Cultural Connections
Asynchronous Session
Authenticity Can Be Overrated in Teaching World Music Traditions View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ted Solis
Where do our allegiances lie, in teaching, e.g., Javanese gamelan—a venerable tradition fraught with ritual, iconic, and performance conventions; or Mexican marimba music, which in its more traditional contexts is largely reproductive rather than improvisational? Should our allegiance be to the tradition, and does that tradition delineate our pedagogical goals? Many ethnomusicologists try to compensate for the perceived artificiality of the university environment by “faithfully” reproducing traditions. More recently some of us have found our pedagogic demands and personal predilections trumping reproductive “authenticity” for two reasons: First: we represent these traditions to our students, obliterating the performance and teaching hierarchies inherent in traditional learning. Since we must thus do it all (create the context, teach all the instruments, singing, dancing) we of necessity make compromises. Secondly: we feel that these compromises lead to fruitful creativity and insights. My own goals are now more oriented toward skill sets and my students’ personal growth (notably including their perceived freedom to improvise) than, necessarily, a soi-disant reproductive “correctness”; thus, I often “mix and match” pedagogies and skill competencies. In seeking improvisational freedom, and to suit my reflexive pedagogical goals, I have created somewhat non-traditional but vibrant Pan-Indonesianisms and Pan-Latinisms in my ensembles.
Denaturalisation Treaty - Why Do Birds Suddenly Appear?: An Art Making Practice Aimed at Relating Local Thoughts and Actions to Environmental Sustainability
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sarah Pirrie
The complex history of the coastal development, exploitation, and transformation of Darwin Harbour in the Northern Territory of Australia dates well before the British Empire's transfer of governance to the South Australian government in 1863. Despite four unsuccessful attempts to settle in the coastal waters of the Northern Territory, a fifth and final attempt on Larrakia land [gwalwa] and sea [gunumitjanda] led to the establishment of the Port of Darwin and eventual Federation in 1911. Today, the region is a convergence of history and nature, where the worldly politics of defence, colonisation, mining, and development compete with environmental conservation and Indigenous recognition. At the Port of Darwin, during nightfall and with the help of head torches, the migratory shorebirds are counted and taken care of. The flashlike image of coastal wracklines materialises within the greater narrative of conservation ecology; their precarious existence sits within the fulguration of rescue actions. The installation artwork called "Dematerialisation Treaty: Why do birds suddenly appear?" is inspired by Walter Benjamin's dialectical image and W.G. Sebald's narrative technique in the book "The Rings of Saturn". The artwork visually explores the link between the process of dematerialisation as defined by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the struggle of life forms to assert the value of their existence. Using Benjamin's idea of "profane illumination" and Sebald's allegorical physiognomy, the artwork serves as a treaty on the seen and unseen connection between the neoliberal process of dematerialisation and the denaturalised life forms.
Musicology in Artistic Society and its Interpretative Cultural Heritage
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Yingshu Wang
Music history is part of artistic society that integrates performing arts into cultural heritage. Educational curriculum values music history, and numerous theories have been proposed to teach musicology in K-12 settings (Thompson, 2023; Davis, 2019). Musical society tends to standardize music history and separate the historical occurrences into stylistic periods, which often simplifies curriculum and instruction. This study extends the education framework that the systematized educational methods limit musicological knowledge (Bresler, 2021). Listeners’ appreciation for music history extends beyond traditionally-set stylistic boundaries. This study argues that understanding musical societies through music history requires focusing on music as an art rather than music as an educational form and eliminating the stylistic boundaries set by pedagogical standards. Music, seen as a societal art rather than a study, evokes a developed set of principles and ideas necessary to perceive history and evaluate its existence among listeners and enthusiasts.
Music as a Futuristic Art in Contemporary Society
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Lyuming Xu
Music, as a combination of notes and rhythms that evoke listeners’ emotions, is vital as an art in society. Music is subjective and offers many interpretations for listeners depending on their musical interests and experiences. Scholarly research helps understand and analyze music as an art that complements societies and cultures (Heroux, 2018; Stenzi, 1995). Music history offers many genres and styles across centuries for the audience to listen to and appreciate. There are thousands of years of music history, during which numerous genres and styles were developed worldwide. While some of the music is forgotten, some stay within history for a long time. Geographic location, cultural influence, and musical societies all affect the diversity of music listening and appreciation. This study focuses on music as an art and strives to show how certain composers and artists have prevailed in history over hundreds of years. This study concentrates on audience perception and publicity being essential for success in retaining a role in music history and artistic society. This study also examines why some art is more prevalent in musicology while others fall out of recognition.
Adding Film Music to Museum Exhibitions to Explore Visitors’ Emotional Experiences
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Bolai Fang, Yutong Wang
Emotions are considered some of the most significant aspects of music, and the applicability of sound within museums has both practical and theoretical relevance (Loureiro et al. 2019). Background music has a significant impact on visitors, created during museum exhibitions, as seen in a recent study of the Laiho Memorial Museum in Taiwan, revealing that music is a consequential tool to enhance the atmosphere of a museum (Chen & Tsai, 2015). Employing appropriate stylistic features in music can help museums to evoke visitors’ emotions and enhance their artistic experiences. This research employs descriptive and interpretative framework methodologies, focusing on background film music repertoire as a platform for altering the experience, enhancing museum exhibitions, and retransforming ways museums showcase their art to visitors. This research looks at film music as a visitor-centric enhancement tool to develop a stronger museum interest from the audience and shows how film scoring strategies can help museums evoke appropriate emotions and align them with the thematics of the exhibitions while employing contemporary film music oeuvre to help understand audience experiences with a focus on combined listening and visual frameworks. The research implications will help museums understand audience perceptions and the music's applicability to museums' exhibitions and artifacts.
