WORLD MUSIC: A GLOBAL JOURNEY
(from the Third Edition textbook)
Bonus Chapter: Discovering Yourself through Music
Up to this point, you have been listening to the music of other people in places mostly
outside your own life and experience. Now is the moment to realize that your life is
also bound up with music, that you are as “traditional” a person as any found in this
book, and that your music, be it rap, ragtime, or Rachmaninoff, resonates within the
larger culture in which you live. This chapter is offered as a guide to self-exploration
through music. It introduces the techniques and tools used by ethnomusicologists to
study music cultures. These same tools can easily by adopted by you to study your
own musical traditions.
The chapter is divided into three sections: (1) music and self-identity; (2)
researching your musical roots;, and (3) disseminating your findings. Essentially, these
three steps are those followed by ethnomusicologists in researching any of the
world’s musics. The first step is conceptual, the second is the active fieldwork phase
of collecting material, and the third involves sharing insights with a larger community.
We suggest that you try out these three steps in your classroom or on your own,
treating the first step as an extended research paper, the second as a project in field
documentation, and the third as a live presentation for class (or another public forum)
and/or as a possible publication.
Music and Self-Identity
At its core, identity is self-awareness. Self-awareness develops over time—indeed,
infants do not initially have a sense of themselves separate from their mothers or their
general surroundings. In addition to a personal identity, a child develops a social
identity shaped by his or her socio-cultural environment. Interactions with others help
the child understand the social categories or “groups” to which he or she belongs. This
belonging is determined partly by biological factors, such as race and sex, but is largely
determined by socio-cultural factors like religion, language, gender, economics, and
politics.
Most people are unaware of how these social and personal identities are
manifested through their behaviors in daily activities. When you wake up in the
morning and put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, you may think nothing of it, but this
simple act says a lot about the kind of person you are as well as your cultural
upbringing. The same can be said for music. The kind of music that you listen to says
much about the type of person you are and your cultural background. Music, as much
as anything else, is a manifestation of the personal and social identities of an
individual or group. The function of the music, its structure, and the context in which
it is performed all reveal significant information about social values. Music reflects a
community’s identity and expresses “who they are.” Essentially, what we have striven
to do throughout this text is to “get to know” other people through their music.
But who are we? Turning the tables and trying to figure out how music reflects
who we are is also important. Though our global journey has taken us to many places,
we cannot realistically say that our chosen “sites” represent the music of all peoples
of the planet. Our few selections represent only the kinds of music that stand out, to
us, as most significant to the personal and social identities of the people who live in
those regions. In addition to being choices made from our own subjective
perspectives, the selections are limited in many other ways, too. The handful of
examples that we have from India, for example, do not necessarily represent the types
of music listened to by the majority of the Indian population. However, if you were to
meet someone from India and ask, “What is Indian music?,” our examples would
easily qualify as appropriate representations of Indian culture to the outside world.
Indian self-identity, both personal and social, is in part expressed through this music.
Let’s look at American music as one expression of self-identity. If you are an American,
what one example would you choose to reflect your “American” identity? Does rap
define who we are as Americans? Britney Spears? Garth Brooks? Does the music of
Mozart and Beethoven represent us, even though its origin is European? How about
jazz? What kind of jazz? Which performer and from what style period? Defining
“American” identity through one example of music is impossible, yet in this textbook
(as in any other) we have only enough pages to focus on a few examples from
countries often much larger than the United States, and frequently with histories
much longer than our meager 230 or so years. Yet, through just a few music examples,
the spiritual beliefs, political philosophies, moral values, attitudes, and activities of
many aspects of life are revealed. No doubt, we are able to learn something about the
people of other cultures and gain a greater understanding of who they are by studying
their musical traditions. We can do the same by examining our own musical
expressions.
So, how does music express your self-identity? Ask yourself some questions:
What music do I like to listen to? What music do I like to perform (whether you are a
musician playing for an audience or just singing to yourself in the shower)? Why does
that music appeal to me? How does this music reflect me personally, my philosophy
of life, my goals and desires, my spiritual beliefs, my personal history and life
experiences? How does the music I enjoy reflect my social identity—that is, the friends
I have, the organizations I belong to, the activities in which I participate? What does
this music say about my cultural upbringing as an American? What stereotypes does
it suggest about my personality and behaviors? Start with some of these questions
and then try to pick one example that most accurately expresses all the facets of your
self-identity. You will likely find this to be quite difficult. Trying to pick just one
example to say to the outside world, “this is me,” is a challenge for most. If it is for
you, a little research may be in order.
Researching Your Musical Roots
Having situated yourself in a social context that ranges from being a Westerner, to
being American/Canadian/British/South African/Chinese or whatever, to being a part
of something much closer to home, it is time to ask what kinds of music express your
own life and the lives of those around you, be they family members or friends. Sorting
this out requires what we call fieldwork. Fieldwork is essentially the process of going
into the environment in which a specific music normally occurs in order to observe
musical activities and question individuals with knowledge of the tradition under
study. Fieldwork is a method for studying music that is employed by
ethnomusicologists wherever they work. It may include any or all of the following: (1)
being an observer or participant-observer; (2) audio recording; (3) video recording;
(4) still photography; (5) interviewing; (6) exploring the Internet, and (7) collecting and
archiving of materials, be they instruments, books, recordings, or any other kind of
memorabilia.
Observation and Participant-Observation. Typically, a researcher observes musical
activity from the sidelines, sometimes documenting it, sometimes merely absorbing
impressions. Sometimes it may also be appropriate for the researcher to join in an
activity, by learning to play an instrument, by dancing, or by singing. When you join
in, you become what is called a participant-observer. In those circumstances, it is
important for the researcher to maintain as much objective distance as possible. The
researcher and the researched cannot become one, especially in the case of forays
into religions.
Audio Recording. The equipment for making field recordings has changed dramatically
over the last thirty years, having gone from analog recording—first on reel-to-reel
tape, then on cassette—to digital recording on a variety of media. When one of the
present authors (TM) began making field recordings in 1970, for example, stereo reel-
to-reel tape recorders with twin microphones for stereo sound were considered state-
of-the-art technology. After about 1980 audio-cassettes became the norm, and reel-
to-reel recording retreated to the recording studio. Because they were much smaller
and lighter, and the media (cassettes) were also small, cassette recorders were a great
improvement on reel-to-reel. The costs came down too. A top-of-the-line Swiss reel-
to-reel recorder cost $10,000 in 1970, while a comparable cassette machine cost less
than $500 in the early 1980s. In the field, the lighter and simpler is preferable to the
complex and heavy. Field recording is not to be confused with studio recording.
Since the 1990s digital recording has gradually superseded all forms of analog
recording, and costs have once again fallen. Today a new generation of tiny, digital
recorders has appeared. There are a great variety of inexpensive MP3 recorders, most
of which record onto a built-in drive. Their drawbacks include the fact that MP3 files
are highly compressed and that these machines only record using “automatic level
control” (ALC). ALC’s drawback is that it adjusts for the loudest sound at any particular
FIELDWORK
The study of
cultural activity
(e.g., music) in its
normal human
context.
moment. The presence of percussion causes it to change levels constantly, perhaps
even making the melodic portion inaudible. Such recordings are uploaded to a
computer and can be burned to a compact disc. At a much higher level are
professional recorders (presently made by Edirol, Zoom and others) which record to
SD cards and offer a variety of recording formats, from MP3 to 24-bit Wave or better.
Although they have built-in microphones, they allow for external ones, as well as
manual level control.
While the recording machine is obviously important, the choice of microphone
is essential. The sound cannot be better than what the microphone can hear. One can
use a pair of single-channel microphones or a single-point stereo microphone that
allows some track separation. Microphone placement is extremely important for
critical recordings, and researchers may need to experiment before choosing their
setup.
Video Recording. Until about 1970 the only way to produce “moving pictures” short
of a professional film crew was with a silent Super 8 film camera powered by a spring.
Today most camcorders have built-in hard drives (low end models use memory cards)
whose files are uploaded into a computer and can be burned onto DVDs. These
eliminate the need for cassettes and provide exceptionally long-term recording
without interruption.
The most important aspect of videography is the stability of the camera.
Except when one needs to move around a subject, it is best to use a sturdy tripod to
capture good images. A jerky video will not appeal to you, your audience, or your
students. A common mistake amateur videographers make is to pan too fast and too
often. Similarly, avoid overusing the zoom feature. On the other hand, images
produced by simply placing the camera on a tripod and letting it run for hours will be
excruciatingly boring to watch. Strive for smoothness and slowness of movement; do
not emulate television music videos or commercial advertisements, with their
obsessively fast scene changes. Try to capture some important details in close-ups, as
well as having other footage that gives a sense of the bigger picture—the space and
circumstances of a performance, including the audience.
Still Photography. There are currently two forms of photography, analog and digital,
though few use the former now. Analog photos may be black and white or color; in
either case, film is required. Print film produces negatives that are printed onto photo
paper while slide film results in transparencies (slides) that can be projected onto a
screen. Both forms can be scanned into digital format as well, though slides are better
scanned with dedicated slide scanners. Digital cameras have advanced to professional
levels, and today most people use this type. Even the “point and shoot” types are
small and light and allow a great number of images to be captured on a single memory
card.
For fieldwork, digital photography offers advantages over analog especially
because of its ability to make good photos in dim light and at night using available
light. While one could use flash units with analog cameras, on small cameras these
were not strong enough to reach beyond about 10 feet. Digital cameras not only offer
built-in flash but also the ability to change film speeds so as to maximize the range of
the flash. Whereas analog cameras require a supply of film, digital cameras require a
supply of memory devices and a laptop computer into which photos are uploaded.
Digital photos can be stored and saved in multiple formats and in large or small sizes,
and can be uploaded and mailed electronically. Although most professionals shoot
“raw,” these images are extremely large, and most scholars can do fine with JPEG
images; these can also be digitally edited to crop out unwanted material or alter the
lightness/darkness or color balance.
Interviewing. Interviewing is essentially a conversation between the researcher and
someone who can provide information and insights about the music under study. That
person, sometimes referred to as an informant, could be either a musician or simply
someone familiar with the tradition. The information gleaned in an interview is
subject to all the limitations of human conversation and thinking, however.
Information provided spontaneously from memory may or may not be reliable. Other
factors may also distort the information. For example, someone may tell the
researcher what they think the researcher wants to hear, or they may attempt to
manage a music’s or culture’s image by carefully selecting what facts they present.
Regardless of these drawbacks, however, interviews can elicit valuable information.
Especially in an initial interview, questions should be kept short and open
ended, so as to encourage an informant to speak freely. Although it is wise to plan a
series of questions in advance, researchers must also be prepared to alter the order
of questions or take the conversation in unexpected directions if the informant seems
interested in pursuing a particular topic. In short, the researcher should not try to
control the informant.
There are two ways to preserve an interview: taking notes and recording. The
latter is far better in that it produces an exact record of what was said, and allows the
researcher not to be distracted by the process of writing things down. However, it is
always necessary to get an informant’s permission before recording commences. A
recording is especially valuable if the informant sings or plays an instrument during
the interview. In fact, if there is to be much performance, the researcher is better off
videotaping the interview. Whatever technology is used, the researcher must strive
to keep it out of sight and out of mind as much as possible, so as to minimize the
informant’s self-consciousness.
Collecting and Archiving. The conditions under which you keep recordings, photos,
and other documents affect how long they last. When such materials are subjected to
extremes of heat and cold, humidity and dryness, and other changes, they deteriorate
faster. Instruments are particularly challenging because they take up much space and,
when neglected, fall into disrepair because of broken strings, warped or cracked
wood, splits in bamboo, cracked reeds, and so on. The most valued of resources are
generally deposited at an archive, such as the American Folklife Center at the Library
of Congress or Indiana University’s Archives of Traditional Music, which is the nation’s
INFORMANT
A person from
whom a field
researcher obtains
information.
premier collection of ethnographic field recordings. Professional archivists maintain
such collections to ensure their availability for future generations.
It is extremely important to “back up” your digital files, be they text files or
photo files. Computer crashes cannot be predicted, and when they happen it may
already be too late to recover lost data. You can back up your files on CDs, DVDs, an
external hard drive, or through a backup service via the Internet. Anyone who has
suffered in a computer crash knows how important this advice is.
To people like your authors, to whom the Internet came in adulthood, the
information highway is nothing short of a miracle and beyond comprehension. Using
a search engine such as Google or Bing, you can find information stored anywhere in
the world in any language. Internet users must beware, however, that some
information found there is unreliable.
Disseminating Your Findings
Discovering yourself through music is a challenging but ultimately rewarding
experience. In the process of learning about your own musical roots, you undoubtedly
learn much about other people who have contributed to the development of your
self-identity. While this new knowledge is of great benefit for you, it may also be
helpful for other people in knowing their own musical heritage as well. Disseminating
your findings is an important way to help future sojourners learn from your
experiences so that they can add new knowledge through their own inquiries rather
than just repeating research you have already completed. There are many avenues
through which to share your research, but the most pertinent ones in the field of
ethnomusicology are (1) teaching, (2) performance, and (3) publishing.
Teaching. Many ethnomusicologists teach at institutions of higher learning around the
world, but others also teach in less formal environments. Teaching is merely a matter
of sharing knowledge with others. It can take place in a classroom, at a local worship
center, as part of a community program, at a folk festival workshop, or just among
family and friends.
A common way of teaching or of communicating information to peers is to
give presentations. Researchers often present their findings by reading “papers” at
professional conferences. Most scholarly societies hold such meetings. The larger
professional organizations may have both an annual national or international meeting
and a regional or chapter meeting. The latter are often more receptive to student
papers than national ones. Upon receiving a “call for papers,” the researcher submits
an abstract, that is, a paragraph or so that explains their topic. If this is accepted, they
are invited to present their paper at the conference; usually, their presentation is
expected to last no longer than twenty minutes. Whenever possible, it is best for
presentations to include audio and video examples of the music under discussion. This
is particularly true when the audience comprises non-specialists. Presenters today
often feel compelled to use PowerPoint in their presentations. This can enhance a
ABSTRACT
A brief summary
of the contents of
a book, article, or
speech.
presentation greatly, but if done improperly (e.g., too much text in the slides,
irrelevant information or graphics, technical problems), it can detract from the
presentation. Remember, when you project text on the screen, your listeners read
that and may tune out the speaker, so it’s best to follow the 6 X 6 rule, meaning no
more than six lines of text with six or fewer words per line.
Performance. However useful audio and video examples may be, live performance is
an even more effective means of teaching. For this reason, ethnomusicologists often
invite “guest artists” to help them demonstrate a music tradition. Ethnomusicologists
frequently find themselves in the role of manager or concert promoter as well.
Through their research, they sometimes discover unknown artists of great quality, and
they may wish to organize opportunities for these musicians to perform publicly.
Arranging performances at local schools or community centers is usually easy to do.
By getting a musician to perform in public, you are helping to preserve the music that
artist represents and are providing the musician with an opportunity to share his or
her musical talents with others.
Some researchers also learn to perform the music they study. Back in the
1960s Dr. Mantle Hood of the University of California, Los Angeles, advocated what
he called “bimusicality” as a method for learning about and presenting music. While
you would normally not aspire to become “professional” in doing this, it can serve to
draw you closer to the musicians and music under study and make your presentations
far more interesting and credible.
Publishing. The most permanent means of disseminating knowledge about a music
tradition is through print publication. With the advent of desktop and electronic
publishing, this is far easier than before, but it should be understood that not all
publications are equal. In academia a clear distinction is made between publications
that are “peer-reviewed” or “refereed,” and those that are not. Peer-reviewed
publications—be they articles, books, or recordings—have been reviewed by one or
more people with expertise in the field before being accepted. Most peer reviews are
done “blind,” that is, the reviewers do not know the name of the author under review.
With regard to book publishing, there is also a distinction between legitimate
scholarly presses that subject manuscripts to close scrutiny and review and so-called
“vanity presses” that publish whatever an author submits in exchange, usually, for a
payment or a guarantee of sales. Virtually anything written can find its way into some
kind of print, physical or electronic, but being in print alone is not a guarantee of
quality or reliability.
A further distinction is made between scholarly and commercial publication.
Professors are expected to publish the results of their research in scholarly journals.
Even though these journals pay nothing for articles, publication in them is often the
basis for promotion, tenure, and pay increases. On the other hand, when
ethnomusicologists do write for magazines and other commercial publications, they
can expect to be paid. Authors of academic press books can expect—or at least hope
for—royalty payments based on the number of copies sold. However, because
academic publications are expensive to print and have limited sales potential, their
authors rarely realize more than a token “profit.”
Today many individuals have created their own personal websites where they
maintain a collection of self-generated materials (e.g., their resume), family pictures,
and so on. It is possible to upload the results of your own research onto your website.
With today’s powerful search engines, interested readers are increasingly likely to
stumble on your work. This likelihood increases when your titles include the key words
with which users will likely search. Social media websites, such as Facebook, can offer
similar means of disseminating research, including photos, video, audio, as well as
text. They also have the advantage of linking you to a network of people around the
globe with similar interests in music and cultural study.
Where to Go from Here
Most readers of this book are likely students having their first experiences with the
musics of the world. In writing the previous pages, we understand that most of you
are unlikely to become practicing ethnomusicologists working in academia. And,
considering the relative dearth of jobs in higher education for ethnomusicologists, we
are not suggesting you change your major and join us. Still, we hope you will become
aware of the music around you that is little known but may be important to your
family, community, or ethnic group and decide to document it. Professional
ethnomusicologists cannot be everywhere. The music you document may someday
find its way into the local historical society, your family’s treasure trove, your church’s
library, or your club’s memento collection.
Documenting music may preserve its sound (and sights, if done with a video
camera), but music that only exists in archives and is no longer heard live is not the
same as a living tradition. Do what you can to encourage the continuation of the music
you like or discover. You might even consider learning it yourself. Most state arts
councils offer small grants for “apprenticeships in the folk arts.” These offer modest
funds to a practitioner (called “the master artist”) for passing on the tradition to a
novice (called the “apprentice”). Because most “master artists” do not think of
themselves as such, it will probably be up to you to obtain the application forms, fill
them out, and encourage the master to make the application.
If you are (or become) a teacher, you can explore your community for
individuals who carry interesting music traditions and bring them to the attention of
others. Many states and localities offer modest funds to support appearances by
artists in schools. These “tradition-bearers” can be brought to a school to present
programs in classrooms or to give a concert for the whole student body. This
recognition not only allows students to learn about individual musicians, it also can
encourage these practitioners to continue performing, as their skills are sometimes
otherwise little known or appreciated.
On a more modest scale, you can do your part to preserve diversity in the
musics of the world by purchasing (not “file sharing”) audio and video recordings of
traditional music. You can attend concerts, workshops, festivals, houses of worship,
and other venues where music can be heard live. Or perhaps you could purchase an
instrument and buy an instruction book (or find a teacher) and learn to play it. There’s
no telling where you could go by following an interest in world music. The path you
follow is entirely up to you.
