HMU111H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Gamelan, Current Anthropology, Hujan
Document Summary
Anthropologist, ethnomusicologist (bold ideas that shaped enthomusicology) Is musicality innate in our species? (are human beings born musical?) Or do we acquire musicality through socialization and enculturation? (nature vs nurture) John blacking believed human musicality is innate primary modelling systems for human thought & action non-verbal communication. He noticed that all of them were musical, venda musicality raised questions. Forced rethink of music"s relationship to culture & society. Collection of musics for measurement & analysis. Armchair approach (very few went out and learned in original context) Fieldwork must do to earn credibility. Participant observation become involved with music making. Greater sensitivity to socio-cultural contexts in which music happens. Blacking rejected the comparative method as a way of understanding: felt you couldn"t understand anything by comparing. Cultural relativism: cultural knowledge exists in relation to a specific cultural, social, or historical context: can only know a music"s meaning if we understand the context in which it is created and heard.
