Ethnomusicology is the study of people making music, and students will have the opportunity to explore this individually by writing one 3-4-page field report analyzing and reflecting upon select world musics using the Music-Culture Performance Model, an important tool in understanding the musics of the world.
Ethnomusicology is the study of people making music, and the Music-Culture Performance Model is a tool that helps researchers understand the music of the worlds peoples on their terms and in relation to our own cultures. For this assignment, assume the role of an ethnomusicologist and apply the Music-Culture Performance Model to an example work from a non-Western music-culture of your choice. For the purposes of this class, Western music includes the Euro-American symphony orchestra, concert and marching bands, opera, and Western pop music. Jazz and Caribbean styles are acceptable but must be discussed in relation to their source cultures (ex. the African music-culture for jazz).
Identify your example piece and write one 3-4-page report (not including bibliography or cover page) discussing the piece through the lens of the Music-Culture Performance Model. Example pieces may be taken from the textbook or from another source, including YouTube. Please include a bibliography of sources used and in-text citations, all correctly formatted. Failure to include a bibliography will result in an automatic 0 for the assignment. All reports must be typed double-spaced and 12-point font with 1-inch margins and 0-point spacing between paragraphs.
Due: Sunday, February 23 at 11:59 PM
Example Format: Be as descriptive as possible in your analysis!
Intro: Identify and introduce the music-culture and the example piece (about 1 paragraph)
Body (each about 1-2 paragraphs):
Affective Experience
What affect does this piece have on the listener, including yourself, both within and outside its music-culture?
Performance
What is the intent or purpose of the example music? Was its intent fulfilled? How? Does the piece follow the rules established by its music-culture in terms of its construction, location, style, relationship to audience, etc.? Was there anything unexpected or non-traditional?
Community
Identify the community involved with this piece. Who makes up that community? Who is the intended target of the performance? Think about age, gender, religion, and societal status.
Memory/History
How has this piece and others like it entered into the repertoire of its music-culture, through word of mouth or by being written down? How is it taught and disseminated, and by whom? What technologies are involved, if any? How has it influenced the people in terms of their identity? Is it an authentic performance?
Rubric (for each report):
Example piece and music-culture identified 10 points
All elements of the Performance Model discussed _/4 points
Proper use of grammar/Clearly demonstrates editing _/20 points
Documents meet length requirement (3-4 full pages each; at least to
bottom-most line of page 3) 6 points
Sources and citations properly formatted _/10 points
_______________
Total: 50 points
Some resources for background information (available via the campus library; library.usca.edu/home):
Garland Encyclopedia of World Music (Text and Database)
New Grove Dictionary (Text)
JSTOR (Database)
NAXOS Music Library and NAXOS Music Library JAZZ (Database of recordings)
Your textbook!
Academic OneFile and Search Premier (Databases)
EBSCOhost (Databases)
