Soft rock and soft pop playing continuously over the XM radio in room my teeth are cleaned in. “Bay I Love Your Way” by Big Mountain and “MMMBop” by Hanson.
Dentist’s Office
12:15 PM. String quartet music drifting in from another room in office, synthesized smooth saxophone jazz from infomercial on TV
Car
12:15 PM. CD Sound of a Trio, by Oscar Peterson. “Green Dolphin Street”
Diner
2:00 PM. Spanish big band music with horn section and male vocals coming from restaurant across the street.
Car
2:23 PM. Somalian Bantu music segment on NPR
2:28 PM. Changed radio station. Straight-ahead Jazz. Oscar Peterson’s “Girl Talk.”
Party
5:50 PM. Radio on while guests arrive. Another public radio jazz show.
Perez Predo, “Hi Ho Hi Ho.” Electric organ jazz/funk version of a Snow White song
Fats Waller, “Get Some Cash for Your Trash”
Charles Brown, “Bad Mistake”
6:25 PM. Uncle plays Russian folk songs on acoustic guitar
7:40-8:00 PM. My dad (upright bass), uncle (ukelele), brother (piano) start playing music
A-minor blues
Cannonball Adderly, “Mercy Mercy Mercy”
John Coltrane, “Equinox”
9:35 PM. My brother plays “old school” Rhythm and Blues, Latin big band riffs on the piano
Watching TV
11:50 PM. Corny fast saxophone jazz accompanying an SNL skit followed by rap from the musical guest, Little Wayne
Car
9:45 AM. CD Flowers by the Rolling Stones.
“My Girl” cover
“Backstreet Girl”
“Please Go Home”
“Mother’s Little Helper”
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