Critical Review #4: "Shadows in the Field" chapter 2, Jeff Titon

In this second chapter of "Shadows in the Field," Titon discusses fieldwork and its ability to answer the epistemological questions inherent in the field of ethnomusicology: "What can we know about music, and how can we know it?" (Barz and Cooley 25). Titon seems to be a strong proponent of fieldwork as a method of answering this question, but is also knowledgable enough to discuss the transition from structured fieldwork (a series of interviews) to the participatory ethnomusicology practiced today. He also discusses the role of music as a type of language, as well as a "socially constructed cultural phenomenon." While his paragraph on page 35 about hypertext and multimedia was interesting, I question the fact that he included it in the 2006 version of this chapter, especially as my further research in the area turned up very little being done in the music world. I was, however, interested in his ideas on the future of fieldwork and representing music as a communal experience.

Discussion question: Is the "friendship model" of fieldwork viable even when we discuss, as we did earlier, the idea of virtual fieldwork? Is it possible to build these relationships with a community without face-to-face interaction?

"Society for Ethnomusicology" journal

Browsing through some of the back issues of the "Society for Ethnomusicology" journal (in Orwig library, where I could see the original copies, as well as on the web via JSTOR) was a much more interesting experience than I initially expected it to be. It seems that the journal originated as a hand-typed newsletter that was distributed to known scholars. Interested members were able to send in their addresses to be added to the mailing list - just thinking about the effort involved to get out a simple newsletter makes me tired, especially in comparison to sending out a quick email to a listerv today.

Volume 1, No. 2 seems to be where the action begins after the initial mailing; scholars start writing in to share their work. I was baffled to see some of the letters printed in French, German, and other languages! Another piece of technology to be glad for: Google Translate. I was also amused to see many of the same topics we debate in class being discussed in the newsletter: F.A. Kuttner writes, following a description of his work in "Far Eastern archeo-musicology," "I have come to believe that the whole system of comparative methods is obsolete and inadequate, and that something else and much better will have to replace it if we are going to expect any significant progress in the future."

We can also note in these "notes and news" sections throughout the 1950s that the majority of work reported involves researchers making recordings of music; there is very little mention of talking to the musicians or audiences at all. However, these researchers clearly were interested in talking to each other, as evidenced by the account of their first meeting, held in 1956. Besides elections of officers, it seems that the most important resolution made at this half-hour long meeting (it's clearly stated that it began at 2:15 and ended at 2:45 pm) was to remove the hyphen to create the current term "ethnomusicology" as one word, as opposed to the previous term "ethno-musicology."

Despite Kuttner's early enthusiasm for moving away from comparative musicology, it seems that in 1957 many researchers were still spending the majority of their time on recording and transcribing melodies. Mantle Hood's article in Vol. 1, No. 11 does begin with a discussion of the definition of "ethnomusicology," but ends disappointingly in my opinion. The entire last page (pg. 7) involves a description of all the materials necessary for a researcher's transcription, but little about what the transcription can help with.

Overall, it was quite interesting to delve through these momentos from an earlier time in this study. For me, it was perhaps most interesting to imagine how at the forefront these men and women must have felt, beginning a new journal to go with a growing field of study.

Ethnography project: Arrr

For my ethnography project, I have decided to examine the pirate "arrrcapella" group Arrr. I've loved going to their shows since freshman year when I discovered them, and now that I have a few friends in the group (and alumni as well), I'd love to learn more about their history.

I plan to attend their Friday afternoon rehearsals, as well as any arrrch sings and other performances that come up during the semester, and hope to meet their new members and see their progression into part of the group. I will conduct interviews with at least one alum, current member, and new member, and compare their experiences as part of Arrr at Brown and beyond the Brown community.

Some questions I would like to answer:

• How did Arrr originate? Who founded it and what were the early years like?
• How has the culture and makeup of the group changed over time?
• What is the typical makeup of the group?
• What percentage of participants have formal musical training?
• Do Arrr members also perform in other groups at Brown?
• How is the group perceived by members of other a cappella groups?
• How does the selection of officers occur?
• Where do Arrr nicknames originate and who selects them?
• How is music selected and arranged? Who does this?
• Do many Arrr members stay involved with the group post-graduation?

Critical Review #3: Shelemay Ch 9

On Chapter 9, "The Ethnomusicologist, Ethnographic Method, and the Transmission of Tradition"

In her chapter in "Shadows in the Field," Shelemay starts out by discussing the intrinsic differences between a "historical musicologist" and an anthropologist or ethnomusicologist. In her words, while a historical musicologist is "implicated in the continuation" of the musical tradition he/she studies, an anthropologist (or ethnomusicologist, though she does not use the term here) has a participatory position in this tradition or culture. It becomes clear that Shelemay considers herself much the latter, as she discusses her work with the Syrian Jewish community in New York and the creation of an archive of 200 pizmonim. It becomes clear that she played a huge role not only in the preservation of these hymns, but also in the transmission of them to a new generation.

Shelemay clearly shows that it is easy, in some circumstances, for a researcher to become intimately tied with the community he/she researches. She clearly states the benefits of this exalted position, but what may be some of the negatives? And what should an ethnomusicologist do if he/she is not accepted by the community he/she studies?

Soundscape: Monday 9/17/12

About 8:00 am: someone's radio alarm is going off on the floor above me and it wakes me up. I'm too sleepy to even try to make a guess of the song. All I know is it's loud.

9:00 am: my alarm goes off. "Middle Distance Runner" by Sea Wolf, a band I heard live in San Francisco about 3 years ago. Source is my iPhone on the bedside table next to me.

9:08 am: I'm in the shower, and someone else in the bathroom is whistling tunelessly.

9:42 am: Lefty (a worker in the Blue Room) is playing some kind of reggae off his iPod with a small set of speakers as I get my morning tea.

10:23 am, in class: someone's "marimba" iPhone ringtone goes off.

11:57 am, Wriston Quad: someone in Phi Psi is playing "Soul Sister" by Train out of their window.

12:03 pm, the Ratty: I'm swiping into work, which requires walking through the Ratty kitchen. The workers have a radio going - I don't recognize the song, but it sounds Top 40.

3:31 pm, the Ratty: as I swipe out, the radio is playing "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen.  It's stuck in my head for the next hour.

4:23 pm: I'm watching an episode of "How I Met Your Mother." No background music to the episodes, but according to Wikipedia the theme song is part of "Hey Beautiful" by The Solids, a band that two of the show creators/writers are a part of. Hey, learn something new every day.

5:10 pm, my room: while doing some reading, I listen to Holst's "The Planets" in preparation for playing it in orchestra this semester. Method: Spotify on my iPhone connected to a pretty good set of speakers.

8:34 pm: I'm finally watching "The Hunger Games," which has a pretty good soundtrack, in my opinion. I love the contributions that Arcade Fire made to the film,  including writing the Panem national anthem.

Critical Review #2: Handler/Linnekin on Tradition

The main argument of Handler and Linnekin's article on the idea of "tradition" is that tradition is a "model of the past" that also takes in pieces of the present as it is continued. In the article, we see this assertion backed up by two main pieces of evidence; Quebecois and Hawaiian culture. In Quebec, Handler and Linnekin assert, tradition developed not out of habit but out of a need for nationalism; here, we see even what may be described as an "invented culture." In Hawaii, traditional ways were lost for a time, and resurfaced with different aspects added to them; though these practices are not in fact entirely authentic, they are still seen as "traditional." Handler and Linnekin see tradition as a process, not a single object, and push the reader to challenge vague terms such as this.

Discussion question: How do we decide what can be called "traditional?" What is the process by which ideas transverse the path from habit to tradition?

Critical Review #1: Myers "Ethnomusicology: an Introduction"

In this selection from Ethnomusicology: an Introduction, Myers offers both a history of and a commentary on the practice of ethnomusicology, beginning with Rousseau in the 1760s and continuing through to the modern day. It seems that though ethnomusicology was conceived of much earlier, it did not truly come into practice until Edison devised the means by which people were able to listen to the music of other people, the gramophone. Myers next takes us on a whirlwind tour of this area of study in the 1900s, discussing the origin of the term "ethnomusicology" in the 1950s (rather than "comparative musicology," the previous term) and the various definitions of ethnomusicology that came up in the 1960s-70s. Finally, she looks at recent work, which has been much more in the field than before, and the recent "mixing and matching" of formerly disparate forms of music.

Question: How does the "internet age" change the way that we as modern-day ethnomusicologists can look at music?