MAAS / MER Mathivha Centre for Languages Arts and Culture

Since the 1960s, several gifted Korean composers, including perhaps most notably Young Jo Lee (b. 1943), have been internationally acclaimed for their work. In Western countries, however, there has been a scarcity of academic studies examining the artistry of the music of these Korean composers. Nonetheless, as one of today's most recognized composers in Korea, Young Jo Lee has been invited to numerous international concerts, conferences, and festivals where his works have been played and discussed. A salient feature of his compositions is the fusion of Korean traditional music and the elements of Western compositions, such as in, for one distinctive example, his piano composition, Piano Honza Nori. This musical study describes and analyzes how Lee integrates Korean traditional elements with Western musical ideas in Piano Honza Nori. Results of this study will contribute to the limited literature on the analysis of contemporary piano composition that integrates Korean traditional elements.

This thesis investigates the multiple and contested spaces of belonging that may be evoked by ritualised musical performance. It makes an ethnographic case study of the Zorn Badge Auditions in Sweden, in which musicians play before a jury in the hope of being awarded a Zorn Badge and a prestigious but also contested title: Riksspelman. Building on theories of ritual and performance in combination with Sara Ahmed’s theorisation of orientation, the thesis attends to sensory ways of experiencing and knowing music while tracing the various ways in which Swedish traditional music is performed, felt, heard, sensed and understood in audition spaces. It draws on interviews with players and jury members, participant observations of music auditions and the jury’s deliberations, showing how musical value is negotiated through processes of inclusion and exclusion of repertoires, instruments and performance practices. The study also illuminates how anxiety and uncertainties are felt on both sides of the adjudication table. The auditions trigger feelings of belonging and harmony, but also rupture and distance. A brimming of felt qualities contributes to the sensing of history, tradition, memory, place and geography, as well as close emotional connections between music and individual performers. The thesis reveals how gradual adaptation, and the lived experiences of time within tradition, allow the Zorn institution to negotiate change and thereby maintain its position within Swedish society.

The master's thesis deals with Irish traditional music and its possible use in music teaching at lower secondary schools in the Czech Republic. The theoretical part provides information on Irish traditional music and the historical and geographical conditions under which it developed. The practical part deals with the possibilities of its implementation into school education in accordance with the Framework Educational Programme for Basic Education. Accompanying the thesis is an appendix consisting of pictures, texts, worksheets and sheet music. The attached CD contains audio and video recordings as well as multimedia presentations.

<p>Syftet med det här arbetet var att närmare undersöka hur några nutida folkmusiker övar och tänker kring sitt övande, samt om det hos dessa fanns speciella sätt att öva in och lära ut svensk folkmusik.För att undersöka detta intervjuades fem folkmusiker med olika bakgrund, ålder och kön med hjälp av öppna frågor. Slutsatserna är att utbildning ger spelmannen impulser till ett mer strukturerat sätt att öva. Förebilderna har en stor betydelse i musik som traditionellt lärs ut via gehör. Folkmusikern ”måste” inte vara tekniskt skickligt för att vara ”bra” utan mycket kan uppvägas av karaktär och uttryck.  Ett vanligt sätt att lära ut svensk folkmusik, är att först spela hela låten, spela en repris och sedan dela in den i fraser. I studien fanns ett samband mellan informantens utbildning och komplexiteten i egna övningar samt rekommenderade övningar till elever.</p> / <p>The aim of this study is to examine how certain traditional musicians of today practice, and their thoughts on studying the violin. Also, if there was a specific kind of practice and teaching in the genre of Swedish traditional music.Five musicians with different backgrounds, age and sex were interviewed with open questions.The conclusions are that education can provide the traditional musician with a structured practice method.  Models are of great importance in music played by ear. The musician that plays traditional music “must “ not always be technically skilled to be a musician of importance. Character and expression can counterbalance a bad technique. A common way to teach Swedish music is to first play the whole tune and then divide it into smaller units. There was a connection in the study between the education of the informant and the complexity of their own exercises and the exercises they recommended to pupils.</p>

Syftet med det här arbetet var att närmare undersöka hur några nutida folkmusiker övar och tänker kring sitt övande, samt om det hos dessa fanns speciella sätt att öva in och lära ut svensk folkmusik.För att undersöka detta intervjuades fem folkmusiker med olika bakgrund, ålder och kön med hjälp av öppna frågor. Slutsatserna är att utbildning ger spelmannen impulser till ett mer strukturerat sätt att öva. Förebilderna har en stor betydelse i musik som traditionellt lärs ut via gehör. Folkmusikern ”måste” inte vara tekniskt skickligt för att vara ”bra” utan mycket kan uppvägas av karaktär och uttryck.  Ett vanligt sätt att lära ut svensk folkmusik, är att först spela hela låten, spela en repris och sedan dela in den i fraser. I studien fanns ett samband mellan informantens utbildning och komplexiteten i egna övningar samt rekommenderade övningar till elever. / The aim of this study is to examine how certain traditional musicians of today practice, and their thoughts on studying the violin. Also, if there was a specific kind of practice and teaching in the genre of Swedish traditional music.Five musicians with different backgrounds, age and sex were interviewed with open questions.The conclusions are that education can provide the traditional musician with a structured practice method.  Models are of great importance in music played by ear. The musician that plays traditional music “must “ not always be technically skilled to be a musician of importance. Character and expression can counterbalance a bad technique. A common way to teach Swedish music is to first play the whole tune and then divide it into smaller units. There was a connection in the study between the education of the informant and the complexity of their own exercises and the exercises they recommended to pupils.

On a small island in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence a distinct Francophone community has persisted for nearly three hundred years despite historical traumas and the pressures exerted by a majority Anglophone environment. The factors that have contributed to the persistence of this community are a matter of some debate, yet the cultural identity of the Acadians of Prince Edward Island in the twenty-first century appears to have remained intact. Contrary to a popular discourse of identity "revival," this distinct culture is neither a recent phenomenon nor is it something that is homogeneously pan-Acadian. While much popular and scholarly discourse on the Acadians centres on their tragic past and nationalist perspectives of Acadian identity construction, this dissertation focuses on how identity is created, perceived and expressed in a local context. Music plays a key role in articulating this local identity; it helps to create and maintain social relationships both within the community and with other cultural groups. The emergence of a distinct musical tradition has contributed substantially to the production and maintenance of cultural identity amongst these Island Acadians. Through case studies of specific performance contexts, individual musicians and professional groups, I examine current and ongoing processes of Acadian cultural definition and how musicians negotiate the dichotomy of traditional and modern performance contexts and forms of expression. I consider the musical alliances and exchanges that inform the experiences of these Islanders and how these intercultural encounters have influenced local musical practices and discourses about Acadian identity. My research demonstrates that contemporary cultural markers, and particularly music, are primary tools through which members of this invisible minority cultural group define and present their ethno-cultural identity both locally and to cultural outsiders.

On a small island in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence a distinct Francophone community has persisted for nearly three hundred years despite historical traumas and the pressures exerted by a majority Anglophone environment. The factors that have contributed to the persistence of this community are a matter of some debate, yet the cultural identity of the Acadians of Prince Edward Island in the twenty-first century appears to have remained intact. Contrary to a popular discourse of identity "revival," this distinct culture is neither a recent phenomenon nor is it something that is homogeneously pan-Acadian. While much popular and scholarly discourse on the Acadians centres on their tragic past and nationalist perspectives of Acadian identity construction, this dissertation focuses on how identity is created, perceived and expressed in a local context. Music plays a key role in articulating this local identity; it helps to create and maintain social relationships both within the community and with other cultural groups. The emergence of a distinct musical tradition has contributed substantially to the production and maintenance of cultural identity amongst these Island Acadians. Through case studies of specific performance contexts, individual musicians and professional groups, I examine current and ongoing processes of Acadian cultural definition and how musicians negotiate the dichotomy of traditional and modern performance contexts and forms of expression. I consider the musical alliances and exchanges that inform the experiences of these Islanders and how these intercultural encounters have influenced local musical practices and discourses about Acadian identity. My research demonstrates that contemporary cultural markers, and particularly music, are primary tools through which members of this invisible minority cultural group define and present their ethno-cultural identity both locally and to cultural outsiders.

Compared with its roles in pre-modern societies, traditional music, previously called “folklore,” has been playing very different roles in the globalized world. These new roles, however, are rarely articulated in a systematic manner. While most discourse on the contemporary use of traditional music comes from the case studies of ethnomusicologists, the concept of “intangible cultural heritage,” which is usually associated with the initiatives of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) in safeguarding intangible cultural heritage (including traditional music), provides a new perspective to understand the new roles that traditional music plays in the postmodern world. A systematic examination of these roles is crucial, because it allows an in-depth analysis of the hidden power relations behind the contemporary use of traditional music. Furthermore, with the idea of “salvation from disappearing” being more and more problematic in contemporary practice, the project of preserving traditional music cannot be firmly grounded unless its contemporary values are demonstrated. In order to systematically identify and analyze the contemporary use of traditional music, this paper examines the current literature on intangible cultural heritage and the related international initiatives undertaken by the United Nations and its specialized agencies such as UNESCO and UNDP, in combination with the major issues raised by ethnomusicologists regarding the use of traditional music in creative industries. Using two major case studies–Kunqu and HAN Hong’s new Tibetan music–to demonstrate the aesthetic, political, economic and ethical dimensions of the use of traditional music in contemporary society, I argue that there is a fifth dimension, the social dimension, of the value of traditional music in the postmodern condition. The articulation of this social dimension of the contemporary use of traditional music serves to establish its universal relevance and to identify its unique character that makes it a powerful tool to serve as a counter-hegemonic force. / text

Detta arbete handlar om hur jag som folkmusikslagverkare genom självobservation kan lära mig en speciell spelteknik för att framkalla melodier på ostämda slagverksinstrument med fokus på tamburinen och hur denna kan simulera ett helt trumset med samma spelteknik. Syftet har varit att undersöka om det som slagverkare går att komma från rollen som en ackompanjemangsmusiker och istället ses som en melodispelare samt att se hur man kan utnyttja tamburinens fulla kapacitet för att hitta nya spelsätt och nya möjligheter.  För att göra detta arbete, och för att observera mig själv i min lärandeprocess, har jag använt mig av videoinspelning, ljudinspelning och kontinuerligt loggboksskrivande. Min teoretiska utgångspunkt i detta arbete är mästarläran och det är utifrån den teorin jag har bearbetat mitt datamaterial. I resultatet presenterar jag processen när jag, i relation till folkmusikgenren, har lärt mig att spela melodier på ostämda slagverksinstrument och att simulera att helt trumset på endast en tamburin. Jag har tydligt visat de tekniker jag har övat på för att lyckas med detta. I resultatet framkommer också att det har varit en stor fördel att redan ha vana från andra slagverksinstrument och att jag har haft två olika mästare under arbetsprocessen, själva folkmusiktraditionen och spelmannen på slagverk, Petter Berndalen. / This work is about how I as a folk music percussionist through self-observation can learn a special playing technique for inducing melodies on untuned percussion instruments with a focus on the tambourine and how this can simulate a full drum kit with the same playing technique. The aim was to examine whether as a percussionist is able to go from the role as an accompaniment musician and instead be seen as a melody player and to see how to exploit tambourines full capacity to find new ways of playing and new opportunities. To make this work, and observing myself in my learning process, I have used the video recording, audio recording and continuous logbook writing. My theoretical basis of this work is master-learning and it is from that theory I have analysed my data material. In the result, I present the process when I, in relation to traditional music genre, have taught myself to play melodies on untuned percussion instruments and to simulate the whole drum kit with only one tambourine. I have clearly demonstrated the techniques I have practiced in order to succeed. This result also reveals that there has been a great advantage to already have experience from other percussion instruments and that I have had two different masters during the working process, the traditional music genre and the traditional music percussionist, Petter Berndalen.