MUSIC CULTURES OF THE WORLD What is always needed in the appreciation of art or life is the larger perspective. Connections made, or at least attempted, where none existed before, the straining to encompass in one's glance at the varied world the common thread, the unifying theme throughout immense diversity (Alice Walker 1983:5 quoted in Collins 1991). Music 0311 Fall Semester 1999 MW 11:00-11:50 Room 332 Cathedral of Learning Professor Andrew Weintraub (call me Professor Weintraub) 214 Music Building Office Hours: Mon & Wed 12-1 pm or by appointment Tel. 624-4184 Teaching Assistants [Recitation Times/Rooms and Office Hours TBA] This class is a flexible exploration of music in terms of its cultural, aesthetic, political, and economic dimensions--all concerns of Ethnomusicology. The course has five objectives: 1) to broaden our understanding of the scope of human musical activity throughout the world. 2) to develop listening skills and a vocabulary that will enable us to talk about and write about music. 3) to study of music in culture as the relationship between ideas, sound, and behavior. 4) to understand the ways in which music and identity are linked within social and cultural formations, particularly along axes of race, gender, class, and ethnicity. 5) to set up the classroom as a place to question the validity of established canons and categories conventionally employed to study music, and their usefulness for cross-cultural analysis. Musical genres include, but are not limited to, folk, court, ritual, popular, art/classical, and narrative traditions from selected music cultures of the world. Resources for the course include lectures, concerts, readings (textbook), audio- and videotapes. Listening to music is essential for this course but formal music education is not necessary. All students are required to attend lectures and discussion sections, to do the assigned readings, to listen critically to all the listening cd/tapes, to attend the concert, to turn in the written assignments on time, and to take the exams. Required Reading: Titon, Jeff Todd, editor. 1996. Worlds of Music (3rd edition). New York: Schirmer Books. With accompanying cassette or CD. Available at The Book Center along with the accompanying CD/cassette. Lecture, Discussion, Reading, and Exam Schedule [Required Listening Selections TBA in class] August 30 (Mon) Music as a Focus of Study: A Case Study of Worlds of Music September 1 (Wed) The Intersection of Music and Identity Read: Titon (textbook) Chapter 1 6 (Mon) Labor Day (no class) 8 (Wed) Immigration, Assimilation, Ethnicity and Racialization in the U.S. Autoethnography Due 13 (Mon) A Brief History of Musics and Cultures in Pittsburgh, PA UNIT 1: Asia 15 (Wed) Concepts of Hindustani Classical Music: Raga, Tala, and Rasa Read: Titon (textbook) Chapter 6 20 (Mon) Music and Distinction: Caste/Class (at a Music Concert) in India 22 (Wed) In-class lecture-demonstration: Bansuri Flute Listening Project 1 Due * 24 (Friday) Concert: 7:30 pm at Mellon Institute Auditorium, Bellefield & Fifth 27 (Mon) The Bombay Dream Factory: Popular Culture and Filmi Film Showing: Aashiq starring Raj Kapoor 29 (Wed) In-class lecture-demonstration: Sundanese Gamelan Read: Titon (textbook) Chapter 7 October 4 (Mon) Music and Ethnicity in Theater Music of Java Concert Review Due 6 (Wed) Imagining and Constructing the Nation: Indonesian Popular Music 11 (Mon) Exam I Unit II: Africa and Latin America 13(Wed) The Drum as a Gendered Instrument: Women and Music of Uganda In-class lecture demonstration by Sylvia Nanyonga-Tamasuza 18 (Mon) Ethnic Diversity in the Musics of Africa Read: Titon (textbook) Chapter 3 20 (Wed) Mande Jaliya and Modern Griots of West Africa Listening Project 2 Due 25 (Mon) Shona Mbira and Music of Liberation: Chimurenga of Zimbabwe 27 (Wed) Race and Music in Latin American Music Read: Titon (textbook) Chapter 9 Listening Project 3 Due November 1 (Mon) Music and Social Movements: Nueva Cancion 3 (Wed) Ecuador 8 (Mon) Orquesta Tropicale 10 (Wed) Exam II Unit III: Europe and the United States 15 (Mon) Music and Ethnic Relations in Eastern Europe: Bosnia Read: Titon (textbook) Chapter 5 17 (Wed) Bulgarian music and dance In-class lecture-demonstration: Dessi Jordanoff Listening Project 4 Due 22 (Mon) "Newly Composed Folk Music" and Rock 24 (Wed) Thanksgiving holiday (no class) 29 (Mon) "Conceptual Approaches" to African-American Music-making Read: Titon (textbook) Chapter 4 December 1 (Wed) In-class lecture-demonstration: "Blues as Music" and "Blues as Such" Listening Project 5 Due 6 (Mon) Women Piano Players in African-American Gospel 8 (Wed) Representing Blackness: Hip-Hop Culture in the U.S. 15 (Wed) Final Exam 12-1:50pm Course Requirements Autoethnography This writing assignment is an account of your musical enculturation --defined in your textbook (p. 76) as "the process of learning one's culture gradually during childhood"--taking into account both formal and informal musical activities (c. 3 pages, double-spaced and typed). Consider the following broad questions: do you think music plays a part in determining who you are, what you know about the world, and the way you live your life? The format for this assignment is flexible, but you must consider the following: Where and when were you born and raised? Where are the people who raised you from? What kinds of music do you remember listening to or playing when you were growing up? What kinds of music do you like and why? Who are your favorite artists/groups and why? When and where do you listen to music? How have your musical tastes changed over time, from your earliest musical memories to the present? What, in your opinion, distinguishes good music from bad music? If you play music, discuss your training and influences. Performance Review A descriptive and critical review of one concert performance. All students must attend and write a review of the "Bamboo Flutes of Asia" concert at Mellon Institute Auditorium on September 24 (tickets to be purchased by students in advance at the Pitt Union Ticket Office). The review should mention the date and location of the presentation, instruments used, repertoire played, a description of the audience, and kinds of interaction with the audience. It is very important to relate your description and observations to topics discussed in class. Your impressions and evaluative comments are also important. Reports must be typed on white (or light) paper using standard typeface (please, no script or fancy typeface). Use one-inch margins around the text. The quality of written communication is part of the evaluation for each writing assignment. Your essays must be carefully edited for typos and grammatical errors; they should appear clean and neat. If your paper does not conform to these specifications, it will be considered unfinished and returned to you without a grade. Exams and Quizzes Exams will focus on listening and general comprehension of the materials presented in class or through assigned reading and listening materials. Listening projects will encompass material covered in listening, lecture, reading, and recitation. The course requires careful and extensive study of the listening materials throughout the semester: auditory "cramming" (listening only before each exam) is not advised. No make-up exams or quizzes will be administered unless prior arrangements are made or emergency situations arise. Attendance and Participation Attendance at lectures and recitations is essential. We expect you to be actively engaged in lectures and discussions. Please feel free to ask questions when you don't understand something in the readings or lectures. Grading Guidelines Autobiography (5%); 1 performance review (15%); 5 listening projects (10%); 3 exams (60%); attendance and participation in recitations (10%).