ETHNOMUSICOLOGY
INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF ETHNOMUSICOLOGY
Who is Helen Creighton and why don’t you know the answer?
What is Canada’s Intangible Cultural Heritage?
Don Messer and his Islanders – lost but not forgotten?
Canadian folk songs – karaoke in the long ago?
Can you study dance if you have two left feet?
Meditation and the act of making music – impossible, improbable, imperative?
What do morris dancers and squeegee kids have in common?
Maypoles, fertility, dance and song – Canada’s Springtime Cargo Cult?
Misrule and anarchy in England’s green and verdant land? Tell me it isn’t so!
These are a few of the topics that will be explored. In the process, you will learn how ethnomusicology and ethnochoreology can deepen your understanding and appreciation of music. Case studies are drawn from Japanese Buddhism, Canada’s fiddling community and England’s folk treasures.
Non-music students (with some musical background) are welcome.
Some students will showcase their favourite examples of music and dance for discussion in the classroom. Video and audio excerpts are regularly featured. The classes are casual and the lecture material is challenging.