MUSIC OF SOUTHEAST ASIA

Spring Semester 1999
MW 1:00-2:15 
Room 123 Music

Professor Andrew Weintraub
214 Music Building
Office Hours: Mon & Wed 2:15-3:15 pm  
or by appointment
Tel. 624-4184


This course is designed for graduate and upper-level undergraduate students interested in 
the performing arts and cultures of mainland and insular Southeast Asia.  The course will focus 
on selected genres of music, dance, and theatre of the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, 
Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.  Musical genres include, but are 
not limited to, folk, court, ritual, popular, art/classical, and narrative traditions. No formal 
music training is required for this course.  

Required Texts (available at The Book Center):

1)  Brandon, James. 1967 (or later edition).Theatre in Southeast Asia. Cambridge, MA: 
Harvard University Press.

2) Roseman, Marina. 1991. Healing Sounds from the Malaysian Rainforest: Temiar Music and 
Medicine. Berkeley: University of California Press.

3) Reader (available at Copy Cat on Forbes Ave.)

Reference Texts (see the indexes to get more detailed information on specific topics)

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. S. Sadie. London: MacMillan.

The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music: Southeast Asia, Terry Miller and Sean Williams, 
eds. 
Lecture, Discussion, Reading, and Exam Schedule
(Please do assigned readings before the corresponding class meeting)
An asterisk indicates items placed on reserve for you in the Music Library
GS=Additional Required Reading for Graduate Students

1. Introduction: Environment and the Cultural Setting (January 6-13)

1/6     "South East Asia." In The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. S. 
Sadie. London: MacMillan.

1/11    Brandon, James R. 1967. "The Cultural Setting." In Theatre in Southeast Asia. 
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
        
1/13    Brandon, James R. 1967. "Music and Dance." In Theatre in Southeast Asia. 
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Listening Assignment 1: Javanese Gamelan

1/18    No Class (Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day)
        
GS 1:   Garland Introduction

        "Review Essay: The JVC Anthology." 1992. Asian Music 24(2):111-188 [essays on 
Southeast Asia].
        
2. Indonesia: Javanese Gamelan Music (1/20-1/25)

1/20    Becker, Judith. 1979. "Time and Tune in Java."  In The Imagination of Reality, ed. 
A.L. Becker and Aram Yengoyan, 197-210. N.J.: Ablex.

Listening Assignment 2

1/25    Video: An Introduction to Javanese Gamelan

GS 2:   Kunst, Jaap 1979 (1949).

3.  Indonesia: Balinese Music and Dance (1/27)

1/27    Video: Trance and Dance in Bali (Media Services Library F692)

Listening Assignment 3: CD

GS 3:   McPhee, Colin. 1966.

        Tenzer, Michael. 1991. Balinese Music.  Berkeley, CA: Periplus Editions, Inc.

4. Indonesia: Javanese Wayang Kulit (2/1-2/3)
        
2/1     Brandon, James.
        Video: Widiyanto

2/3     van Nooten, B.A. 1976. "Introduction." In Ramayana, by William Buck. Berkeley: 
University of California Press.

        van Nooten, B.A. 1973. "Introduction."  In Mahabharata, by William Buck. Berkeley: 
University of California Press.

GS 4:   Becker, A.L. 1979. "Text-Building, Epistemology, and Aesthetics in Javanese Shadow 
Theatre." In The Imagination of Reality, ed. A.L. Becker and A.A. Yengoyan, 211-
243. Norwood, N.J.: Ablex.

        Brandon, James R. 1970. "Wajang in Performance." In On Thrones of Gold, 33-69. 
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

2/8     Midterm I

5. Indonesia: Sundanese Music, Dance, and Theater (2/10-2/17)

2/10    Jabang Tutuka, The Birth of Gatotkaca: A Transcription and Translation of a 
Sundanese Wayang  Golek Purwa Performance.  Jakarta: Lontar Publications (1998).

Listening Assignment 4: Wayang Golek Performance Tapes (5)

2/15    Sundanese Wayang Golek Purwa (contÕd)

2/17    Tembang Sunda

Listening Assignment 5: Tembang Sunda

GS 5:   Weintraub, Andrew. Constructing the Popular

        Manuel, Peter and Randall Baier. 1986. "Jaipongan: Indigenous Popular Music of 
West Java." Asian Music. 91-110.

6. Indonesia: Popular Music (2/22-2/24)

2/22    Frederick, William. 1982. "Rhoma Irama and the Dangdut Style: Aspects of 
Contemporary Indonesian Popular Culture."  Indonesia 34: 102-130.

Listening Assignment 6: "Music of Indonesia 2: Indonesian Popular Music: Kroncong, 
Dangdut, and Langgam Jawa." Liner notes accompanying compact disc Music of 
Indonesia 2. Smithsonian SF 40056.

2/24    Yampolsky, Philip. 1989. "Hati Yang Luka, an Indonesian Hit." Indonesia 47: 1-17. 

Listening Assignment 7: Tape on Reserve: "Hati Yang Luka"

7. Thailand: Royal Court Music (3/1)

3/1     Myers-Moro, Pam. 1991. "Teachers on Tape: Innovation and Experimentation in 
Teaching Thai Music." Balungan 5(1):15-20.

Listening Assignment 8: Royal Court Music of Thailand

GS:     Garland Encyclopedia

8. Thailand: Popular Music (3/3) 

3/3     Siriyuvasak, Ubonrat. 1990. "Commercializing the Sound of the People: Pleng 
Luktoong and the Thai Pop Music Industry."  Popular Music 9(1):61-77.

        Wong, Deborah. 1989/90. "Thai Cassettes and Their Covers: Two Case Histories."  
Asian  Music 21(1):78-104.

        Video: Beats of the Heart series
        
3/8 and 3/10     No Class (Spring Recess)

3/15    Midterm II

3/17    Trimillos, Ricardo D. 1986. "Music and Ethnic Identity: Strategies Among Overseas 
Filipino Youth." Yearbook for Traditional Music 18:9-20. 

Guest Lecture: Ricardo D. Trimillos (University of HawaiÔi)

9. Cambodia: The Royal Court Tradition (3/22)

3/22    Cravath, Paul. 1986. "The Ritual Origins of the Classical Dance Drama of Cambodia." 
        Asian Theater Journal 3(2): 179-203.

        1991. "Interview: Sam-Ang Sam."Balungan  5(1):21-27. 

        Video:Khmer Court Dance 

10. Laos: The Ethnic Lao and the Hmong (3/24)

3/24    Compton, Carol. 1992. "Traditional Verbal Arts in Laos: Functions, Forms, 
Continuities, and Changes in Texts, Contexts, and Performances."  Selected Reports in 
Ethnomusicolgy 9:149-159.

Listening Assignment 9: Khene

Celestial Harmonies Thailand tape

GS: Garland: Laos

3/27    Listening Assignment 10: Pitt Gamelan Concert, Bellefield Hall, 8pm

11. Vietnam: Art Music (3/29)

3/29    Art Music

Listening Assignment 11: "Music of Vietnam"

12. Vietnam: Recent Developments (3/31)

3/31    Reyes-Schramm, Adelaida. 1986. "Tradition in the Guise of Innovation: Music among 
a Refugee Population." ICTM Yearbook: 91-101.

Listening Assignment 12: Cai Luong

GS: Garland

Nguyen, Phong T. New Perspectives on Vietnamese Music. New Haven: Yale Center for 
International and Area Studies.

Tran, Van Khe. 1975. "Vietnamese Music."  Selected Reports in Ethnomusicology 2:35-47.

13. Malaysia: The Performance of Healing (4/5-4/7)      

4/5     Roseman, Marina. 1991. Healing Sounds from the Malaysian Rainforest: Temiar 
Music and Medicine.  Los Angeles: University of California Press.

4/7     Temiar (contÕd)

Listening Assignment 13: Healing Sounds

14. Malaysia: Constructing Popular and National Culture (4/12)

4/12    Chopyak, James. 1987. "The Role of Music in Mass Media, Public Education and the 
Formation of a Malaysian National Culture." Ethnomusicology 31(3): 431-454.

        Tan, Sooi-beng. 1989. "From Popular to 'Traditional' Theater: The Dynamics of 
Change in Bangsawan of Malaysia." Ethnomusicology 33(2): 229-274.

Listening Assignment 14: Bangsawan

15. Philippines: Dance, Music, and Gong Ensembles (4/14)

4/14    Cadar, Usopay. 1975.  "The Role of Kulintang in Maranao Society."  Selected Reports 
in Ethnomusicology 2(2):49-62.

Listening Assignment 15: Kulintang

16. Philippines: Popular Music and Diaspora (4/19)

4/19    Gimenez-Maceda, Teresita. 1980. "Popular Music as Politics."  International Popular 
Culture 1(1):24-32.

17.Overview and Summary (4/21)

4/21    Becker, Judith. 1994. "Musical Scholarship of Southeast Asia."  In The New Grove 
Handbook of Scholarship on Ethnomusicology. London: Macmillan.

Final Exam

Required Readings
There are two required textbooks and a reader for this course. It will be necessary to study 
the assigned readings in conjunction with the corresponding weekly topics. Graduate 
students taking the course are required to do additional reading assignments and to write e-
mail reviews on selected readings; readings will be chosen and scheduled in conjunction 
with the professor.

Listening Assignments
Brief responses to specific questions about your listening materials. Each assignment will be 
distributed at the session before the due date. Listening material will be on reserve in the Music 
Library.  Your discussion should incorporate material from listening tapes, class sessions, and 
readings. Please be as concise as possible. 

Attendance and Class Participation

Class participation is part of your grade and is determined by your attendance and involvement 
in class discussions.  

Exams
Exams will focus on listening identification and general comprehension of the materials 
presented in class or through assigned reading and listening materials.  Each exam will consist 
of identifying several recorded excerpts from the listening assignments.  You will also be asked 
to write a short paragraph describing the performance (who, what, where, and why), for 
whom such a performance would typically take place, and any other pertinant information.  
This means you must develop critical listening skills and think carefully about what it is you 
hear.  

Grading Guidelines
Listening Assignments (30%); In-class Participation and Attendance (10%); Midterm I (20%); 
Midterm II (20%); Final (20%).