tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.comments2023-08-20T10:48:55.697-04:00Sustainable MusicJeff Todd Titonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10384565652765905576noreply@blogger.comBlogger162125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-17885953322691632582021-04-14T12:50:27.917-04:002021-04-14T12:50:27.917-04:00Thanks, Roy. I know what you mean. The fog I'v...Thanks, Roy. I know what you mean. The fog I've experienced in East Tennessee is gentler than the ocean fog off East Penobscot Bay. There's no better word I can think of to describe the difference. Occasionally, as the morning goes well along and the sun has burnt off the fog from the land hereabouts, the ocean fog lingers. We call it sea smoke. Jeff Todd Titonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10384565652765905576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-12629439859099997262021-04-14T12:19:12.034-04:002021-04-14T12:19:12.034-04:00Fascinating. I am indebted to you for astute obse...Fascinating. I am indebted to you for astute observations on several matters. The lobster fisherman describing how he enjoyed the lifting of the fog reminds me of how much I enjoyed the mornings I spent milking cows when I was growing up in Tennessee.<br /><br />My brother once visited a sheep farm in France where a farmer milked 80 sheep each day for use in making the specialty cheeses France produces. Their government considers this production very important and protects the tradition. By contrast, American support of family farms evaporated in the Clinton years and our county saw a decrease of dairy farms, from 112 in 1991 to 6 today. That makes over a hundred fewer families enjoying the feel of a spring morning in Tennessee when the air is clean and fresh and the world feels perfect.Roy Turrentinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09667852735199543689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-51559418680000449322021-01-21T18:37:10.614-05:002021-01-21T18:37:10.614-05:00This is good Jeff
I really appreciate your good wo...This is good Jeff<br />I really appreciate your good worksAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10013851417563023930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-47211022069276254082020-11-01T07:01:38.797-05:002020-11-01T07:01:38.797-05:00And every one of them looks great!
(and...GOOD GO...And every one of them looks great!<br /><br />(and...GOOD GOD, even *thinking* about this writing load scares me!)coyotebanjohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06971598659494084004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-37461842319131126642020-10-15T20:28:37.641-04:002020-10-15T20:28:37.641-04:00Many Indigenous groups throughout the world have d...Many Indigenous groups throughout the world have disappeared or become assimilated over the centuries. The scholarly literature on topics such as language death would be a place where you might begin. Jeff Todd Titonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10384565652765905576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-60178318494563314132020-10-14T14:26:51.700-04:002020-10-14T14:26:51.700-04:00Hello Jeff Titon. Thank you for the informative bl...Hello Jeff Titon. Thank you for the informative blog post. While reading your thoughts on music sustainability and the effects of industrial culture at-large, I began to wonder about music cultures that may have been snuffed out by said effects. Are there any extinct music cultures that come to mind for you, particularly ones that were very idiosyncratic in nature? Finding information on such a subject is rather difficult, even with the vast resource of the internet; perhaps this extinction of a culture carries over from the physical realm into the digital. <br /><br /> Josh Hhttp://90slinoleum.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-39859470462473504282019-09-15T07:41:24.616-04:002019-09-15T07:41:24.616-04:00I often wonder about the carbon footprint of major...I often wonder about the carbon footprint of major rock tours. All those aeroplanes, huge trucks, lighting rigs etc. Stan Leehttps://stanleyjohnson.com.aunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-38164498272725147202018-12-03T14:56:51.742-05:002018-12-03T14:56:51.742-05:00This blog post and the one that follow were really...This blog post and the one that follow were really fascinating, Jeff. People come to the phenomenological tradition from a wide range of directions, and it was really interesting to see your entrance into this material. Ellen, I would be happy to give you some additional sources to supplement the one's that Jeff suggested. Feel free to email me at my Memorial University email address. I won't list it here for fear of spam and bots, but you can easily find it from my home page at Memorial; just google my name and Memorial University of Newfoundland.Harris Bergerhttps://www.mun.ca/music/people/faculty/hberger.phpnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-21568755316322623642018-09-12T18:03:13.479-04:002018-09-12T18:03:13.479-04:00Thanks for the additional suggestions. These mostl...Thanks for the additional suggestions. These mostly have to do with bottom-line concerns. Certainly these are important. But imho these should be secondary to deciding which professor(s) you want to work with, based on their published research and its match with your interests. And their personalities and how well they work with students. Obviously, you need to do some reading to research this yourself--the blurbs about the professors' work on their university departments' web pages are a good place to start, but also read some of their publications too. If you're going to invest 5-10 years of your life in grad school, you want to know as much as possible about where you'll be and who you'll be with. Going to an SEM conference to find out who is working on what is an excellent idea, and while there see if you can find someone whose dissertation adviser is a professor you want to work with--and ask what is good and what is not so good about working with that person. How easy is it to get an appointment to see the professor? Is the professor a good teacher? Does the professor spend a lot of time in the classroom and afterwards with their students? Or is the professor more interested in going to conferences, and holing up somewhere to do their research and writing? Are you someone who needs structure? Some professors provide a lot of structure; others don't. Are you someone who doesn't like to be given structure, but would rather make it for yourself? Then choose a professor who is looser and more laid back. And so on. Interviewing students and professors about their programs at SEM conferences (in my experience) isn't nearly as valuable as visiting the school and talking with them there. At a conference they're usually in a recruiting mode, and you want to find out the hells as well as the benefits of the program. The job wiki has been unreliable on occasion in the past, so don't believe everything you read. As for funding, it's important to compare the number of years, the amount of funding, what's expected in return (how much teaching, how much grading, how much of doing grunt-work for professors), whether there's a grad student union, and so on. But if possible a decision about where to apply should be made chiefly on the basis of the "fit" between your interests and the strengths of the graduate program. I have several colleagues who chose on the basis of the amount of funding, or the prestige of the university, or both; but they found that the programs and professors were not to their liking, they gamed their way through, and were unhappy most of the time. Much better to be relaxed, happy, and free to exercise your intellectual curiosity without having to worry about playing games with professors and with other students. Of course, I also know some who were unhappy with the professors they chose to work with; again, finding the right "fit" is most important. Jeff Todd Titonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10384565652765905576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-33252741709592218192018-09-10T22:56:24.990-04:002018-09-10T22:56:24.990-04:00Lots of good advice here. Things I tell my student...Lots of good advice here. Things I tell my students: investigate the average time to degree, the average years of funding, and the tuition and fees structure. Otherwise you can't meaningfully compare. Ask to be put in touch with (or use website to diy) a current grad student or two,and with someone who's a few years out. Check the job wiki - how do graduates of this program seem to be faring (best we have as societies don't seem to track).If it's an option, go to a SEM meeting, and attend student events and quiz students and faculty on programs while there. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-90760080989150273472018-09-03T22:39:13.385-04:002018-09-03T22:39:13.385-04:00Ellen, Your project may not have been very extensi...Ellen, Your project may not have been very extensive, but you asked good questions and I think your interpretation makes a lot of sense. Musical experiences do seem to be grounded in, or associated with, particular memories; and when the music is heard or played again, the memory re-appears in consciousness. This is a phenomenological observation. No wonder you're interested in this subject.<br /><br />The literature on phenomenology is vast and much of it is difficult because its concepts and terminology are new to most people. Some say it's like learning a foreign language, but persistence will pay off. Because you're interested in its application to ethnomusicology, a good place to start might be with Harris Berger's article on that subject, in Oxford Handbooks Online, which should be accessible through your academic library if you search on Harris Berger, ethnomusicology, and phenomenology. For an introduction to phenomenology as a branch of philosophy, I would recommend the on line entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy; search for phenomenology once you arrive on the encyclopedia page. Another introduction to phenomenology that many beginners have found helpful is Don Ihde's book, which is titled Experimental Phenomenology. You may, also, wish to be in touch with Harris Berger himself; he teaches ethnomusicology at Memorial University of Newfoundland, in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. <br /><br />Jeff Todd Titonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10384565652765905576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-7316119166926934532018-07-08T20:01:05.442-04:002018-07-08T20:01:05.442-04:00Professor Titon,
I thoroughly enjoyed reading thi...Professor Titon,<br /><br />I thoroughly enjoyed reading this post! The idea of exploring musical experiences is what led me to ethnomusicology in the first place. <br /><br />Last summer I conducted a short series of interviews with some senior residents of my college town to ask about their favorite music. It was clear that there were certain pieces of music that were more beloved than others, but it was difficult to talk with my interviewees about why that music was special to them and how it made them feel. Most answers were general statements about the music making them feel happy or good. Just like you said, it wasn't anything they really thought about. What I found to be curious were the many ways in which they experienced their favorite music. Although interviewees had a difficult time with the idea of favorites and rather distinguished the music that is dear to them as the music that "spoke" to them. Some of the music that spoke to them were associated with memories, singing in church or enjoying music with loved ones. They also recalled, unprompted by my questions, times where music came to them in times of stress or need. Though my research was not extensive enough to draw any certain conclusions, the music that the interviewees were most fond of pointed to musical experiences that they had throughout their life rather than the intrinsic value of the music itself. It’s certainly not ground-breaking research, but I am fascinated by the way musical experiences shape ourselves as individuals and as societies. <br /><br />I am looking forward to reading your next post! Would you be willing to recommend any literature on phenomenology? I'm curious to know more!<br /><br />Ellen<br />Ellen Messnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-65855000555057614982018-05-08T09:13:32.929-04:002018-05-08T09:13:32.929-04:00There are graduate programs in folklore, also. You...There are graduate programs in folklore, also. You may be interested in looking at those. The two largest and best-known programs in folklore are at Indiana University (MA and PhD) and at Western Kentucky University (MA only). There are others. Start by going to the American Folklore Society website. Ethnomusicologists are more welcoming to artists who would also be scholars than folklorists are. Besides, it is almost impossible to excel at the highest levels both as a scholar and musician while holding a position in ethnomusicology or folklore. I can think of only a very few people who have been able to do this, whereas there are perhaps a few thousand people employed as folklorists and ethnomusicologists today. And in graduate school, when you are being educated to become a scholar, it is impossible to find the time also to maintain one's skills as an artist at the highest level. On the other hand, it is possible to keep one's hand in it, especially in music where virtuosity is not important.Jeff Todd Titonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10384565652765905576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-44796068452435238532018-03-26T19:32:56.383-04:002018-03-26T19:32:56.383-04:00These are great ideas to think about. Well, I do s...These are great ideas to think about. Well, I do suppose rather than sustain its tradition, maybe I am trying to expand it. I appreciate the time you've taken to answer me personally. I want to think more about folklore as a general topic. One thing I can say, a bit poetically, is that the more I give to the instrument, the more it rises to a challenge and gives back to me. I get the most back when I take time to record it. i'm in an art program, by the way. MFA candidate, so I can do some things that only an artist would try. Is research harder to manage if you find yourself doing something unique? Maybe it depends on the kind of research-- sort of looking forward in time, let's say, not the reverse.familyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02254365274004764090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-16061818210883173092018-03-26T11:23:18.513-04:002018-03-26T11:23:18.513-04:00Ethnomusicologists are interested in all music, so...Ethnomusicologists are interested in all music, sound, and musical instruments; so if you got an education in ethnomusicology you could research the hurdy-gurdy in a graduate program and gain confidence that your research was solidly grounded. Among ethnomusicologists you would find a scholarly audience as well as colleagues interested in exotic musical instruments. After you have researched the hurdy-gurdy and its history and present-day music culture, you could assess the health of its tradition and determine how best to sustain it. Often this is done by increasing interest in it, exhibiting it in various concerts and contexts, forming musical instrument interest groups, putting out recordings, and so on. I noted that there were several hurdy-gurdy performances on YouTube. As for presenting esoteric information to a lay audience, applied and public ethnomusicologists and public folklorists do so in museums, festivals, and other public venues. Independent researchers sometimes collaborate with trained folklorists and ethnomusicologists on these presentations. Some museums are devoted specifically to musical instruments. For instance, the Musical Instrument Museum, located in north Phoenix, AZ, has a collection of more than 15,000 instruments, and a website. Unlike most musical instrument museums, this one features a great variety of esoteric instruments from all over the world. You might get in touch with them, if you haven't already, and ask whether they can help you with your research.Jeff Todd Titonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10384565652765905576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-62971615789578523732018-03-26T07:27:42.169-04:002018-03-26T07:27:42.169-04:00I came upon your blog just now. Wonderful. Hopeful...I came upon your blog just now. Wonderful. Hopefully if you reply I will see this. My own focal point is an unusual instrument, the hurdy gurdy. Where does this instrument fit into the idea of sustainable music. Maybe I need to begin with reading about what sustainable music really is. I should also mention that I am in an art program rather than music-- though I am a professional jazz musician. My primary stress is in defining my audience and their role. All this about the hurdy gurdy seems so esoteric that it is hard to go deeper in on the topic. I am not aiming to teach anyone how to play it (no one owns one) so I need to see this more as a category rather than a particular instrument. Coming in the door jazz is more what I know about more than folklore. You begin to see how I am holding on with a couple of fingers here (metaphor) but I do not yet have a strong anchoring that evokes a sense of confidence. How I wonder does one present highly esoteric information with real confidence to a lay audience?familyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02254365274004764090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-21124538516271557012017-11-22T16:19:19.399-05:002017-11-22T16:19:19.399-05:00Susan, if you find my email address on the Brown U...Susan, if you find my email address on the Brown Univ. website and send me an email, I will be able to reply properly. Blogger does not permit me to find your email address. Otherwise I would send you an email response now. Jeff Todd Titonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10384565652765905576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-43267966864313215002017-11-22T10:26:42.276-05:002017-11-22T10:26:42.276-05:00Dear Jeff, Please help me find the next conference...Dear Jeff, Please help me find the next conference or festival in 2018 I can come to to hear topics such as you write about in your blog, especially this one! I'm a musician from Atlanta, Georgia (sin city!) who has passionately loved and played old-time, mountain, folk, blues, gospel music especially of rural Georgia--the mountains of North Georgia but also the central plains "below the gnat line" as my friend from Vidalia calls her region, and the sea islands off the coast of Georgia. My parents and theirs date back to early Georgia, near Louisville, GA, "east central Georgia's best kept secret" as the town itself boasts. Susan Ketchinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04984345601387973703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-75640559112936896462017-11-21T21:55:39.023-05:002017-11-21T21:55:39.023-05:00If you'll send me an email--you can find my ad...If you'll send me an email--you can find my address by going to the Brown Univ. website--I'll reply and try to make some suggestions. Jeff Todd Titonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10384565652765905576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-88513805161788946742017-11-21T21:48:55.325-05:002017-11-21T21:48:55.325-05:00No ecomusicology conference is in the planning sta...No ecomusicology conference is in the planning stage at the moment, to my knowledge. If you google ecomusicology, you'll find a resource page on the subject with a lot of good links. Jeff Todd Titonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10384565652765905576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-29530285867053641202017-11-21T21:33:04.269-05:002017-11-21T21:33:04.269-05:00Ah, music as being in the world, the source of wea...Ah, music as being in the world, the source of wealth and sustainability. I want to know more. When is the next symposium? or conference on this subject? Shall I just google "music and sustainability?" to me it is as vital and important a topic as climate change. Susan Ketchinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04984345601387973703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-69320559358550340232017-11-21T20:32:25.364-05:002017-11-21T20:32:25.364-05:00As we are wont to say in the mountains of North Ca...As we are wont to say in the mountains of North Carolina (southern Appalachia, that onerous place!), "Well, Bless her heart. She doesn't know any better."Susan Ketchinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04984345601387973703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-23674125722664718672017-11-21T20:29:29.414-05:002017-11-21T20:29:29.414-05:00How might I learn about upcoming conferences and/o...How might I learn about upcoming conferences and/or keynotes you will be giving in 2018? I am researching and writing a book about the music of my homeland, the deep south. I'm exploring the rich intersection (one might even say delta) between the natural music of a place (in my case south Georgia) and the music(s) of communities in that region, white and black, are a means to reclamation and healing of a fractured land/word. I've discovered, through your blog, that my book may be located in the totally new-to-me territory of "ecomusicology," a thought that is incredibly exciting to me on a number of levels. I'm a seminarian, bluegrass and old-time musician (banjo, dulcimer, string bass, guitar, vocals), and published writer who lives in North Carolina. The book's working title: "Call and Response" Please help me become more involved in the research and understanding of the entire field of "ecomusicology". Susan KetchinSusan Ketchinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04984345601387973703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-31010042347021840082017-11-21T20:18:08.727-05:002017-11-21T20:18:08.727-05:00Just when I thought the land and its people, the c...Just when I thought the land and its people, the culture and its music of the American South in particular had been debauched and imperiled to beyond the breaking point, I read here about a new depth of depravity. Thank you Jeff Todd Titon for letting us know. Susan Ketchinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04984345601387973703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4200147945040702557.post-84782277471197592602017-11-21T20:07:28.159-05:002017-11-21T20:07:28.159-05:00A wonderful blogpost and comment by Kathleen c. I...A wonderful blogpost and comment by Kathleen c. I assume, kathleen c, that your use of the word "dovetail" as a verb in this context was an intentional--and quite delightful--pun! Can anyone tell me when/where there will be other ecomusicology conference or symposium, particularly on the bird song, music, and the importance of these to a culture of a particular place? I'm sorry I missed this one!Susan Ketchinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04984345601387973703noreply@blogger.com