Shelemay examines the role of the ethnomusicologist in his or her field. He explains that the ethnomusicologist does not merely study the traditions of a music, but also participates in the music as well.
An ethnomusicologist's studies contributes to the preservation and transmission of traditions of a music simply because it is what the job entails, but it does not do this passively. Shelemay uses his own experiences and those of colleagues to to show how ethnomusicologists are active participants in the music they study. They not only observe how the traditions of the music they study is transmitted, but change the way it is as well. For instance, conferences or concerts dedicated to a music provide an outlet for a music to be performed that is atypical of its tradition. This can lead to permanent changes in the transmission of the music as these preservation methods are continued. I think this is an important point to consider in ethnomusicology. In order to document and preserve the traditions of a music, the ethnomusicologist partakes in transforming the traditions. At the same time, without an ethnomusicologist's intervention in a music, it is possible that more obscure musics would be lost forever. In order to keep a music alive, it seems to be inevitable that those studying it become important figures in the method through which it is preserved. This leads to the idea that how a music is preserved can vary widely depending on who studies it and what they value as important and representative of the music.
Shelemay then describes three ways in which an ethnomusicologist participates in the traditions of a music- preserving tradition, memorializing tradition, and mediating traditions. He explains that these are all part of an ethnomusicologist's responsibilities and become inevitable as the ethnomusicologist becomes more involved with a music and forms personal relationships with it and the people who play it.
Do you think that you are making an impact on your research topic through your efforts in this class? Although what we are to do is not nearly as thorough as Shelemay and his colleagues, we touch on an ethnomusicologist's profession peripherally to do our research. And at the same time, does the research you do make an impact on your own life?
In studying my topic, African music, I am not so sure if I am making any sort of impact on the community and its music. I took a drum class and learned from a djembe drummer, but what I have done is something anyone could do. I feel that what I am doing for this class is too superficial to be impactful but I can see the potential for it if I were thoroughly involved. However, I feel like I have been personally affected by my research, even though I've done so little of it. The djembe class was really interesting, and learning and hearing from the teacher firsthand about how to play the djembe and some of its roles was definitely left more of a lasting impression than if I had just read it on Wikipedia.
In response to your question, I don't think I've left much of an impact, if any, on the community I'm studying (Capoeira). As a participant, I have not done anything that sets me apart from anyone else and leaves a lasting impression, and I am simply not involved enough. The only changes I can see myself maybe making concern how the people I have interviewed start to think of themselves within the Capoeira community and what it means to them. Perhaps they never really came to think of some of these things until I interviewed them and this might have set them down a new path, but I won't know unless they tell me.
ReplyDeleteI feel like taking part in Capoeira has left an impression on me. It's stirred my interest in the martial art and Brazil. As you said, learning about it firsthand leaves a stronger impression than reading about it online. I see it like the difference between watching a live concert recording and actually being at one. I probably would have taken a Capoeira class before I had ever taken one if someone asked me to, but I would have been hesitant. Now though, I can see myself getting into this kind of thing more if I have the time and money.
When I read this paper (and your post on the paper), I could not help but think of endangered animals...let me explain. I feel like ethnomusicologists can help preserve a music and culture by bringing attention to it through research and publication the same way a celebrity or fund can endorse wildlife preservation. By bringing attention to the topic, others who would otherwise be oblivious to the topic, gain a better appreciation for it and want to be involved.
ReplyDeleteAs to your question, I don't feel like I leave any kind of impression on blues music personally. It's a tradition that's rich in history and will continue to live on in one way or another. I do, however, think that those that I interview about the subject will appreciate that someone my age is interested in such a topic. It will definitely have an impact on my life, as I've already gained a greater appreciation for the music I play and listen to. It doesn't hurt to discover more music in the process.
I can definitely see how, through the preservation and study of a musical culture, can be influenced and changed. In regards to bluegrass, a music that was initially a purely oral tradition, the study and preservation has led to a different way to learn the music. While the oral tradition is still going strong, learning bluegrass from written notation is a new way that many beginners are breaking into the tradition with and even some advanced players are learning from sheet music for more complex songs that aren't standard to the bluegrass tradition. I've even heard and seen some performers using sheet music during a performance, something which I've heard many veterans of bluegrass say was unheard of before.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I don't think I'm making an impact on the field I'm studying, although I am learning a lot more than I expected. I'm also finding that, what on the surface is usually a rather friendly tradition has some very biased views on people who begin in the tradition and 'stray' from it, an idea I hadn't realized was quite so widespread.
In terms of the music I'm studying for this discourse, I find that the public performances are what solidify and help preserve the music. The concepts of Japanese tradition only exist within the terminology used, the costumes (as I've elucidated on my own individual blog), the names of certain compositions, and the instruments themselves. Other than that, I find this tradition to be oriented within the nature of performance for one reason in particular - without performances, how would groups acquire money to purchase and maintain their equipment?
ReplyDeleteAs for myself, I feel like I have made an impact on the field to a somewhat significant extent. Within my own group, I have written compositions that have contributed to the sustainability of the group and the repertoire, and externally I am a coordinator for the largest collegiate taiko conference in the nation that must be in contact with the other groups and professionals attending. In that respect, I feel as though I am aiding in preserving the connections between the professionals and those who appreciate the artform and were potentially exposed to it during their university careers. From an ethnomusicological standpoint, I guess I am participating to a degree in all three of the points that Shelemay describes.
I would agree with you, Amy, in that I do not believe the research I am doing is making any sort of significant impact on the community and culture that I am studying. The jazz musicians that I have been in contact with over the past 6 weeks have been a part of the jazz community for most of their lives and have established their place in the culture. The research that I am doing is nowhere near as thorough as that referred to by Shelemay. The minor impact that I may be making, however, is on the interlocutors that I have been in contact with. By asking them certain questions during my interviews, the interlocutor is forced to think about the jazz culture in a way that they normally might not.
ReplyDeleteI would say that the research I have been conducting has definitely made an impact on my own life. I find myself listening to jazz as opposed to rock. I stop and check out the performance whenever I walk by a restaurant with a live jazz band. I was first thoroughly exposed to jazz through an academic point of view here at UCSD. As this quarter has passed by, however, I have put myself in a position where I am constantly listening to and thinking about jazz.
I don't feel as though i am making a very large contribution or difference towards the community and culture i am studying. I think maybe if it weren't just a 10 week project and maybe if I didn't waiver on my ideas as much it could be a bit different. I feel as though my project is largely reflective on the individuals\personal impacts within Irish song rather than having an end goal or statement that reflects the tradition as a whole which at times makes me question the effectiveness of my research.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though it has a larger impact on myself rather than the community of Trad. Irish Music.
Arman, I had the same thought about save the music = save the whales!
ReplyDeleteI am not interacting with my topic in such a way as to impact it, I am more just observing as many aspects of the phenomenon as I can. Perhaps if I were to explain some of the aspects of my research to customers, it might raise awareness and make them more cautious of the effects of what they are listening to, but I have no contact with the coporate masterminds whom stream the music to the stores to begin with. Articles are available in which a lot of research is posted, yet most people remain blissfully ignorant.
I like how you bring up the point that new outlets can change the tradition of the music. I made me think of something that I would have never considered. So the other night I attended an open mic and it wasn't as community based as I thought it would be. There wasn't much support on behalf of the musicians who were in the audience awaiting their turn. I didn't think of it then, but maybe the open mic scene is shrinking because there is such a thing like Youtube where everyday individuals can essentially get their music out to the public without being professionals. This seems to be one of the purposes of open mics, but now because the internet exists, it's displacing that.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'm making that much of an impact on the EDM community either. However, I do hope that my research will help people understand a little bit more about it. In that way, I guess I am affecting the community a little bit. Personally, I want to know more about it as well. So I think by understanding it better myself, I could help with the perspecitves that other people might have on it as well. Furthermore, I think maybe people that I interview are being affected a little bit by my research. I ask them questions on why they enjoy the music or how they first started listening to it, and sometimes people never really think about it. I think it puts more perspective into some of the individuals that I have talked to.
ReplyDeleteThe point where the ethnomusicologist will inevitably influence the music being studied [and preserved & transmitted <--however problematic that word may be] is something I find interesting & troubling at the same time. Even though there will definitely be changes involved with the active analysis & preservative process of ethnomusicology, I wonder of an ethnomusicologist's active participation in music would ultimately ALTER music somehow that is not directly a part of the culture. The version of the music ultimately preserved by the ethnomusicologist may then be one that is a product of his encounter & participation in music rather than the 'purest' or most traditional form of the music [whatever that may be]. It an hardly be avoided in an ethnomusicological study, but it does make me wonder just how much an ethnomusicologit's participation can minimally or drastically affect the final project & findings.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the community I am researching [Western Art Music performers (Old & New) at UCSD], I don't think my participation or research is having any impact whatsoever. Seeing as our university has an established hierarchy of its own [administrators --> senior faculty --> other faculty --> graduate students --> undergraduate students], I am at the bottom of this food chain. Anything I do has so little impact as to avoid being under the radar for almost my entire 4 years at UCSD. Faculty or grad students don't go to my performances & most don't even know what instrument I play. For the first my year at UCSD only undergraduates knew I played violin, and only in the second year did people learn that I also played piano. I've played both for 10+ years and yet no one at any upper-level really cares what I'm doing here as long as my family is paying its tuition fees on time. My interviews & research only touched a FRACTION of the department, and even then it was only 1 faculty member & several grad students. I am graduating in a few days, and I am fairly sure that anything I have achieved in my 4 years at UCSD actively participating in the music department will be long forgotten, as I am sure will be the case for the majority of undergrads here. It's just a fact of university life at this point. Maybe it will change.
Anyways...I think my impact on university-setting music is different from an ethnomusicologist going into a traditional society/community & studying their lives & music - in that way, music may be more easily influenced, but my status is SOOO low here that I can barely scratch the surface.