SPRING
2007 LBST 499 SEC. 016
SYNTHESIS
SYLLABUS
ETHNIC
MUSIC AND CULTURE
Instructor: Dr.
Carl Rahkonen
Orendorff
Music Library
101D
Cogswell Hall ph. 724-357-5644
E-mail: Rahkonen@iup.edu
Course
Web site: http://www.people.iup.edu/rahkonen/Ethno/Ethnomus.htm
Office
hours: I may be generally found at the Orendorff Music Library
M-W from
PREREQUISITES: A love of
music and the behavioral sciences.
I. COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course provides a general introduction to the study of ethnic music. Topics will include a brief history of
ethnomusicology, an overview of music research techniques, information
literacy in music, musical behaviors, organology (the study of musical
instruments), and a general survey of musical styles and cultures from around
the world in the
II. COURSE OBJECTIVES:
A. To introduce students to the theories and methods used to
study world music, as they have been drawn from musicology, anthropology,
folklore, sociology and psychology.
B. To encourage students
to study music from various perspectives and make their own synthesis, which
can be used in completing their assignments.
C. To increase the students’ information literacy in music.
D. To show how music provides
an excellent vehicle for studying culture.
Music, like language, is universal.
It reflects the aesthetics and values of a culture, and is an intricate
part of its social structure, mythology and ritual.
E. To expose students to
a number of different cultures, including those from their own environment, so
they may learn of the great cultural diversity around them.
F. To help students apply
synthesized knowledge to practical experience, such as doing research or
building a musical instrument.
III. COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Examinations: A midterm
and a comprehensive final examination will be given to test knowledge of the
discussions, films, listening and reading assignments. They will each
constitute 20% of the final grade (40% total, 200 points).
Term paper: Each student
will be required to submit a research paper on any topic of world music.
Guidance will be available in writing a proposal, compiling a bibliography,
conducting research to collect information, organizing that information in an
outline, and writing a rough draft. The
paper will be due April 19th, and will constitute 20% (100 points) of
the final grade.
Musical Instrument Project:
Each student will be required to build a simple folk music instrument
during the semester. Plans and
directions for building such instruments are given in the Bottermans, Reck,
Titon and Waring books on reserve.
Additional suggestions are available from the instructor on request. The musical instrument projects will be due
for an in-class demonstration on April 26th and will constitute 10% (50
points) of the final grade.
Attending Music Events:
During the semester I ask that you attend three music events. These can be concerts or recitals sponsored
by the
Participation in class discussions, occasional weekly
assignments or quizzes on the readings: Students are expected to attend all
classes and participate in class discussions, and visit the library,
E-reserves, or course Web-CT site each week to do their readings. This aspect of the course will constitute 20%
(100 points) of the final grade.
IV. Readings:
You will be expected to complete your reading assignments before the class period. During the semester, we will read eight
chapters from Koskoff (2005), several chapters from Merriam (1964) and several
shorter readings by Rahkonen and others.
All the readings will be on reserve in paper form at the Orendorff Music
Library circulation desk (Also the accompanying compact disk from Koskoff
(2005) for the listening assignments).
Many of the shorter articles will be available on e-reserves and on the
class Web-CT site. Note: Weekly readings
are listed in order of their importance.
V. CALENDAR OF PROPOSED DISCUSSION TOPICS
AND ASSIGNMENTS:
Jan. 18 Introduction to
the course / What is music? / Film: “Transformative Power of Music”
Ethnomusicology Defined / History of the Field
/ Women Pioneers
Supporting
Jan. 25 Elements of Music
Behavior / Music Event / Fieldwork
Read:
List ; Merriam 1964 pp.32-33 ; Titon 1992 pp. 438-53.
Leaning about Ethnic Music = The Research
Process
Orientation to the Orendorff Music Library, Stapleton
Library and the Internet
Feb. 1 Music
Communication / Perception / Altered States of Consciousness
Merriam 1964: ch.5 and ch.12. Film: "Floating in the Air, Followed by
the Wind”
Feb. 8
Functional Music / Tradition and Change
/ Musical Learning PROPOSALS DUE
Rahkonen 1989:ch.5; Merriam 1964:ch.8
Films: “Transmission: Learning
Music” ; "Bismillah Kahn"
Feb. 15
Religion and Magic / Healing / Social and Musical Identities
Frazer
pp. 12-15 ; Koskoff Ch. 3; Rahkonen 2004 ; Merriam 1964: ch.11
Film:
“Story of the Weeping Camel”
Feb 22 Life Cycle and
Music Events / Year Cycle and Music Event / Musical and Social
Interactions.
Mar. 1 MIDTERM EXAM
Mar.8 Elements of Music Sound / American Indian
Musical Cultures
Read: Reck: ch.3. ; Koskoff Ch. 5 (Listening: Ex.
1-3)
Films: “Sound, Music and the Environment” ;
“American Indian Music”
Mar.15
SPRING BREAK
Mar. 22 African American Music Cultures OUTLINES DUE
Read: Koskoff
Film: “African
American Music” or “Blues Masters”
Mar. 29 European American Musical Cultures / Music of Our Own
Region
Read: Koskoff
Apr. 5 Latin American
Musical Cultures Read: Koskoff
Asian American
Musical Cultures Read: Koskoff
Film: “
Apr. 12 Popular Musics / American fiddling
Read: Koskoff
Apr.19 Synthesis of Sound
and Behavior = Music as Culture TERM PAPERS DUE
Film: “
Musical
Instruments / Function, Fashion and Tradition
Rahkonen 1988 ; Alvey 1984a
Titon 1992:pp.149, 252-255 ; Waring
1981 ; Bottermans 1989.
Apr.26 CLASS ACTIVITY: MUSICAL
INSTRUMENT PROJECTS
Review for Comprehensive
Final Exam
May 3 Final Exam.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(On reserve at the
Orendorff Music Library):
Alvey, R. Gerald.
1984a "Homer C. Ledford, Dulcimer Maker." Rural
Kentuckian 38 (May 1984): 6-11.
Bayard, Samuel P.
1980 “Dying
Traditions and Popular Substitutions.”
In Folklore Studies in Honor of Herbert Halpert.
Blakeslee, Sandra.
1995 “The Music of the
Brain.”
Boiles, Charles Lafayette.
1978 Man, Magic and Musical Occasions.
Bottermans, Jack, et. al.
1989 Making and Playing Musical Instruments.
Deutsch, Diana.
1992 “Paradoxes of
Musical Pitch.” Scientific American
(August): 88- 95.
Frazer, Sir James George.
1890 The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative
Religions, vol.1.
List, George.
1983 "A Secular Sermon for Those of the
Ethnomusicological Faith." Ethnomusicology
27(2):175-187
Koskoff, Ellen, ed.
2005 Music Cultures in the
Merriam, Alan P.
1964 The Anthropology of Music.
Rahkonen, Carl.
1982 "The
Study of Music Perception: An Approach to the Individual." National
Meeting of the Society for Ethnomusicology,
1983 "Music
as Communication: Some Observations from Ethnomusicology." Second
International Congress on Musical Semiotics,
1988 "The
Influence of Function, Fashion, and Tradition on the Structure of the Finnish
Kantele." 6th Conference of the Finno-Ugric Studies
Association of
1989 “The Kantele
Traditions of
1994
What is World Music?” In World Music in Music Libraries.
1997
"
2003 “Fiddling Across America.” http://www.people.iup.edu/rahkonen/Fiddling/fiddling.htm
2004 "Amateur and Professional: A Tale of
Two "Irish" Bands from
2005
"American Fiddle Music Research:
The Contributions of Samuel P. Bayard." Society for Ethnomusicology
national meeting,
2006
"Scandinavian Fiddling in the
Reck, David.
1977 Music of the
Whole Earth.
Stone, Ruth M.
1982 Let the Inside be Sweet: The
Interpretation of Music Event Among the Kpelle of
Titon, Jeff et. al.
1992 Worlds of Music.
2nd ed.
van Gennep,
Arnold.
1960 Rites of
Passage. Translated by Monika Vizedom and Gabrielle Caffe.
Waring,
Dennis.
1981 Making Folk
Instruments in Wood.
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