Wagner

...or "Walla walla"

I watched "Das Rheingold" today. It was the 1976 staging directed by Patrice Chereau. It accomplished three things.

1. reinforced my fear that I am just a cog in the industrial machine

2. inspired a game called "Bayreuth" similar to another one with a similar name.

3. Wagner was an asshole

I enjoyed it immensely and will be watching a more traditional staging of die Walkure very soon. I also listened to a lot of rain hitting my window. Why practice with my "Studying Rhythm" book if I can just learn from nature? I suspect professor Cole will not appreciate that question.

SEM POST

Or..."Dear Society for Ethnomusicology: Is that seriously your journal cover?"

I went to town!

The first thing you notice when you go through the earliest issues of Ethnomusicology is how it seemed to function as a networking journal as opposed to a place where people published their findings. It's historical roots as an offshoot of musicology and its relative novelty are really highlighted by the first few issues. There is a clear intent to really try and flesh out the discipline

The earliest issues are dominated by studies of decidedly "exotic" cultures. Throughout many of the earlier articles, I got the distinct impression that these ethnomusicologists perceived the people they were studying as "primitive." They also read very scientifically, with very little usage of the first person and almost no personal narrative. The scientific approach to ethnomusicology and the purposeful placement of distance between them and their subjects was probably intentional, almost in the same way scientists avoid "contaminating" their samples.

They earlier articles tend to focus more heavily on notation, recording, and form. In "A Transcription Technique Used by Zygmunt Estreicher," Roxanne McCollester talks in very precise detail about how to transcribe a melody. "The transcription process should now proceed by listening again to the music at half speed...to pick up as many as possible of the 'microrhythmic' relations..." It seems that early ethnomusicology was very involved with finding new ways to fit (more like force in) and bend non-Western music systems into the Western tonal system.

The articles we've read and the articles posted in 2000 and beyond tend to focus more on music and its cultural context. The earlier articles seem to treat music as a product of the society, to be taken back to the laboratory and examined like a physical object. The earlier articles also seem to be more like research papers than what we would consider an "ethnography." We talk about how the ultimate goal of fieldwork is an ethnography, but that doesn't seem to be the goal of these ethnomusicologists. Perhaps our modern conception of "ethnography" is drastically different? Or maybe they were trying to do something else completely!

I think as a modern student, it's great to look back at some of these articles and see how attitudes have changed in society as a whole. In a 1961 article by Ed Cray entitled "An Acculturative Continuum for Negro Folk Song in the United States," the tone and language strongly suggest that the author thinks of music produced by African Americans should be considered in a context completely separate from the music of "mainstream America." I think this is an interesting snapshot of how people perceived the "otherness" of African Americans in the period before the civil rights movement went into full swing. Also, I think any modern listener of American music would agree that it is impossible to separate it from its African American influences. "R and B records are being replaced by rock and roll, essentially a white musical style." lol.

Titon 2002, Barz 2008 Critical Review

Jeff Titon has such a reassuring and gentle writing style. Jeff Titon WILL teach you how to do field work! I like the idea of a video series.

There were a few things I thought were interesting about the Titon article. I get the impression from this and our past readings that modern ethnomusicology is all about the participant-observer dynamic and is concerned with the balance field research has to strike between the two. The consistent warning is to always be self-aware, because "your very presence as an observer alters the musical situation...In many situations you will actually cause less interference if you participate rather than intrude as a neutral and unresponsive observer." (Titon, 2) But if there is such an emphasis on interfering as little as possible, why do modern fieldworkers believe they must "give back to the people?" By acting as a cultural and musical advocate, don't you change the musical situation even further by adding even MORE observers? I think what that does is freeze the group in a place and time and wall it off from the natural changes it would have gone through had an ethnomusicologist not acted as an advocate.

The introductory and instructive way the Titon article is constructed forces is it to make a few simplifications and generalizations. He says "ethnomusicologists say..." or "fieldworkers think..." as if there is a consensus among them. An instance he uses this is when he talks about cultural advocacy: "It is humankind's advantage to have many different kinds of music, they believe. For that reason, they think advocacy and support are necessary..." To me, this sounds like even more intervention and touches on a debate I've encountered in other classes about globalization and homogenization.

If forces were at work to make music "sound alike" the world over, is that a bad thing? Does a musical culture ever willingly accept one of these homogenizing forces, or is it imposed upon them? I think there are some really interesting parallels with language. When students in other countries learn English, do they have agency? One could argue that they make a conscious decision to learn it, but others would argue that Anglo-American power structures necessitate the adoption of English. If an indigenous language dies out as a result of this, whose fault is it?

I hesitate to argue that the death of musical cultures is just the way things work, but musical cultures and languages have been disappearing and being replaced by new ones ever since people have been making music. Does being a cultural preservationist mean you're opposing the "march of history?" (I hate saying that).

But returning to the idea of observing as opposed to participating, Barz brought up something I didn't really think about when he mentioned that taking field notes was a performative act. But so is being in a musical group. When I am in my samulnori ensemble, I go through a series of rituals throughout the rehearsal that people expect of me. Photographing, tape-recording, and taking field notes would require me to deviate from these standard rituals and norms. If you are a participant in a string quartet, for example, and you whipped out a notebook during rehearsal, that's just weird. What if you just recorded things without them knowing?

Titon emphasizes that you need to make sure you have consent. I wonder if a more genuine observation of a group would arise if you observed them without their consent.

Film Scoring

...or, "Why Listening to James Cameron's 'Avatar' Soundtrack Left Me Throughly Uncomfortable and Unimpressed. Also Kind of Offended," and "This Chorus Singing in Latin Does Not Belong in This Movie."

I love movies! I go to them all the time for the feeling of being in a large theater surrounded by other people. I also like watching previews and often enjoy them no matter how terrible they are. I love going with friends and sometimes even go by myself!
...Actually, I just actively seek out socially acceptable settings to eat entire boxes of junior mints.

But really, I rarely go because of the score. In many instances, the score is supposed to be background music--stuff composed so you are supposed to ignore it, but should intensify your experience. I hate to say this, but the New Moon soundtrack did a good job of this. Not gonna lie.

But I always notice the background music. Maybe it is because of my musical training, but sometimes I just space out and just pay attention to the music. And sometimes when I do this, I feel uncomfortable. Here are some of the things that make me uncomfortable in a film score:

1. The usage of non-western instruments to make something sound more exotic (wtf is that erhu doing there?)
2. The Random Latin Chorus3. When I know what the next four chords are going to be
4. When a solo female voice starts to sing modal-y melodies in another language/with no words at all
5. Similar to 4, those goddamn boy sopranos.
6. Any time anything by My Chemical Romance makes its way into a soundtrack
Okay, so my main problem with the "Avatar" soundtrack was when there were these scenes that were totally taken out of the Pocahontas "Colors of the Wind" scene in which the attractive indigenous woman takes the white dude out and shows him her culture. In the movie, this involved lots of DRUMMING. It came out of nowhere. Why do all "natives" enjoy percussive instruments? I don't know.

I don't know about you, but if I were a blue, humanoid alien organism, I would probably play the French horn. Think about it. Think about it really hard.

Of course it is wise to use the instruments of a culture you are trying to depict in a movie. I just thought it was a bit offensive because the Avatar Na'vi were supposed to be extraterrestrial. Not African.

Next, let me take a moment to describe a phenomenon called "Random Latin Chorus," or RLC. Yes, I actually use this terminology in real life and enjoy instances when it comes up. You probably know exactly what I'm talking about. RLC happens during seriously epic scenes during a war with a bunch of dudes charging towards the enemy or when there are a swarm of demons, or when there are a bunch of vampires standing around in a candlelit room doing something dramatic like sacrificing a virgin. Or attacking the president! RLC in X-men 2

Sometimes, it is totally okay. I mean, "Gladiator" was all about Romans, so it makes sense. It's a context thing. I know this is all my opinion, but sometimes it just makes me uncomfortable. It doesn't even have to be in Latin to unnerve me. There are, however, instances when it's done pretty well.
Next thing. When I saw the Lord of the Rings, I enjoyed the soundtrack. I did! I promise. Did you know that the "Hobbit" theme sounds almost exactly like the Lutheran hymn "This is My Father's World?" Beyond that though, the Hobbit theme also sounds like every wistful, pastoral, village-y song ever written. Wind instrument playing over strings! While this doesn't really make me uncomfortable, it gets annoying when you hear it everywhere! Off the top of my head: Avatar, Eragon, Stardust, Harry Potter.

Another film scoring phenomenon I like to talk about that makes me uncomfortable is something I am going to call "Everything goes silent except for solo female voice singing in another language." You know what I'm talking about. Picture a hero in battle. He is running towards the enemy and he has some bad wounds already, but you know he will keep on going. Suddenly, it goes silent and a woman starts to sing in the background while he raises his sword and starts slashing at a Persian or something. Why is that woman singing? More importantly, why is it in a harmonic minor/mode? Also, what are all these semitones I hear? Most imp

ortantly, WHY IS IT ALWAYS ENYA?!

Going off on this, I hate boy sopranos. This is an opinion. I used to be a boy soprano (and in a way, I still am). They pop up EVERYWHERE!

Unlike boy sopranos in real life, they have many uses in film scoring. They can be really angelic and uplifting OR absolutely terrifying. Actually, I take that angelic and uplifting part back. Boy sopranos are inherently terrifying. This is a fact. I challenge you to challenge this fact.

Finally, I hate "My Chemical Romance." I was unable to enjoy "Watchmen" for this reason.

Yes, I know discomfort is a really awkward and subjective way to describe my feelings about these musical idioms, but it's true. I think the most interesting thing though is the fact that these musical idioms exist. I don't believe there is something inherent about the music and the performance style that lends itself to be used in a particular place in a film. However, I think that each sound has a social context and has a lot of social meaning ascribed to it.

For example, the whole boy soprano thing. We think of little boys as innocent and cute, so a scorer might have a vocal line sung by one to suggest something like paradise. However, when they're used in a creepy way, it highlights the drama because it sort of twists are expectations.

The Latin chorus too. I think it's supposed to invoke images of church, of the middle ages, and the institutions associated with those things because that's what we think of when we think of a chorus singing in Latin. I have no goddamn clue where the solo woman singing thing comes from though.

In conclusion, My Chemical Romance sucks and if you've composed it, there's probably already a Lutheran hymn of it.

(left) MCR. Worse than every boy soprano ever? Make your call.

Clifford, 1988 Critical Review

Clifford, in "On Ethnographic Authority," attempts to explain the "new anthropology," a system he describes by pointing out patterns and trends in recent ethnography and by examining them historically. The breakup of "ethnographic authority" is described as a post-colonial shift towards integrating scientific methods with meaningful interactions with the people being observed. He outlines the difficulty of depicting concretely a society from the perspective of an outsider, even when the observer is also a participant. The most interesting aspects of the "new anthropology" he describes were the language and institutional aspects. Apparently, the observer-participant must be able to "use" the language, but not required to have a mastery over it. To me, this seems like it would be a tremendous block in accurately portraying the people you are interacting with because linguistic nuances seem to figure tremendously in the ways societies organize themselves and their environments. Thematic focus on institutions within the society to understand the society as a whole is another aspect of new anthropology. Although institutions often provide a valuable lens with which to see how social, cultural, and economic structures within a society interact, I would hesitate to say that they are microcosms of the society as a whole. It would be unwise to concentrate focus on a single institution and not attempt to connect it with other institutions and realize its unique place in its society.

I am also a bit troubled by the participatory aspect of new anthropology. Fieldwork is a post-colonial development that I personally feel is one of the most legitimate ways of examining another group of people, but there's a very Schrodinger's cat sort of overtone to the discussion about observer participation. I think Clifford does not touch upon this as much as he should have, since it leaves "new anthropology" vulnerable to criticism.

Does modern ethnography do a good job of the goal of ethnography, which is to accurately portray the "essence" of a people? There seems to be a lot of complications and shortcuts involved with it. Were there any advantages to having "ethnographic authorities?" and is there any merit in trying to be a "pure" observer or "pure participant?

The Face of Opera

...Or, "Nathan Gunn's Washboard Abs Made Me Enjoy 'Billy Budd' Way More Than I Should Have" and "Why is That Obese White Woman Playing a Delicate Fifteen-year-old Japanese Geisha?

One of the most fascinating "trends" I read about today in opera magazines and blogs and the like is the shift in the opera world towards hiring young, attractive singers. I do not know what this means.

There has been a large push in the opera world for presenting opera as a cinematic event. A lot of powerful houses around the world have been hiring film directors to stage their operas as well as film them. I think that this is generally a good thing, though I'm sure there is a lot of vocal opposition out there.

A recent movie of "La Boheme" was just released starring Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon and I enjoyed it a lot. The only vocal opposition most people had to this production was that Anna's humps didn't take as prominent a role as they should have. Okay.

This brings up something I am consistently fascinated by. It is the whole "suspension of reality" thing that people experience when they go see something on the stage. There is a fourth wall and you are peering into these peoples' worlds and watching as they do it with and kill each other and dream and feast and get married and throw themselves off ramparts.

I think a large portion of what modern opera audiences have trouble doing is suspending reality for the duration of the performance. The media we see every day is full of people who are cast or perform a role we expect them to. For example, a heroic archetype calls for a tall, muscular, handsome, White (at least in American media) male. In movies, we see this over and over again (Think Brad Pitt in "Troy"). When these archetypes are subverted, we are left either feeling intrigued, confused, or amused. Why do I think it's funny that the young, heroic Siegfried is being played by a fat old man? Because it is.

(right) Anna Netrebs, Soprano. The disturbing part is how google autocompleted "Anna Net..." to "Anna Netrebko Naked" Nice lingerie, Anna.

Large, Wagnerian sopranos are an example I would like to use to illustrate a nuance of this phenomenon. People expect their Wagnerian sopranos to be large women. When they see a large woman with breastplate, spear, and horned hat, most people think "Oh, yeah I totally get that." Wagnerian sopranos are an archetype in themselves. People expect them to be large and have big voices.

(Above) Deborah Voigt, Soprano, before and after her stomach surgery, or "Brunhilde" and "Not Brunhilde"

However, when faced with something like "Madama Butterfly" by Puccini, it is much more difficult to see a very large, White woman playing a delicate Japanese geisha of 15 years. I've seen a lot of Asian and Asian-American sopranos cast in the role as of late. Although I'm not a fan of typecasting, it makes opera much more believable. So many operas are about idealized, beautiful, tragic men and women. Having what you see match what you hear in the libretto ("Oh, the most beautiful woman in Scotland!) probably makes it more accessible. It makes it easier to suspend reality and requires you to deny less of what you are seeing and hearing. Because how many Italian peasant villages know the SATB parts to an 8-minute song about village life? The answer is three.

Is this a bad thing? I don't know. Traditionally, the voice was the most prized possession a singer had. But you have to admit that the physicality of a performance determines a great deal of what you get out of it.

I frame this phenomenon as fairly recent, but it's been going on for a while, especially among female singers. Interestingly, men haven't been hit as hard by this casting trend.

(Left) The only thing harder than casting an all-male Britten opera is Nathan Gunn's body. You would think an opera about sailors couldn't get any better.

Ultimately, I think that the opera community will continue trying very hard to find a way to keep themselves "relevant." Their crowds are getting older and older. But I'm sure they'll find different ways to cope. The Met's HD broadcasts are a great way of presenting opera without the ritual attached to it, which is a big turn-off for many potential opera-goers. It's just like going to a movie!

You will be seeing many more attractive and young singers populating the world's great stages. Good thing or bad thing?

I refer you to the picture to the left and ask how it could possibly a bad thing. I thought so.

Ethnomusicology Fieldwork Presentation: Proposal

...Or, "Slap on some valve oil, and GO TO TOWN, yo!"

I have decided that I will do my ethnomusicology fieldwork presentation on the Brown University Band. Founded in 1924 by Irving Harris, the band plays for a variety of events like athletic games, commencement, convocation, and 7 in the morning before my Macroeconomics final.

School bands are student musician groups who rehearse and perform instrumental music together with the purpose of performing in a concert or athletic setting. They tend to consist of wind, brass, and percussion instruments. The idea of the "band geek" is something that many who went through high school in the American public school system will be familiar with. How this translates to a collegiate setting will be interesting to see.

Most people are familiar with band culture through the movies "Drumline" and "American Pie: Band Camp" (Disclaimer: I love both movies so much). Interestingly, they depict band culture in two very different settings: a historically Black college in the South and a summer camp.

Ostensibly, the Brown Band has a culture of sexual subversion. A lot of their buttons range on the raunchier side of things you can put on a button. The scripts they write for their performances and their song choices (e.g. Stacy's Mom, Bad Romance) also seem to reinforce this. Of course, I say this tongue-in-cheek, but maybe it's something I should keep in mind.

I have asked the current music director if I could observe rehearsals and was promptly asked to join. I have been solicited to join on multiple occasions. Bear in mind that I play the cello.

"Don't worry. If you can blow or bang, I'm sure you'll fit in."

"Yes, I excel at both those things."

"Excellent."

They are a very welcoming group and I look forward to working with them.

24-Hour Music Blog

Or..."Lady Gaga is a larger presence in my life than God," and "This Morning, I Woke Up and Did Not Feel like P. Diddy"

All the music I hear/heard within the past 24 hours whether I wanted to or not. Let it begin.

~6:30AM
Chopin's Black Key Etude from my roommate's cell phone. It sounds like your typical cell phone ring tone. i.e. it is one of the worst sounds in the world.

~6:40AM
Chopin's Black Key Etude from my roommate's cell phone.

~6:50AM
Chopin's Black Key Etude from my roommate's cell phone. WAKE THE HELL UP.

~6:55AM
I get up and turn my roommate's phone off. I do not care if he misses his 9AM class. I make a note to ask his girlfriend to change his alarm.

~7AM I go on my computer and open Sibelius. The opening music plays. I compose a few bars of a mini-musical about music theory and decide that it's too early for any constructive composition. Plus, I am having a hard time counting eighth notes.

~8AM-9AM
I try to go back to sleep but I hear a knock on my door in the same rhythm as the Mario theme song. I know it is my friend Phil and I get up and give him the tableslips he needs. Can't go back to sleep so I take a shower. I sing "Der Erlkonig" and "The Ants Go Marching" to myself.

~9AM-10:30AM
Open itunes and it is on shuffle. Here is what I listened to while doing some reading (From my recently played list):
"Flying Home" Jason Robert Brown from the musical "Songs From a New World"
"My Name Is" Eminem
"I Don't Want to Wait" Paula Cole
"Gute Nacht" Schubert from "Winterreise" sung by Ian Bostridge with accompaniment by Daniel Harding.
"Der Erlkonig" Schubert, sung by Dietrich Fischer-Diskau
"Womanizer" covered by Lily Allen, orig. Britney Spears
"Party in the USA" Miley Cyrus
"Sleep" Eric Whitacre
"Good Girls Go Bad" Cobra Starship, feat. Leighton Meester
"Tik ToK" Ke$ha
"A Woman is a Sometime Thing" Gershwin from Porgy and Bess
"Main Theme" Nobuo Uematsu from Final Fantasy VII
"Valenti" BoA
"Don't Stand so Close to me" The Police
"Gay Bar" Electric 6
"Dum Maro Dum" Asha Bhosle, R.D. Burman

~10:30AM-11AM
I literally spent this time just sitting and reading in silence. It makes me wonder. What are birds? I don't even know. And then the bells! The bells! Ring ring ring ring ring

~11AM-12PM
The Law and Politics of International Human Rights Class. A cell phone went off, and it was Flo Rida's "Low" Featuring T-Pain. Noticed that there is a distint rhythm to Professor Tannenwald's lecture.

12PM-1PM
MUSC56 Lab with Arlene Cole.
We had to listen to two dictation examples repeatedly. Then a few examples of appogiaturas and passing tones. This hour is full of sounds and chords and noises and music.

~1-2PM
Went to the Ratty to eat. It's always interesting to hear the way crowds make sounds.

~2:00-2:30PM
Someone is warming up their voice. They warmed up extremely high and then very low. I heard strains of Mozart coming from the ADPhi lounge. Sarah Hersman was singing the alto part from "Sularia" from The Marriage of Figaro.

~2:30-3PM
I rehearsed part of the Marriage of Figaro duet (played piano) while Sarah sang
Then we moved onto Schumann's Song Cycle "Frauenliebe und Leben" and ran through the entire thing.

~3PM-4:30
Listened to "Knoxville Summer of 1915" by Samuel Barber on the walk to East Side Mini-Mart
Heard a rock song at ESMM coming from a speaker. I was unable to identify it.
Rehearsed "The Turn of the Screw" opera with Gabriel
Went through Act II Scene 1: Soliloquy and Colloguy, Act II, Scene 2: Miss Jessel and listened to Act II Scene 7: Flora. We listened to recording by Mahler Chamber Orchestra multiple times. I was teaching the part to her, so many sections of it were repeated.

4:30-6PM
Andrew Wong and I rehearsed selections from Benjamin Britten's "The Turn of the Screw"
Rehearsed Act II Scene 4: The Bedroom, Act II Scene 5: Quint, Act II Scene 8: Miles, and played through all of the Prologue. F*ck you, Benjamin Britten.

~6PM-6:30PM
At Orwig library studying.
Opened up my Taylor Swift Pandora radio station.
"Our Song" Taylor Swift
"You Belong With Me" Taylor Swift
"Some Hearts" Natasha Bedingfield
"Forever and Always" Taylor Swift
"My Life Would Suck Without You" Kelly Clarkson
"Picture to Burn" Taylor Swift
"Stay Beautiful" Taylor Swift

~6:30-7
Is the quiet hum of the computers
in Orwig music? Yes.
It is.
The high Eb beep of the library scanners
soothes me
I hum the musical example on the page
the printer turns on
vroom vroom
I count 14 pages

~7-7:45
Masumi made a recording of me improvising on "Paparazzi" by Lady Gaga on the piano.
Joe Rim and Lady Gaga I listened to this and was inspired to arrange it for string quartet because Renaissance and Medieval Music reading is stupid. The Sibelius opening music turns on! I decide in the end that I don't want to do it. Instead, I listen to "Starstruck" and "Das Rheingold: Prelude" by Wagner because it is so epic. Just like Lady Gaga.

~9-11PM
Gilbert and Sullivan Pirates of Penzance womens' Rehearsal. We rehearsed the chorus part in "I am the very model of a modern major general," "hail poetry," and "what is this and what is that." Heard "glitter and be gay" during break while one of our sopranos practiced for an aria concert on Saturday. Near the end, I set the keyboard to "church organ" and played the chords to "Paparazzi" while Meghan sang along. We also played some common chord progressions. A few of the songs demonstrated were "Poker Face," "Living on a Prayer," "99 Red Balloons," "Take a Bow," "Bad Romance," and "Heart and Soul"

~11-11:10
Went to the Ivy Room. Heard Cascada's "Evaculate the Dance Floor" and Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance." Also heard a lot of people yelling. Possibly drunkenly. Who gets wasted on a Monday night?

~11:10-1:00AM
Headed off to the SciLi for some work. Some douchebag had "Party in the USA" on repeat in the corner. Besides this, no music. Listening was interesting though. All the clicks. Once you pay attention to the mouse clicks and the clickity clack of the keyboard, it can really drive you crazy.

~1:00-?
Went back home. Someone is playing the piano right now. Some New Age stuff. Gah!! I also talked to the roommate about the alarm clock and he told me to shake him awake when it rings. I am going to sleep now.

So what I would say is that today I didn't go many places that imposed its music on me. A lot of the music I heard today was within my control, which I think is interesting. Overall, I think it is a good summary of the kind of music I listen to. Also, at some point, I am sure I heard "Chocolate Rain" by Tay Zonday but do not remember what the context was.

Also...What is music?
Hey Now, Little Mouse

...We don't even know.