Premium Essay

World of Music

In: Film and Music

Submitted By WarSage
Words 318
Pages 2
1. What do ethnomusicologists mean when they say, “Music is universal, but it is not a universal language”?
Ans: Music or rather musical activity exist within every human culture which makes it “universal” in nature. Because the interpretation of music varies differently from culture to culture, music is therefore not a universal language. 2. What are the potential problems in classifying music as “classical,” “folk,” or “popular”?
Ans: In each culture, different styles of music may be considered to be one classification in one culture, and something else in another. Music consisted as popular to one individual may not be to other. 3. How might an ethnomusicologist approach the study of Western classical music differently from a musicologist?
Ans: Ethnomusicologist are more likely to get in close to the artists and not only listen and record their music like a musicologist which, but will also study and participate in their culture as well. 4. What is “fieldwork”? What is its importance to the study of world music?
Ans: Fieldwork is the practice of going out and listening and recording music directly from the source, the culture that is being studied. This is important in that it adds direct and pure sources and examples of the music being studied which can then be compared to and studied along with music of other cultures.

5. In what ways does world music study require an interdisciplinary approach?
Ans: This is because not only is the music itself being studied (ethnomusicology), but the culture is being studied (anthropology) as well.

6. What is ethnocentrism? Have you ever experienced it?
Ans: Ethnocentrism is the belief or assumption that one’s own cultural background is “normal” while that of other is “strange” or exotic. As a result of my West Indian up bring, I tend to pray before and after every meal, a practice which my

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

World Music

...mean when they say, “Music is universal, but it is not a universal language”? No matter what country we come from, no matter what culture we represent, music exists in everyone’s life. Music can express emotions among different cultures. Therefore, music is universal. However, music needs people to perform and is affected by cultures. Facing with the same music, different people may have different understanding. Also, different cultures may have various interpretations. Therefore, music is not s universal language. 2. What are the potential problems in classifying music as “classical,” “folk,” or “popular”? Usually when people define folk, classical and popular music, they have to consider the background and history information. However, not everyone understands its background information. When people want to classify some new kinds of music, without background information, it may create some problems. For example, the definition of folk music relates to 19th century European culture. If people don’t realize its meaning, the definition may interfere their thinking. 3. How might an ethnomusicologist approach the study of Western classical music differently from a musicologist? Ethnomusicologists focus on the relationship between music and culture. When ethnomusicologists approach the study of Western classical music, they will analyze Western classical music under the background of history and culture. However, musicologists are more focus on music-making. When musicologists...

Words: 1191 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

World Music

...Introduction (World Music) MUNM 3113 World Music Dr. Christina Giacona cgiacona@ou.edu To complete this worksheet, provide your answers on this worksheet then submit the completed assignment in the “Intro World Music” dropbox on www.learn.ou.edu. NOTE: If a word count is given you can always go over the word count, just don’t go under! ------------------------------------------------- Materials ------------------------------------------------- To complete this assignment make sure you have fully read and watched the listed materials below Read: Introduction Material: * Music-culture: under the Content section in D2L * Before the Trip Begins: Fundamental Issues (textbook) pg 1 – 15 * Aural Analysis: Listening to the World’s Musics (textbook) pg 16 – 34 * Cultural Considerations: Beyond the Sounds Themselves (textbook) pg 35 – 60 PowerPoint: * The PowerPoint can be located at www.learn.ou.edu under the “content” tab Watch: * Sound, Music, and the Environment * http://www.learner.org/resources/series105.html?pop=yes&pid=1237 ------------------------------------------------- Assignment Questions ------------------------------------------------- Answer and complete all questions and projects below and highlight your answer in any color other than black. SECTION 1: OVERVIEW Part One: Before the Trip Begins: Fundamental Issues (textbook) pg 1 – 15 Answer these questions below 1. What do ethnomusicologists mean when they say, “Music is universal...

Words: 500 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

World Music

...Introduction to World Music Research paper Simply clad in a plain saree with her hair in plaits, the 'Nightingale of India' serves as an inspiration to many. She has been in the music industry since the age of 13 and has sung over 28,000 songs in the past decades. Through her hard work and determination, she has proved that every goal, every dream is achievable. She featured in the Guinness book of world records for having made the most recordings for about 16 years (1974 to 1991). She has also received the Bharat Ratna award which is one of the most prestigious award from the Indian government. She is the fifth woman to receive the award ever, after Indira Gandhi and Mother Teresa (The Palgrave Macmillan Dictionary of women’s biography, 2005). This paper will henceforth speak about the inspiration and impact that Lata Mangeshkar has had on the entire music industry, making her an unperishable idol in the minds of the Indian public. She was born in a Marathi speaking family, her father was a well renowned theatre actor who used to perform musical plays and was an exceptional Hindustani classical vocalist. Lataji trained with her father in the early stages of her life and became a part of her father’s musical play since she was five years old. She, defined as ‘devi’ (goddess) by everyone in the country is so polite and humble towards her singing that her singing became a sensation and for a lady in the early 40’s and 50’s it’s unusual to have an ambition to make music as their career...

Words: 1862 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

World Music

...ethnomusicologists mean when they say, “Music is universal, but it is not a universal language”? They say this because of many reasons. One reason being that many people have attempted to analyze music in terms of linguistics but it tends to be in a completely different realm. A second reason is that music is not usually known to cross cultural languages therefore it could not a universal language if one culture is not able to experience the emotions like another culture would. It is viewed in a semiotic view which means that is seen as a symbols that can be interpreted. 2. What are the potential problems in classifying music as “classical,” “folk,” or “popular” When using these terms together you are disrupting a value system that is based on different levels. Classical being the highest, then folk, and then popular being the lowest. They can not all be used together because some are greater or lesser than another. 3. How might an ethnomusicologist approach the study of Western classical music differently from a musicologist? An enthnomusicologist will get involved in more aspects of the culture while also doing what a musicologist would do such as record and study their music. 4. What is “fieldwork”? What is its importance to the study of world music? Fieldwork is when an ethnomusicologist goes to another country and experiences that cultures music first hand. This is important because it provides a greater understanding of all aspects of the music such as how it contributes...

Words: 371 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

World Music

...1. Do you consider music a "universal language"? Why or why not? (10 points) Music, no matter how performed, accepted, or appreciated is what I would define as a global/international form of expression. Whether the music contains simple beats, sounds, instruments, or rhythmic dance and song, it exists everywhere. Some debate that the question lay in ones definition of the meaning of “universal.” Others center their debate on whether or not music is a “language.” Our text refers to music as a condition of cultural origin. This simply means “definitions of music are culturally determined.” (pg. 2) With that being said, one’s culture may differentiate from another’s as to what they accept as music. If we were to look at music from a linguistic perspective, questioning whether or not it was universal, that would be analogous. But do we have to understand the language in which it was performed to appreciate it? Look at opera! Regarding its dialect, and say maybe lack of interpretation by some, it expresses emotion that many endear, and transcends such barriers as language. I believe music situates itself as one of the most fundamental bridges between people and their emotions. 2. The book discusses ethnocentrism; why do you think people all over the world tend to shy away from things that are not part of their "normal" experience? In your opinion, what are the reasons for the ethnocentric phenomenon? (10 points) Our book describes ethnocentrism as “the assumption that one’s...

Words: 598 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

World Music

...reported to have originated in the Guinea-Bissau area, however many people recognise the Kora from the many famous players of the Kora (from the Malo region) and therefore associate its origin to the Malo area. The Kora has been modified since its first creation, the most common Kora known is known for its 21 strings. Other modifications include the 18 stringed versions. However the original Kora was probably an adaptation of another existing harp (Oxford University Press 2007-2014). The kora was probably created by adding strings to an existing Mande harp, of which there are several with three to eight strings. Known as spike harps, these are a type unique to West Africa . The curved neck (a feature shared with other arched harps of the world) spikes the body as on the kora, and a string carrier stands upright on the soundtable to hold the strings. Straightening the neck and passing the strings over the holder (making it a bridge) enabled the instrument to accommodate the tension of more strings. (Oxford University Press 2007 — 2014.) Not only are there variations to the structure of the actual instrument, there are also different forms of playing the Kora that are found in the Guniea-Bissau...

Words: 2470 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

World Music

...World Music Genre Study NAME MUSIC INSTRUCTOR’S NAME DATE OF SUBMISSION INTRODUCTION This research paper is a specific study of one of the African dance musical genre-reggae, which was first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The music of Jamaica includes Jamaican folk music and many other popular genres. Therefore, Jamaican popular music since 1960 can be roughly divided into four eras each of which had a distinctive beat – ska, rocksteady, reggae, and dancehall. (Chang and Chen W, 1998, x) But this African dance musical genre “reggae” has gained immense popularity since it was first introduced in the music world and since then it is one of the most popular genres of music. Hence, it is one of the most significant music genres in Western musical market. In my paper, the focus of the reggae music genre is from 1965 till 1975 as these were considered as the major years or a decade for reggae music when it flourished. This was the time period during which the culture of reggae music was civilized and spread widely in the parts of Jamaica. Bob Marley is known as one of the best artists of this genre and the impact he made and contributed has made beyond the shores of Jamaica and globally as well. Reggae was created by the Jamaicans and still it is the only music genre which is so much popular and not created by Europeans or Americans. It has gained immense popularity since its introduction and in the recent years as well that it is the first model in which a third...

Words: 2013 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

World Music

...include the fact that each person has a different opinion on what genre a certain type of music fits into; especially people from different cultures and areas of the world. People in North America may hear music and put it into the popular genre, whereas people in Africa may put that same sound into a totally different genre. We all perceive music in a different way. There will be miscommunication in music when the artist and listener are from different cultural backgrounds. 2. A pitch is actually a tone we hear in music based on frequency levels such as high pitch or low pitch. A tuning system includes several types of pitches to tune an instrument. With a tuning system the pitches are used to be common with a musical tradition and a musical scale is an arrangement of pitches used in a specific performance. Range is completely separate from scale in music definitions. Range is not an arrangement of separate pitches but is all the pitches that a voice or instrument can produce. 3. Graphic notations are only representations of music so it is limiting other cultures, as they do not perceive the word music in the same way. We are limited on being able to distinguish the difference in music and noise when it is in notation since music is the sound and vibrations we hear rather than what is written on a sheet. Other cultures will not be able to feel the emotion and personality in the music if it is on paper because that is not what they are used to. 4. You have to become...

Words: 589 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

World Music

...Period 3 Growing up was hard for me. I lived with my mother, grandma, and aunt. School was also hard for me. I struggled in school, starting in middle school. My life was so difficult. I went through a lot in school and in my social life. Growing up I did not have a male figure. I only had my mother. She was a single woman working 3 jobs and taking care of me. Making sure I had everything I needed. I was so good at home and in school. But I started to fall off track because we started to move a lot and I kept changing schools. I had to help my mom and grandma in the house when they went to work. Years later a man came into my life, it was my dad. I didn't really want him around. He puts his wife before his kids " in my eyes". Knowing that I had to move to Florida to live with him was the worst. That's when I really started to do bad in school. I started to sit in class and do nothing just because he said if i do bad in school he was going to let me go back to my mother. But it never happened. I started to do my work and pass all my classes because it wasn't so bad living in Florida. Then i had to change schools again. I went from being at Palm Beach Gardens Community High School from 10-11 grade to moving to Forest Hill High School for my senior year. At first i started to slack off because I didn't want to be here because I did not want to graduate with people I did not know. but the kids and the staff are nice and they welcome new people without any...

Words: 308 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

World Music

...Medgar Evers College Kamielle Ellis Man 421 04/1/15 Chapter 5 review Questions Homework Read Chapter 5 Foundations of Business Intelligence: database and Information management Page 156 to 183 Due date: April 3rd 2015 Review Key Terms Page 185 Required Text Book: Laudon, Kenneth and Laudon, Jane Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, Ninth Edition, Prentice- Hall Do Review Questions 1, 2, and 5. 1. How does a relational database organize data and how goes it differ from an object-oriented database? * Define and explain the significance of entities: attributes, and key fields. * Define a relation database and explain how it organizes and stores information. * Explain the role of entity-relationship diagrams and normalization in the database design. * Define an Object-oriented database and explain how it differs from a relational database A relational database organizes data into two-dimensional tables also called relations with columns and rows. Each table contains data on an entity and its attributes. Each row represents a record and each column represents an attribute or field. Each table also contains a key field to uniquely identify each record for retrieval or manipulation. An object-oriented database management system (DBMS) stores data and procedures that act on the data as objects, and it can handle multimedia as well as characters and numbers. Entities are the person, place, or thing...

Words: 1136 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

World Music

...Example essay on Nature vs Nurture: The natural characteristics of a person can either be quite similar or quite different to the unnatural characteristics of a person. The natural characteristics of a person are the traits that come from their parents; the ones that people are born with which are genetical. These traits are developed biologically. The unnatural characteristics of a person, or the nurtured characteristics, are the traits that people develop themselves after they are born. The environment of a person’s life greatly determines their personality. The traits a person has that they weren’t born with are the traits that the environment has influenced on them. There are many traits that I have inherited naturally through genetics from my mom and dad. I can tell that my work ethic has been inherited from my dad because he is a very hard worker and I also strive to achieve my personal best. My mom tends to be very sensitive at times and concerned for other people’s feelings, which I know, I have inherited. I have also inherited my dad’s super mathematical skills and my mom’s artistic abilities. I can also tell that I have inherited a good sense of well being from my mom. There are also many behaviors that I have developed from the environment I grew up in. I have learned to respect all people from being influenced at school and by my parents. I’ve also been trained to be responsible of things such as doing my work. I learned that if I am not responsible and don’t do...

Words: 712 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Music World

...allows the performer to compose, within strict boundaries, while playing. There are actually fully written ensemble compositions out there without improvisation. The compositions are still considered modal improvisation because the compositions still follow the conventions of maqam. 2. Islamic Call to Prayer and Jewish biblical cantillation are not considered “music” of “singing,” because of sensuality. Islam believes music is overly sensual. Islamic Call to Prayer does have definite pitch, rhythm, and contour. However, Islam does not think of Call to Prayer as sensual, but “as heightened speed or ‘holy’ speech, delivered in a style requiring both declamation and the spinning out of syllables”(248). Full-fledged singing is often forbidden for Judaism because of sensuality. To get around full-fledged singing, Judaism uses the term cantillation. Cantillation is thought of as a heightened speech that is between speaking and singing. Even if a cantillation has a melody, it is still not referred to as “singing.” 3. There are many factors that make Persian classical music different from Arabic music. One of the differences is the difference between the Arabic maqam and Persian dastgah. While Persian musicians have created “composed” melodic phrases, Arab musicians rely on oral tradition of melodic phrases. The “composed” melodic phrases created by the Persian musicians make short compositions, and are called gusheh....

Words: 371 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Music in World Cuture

...| Music In World Culture | | | | | | ABSTRACTI will examine the relationship between music and culture and discuss the role music plays in people’s daily lives. I will discuss unique handcrafted instruments used by different cultures to express traditions through music and how rhythm, melody & harmony affect how music sounds. My research will show how music plays an important part of cultural preservation and revitalization of people around the world, and although every culture has their own traditions and beliefs they all use music in their celebrations and spiritual ceremonies. | | Music in World Culture Music is a very important characteristic of all cultures. Evidence of humans making music reaches far back in time. Although the Modern American culture commonly views music as a form of entertainment, there are still many cultures who believe music is much more than that. Music is a form of verbal art, poetry and stories combined with melody and rhythm that all cultures use to display inspiration, religion, political views or emotions. Most cultures have sacred music, for religious functions, and worldly music, for nonreligious activities. I will say that before taking this class I had never heard the work “Ethnomusicology”, now I know that Ethnomusicology is the study of the music of the world. I now realize there are so many different cultures of the world and they all have their own unique traditions. What stood out for me the most...

Words: 1886 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

World Music Essay

...reflect the collective community and encourage group participation? Music in sub-Saharan Africa reflects the collective community and encourages group participation because it is an important part of the culture. The music is linked to many traditions, celebrations, and rituals. There are three musical manifestations of a collective community in the Sub-Saharan African. They are dance, call and response and polyrhythm. The Call and response is very popular. The chorus repeats a fixed refrain in alternation with a lead singer, who then has more freedom to improvise. This makes the music conversational and encouraged group participation. 2. How is polyrhythmic music created in sub-Saharan Africa? Polyrhythmic music is created when two or more locally independent attack patterns are superimposed, is realized by handclaps, xylophones, rattles, and a variety of tuned and non tuned drum, by handclaps, xylophones, rattles, and a variety of tuned and non tuned drums. The African polyrhythm is the noticeable steadiness of the resultant rhythmic pattern. Pitch polyphony exists in the form of parallel intervals overlapping solo-choral response, and occasional simultaneous independent melodies. In addition to voice, many wind and string instruments perform melodic functions. 3. In what ways do Jùjú and other types of popular music in sub-Saharan Africa draw on traditional music for inspiration? After World War II, musician in Nigeria began incorporation electric instrument...

Words: 258 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

The World Without Music

...The World without Music From as far back as scholars can trace, music has always been an essential part of the human culture all over the globe. Music can be used to convey feelings, promote religious agendas, and entertain. It can be expressed through chanting, singing, dancing, and most importantly, playing instruments. One instrument, the violin, has been a major part of musical compositions for many centuries. The violins importance with music can be analyzed by focusing on its history, its sound and effects, the style of music that made it popular, and how it is being incorporated in music today. First, to understand the violin, one must know what it is exactly. The violin, also referred to as the fiddle, is a four-stringed instrument that can produce different tones depending on which string is played, A, E, D, or G. It belongs to a family of stringed instruments, which includes the cello and viola. The violin is the smallest instrument in the strings family. Kerman and Tomlinson, authors of the music book Listen, point out: Stringed instruments produce their sound by means of taut strings attached to the sound box, a hollow box containing a body of air that resonates (that is, vibrates along with the strings) to amplify the string sound. The strings themselves can be played with a bow, as with the violin and other orchestral strings; the bow is strung tightly with horsehair, which is coated with a substance called rosin so that the bow grips the strings...

Words: 931 - Pages: 4