Assignments
Research Project Required of Undergraduate Ethnomusicology Majors
The following are different choices for the project, however be sure to seek the advice of a teaching assistant or the instructor regarding the appropriateness or relevance of the material you are thinking of using. Work on the project should begin no later than the third week of school and must be turned in on or before Tuesday of the last week of instruction. The submitted typed essay should consist of ten double-spaced typed pages (approximately 3,000 words), including a list of sources, books, records, and so on. Use your own language, although you may incorporate quotes occasionally. Proper credit must be given to all record notes, individuals, and literature consulted. The teaching assistants will be happy to give you suggestions on the various aspects of the projects.
Regardless of the choice you make, your work is expected to tie in with the material covered in this class. You are expected to discuss music using the terminology and concepts you have learned in the course. When you talk about musical styles or instruments, state what makes them typically African or Middle Eastern, as well as the ways in which they seem peculiar or distinctive. The report should go beyond mere reflections or descriptions of personal moods and impressions while listening to the music. You may choose one of these following possibilities:
1. Meet a local musician who performs either African or Middle Eastern music. Interview this musician and ask him or her all sorts of musical questions about his or her music, aspects of creativity in the music, and how the music represents or adds something new to his or her tradition. Particularly if you feel the musician does not articulate such ideas very clearly, record him or her or get hold of his or her recorded performances and then ask the artist questions directly related to his or her music on the recordings. In your report, you are expected to combine both the musician’s ideas and your own musical analysis. Also be sure to say something about the artist and to give him or her proper acknowledgement. Refer to the readings or other literature to support your ideas. List all your sources at the end following the Ethnomusicology journal reference format.
2. Choose a specific African or Middle Eastern musical tradition (for example, music of an ethnic group, a musical genre, a ritual, a festival, a type of ceremony, etc.), preferably one that was not covered or explained at length in class. Write a musical research paper on the topic, on the basis of various books and articles in the library, and recordings in the Ethnomusicology Archive. It will also be useful to consult with musicians or experts on the topic, providing you give them credit in your paper. It is very important that the research ties in with the course material, specifically by stating how the musical and cultural findings confirm, complement or differ from the music covered and described in class. Be sure to list all the various references you have used at the end of the paper. List cited works under “References” following the consistent format used in the Ethnomusicology journal.
3. Prepare an ongoing annotated bibliography and discography on Africa and the Middle East. You may begin by using a card system, with titles on the front and annotations on the back. Check with the instructor periodically in order to make sure the coverage is on the right track and reasonably selective. Use the Music Library and the Ethnomusicology Archive. The final version, which should be typed with the material listed in alphabetical order following the author’s last name, will consist of the author’s full name, date of publication, title of the work, place of publication, publisher, followed by the actual annotations. The listing of the items should be consistent and needs to follow the format of “Reference” as it appears with articles in the Ethnomusicology journal. The annotations need to briefly cover the scope, orientation of the content, emphases, level of specialization, style of writing, etc. Each annotation could range from several sentences to a couple of paragraphs. Please note that you need to locate the sources and examine them yourself. Also the annotations must be your own. Any annotations copied or just downloaded from other sources will not be accepted. If there are a few sources that you think need to be included but you were not able to find them and to look them up, you may list them separately and indicate that they were not directly consulted. Overall, be selective and try to focus on works or recordings that seem important. You may roughly cover between 15 and 20 items for Africa and the same number for the Middle East.
Research Project Required of Undergraduate Majors Other Than Ethnomusicology
The following are different choices for the project, however be sure to seek the advice of a teaching assistant or the instructor regarding the appropriateness or relevance of the material you are thinking of using. Work on the project should begin no later than the third week of school and must be turned in on or before Tuesday of the last week of instruction. The submitted typed essay should consist of ten double-spaced typed pages (approximately 3,000 words), including a list of sources, books, records, and so on. Check with your teaching assistants regarding the format for the reference list at the end. Use your own language, although you may incorporate quotes occasionally. Proper credit must be given to all record notes, individuals, and literature consulted. The teaching assistants will be happy to give you suggestions on the various aspects of the projects.
Regardless of the choice you make, your work is expected to tie in with the material covered in this class. You are expected to discuss music using the terminology and concepts you have learned in the course. When you talk about musical styles or instruments, state what makes them typically African or Middle Eastern, as well as the ways in which they seem peculiar or distinctive. The report should go beyond mere reflections or descriptions of personal moods and impressions while listening to the music. You may choose one of these following possibilities:
1. Plan to attend a performance (a concert, nightclub show, jam session, lecture-demonstration, rehearsal, etc.) of music from Africa or the Middle East. The musical tradition represented does not have to be exactly one of those covered in the lectures and class tapes. If possible, meet one or more of the artists and ask them relevant questions. Try to relate the material to what was covered in the course. Use concepts and musical terminology you have learned in class. Also you may refer to the readings and other literature to support your ideas. List your sources under “References” at the end.
2. Do a detailed study of the content of two recordings (CDs, LPs, or cassettes), one from Africa and one from the Middle East. Then compare and contrast the two CDs. You may check with the teaching assistants or the instructor regarding your choice of material. Your paper must include a full description of each CD (the titles, the record number, the record label, the year of issue, if available, and the featured artists and instruments, if available, and other basic information.) The comparison should cover the musical style in general, the instruments, and the contexts and cultural background of the music. Here too, you may attempt to explain how the two examples can help someone better understand the differences or shared elements in the two traditions. Consult the record notes and try to look into other available literature in the Music Library to support your ideas. You may use records at the Ethnomusicology Archive (room 1630, Schoenberg Hall) or get your own CDs. Record labels such as Ocora, Folkways, Barenreiter, Musical Atlas, Unesco Philips, Lyrichord, and Nonesuch are generally good. List your sources under “References” at the end.
3. Meet a local musician who performs either African or Middle Eastern music. Interview this musician and ask him or her all sorts of musical questions about his or her music, aspects of creativity in the music, and how the music represents or adds something new to his or her tradition. Particularly if you feel the musician does not articulate such ideas very clearly, record him or her or get hold of his or her recorded performances and then ask the artist questions directly related to his or her music on the recordings. In your report, you are expected to combine both the musician’s ideas and your own musical analysis. Also be sure to say something about the artist and to give him or her proper acknowledgement. You my also refer to the readings and other literature to support your ideas. List your sources under “References” at the end.