Hamm takes a critical approach to examining Simon's "Graceland" album and its effect or lack of effect on troubling race relations in South Africa. Upon receiving criticism, Simon and supporters have defended the album, claiming that it focuses on South African music, the musicians benefit financially from the recording and publicity, addressing political content in the music may have put the musicians' musical careers in danger, and it publicly protests racism because of its "mixed-racial character" (page 299). Hamm explains that the album was popular in South Africa, but primarily among whites; the album was pricey and sold mostly in locations in which whites shopped, and it received positive reviews by the press and newspapers in South Africa. Hamm argues that the members of the band Simon played with, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, were actually fairly wealthy to begin and were not particularly or actively concerned with the struggles for black liberation in South Africa. Furthermore, Hamm explains, the South African government permitted blacks and whites to attend the same popular music performances, and so Simon was not really challenging race relations with his music. In fact, the music may have actually been perpetuating racial stereotypes that African music is all about percussion and should serve as the background in a song, and that the black man is willing and privaleged to assist the white man. Overall, Hamm contends that musicians such as Simon who incorporate music of countries that are in political turmoil are ultimately just taking advantage of the media attention focused on these countries for the profit of the musician and the music industry.
Question:
Are there ways in which such CDs as "Graceland" can benefit the social and political situations of such countries as South Africa, even if the music does not specifically address these issues? Is it immoral for a musician to selfishly take advantage of such situations as Hamm discusses, even if it is ultimately beneficial and promotes awareness and action? Is it immoral if it does nothing for the country or culture?
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Challenge Question response to Bryan's response to my response to his question!
Bryan's Response to My Response: http://bryanmusc1900.blogspot.com/2008/11/challenge-question-feedback-julie.html
Bryan’s comments regarding my response to his challenge question were generally very helpful. He brings up a good point that reflexivity is important not only in the conclusive processes of putting an ethnography together, but at all times during the fieldwork experience. Reflecting on the ways in which the ethnomusicologist might have influenced the music culture certainly reduces the problem of asymmetries of power, as the ethnomusicologist is acknowledging that he is not necessarily the best or most objective candidate for the job. Bryan also has a good point in that a method of polyphonic discourse would be beneficial when interviewing many people. I agree, as incorporating opinions of everyone involved will provide a more diverse and extensive pool of information.
However, I disagree with Bryan’s comment that it “should not be a problem” for the ethnomusicologist to make objective and reflexive choices from that large pool of information in the editing process. Choosing what information is “important” after information has been gathered may be a slightly less difficult process than choosing what information to include in the process of taking fieldnotes, but I would argue that there can be just as much bias in making choices once information has been gathered. How exactly one should approach this issue and choose which information to include in an ethnography could require a challenge question response of its own. Reflexivity is certainly helpful in this process, but there is no way to maintain objectivity, and the choices one makes at all stages of the ethnographic process will always be subjective to some degree. Again, I do not offer a solution or strategy for approaching the choices an ethnographer must make, but I simply suggest that this is a problem, and it is one that requires much thought.
Overall, Bryan seems to have thought out his own question thoroughly, and has come up with his own valid conclusions.
Bryan’s comments regarding my response to his challenge question were generally very helpful. He brings up a good point that reflexivity is important not only in the conclusive processes of putting an ethnography together, but at all times during the fieldwork experience. Reflecting on the ways in which the ethnomusicologist might have influenced the music culture certainly reduces the problem of asymmetries of power, as the ethnomusicologist is acknowledging that he is not necessarily the best or most objective candidate for the job. Bryan also has a good point in that a method of polyphonic discourse would be beneficial when interviewing many people. I agree, as incorporating opinions of everyone involved will provide a more diverse and extensive pool of information.
However, I disagree with Bryan’s comment that it “should not be a problem” for the ethnomusicologist to make objective and reflexive choices from that large pool of information in the editing process. Choosing what information is “important” after information has been gathered may be a slightly less difficult process than choosing what information to include in the process of taking fieldnotes, but I would argue that there can be just as much bias in making choices once information has been gathered. How exactly one should approach this issue and choose which information to include in an ethnography could require a challenge question response of its own. Reflexivity is certainly helpful in this process, but there is no way to maintain objectivity, and the choices one makes at all stages of the ethnographic process will always be subjective to some degree. Again, I do not offer a solution or strategy for approaching the choices an ethnographer must make, but I simply suggest that this is a problem, and it is one that requires much thought.
Overall, Bryan seems to have thought out his own question thoroughly, and has come up with his own valid conclusions.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Response to Jaime's challenge question answer
Jaime's response: http://jaimethnoblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/challenge-question.html
I think you make a good point in that a performance ethnography should focus more intently on the experience of the individual in the audience rather than on the history of the music culture. Even if a brief history was presented in a performance ethnography, subjective choices would have to be made regarding what elements of the culture’s history should be included anyway. I appreciate your personal example of attending an opera, in which you are more focused on how the performance is personally affecting you rather than on the history or importance of opera music in American culture, even if you are aware of both of these aspects of the music. However, while I do think the experience of the audience is an extremely important component of fieldwork for a performance ethnography, I would argue that including more contextual elements and a broader scope of experiences is what separates an Ethnomusicologist from any other kind of critic or writer on musical performance and that, while individual experience and reflexivity are important, the emphasis should not necessarily be on the Ethnomusicologist’s “heroic journey” (Titon’s term).
I would also suggest that considerations of what should be included in an ethnography may differ between a performance ethnography of a specific performance and an ethnography based on a broader view of a culture’s music. A performance ethnography by nature focuses on specific and time-sensitive occurrences, while an ethnography of a music culture may ultimately seek to communicate an outline of what general elements define and distinguish that particular music culture. Overall, you seem to have put a lot of thought into your opinions, and I think it is beneficial to acknowledge the inevitability of individual interpretation, as you did.
I think you make a good point in that a performance ethnography should focus more intently on the experience of the individual in the audience rather than on the history of the music culture. Even if a brief history was presented in a performance ethnography, subjective choices would have to be made regarding what elements of the culture’s history should be included anyway. I appreciate your personal example of attending an opera, in which you are more focused on how the performance is personally affecting you rather than on the history or importance of opera music in American culture, even if you are aware of both of these aspects of the music. However, while I do think the experience of the audience is an extremely important component of fieldwork for a performance ethnography, I would argue that including more contextual elements and a broader scope of experiences is what separates an Ethnomusicologist from any other kind of critic or writer on musical performance and that, while individual experience and reflexivity are important, the emphasis should not necessarily be on the Ethnomusicologist’s “heroic journey” (Titon’s term).
I would also suggest that considerations of what should be included in an ethnography may differ between a performance ethnography of a specific performance and an ethnography based on a broader view of a culture’s music. A performance ethnography by nature focuses on specific and time-sensitive occurrences, while an ethnography of a music culture may ultimately seek to communicate an outline of what general elements define and distinguish that particular music culture. Overall, you seem to have put a lot of thought into your opinions, and I think it is beneficial to acknowledge the inevitability of individual interpretation, as you did.
critical Review 9: Neustadt
Neustadt discusses the similarities and differences in styles and perceptions of the son music tradition as well as more modern forms of Cuban music, especially timba. He focuses on two specific examples: Buena Vista Social Club (son) and Charanga Habanera (timba). Both son and timba have similar lyrical themes, some of which are offensive, including those that involve derogatory messages about women. However, outsiders have come to appreciate son and know little or nothing about timba, assuming son is a more authentic form of Cuban music, partly because it is older. Neustadt describes how foreigners become enamored with son, especially that of Buena Vista, because rather than listening to and understanding the lyrics, listeners are attracted to the marketed exotic Cuban image which emphasizes that it is a traditional gem. Foreigners still know little about modern forms of Cuban music, and many of these musicians are frustrated at the thought that they might have to wait as long as the Buena Vista musicians did for their music to be discovered and appreciated internationally.
Question for Discussion:
At what point does the music of a specific culture become a tradition? Is there an amount of time that must go by for it to be considered a valid representation of a culture's music? Or does any music produced by members of a certain culture automatically represent the culture's music?
Question for Discussion:
At what point does the music of a specific culture become a tradition? Is there an amount of time that must go by for it to be considered a valid representation of a culture's music? Or does any music produced by members of a certain culture automatically represent the culture's music?
Friday, November 7, 2008
Response to Challenge Question: Bryan's second question
Titon outlines the three main critiques of Ethnomusicology, which are that it is grounded in asymmetries of power, that fieldwork narratives play out as heroic quest stories, and that any account grounded in individual experience is basically fiction. All three of these critiques are valid, and certainly serve as a productive way to begin thinking about approaches to fieldwork and ethnographic writing. While transcending these issues altogether may be impossible, there are certain measures one can take in the reflexive process to minimize each issue in practice.
The idea of asymmetries of power stems from the fact that an Ethnomusicologist is exerting her power over a culture and deciding she has a right to represent a culture, especially because, as Titon mentions, she has interests in her career in mind. To the idea of motivation based on career interests, I would argue that because the field of Ethnomusicology presents so many challenges, criticisms, and ethical issues, only someone truly passionate about all kinds of music and learning would go into the field in the first place. Many ethnographies end up endorsing a culture or the music of a culture, and while this is still biased, it at least demonstrates that the Ethnomusicologist either entered his fieldwork with a predisposed interest in the music or culture, or that he gained interest and passion through learning. In terms of the idea that the Ethnomusicologist should not have a right to represent a culture over the members of the culture itself, I argue that a good Ethnomusicologist would be trained or practiced in how to approach fieldwork and write an ethnography in such a way that is clear to and effective for a specific audience. While an individual member of a culture certainly has a right to represent the culture, the individual might not know how to look outside of what he has always known, and may not know how to communicate what is so familiar. Ethnomusicologists serve as translators, and even translators cannot always translate word for word as some aspects of one language have no translation in another. The question is, which is better, to have an outsider represent a culture, or to have no representation at all? Ultimately, the answer to this should be up to the members of the musical culture, and while their own abilities to represent themselves should not be overlooked, it should be accepted if they are comfortable having an outsider represent them.
In terms of the issue of the “heroic quest,” there is definitely a balance that must be achieved. In order to achieve balance between the extremes of heroic quest and pretension of objectivity due to lack of reflexivity, one could perhaps dedicate certain sections of an ethnography to personal experience and certain sections to factual or general information learned. The Ethnomusicologist could also focus on the specific stories of individuals, such as those we viewed in the documentary of Sacred Harp singing. This method both acknowledges the subjectivity of the experiences of the Ethnomusicologist, and places importance on the experiences of members of the culture or community.
The idea that an account of individual experience is fiction is difficult to approach. There is no way to avoid this completely, but there are ways to focus on more tangible information. First, an Ethnomusicologist should spend as much time in her studied environment as possible. This way, she can determine common themes, patterns, and ideas that characterize the music culture rather than assuming something she saw once was significant, or dismissing an occurrence as unimportant. Also, she should incorporate the views of the people in the group regarding what is characteristic of the culture. Just as Handler and Linnekin describe, a tradition should be considered on the terms of the participants, so there is immeasurable value in the participant’s views of his own musical culture. Here again, the Ethnomusicologist should interview as many different participants as possible so as to find common threads and rather than simply make grand assumptions about the entire music culture based on an individual’s account.
Overall, only a superhuman could transcend these three critiques completely, but one can certainly minimize their effect by consciously acknowledging them and actively planning how to overcome them.
The idea of asymmetries of power stems from the fact that an Ethnomusicologist is exerting her power over a culture and deciding she has a right to represent a culture, especially because, as Titon mentions, she has interests in her career in mind. To the idea of motivation based on career interests, I would argue that because the field of Ethnomusicology presents so many challenges, criticisms, and ethical issues, only someone truly passionate about all kinds of music and learning would go into the field in the first place. Many ethnographies end up endorsing a culture or the music of a culture, and while this is still biased, it at least demonstrates that the Ethnomusicologist either entered his fieldwork with a predisposed interest in the music or culture, or that he gained interest and passion through learning. In terms of the idea that the Ethnomusicologist should not have a right to represent a culture over the members of the culture itself, I argue that a good Ethnomusicologist would be trained or practiced in how to approach fieldwork and write an ethnography in such a way that is clear to and effective for a specific audience. While an individual member of a culture certainly has a right to represent the culture, the individual might not know how to look outside of what he has always known, and may not know how to communicate what is so familiar. Ethnomusicologists serve as translators, and even translators cannot always translate word for word as some aspects of one language have no translation in another. The question is, which is better, to have an outsider represent a culture, or to have no representation at all? Ultimately, the answer to this should be up to the members of the musical culture, and while their own abilities to represent themselves should not be overlooked, it should be accepted if they are comfortable having an outsider represent them.
In terms of the issue of the “heroic quest,” there is definitely a balance that must be achieved. In order to achieve balance between the extremes of heroic quest and pretension of objectivity due to lack of reflexivity, one could perhaps dedicate certain sections of an ethnography to personal experience and certain sections to factual or general information learned. The Ethnomusicologist could also focus on the specific stories of individuals, such as those we viewed in the documentary of Sacred Harp singing. This method both acknowledges the subjectivity of the experiences of the Ethnomusicologist, and places importance on the experiences of members of the culture or community.
The idea that an account of individual experience is fiction is difficult to approach. There is no way to avoid this completely, but there are ways to focus on more tangible information. First, an Ethnomusicologist should spend as much time in her studied environment as possible. This way, she can determine common themes, patterns, and ideas that characterize the music culture rather than assuming something she saw once was significant, or dismissing an occurrence as unimportant. Also, she should incorporate the views of the people in the group regarding what is characteristic of the culture. Just as Handler and Linnekin describe, a tradition should be considered on the terms of the participants, so there is immeasurable value in the participant’s views of his own musical culture. Here again, the Ethnomusicologist should interview as many different participants as possible so as to find common threads and rather than simply make grand assumptions about the entire music culture based on an individual’s account.
Overall, only a superhuman could transcend these three critiques completely, but one can certainly minimize their effect by consciously acknowledging them and actively planning how to overcome them.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Critical Review 8: Miller
Questions for Kiri:
You discuss how individuals feel specific connections to certain songs, and even claim them, whether openly or in a way that is mutually understood by group members. Do you find this phenomenon within the Sacred Harp group here at Brown? You mentioned that there are members of Brown's group that don't follow the music's religious affiliation, and in fact the majority are not Baptist Christians. How are certain idiosyncrasies different or similar in the specifically religiously-affiliated Sacred Harp groups you’ve studied versus the groups that are not specifically affiliated with the religion?
You write about the controversies and connotations of oral tradition versus written tradition in Sacred Harp singing. Sometimes, it seems, people who have learned primarily through oral tradition take offence at such stereotypes as that they cannot read music, while other times this method of passing down tradition is seen as superior and evidence of insider status. In your experience, how do/have most people responded to the social associations with these two kinds of learning? Do people feel the need to prove their music-reading abilities, or is it more valued to simply be a part of the oral tradition? If the answer to this is completely based on the individual, are there any specific aspects of an individual’s background that stand out that might determine her sentiments about the issue?
Question for discussion:
Kiri’s article notes that Sacred Harp singers will sometimes, knowingly or unknowingly, sing a different harmony than what is written for their parts, and occasionally a music writer for this genre will hear these changes and think they fit better than what was originally written. Who has authority to make such changes? If an outsider comes into a group and internally hears something she feels might sound better, should she change it when singing? Or should she, as an outsider, make a special effort to follow along with everyone else? Where should a line be drawn of who can make changes, if there is a line?
You discuss how individuals feel specific connections to certain songs, and even claim them, whether openly or in a way that is mutually understood by group members. Do you find this phenomenon within the Sacred Harp group here at Brown? You mentioned that there are members of Brown's group that don't follow the music's religious affiliation, and in fact the majority are not Baptist Christians. How are certain idiosyncrasies different or similar in the specifically religiously-affiliated Sacred Harp groups you’ve studied versus the groups that are not specifically affiliated with the religion?
You write about the controversies and connotations of oral tradition versus written tradition in Sacred Harp singing. Sometimes, it seems, people who have learned primarily through oral tradition take offence at such stereotypes as that they cannot read music, while other times this method of passing down tradition is seen as superior and evidence of insider status. In your experience, how do/have most people responded to the social associations with these two kinds of learning? Do people feel the need to prove their music-reading abilities, or is it more valued to simply be a part of the oral tradition? If the answer to this is completely based on the individual, are there any specific aspects of an individual’s background that stand out that might determine her sentiments about the issue?
Question for discussion:
Kiri’s article notes that Sacred Harp singers will sometimes, knowingly or unknowingly, sing a different harmony than what is written for their parts, and occasionally a music writer for this genre will hear these changes and think they fit better than what was originally written. Who has authority to make such changes? If an outsider comes into a group and internally hears something she feels might sound better, should she change it when singing? Or should she, as an outsider, make a special effort to follow along with everyone else? Where should a line be drawn of who can make changes, if there is a line?
Monday, November 3, 2008
Critical Review 7: Campbell
Campbell discusses the conflicts that have arisen between those interested in preserving the old traditions of Sacred Harp music and those interested in its modernization. Those who want to preserve the tradition as it has been claim that modernization incorporates trends from secular music, and thus takes away from the sanctity of Sacred Harp music. There have been two main systems of Sacred Harp notation, the four-note- and seven-note-systems, and before the Civil War, both generally coexisted in peace. After the war, however, the seven-note system became associated with Gospel music and modernization. Some, like Atkins, saw the evolution of shape notes over time as necessary to preserve Sacred Harp singing in general, while others believed the original four-note method and original texts were sacred and important in providing a dependable, unchanging sanctuary within the chaos of the world.
Is it beneficial to the survival of a musical practice to evolve in such a way that is parallel with the changing times? Can a musical tradition be preserved without much change, even if the context in which it is used is gradually changing? Is it possible to even expect a tradition to resist change over time?
Is it beneficial to the survival of a musical practice to evolve in such a way that is parallel with the changing times? Can a musical tradition be preserved without much change, even if the context in which it is used is gradually changing? Is it possible to even expect a tradition to resist change over time?
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