FUNDAMENTALS OF ETHNOMUSICOLOGY

The course intends to address themes, technical terms and objectives of ethnomusicological research in order to provide the participant with a general knowledge of the fundamentals of the discipline and its specificities.

More specifically, the course will examine: 1. the particular approach of ethnomusicology (EM) in relation to historical musicology (MS), to demo-ethno-anthropological disciplines (DEA) and to recent studies of contemporary popular music ("Popular Music Studies "); 2. the emic concept of music; 3. the sound / noise opposition; 4. the intentionality of musical action; 5. the particular temporality of sound events; 6. the presence of rules for the organization of sounds; 7. the presence and use of objects and technologies for music; 8. the many organologies born on the planet; 9. the project immanent to musical action; 10. the functions attributed to music production.

During the course we will focus on the historical features of the young discipline and on some of its typical methods of investigation: field research, recording and analysis of recorded songs, use of the video camera, the audiovisual investigation in ethnomusicology. The course will end by examining the very recent concept of "Transcultural Musicology".

As every year, there will be initiatives related to the course, for which attendance is required.

According to the framework for the European Higher Education, the so called Dublin descriptors, the expected results are:
1. Knowledge and Understanding
a) To know the basic terms and concepts of the discipline and to understand the texts that use such terms and concepts.
b) To understand the peculiarities of the approaches of MS, EM, DEA as well as the brand new approach of the so called Transcultural Musicology.

2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
a) Being capable of a simple analysis of some given musical examples, being aware of the singles musical languages and cultures.
b) Ability to connect a musical tune with its cultural framework.

3. Judgement's ability
a) Being capable to formulate and to argument simples hypothesis.

4. Communication Skills
a) Being able to communicate the peculiarities of the ethnomusicological approach to music, using an appropriate terminology.

5. Learning Ability
● Being able to take notes and to share them in a collaborative form.
● Being able to consult the texts critically and the Bibliography immanent.

Open mindedness, attention and curiosity. Welcome notions of musical grammar.

The course aims to address issues, technical terms and objectives of ethnomusicological research in order to provide the participant with a basic knowledge of the discipline and its specificities.

1) Francesco GIANNATTASIO, Il concetto di musica. Contributi e prospettive della ricerca etnomusicologica, Roma, Bulzoni, 1998.
2) Tullia MAGRINI (ed.), Universi Sonori. Introduzione all'etnomusicologia, Torino, Einaudi, 2002.

Further bibliographical indications will be given in class.

Oral examination based on the texts in the bibliography. The exam begins with a topic of the candidate's choice. It continues with questions on the reference texts.
Students' capacity to find connections and independent pathways, having metabolized what they have heard/read, is highly appreciated.

Lessons with audio and video examples.

Italian

Before starting a course I order the necessary texts for the course in BAUM; obviously, being exam papers, these are not available for loan.
You can also find the texts for the exam in Venetian as well as national bookstores, online, or in the many Venetian libraries.

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development