Introductions of members

[Carsten Wergin]

To give brief introductions about oneself, the particular interest in music and sound, what one would like this group to be for...

[Luciana Mendonça]

Hi to everyone! My name is Luciana and music has been a constant passion and subject of research for me. In the 1990's, I researched a bit about rap and blocos afro in São Paulo, Brazil. After, I did my PhD thesis about a musical movement from Recife, capital of Pernambuco State, Brazil, called manguebeat. Now, I am finishing a research about the presence of Brazilian music in Porto, Portugal. And from September on, if the project is approved, I will start to research fado in Lisbon. The relations between music and identity have been a constant matter to explore.

[Alexandre Enkerli]

Alex, I've been working on music and language of praise-singing performances by and for members of hunters' associations in Mali.
Would like to use this group to connect with other auditory anthropologists.

[Gabriela Vargas-Cetina]

hello everyone,

My name is Gabriela and I have a project on music and identity in Yucatan, Mexico. I have personally done fieldwork as a trova performer for several years, and have been working on the use of online social apps by anthropologists and musicians. My students are looking at cumbia music, tropical music dance halls, music school choice, and at the use of online social applications by local rock musicians. One of my MA students is working on music and everyday life with a local band of five ladies who have performed uninterruptedly since the 1930s. I am interested in all types of work related to sound, noise, music, soundscapes and performance. Have a good rest of the Summer, and I look forward to hearing more about you all.

[Alexandre Enkerli]

Ah, soundscapes! Sometimes, it sounds like R. Murray Schafer is one of us.
Have you found useful material to use in your courses?

[Gabriela Vargas-Cetina]

why wouldn't Shafer be one of us? Anyone who is interested in sound is one of us, I think, especially if they consider how people respond and interact with and through sound. On interesting materials: there are lots of new books on sound and music, including stuff on digital technologies. I could send you my sillabi if you want. One of my favourite books in Aden Even's 'Sound Ideas: Music, Machines and Experience'. It gives a good general background that can be easily grasped by students majoring not only in the social sciences.

Alexandre Enkerli said:

Ah, soundscapes! Sometimes, it sounds like R. Murray Schafer is one of us.
Have you found useful material to use in your courses?

[Þórður Kristinsson]

Hi all

My name is Þórður (Thor-dur) and I've done a colaborative participation research on a yearly music festival in Reykjavik Iceland where we tried to find out the different role it played for everyone involved. I also teach anthropology and sometimes anthropology of music where I can fit it in. I'd love this to be a venue where we'd share ideas, thoughts and interesting material regarding everything musical and anthropological.

[Alexandre Enkerli]

I agree that anyone interested is "one of us" but I also notice that some anthros tend to restrict "in-group membership" to those scholars who have certain credentials. Murray Schafer is a fairly good example. Feld and others have done some work to "rehabilitate" him to anthro and ethno eyes, but he still figures as an outsider to ethnographic perspectives on sound and/or on music.
Are your syllabi online? We could probably share them somewhere on the OAC.
About music and sound, I did find some useful references and used a few in my ethnomusicology course. At the same time, it's a bit difficult to introduce this literature to people who have no background in acoustics, music, and/or technology. Maybe Sound Ideas will help me, the next time I teach about music and/or sound. In fact, it could be an interesting topic for discussion on the SEM-L mailing-list. A few people are ready to work through those issues.
Though it's meant for other uses, I've found Dan Levitin's This Is Your Brain on Music inspiring in terms of introducing sound and music to people without much of a background in those fields. Wasn't able to use it as required reading, but I'll certainly assign some chapters, next time.

It sure sounds like you're doing fascinating work. Have you been connected to ethnomusicologists? How is the ethnomusicology scene in MX?

[Nicholas Marshall]

Hi. I'm Nicholas Marshall, a lowly undergrad at UNC Asheville. For years I've been interested in the fieldwork of American ethnomusicologists and song collectors. As a student of cultural anthropology, I have done some field recording, but have yet to get into collecting music first hand. I'm interested in learning more about the connection between ethnography and field recording and I would love to do research involving music of one kind or another.

[John C. McCall]

Hi, I'm an anthropologist/ethnomusicologist at So. Illinois U. Most of my recent work has been on Nollywood -Nigeria's movie industry. But music is calling me back. I'm an "applied musicologist." I play piano in some local bands, including a women's mystery cult disguised as a vaudeville act. And I'm currently launching an experimental ensemble to play samba in a new and distinctly "de-jazzified" way. (Love jazz, but want to create a musical jolt that will restart the weakening Congo heartbeat of samba.) I'm interested in the the evolutionary role of song in the creation of social memory, the cognitive relationship between musicality and arithmatic reasoning. the cultural and neural relationships between music and language., and all that good stuff. I'm also a dance ethnographer.

[Alexandre Enkerli]

Didn't realize you also work on music. Been using your Martin/O'Meara chapter while teaching African anthro and have mostly been using something from Ruth Stone's Garland encyclopedia for sections on African music. My music anthro course tends not to focus on regions. Will look into your work next time I teach about Africa or music.

John C. McCall said:

Hi, I'm an anthropologist/ethnomusicologist at So. Illinois U. Most of my recent work has been on Nollywood -Nigeria's movie industry. But music is calling me back. I'm an "applied musicologist." I play piano in some local bands, including a women's mystery cult disguised as a vaudeville act. And I'm currently launching an experimental ensemble to play samba in a new and distinctly "de-jazzified" way. (Love jazz, but want to create a musical jolt that will restart the weakening Congo heartbeat of samba.) I'm interested in the the evolutionary role of song in the creation of social memory, the cognitive relationship between musicality and arithmatic reasoning. the cultural and neural relationships between music and language., and all that good stuff. I'm also a dance ethnographer.

[Martha Radice]

I'm here mainly because I have a new MA student who is going to work on the Halifax (Nova Scotia) music scene. So we'd welcome any references on how performances, concerts, gigs, are linked to 'scenes', especially in relation to particular cities.

[Carsten Wergin]

Hi Martha

 

nice to have you with us. And what an interesting project!

 

Together with Fabian Holt I am currently working on an edited volume entitled "Musical Performance and the Changing City", which is to appear early next year with Routledge. Meanwhile, this online paper might be of interest to you:

 

http://halle.academia.edu/wergin/Papers/539613/Sounding_Ethnography...

 

Would be nice to hear more about this project. 

Cheers

C