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Improvisation is regarded as the most sublime element in the jíbaro folk music tradition of Puerto Rico. This tradition originated by the jíbaro, the simple rural farmer of Puerto Rico's heartland, involves the complicated art of improvising in décima, a ten-line poetic form, as well as improvisation of melodic lines played on the cuatro, a small guitar-like instrument. Since jíbaro improvisation is an art that is transmitted orally and involves a seemingly spontaneous act, it might seem odd to talk about a theory of improvisation within this style of music. My ethnographic research however has revealed that improvisation in jíbaro music is actually a highly structured performance practice and involves an informal theory that is based on the knowledge of archetypal patterns that generate and organize jíbaro improvisations.Recent theories of music which establish parallels between music, language, and cognition (Lerdhal and Jackendoff; Clarke; Gjerdingen) have lead me to believe that improvisation in jíbaro music is generated by the combination of archetypal patterns that create a musical syntax. These patterns are stored in minds of jíbaro performers as cognitive schemas. My study is also based on the work of Puerto Rican scholars Luis M. Alvarez and Angel Quintero who have identified African rhythmic patterns as the generative musical source in many styles of Puerto Rican folk music. By combining theories of music and ethnographic methods, this paper will provide a greater understanding of orally transmitted cultural expressions, which utilize improvisation, as well as give insight to the cognitive processes that shape this performance practice.

No description available.

This thesis explores the role of popular music in articulating socio-cultural identities by examining the contribution of the Acadian group, 1755. As the rapid modernization of Acadians' way of life led to a sense of cultural alienation, cultural products played a prominent role in asserting their cultural specificity. Accordingly, the 1970s were not only rich in artistic production, but also saw the development of a distinctive Acadian popular music practice. Responding to fears of acculturation and folklorization, Acadian popular music embodied Acadians' desire to embrace a modern identity all the while maintaining ties with their traditional identity. 1755's music actively took part in reinventing Acadian identity by constructing a cultural narrative that reflected Acadians' contemporary reality and by renegotiating what was commonly held as "Acadian" music. As a result, it became invested with ideological significance by Acadian consumers, regarded not merely as commercial music but rather as a symbol of their cultural emancipation.

No abstract available. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1982.

The aim of this dissertation is to contribute to an understanding of the changing relationship between collectivist ideals and individualism within dispersed, transnational, and heterogeneous cultural spaces. I focus on musicians working in professional folk music, a field that has strong, historic associations with collectivism. This field consists of folk festivals, music camps, and other venues at which musicians from a range of countries, affiliated with broad labels such as ‘Celtic,’ ‘Nordic,’ ‘bluegrass,’ or ‘fiddle music,’ interact. Various collaborative connections emerge from such encounters, creating socio-musical networks that cross boundaries of genre, region, and nation. These interactions create a social space that has received little attention in ethnomusicology. While there is an emerging body of literature devoted to specific folk festivals in the context of globalization, few studies have examined the relationship between the transnational character of this circuit and the changing sensibilities, music, and social networks of particular musicians who make a living on it. To this end, I examine the career trajectories of three interrelated musicians who have worked in folk music: the late Canadian fiddler Oliver Schroer (1956-2008), the Irish flute player Nuala Kennedy, and the Italian organetto player Filippo Gambetta. These musicians are all notable for their taste for transnational collaboration and their reputations as mavericks and boundary-pushers. Through case studies of their projects, relationships, and collaborative networks, I explore transformations in the collectivist folk ideal by focussing on how these musicians are implicated in three phenomena: transnational festivals, new folk music sensibilities, and touring as social practice. This research is based on multi-dimensional, multi-sited fieldwork undertaken in Toronto, Genoa, Edinburgh, and at various festivals in Europe and North America between 2007-2013. I conclude that Schroer, Kennedy, and Gambetta experience transnational folk music space as a field of intersecting transnationalisms that are imaginaries and collectivities of varying size and scope. While festivals in this space increasingly celebrate a transcultural ideal and foster the formation of transnational networks, stable, heterogeneous transnational relationships are proving more difficult to attain. I argue that touring on this circuit generates a desire for community continuity that becomes part of the poetics of new instrumental folk music.

The aim of this dissertation is to contribute to an understanding of the changing relationship between collectivist ideals and individualism within dispersed, transnational, and heterogeneous cultural spaces. I focus on musicians working in professional folk music, a field that has strong, historic associations with collectivism. This field consists of folk festivals, music camps, and other venues at which musicians from a range of countries, affiliated with broad labels such as ‘Celtic,’ ‘Nordic,’ ‘bluegrass,’ or ‘fiddle music,’ interact. Various collaborative connections emerge from such encounters, creating socio-musical networks that cross boundaries of genre, region, and nation. These interactions create a social space that has received little attention in ethnomusicology. While there is an emerging body of literature devoted to specific folk festivals in the context of globalization, few studies have examined the relationship between the transnational character of this circuit and the changing sensibilities, music, and social networks of particular musicians who make a living on it. To this end, I examine the career trajectories of three interrelated musicians who have worked in folk music: the late Canadian fiddler Oliver Schroer (1956-2008), the Irish flute player Nuala Kennedy, and the Italian organetto player Filippo Gambetta. These musicians are all notable for their taste for transnational collaboration and their reputations as mavericks and boundary-pushers. Through case studies of their projects, relationships, and collaborative networks, I explore transformations in the collectivist folk ideal by focussing on how these musicians are implicated in three phenomena: transnational festivals, new folk music sensibilities, and touring as social practice. This research is based on multi-dimensional, multi-sited fieldwork undertaken in Toronto, Genoa, Edinburgh, and at various festivals in Europe and North America between 2007-2013. I conclude that Schroer, Kennedy, and Gambetta experience transnational folk music space as a field of intersecting transnationalisms that are imaginaries and collectivities of varying size and scope. While festivals in this space increasingly celebrate a transcultural ideal and foster the formation of transnational networks, stable, heterogeneous transnational relationships are proving more difficult to attain. I argue that touring on this circuit generates a desire for community continuity that becomes part of the poetics of new instrumental folk music.

The present paper discusses the two concepts 'music as art' and 'music as function', put in a historical context but also based on my own experiences and development throughout the Nordic Master in Folk Music. Special regard is given to how my changing relationship to these two concepts have affected my own development. The paper also describes several different methods for artistic development as well as some ideas about what (folk) music can be and how we can think about it. / <p>Bilaga: 1 DVD</p>

Bakalauro darbe analizuojami kapelos „Ventukai“ muzikinės veiklos ypatumai. Gilinamasi į kapelos kūrybinės bei muzikinės veiklos tendencijas, jos raidą. Bakalauro darbo tikslas – išanalizuoti kapelos „Ventukai“ muzikinės veiklos ypatumus. Darbo tikslui pasiekti iškelti šie uždaviniai: remiantis moksline bei metodine literatūra, apibūdinti kapelos sandarą bei veiklos tendencijas; apžvelgti žymiausias Lietuvos kapelas;atskleisti kolektyvo „Ventukai“ ir UAB „Ventukų pramogos“ kūrybinės bei muzikinės veiklos raidą. Tyrimo objektas yra kapelos „Ventukai“ veikla. Atlikus „Ventukų“ kapelos narių patirties muzikinėje veikloje analizę, išanalizuota kūrybinė ansamblio biografija. Analizuojant duomenis gilintasi į tai, kaip prasidėjo kapelos gyvavimas, kas lėmė jos kūrybinį kilimą, tobulėjimą, plėtimąsi. Taip pat siekta atskleisti kūrybinės veiklos tendencijas. Tyrimu nustatyta, kad esminis kapelų muzikinės veiklos uždavinys yra etninės kultūros puoselėjimas. Paaiškėjo, kad kapelų raida vykusi visais laikmečiais iki šių dienų labai pagyvino įprastinį lietuvių liaudies folklorą, skatino puoselėti tautos savimonę ir kvietė praktikuoti tautinę muziką. Lietuvių liaudies instrumentai, jų transformacija, kaita, svaria dalimi prisidėjo prie kapelų raidos tendencijų. Tai buvo esminis tautinės saviraiškos ir identiteto elementų Paaiškėjo, kad kapelos „Ventukai“ atliekama stilizuota lietuvių liaudies muzika daugiausia klausytojų sulaukė 2004 – 2009 metais. Šis laikotarpis atspindi metą, kuomet... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Bachelor’s thesis analyzes the Ventukai band musical performance features. It gets deeper into the creative and musical performance trends and developments. Goal of the bachelor's paper is to analyze musical performance features of the band Ventukai. To achieve the goal the tasks were set: on the basis of scientific and methodological literature, to describe structure and performance trends of the band; to overview the most famous Lithuanian bands; to reveal creative and musical activities development of the group Ventukai and Ventukų pramogos UAB. The study object is performance of the band Ventukai. After having analysed experience of Ventukai band members in musical activities, the creative ensemble biography is analysed. Analysis of the data explores how its existence began, who led to its creative rise, development, expansion. It also sought to reveal the creative activity trends. The study found that the major task of ensemble musical performance is to promote ethnical culture. It turned out that the band evolution took place in all times to the present day, invigorated normal Lithuanian folklore, encouraged the people to foster self-awareness and encouraged to practice folk music. Lithuanian folk instruments, their transformation, change, contributed much to the band development trends. It was essential to national self-expression and identity elements, which went hand in hand with folk songs. It turned out that the stylized Lithuanian folk music performed by... [to full text]

Access to abstract permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Titles of accompanying sound discs. Kikuyu folk songs. Vol. 1, Muthunguci -- Aciari mutuge ngemi / by Nyamuga C. Troupe -- Kikuyu folk songs. Vol. 1, Adults only / complied and arranged by Joseph Kamaru -- Muna 2 / by Nyamuga Troupe -- Agikuyu traditional music. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Titles of accompanying sound discs: Kikuyu folk songs. Vol. 1, Muthunguci -- Aciari mutuge ngemi / by Nyamuga C. Troupe -- Kikuyu folk songs. Vol. 1, Adults only / complied and arranged by Joseph Kamaru -- Muna 2 / by Nyamuga Troupe -- Agikuyu traditional music. / School of Music