Month: October 2023

Interview Assignment: Local Music

 Local music is music of a larger genre – opera, singer-songwriter works, Greek dance music, string quartets, hula, choirs, punk, solo instrumentalists, powwow drumming, symphonies, jazz – that happens to have a local manifestation. “Local” includes the Pacific Northwest, but should be restricted to British Columbia and Seattle only. This project includes several steps.

Step One

Chose a genre of music from the list of List of Music Genres and Styles from Wikipedia.

Step Two

Go to the library. Look at in-print library resources like the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and the Garland Encyclopedia of World Music to find out something general about the genre. Some of these genres have books written about them. Take some basic notes about what it’s like.

Step Three

 Go online and find out about where you might discover or hear or play this music locally. Take notes about this as well.

Step Four

Listen to recorded examples of it. We might have it in our campus library, or there might be examples online. Try describing it in writing.

Step Five

Find out who performs this music locally and see if any festivals or performances are coming up. Be as detailed as possible.

Write up just one page of notes with the information you have discovered: a basic description of the genre, three print resources, three links to online information, and the name of at least two recordings or online clips where one can listen to it.

On Thu Nov 20 you are expected to spend about tw0 minutes discussing what you have discovered. You won’t be able to play any examples in class, but this is a way of sharing good information with your colleagues in class. Your presentation needs the following information.

–       the name of the genre and a short description (don’t assume we know what it sounds like)

–       who plays it (basic demographic information)

–       where you might be able to hear it British Columbia or Seattle

–       a good resource for information about it

At the end of the presentation, turn in your write-up of 750 words, double spaced, 12 point font with your name on every page. Assignments must be stapled. Also include your notes, separate from the word limit.

It is possible that someone will be interested in doing further research on this subject, so your paper should have the right information on it. If someone approaches you with questions about it, be a good collaborative scholar and help the person out with more information. This small assignment is a taste of what graduate work in ethnomusicology can be.

First, my thanks to you all for your kind attention toward our fine TA Joshua Brooks. See below for all you need for the prompt based on that class. And along with Joshua we thank you for your energy and enthusiasm this term. It is such pleasurable group of folks to work with, folks with wide minds, great ideas, and, we suspect, big hearts.

I do offer some tiny housekeeping suggestions. Please arrive to class on time or not at all. I never take attendance. In fact, I wonder why any university class of adults takes attendance. We all have a tapestry of lives, jobs, children, spouses, responsibilities, of which this class is but one thread. But lateness is a drag and very distracting. Class is not a buffet.

Also, with respect, please staple your submitted work and put your first and last name on every page.

IN CLASS OPEN MIC MON OCT 30

All genres welcome. Very loud sounds and large technical requirements are not. While this is called an “open mic” I truly mean it as an event where all the performers are known in advance so I can make a good running order. Please let me know by Mon Oct 23 at the latest a) what you will play b) who you are playing with c) running time d) tech requirements.

PROMPT 3 DUE THU OCT 19, STAPLED, DOUBLE SPACED MINIMUM 350 MAXIMUM 400 WORDS