Critical Review 8: Miller

Questions for Kiri -
1) Does sacred-harp singing still use the same solfege system that starts with Fa? If so, why is it different than that taught in music theory today? If not, when and why was it changed?

2) How can one distinguish a sacred-harp singer from the North from a sacred-harp singer from the South? Is it the words that are used or the accent or something unique to sacred-harp singing?

Discussion Question -
Why is sacred-harp singing so inviting? Is there a way to make other musical groups as welcoming to newcomers as sacred-harp singing?

Challenge Questions

1. How will technology influence the notion of “fieldwork” in the world of ethnomusicology? Will more ethnomusicologists choose to employ the techniques of “armchair ethnomusicology” or will travelling to do one’s fieldwork be as common as it was before the Internet age?

2. Dictionary.com defines ethnomusicology as “the study of folk and primitive music and of their relationship to the peoples and cultures to which they belong.” Should this definition be revised to include modern? What would be a better way to define “ethnomusicology?”

Critical Review 7: Shelemay

In this piece, Shelemay argues that the lines between musical communities are becoming more and more difficult to define. With communication becoming easier and easier, there is not a discernible area or specific people that can be associated with a particular type of music. She sites the music of the Halabi Jews as an example. The art of the pizmonim, or of setting sacred texts to popular melodies is practiced by those from Brooklyn to Buenos Aires. Clearly, this group is represented in more than one specific area in the world. With communities branching out like the aforementioned, Shelemay argues that the idea that "western music" still exists in a class by itself is now untrue. She says, "the categories of 'Western-music' and 'non-Western music' have disintegrated, if indeed these rubrics ever had the integrity with which they were invested by scholars." Ultimately, it seems that a new title is needed to apply to that which was once "western music."

My question is how this definition can be altered. A great deal of musical scholars take pride in their knowledge of "western music" and often times, one's prowess in this world is determined by such knowledge. With a definition that encompasses more music, will the musically elite be motivated to learn this newly included music or will they simply still consider classical music to be in a league all its own?

Interview Transcription

Interview with Kevin Patton
Leader of Electroacoustic Improv Ensemble


Sam and Drew: What is your background in music? What instruments do you play? What music do you listen to? What groups are you involved in?

Kevin Patton: I have two masters degrees, one in Jazz studies, and the other in composition and I am working on my PhD here at Brown. For years I worked as a freelance guitarist, performing almost nightly and in recording studios in Houston, Texas. I have performed all over the world.

SD: What inspired you to pursue a career in music? How did you find yourself in the field of electronic music?

KP: I had always been interested in expression and art. I find that the ability to shape what most people would noise into a powerful aesthetic experience is the ultimate challenge. It reminds me that there is a simplicity and beauty in the human ability to communicate, and nothing reveals that better then using unfamiliar materials.

SD: Related to the improv ensemble, what do you hope to accomplish this semester?

KP: I hope to establish a cross instrumental approach to personal music practice, based in improvisation but applicable to all kinds of performance and music creation. There is a mental space akin to ‘being in the zone’ that I want the performers to be able to access. It is my belief that music can be made with a rock and a stick—it is the human participant that creates the sympathetic bonds to the audience. Stripping the familiar away from the students in this course, allows us to focus on that core principle. After this is established, applying this approach to any musical performance will make it more effective.

SD: What is the next step for the members of this group? Is there another level that they are striving to get to?

KP: This group has already progressed very quickly. I hope to begin to move into smaller groups and really make each student have to rely on their own inspiration.

SD: What type of audience does this type of music target?

KP: Anyone interested in an uncommon musical experience.

SD: How will this genre of music progress and become more popular?

KP: This is a difficult question. I am not sure this music could ever become popular, per se. As new instruments are developed and new musicians are able to translate their personal experience into sound, this approach to making music will continue. But this approach and the sounding result, are (in my estimation) clearly outside popular music forms. This music resists commodification; it is long, sounds strange, avoids clearly referential sounds, is not particularly danceable, and may not be pleasurable to a great many people. I think this music will remain on the periphery of the popular music, but an important practice that will find its way into many modes of music production. I believe that the listening and performance skills that are developed in this approach are the fundamental skills for a 21st century music practice.

To the last point, I see this 21th century approach to be defined by the tools that are available to musicians today. Specific technical proficiency on an instrument or the development of traditional compositional expertise is not a prerequisite to the creation of effective music. With today’s computer based tools, musicians can simply use a mouse (or other interface) and trial and error, until a satisfactory result is obtained. This is why my approach to the development of musical proficiency—based in improvisation—is about learning how to listen for and generate a compelling human performance. By limiting the materials to non-referential, abstract sound, I am attempting to achieve a reduced listening approach. It is my belief that this pedagogical approach will create a stronger, more flexible notion of musicianship that will be able to adapt to the needs of contemporary musicians.

Critical Review 6: Nettl

I found Nettl’s opinion about how the composer of a given piece affects its notoriety to be very interesting. Clearly, he believes that one’s opinion of a particular work is largely based on who wrote it. As a scholar, one is respected for the ability to recognize the artistic mind behind a certain piece simply by listening. Nettl says,

The most important feature of a piece is the identity of the composer, and recognizing the composer of what one hears or sees on the page is the surest way of proving membership in musical society.

I believe that notions such as the aforementioned are the reasons why western art music is often left out of the realms that ethnomusicologists study. No one wants to challenge the pedestal on which the great composers stand because they do not have any sort of standing to back of their criticism.

I wonder whether at any point in the future, there will be a composer whose brilliance is acknowledged during his or her lifetime. When this comes to pass, he or she will be able to open a world where these iconic composers may be flawed.

Waterman Critical Review

I believe that this article is a perfect example of the elitism that is often present in the field of ethnomusicology. Waterman’s first three sentences set the tone that the rest of the piece follows.

There are two reasons why African musical elements have influences the musical styles of the Americas. In the first place, American Negro groups have remained relatively homogeneous with regard to culture patterns and remarkably so with respect to in-group solidarity. This has almost guaranteed the retention of any values not in conflict with the prevailing Euro-American culture pattern.

Right away, Waterman makes it clear that he considers African music and culture to be less civilized than that of Europe and America. He groups all African cultures together by referring to them as “homogeneous” and that the only values that prevailed were those that didn’t overlap with those of Europe of America.

Also, I found it interesting that later on in his piece, Waterman uses harmony and rhythm to separate African music from European music. This relates directly to Hanlsick’s ideas about the hierarchy of musical concepts. He places harmony as the most civilized and cultured part of music theory while rhythm is the lowest.

I tried to find out a little bit more about Richard Waterman and wasn’t able to find much. I am curious as to whether he ever visited Africa. I think of this piece as being written from an etic perspective in that it’s hard for me to believe that someone who had experienced African culture first hand would say such critical things.

Barz Critical Review

I found Barz’s section on the importance of fieldnotes to be very interesting. He talks about the role of fieldnotes as a bridge between one’s research and the ethnography that serves as the culmination of a project. He says,

In my own experience I have found that fieldnotes are integral to both the processes of field research and ethnography – they function as an intermediary point that links the processes of ethnography back to the processes of field research. With fieldnotes acting as such a fluid and malleable intermediary point, boundaries between experience and interpretation become less distinct, allowing ethnography to become more directly linked to experience, and field research to become an integral part of interpretation. (p. 210)

I was surprised that this description reflected exactly the purpose that my fieldntoes served. While sitting in on the electroacoustic improv ensemble, I wrote down many scattered questions and isolated thoughts that came to my mind. While writing up the presentation of these notes, I discovered a path that incorporated just about all of what I had written and pointed me in a direction that I will most likely use as the focus of my ethnography.

Barz clearly believes that one’s fieldnotes are the second step in the creation of an ethnography being preceded by fieldwork and succeeded by the final ethnographic paper. Personally, I feel that fieldnotes should be included in the research category. I think that the creation of fieldnotes is vital in determining the path that one’s research will take. I am curious as to what everyone else thinks about this. Is the creation of fieldnotes really its own step or is it a part of the research?

Field Notes (part 1)

I walked into the first class on Wednesday night and knew that I was about to enter a world completely foreign to me. On one side was a kid with a 12-string guitar and a bow that he was using to play it. Next to him was someone with a digital turntable and beside him was a guy plucking the strings inside a mini-grand piano. Needless to say, I was a little intimidated.

After everyone was set up, Kevin Patton, the graduate student in charge of the electroacoustic improv ensemble, began a discussion about form. With a background in classical music, I was expecting there to be a strict outline of modulations and cadences but then again, I was in a completely different world. The first form that we discussed was called "addition." One person would start with a simple rhythmic pattern, often times using only one note and the rest would follow, one at a time, until each person was playing his own part that was based on the original phrase. The ensemble then demonstrated this form, with the bassist starting off and then controlling the volume and tempo for the entirety of the exercise.

The next form that was reviewed was imitation. When this term was brought up, I didn't feel like a fish out of water anymore. Much like a theme and variation or a sequence, this musical method revolved around one central theme. As before, one person began the exercise with a simple line. After it had been repeated several times, the rest of the ensemble joined in as a rhythm section. Without any sort of verbal communication, the person playing the theme would fade out into the rhythm section and someone else would step up and imitate the melody. This original line rotated through every band member until it was back to the creator. As if on cue, everyone faded out together.

Finally, to close out the session we did an exercise in counting rhythms. This surprised me as I hadn’t picked up on any blatant counted rhythms and I decided to participate. I thought that during both exercises, the musical lines that had been used were completely out of time and didn’t fall into any sort of meter. Nonetheless, we began to experiment with counting 5/8 meter. First stressing the first and fourth beats being that each measure was divided into a group of three and then a group of two. Then we reversed the groups so the two came first and the three last. Finally, we each were responsible for accenting a different beat. We used different syllables for each pulse and the result was interesting. Instead of sounding like an exercise in rhythm, we sounded as if we were creating a new piece of music.

By the end of the session, I felt much more in tune with what was going on. Instead of listening for harmonic chords and transposed melodies, I was learning to recognize more subdued sounds. The breathing through the saxophone, the soft scraping of the scissors on the bass strings, the bow on the guitar and the plucking of the piano strings took on a meaning other than just a mistake. Knowing full well that these methods were all practiced and performed forced me to open up to another type of music.