The pakhāvaj occupies a unique position in the classical music scene of contemporary India. Identified with the ancient mṛdaṅga and associated with kings and gods, played in the Hindustani tradition of the court dhrupad and in the temple music of various sects, it is the most respected of the Indian drums by musicians as well as the most authoritative, according to textual sources; it is an auspicious drum and multiple origin myths explain its creation; its repertoire includes compositions which musicians connect to literature in Sanskrit or vernacular languages and to prayer. Notwithstanding its relevance in Indian music, there are no specific studies on the pakhāvaj and above all about its language, repertoire, and its unique position connecting sacred and secular music. This dissertation fills the gap with a study of the pakhāvaj of Nathdwara, its history, aesthetics and repertoire. Furthermore, joining ethnographic, historical, religious and iconographic perspectives, it provides a multifaceted interpretation of the role and function of the pakhāvaj in royal courts, temples and contemporary stages, and the first analysis of the visual and narrative contents of its repertoire. It also contributes to the understanding of the language, idea and role of drums and drumming in Indian court and temple music, and their relationship over the last two millennia.

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This thesis considers the role and cultural presentation of the kendhang (drums) with special reference to the ciblon (medium-sized drum) within the gamelan ensemble in Solo, central Java. Amongst the extensive literature on gamelan music there has thus far been relatively little focus on the kendhang or more specifically the ciblon’s function and presentation in the ensemble. I explore these areas with particular reference to the performance, presentation and transmission of Javanese gamelan drumming. My primary research was conducted through participation, observation and interviews during fieldtrips to Solo, central Java between 2009-2010. The klenèngan performance setting involves the intersection of many key ideas explored over the course of this thesis. Primarily through my fieldwork interview findings conducted in Solo, I explore who plays the kendhang in Solo today and why some musicians are so highly regarded by others. Gamelan players are often multi-instrumentalists, so many of the ensemble’s musicians may have some drumming experience and be aware of drum strokes and signals, but the drummer still leads the gamelan in terms of tempo and also provides a unique layer of texture within the ensemble. I explore the role and function of the drummer and provide descriptions of drumming structures and notation derived from my fieldwork. I also explore how drumming is transmitted amongst musicians. Within my thesis I therefore aim to provide a view of the kendhang scene within Solo today and in doing so I explore who plays the kendhang and what is played in the gamelan performance setting as well as how drumming is presented and transmitted.

This study synthesises a range of views from cultural psychology, action theory and expert practitioners to illuminate issues of creativity and meaning in the performance of the Western kit drummer. Creativity and cultural psychology models are tested and critiqued, but require extension or adaptation to cast a more focused light on the meaning of creative performance for drummers. Aspects of the work of Csikszentmihalyi, Dewey, and Boesch are drawn together and developed to argue that the construct of ‘significant action in context’ provides the conceptual and methodological tool with which to begin analysis of this relationship of mind to cultural setting. In seeking understanding of perception rather than objectively-determined facts, a qualitative interpretivist paradigm is adopted. Semi-structured interviews and autobiographical data of expert practitioners are used to generate rich data. Viewed from an action-theoretical perspective, the data are analysed and interpreted using thematic analysis, expanded here to encompass both autoethnographic and phenomenographical components. The agency of the researcher is assumed throughout, and the importance of scholarly self-reflexivity highlighted. The purpose of the study is to construct a cultural psychology of the Western kit drummer which may reveal aspects of creativity in performance. It emerges organically from an ongoing sense of needing to know, or at least understand better, how drummers’ cultural psychology determines what they do. Such an explanation may not only contribute functionally to drummer practice, but also improve understanding of collaborative and creative interactional processes in music and related artistic spheres.

This project will be using an Action Research methodology to reflect on my own practice as a dundun practitioner. It examines the roots of my practice in the traditions of the dundun in the Yoruba tradition in Nigeria - both from oral and literary sources - and in my experiences in Hungary. It concentrates on my work in Hampshire where I worked in a number of different contexts. It examines in detail two case studies in which I attempted to recontextualise the dundun in two separate institutions - church and prison. These will be examined and analysed using the frames of post-colonial theory and Foucauldian social constructionism. Five concepts arise from these analyses which permeate the thesis: 'cultural dialogue, understanding and integration'; 'representation and presentation of culture and notions of identity'; 'tradition, authenticity and originality'; 'construction of meanings' and 'empowerment' . An important thread in this thesis on reflexive practice in the area of recontextualisation is the part the dundun plays in identity construction, contrasting Yoruba with European practice. The conclusions reflect the complexity of the processes involved in recontextualisation, especially the role of gatekeepers, the place of plurality in value systems in openness to change, the role experience plays in approaching new contexts, the complexity of the issues involved in cultural dialogue, the different types of power found in the various contexts and the relationship between tradition, authenticity and originality in various cultures. It analyses how my own practice has been influenced by these case studies.

This thesis examines performance practice with the Augmented Drum-Kit, a personal evolution of the acoustic drum-kit with the use of digital technology. The practice is investigated from three perspectives: First, through possible spatial and contextual definitions of the instrument under development, taking into consideration the inherently open-ended nature of its building blocks: percussion and the computer. Second, by exploring the composer/performer/builder’s practice paradigm in terms of musical and performative goals with such an emerging performance environment. Finally, as a diachronic practice between performer and all constituent technological parts of the composite instrument, towards the practice’s ongoing development and evolution. Using these discussions as starting points, this practice-led research proposes three intertwined novel frameworks for diachronic live electronic performance practice and bespoke instrument design. Additionally, the developed instrument itself is detailed in the form of the devised design methods, schematics, diagrams and software, addressing questions such as intuitive control, gestural uniformity, consistent electro-acoustic vocabulary, distinct instrumental character, mobility, sound diffusion and transferability. Finally, music portfolio consisting of five solo and group album recordings with the Augmented Drum-Kit is presented, while audiovisual examples from various scenarios and development stages are used to further illustrate the discussion.

The thesis addresses the evolution of West Africa’s djembe drumming, with particular reference to the changing habitus of the djembefola. It investigates how the djembe has developed from the rural system of tribal ritualistic music intended for ceremonies to a practice enacted in the Western world, in both geographical and virtual spaces, including the social networking platform Facebook. It also highlights how, at present, djembe related activities are subject to business transactions orientated towards generation of profit for both the djembefola and other parties. Conceptually, the thesis draws on Pierre Bourdieu’s Outline of a Theory of Practice (1972), Victor Turners approach to liminality in The Forest of Symbols (1967) and The Ritual Process (1997) and the concept of cultural paradigm, as used in anthropological studies (Douglas, 1985; Rogoff et al., 2014). Additionally, it explores the implications of the evolution of djembe drumming over time for our understanding of the organisation of the djembe. This is discussed in the context of the political, economic, social and technological conditions underlying djembe practice. Empirically, the research adopts an interpretive, ethnographic and netnographic approach, comprising four case studies. Fieldwork was conducted in the Gambia and in the virtual space represented by social media. The data included material obtained through interviews with djembe teachers and students, as well as Facebook posts contributed by members of djembe related interest groups. The analysis demonstrates that, at present, the djembe habitus has entered a new phase, which the thesis identifies as a fourth cultural paradigm, concomitant with the most contemporary version of the djembe habitus.