Performance and Autoethnography in Historical Ethnomusicology: Differentiating the Viola and the Violão

Abstract

This article proposes the combination of performance and autoethnography as alternative methods to make use of musical scores concerning the viola (five-course guitar) and the violão (six-course guitar) in historical ethnomusicology. The author performs and records the same set of songs on the viola and the violão, and based on the multidimensionality of the interaction performer/instrument, writes an autoethnography differentiating his experiences in playing at both chordophones. This approach strives for overcoming the duality body/mind in academic musical research and comprises the embodied knowledge that arises from experience as a complementary epistemology to the corpus of knowledge about these instruments. Moreover, it is added the professional viewpoint of the virtuoso viola player Ivan Vilela who, interviewed by the author, gives his impressions about the differences in ergonomics and playing technics between those chordophones.Keywords: viola and violão; embodied musical knowledge; autoethnography; historical ethnomusicology; Ivan Vilela.Resumo: Este artigo propõe a combinação de performance e autoetnografia como métodos alternativos para utilizar partituras musicais referentes à viola (de cinco ordens de cordas duplas) e ao violão (de seis ordens de cordas simples) em etnomusicologia histórica. O autor executa e grava sonoramente o mesmo conjunto de canções na viola e no violão e, baseado-se na multidimensionalidade da interação instrumentista/instrumento, escreve uma autoetnografia diferenciando suas experiências em tocar ambos cordofones. Tal abordagem esforça-se para superar a dualidade corpo/mente em investigação musical acadêmica, valorizando o conhecimento vivenciado no corpo como epistemologia complementar ao conjunto de conhecimentos históricos sobre os referidos instrumentos musicais. Ademais, incluise o ponto de vista profissional do virtuoso violeiro Ivan Vilela que, entrevistado pelo autor, aponta diferenças ergonômicas e técnicas entre esses cordofones.

#100daysofpractice: Selection and adaptation of self-regulated learning strategies in an online music performance challenge

“…One of its advantages is the possibility to obtain qualitative data by introspection on personal processes and their execution (Anderson, 2006;Chang, 2008). This qualitative method has been employed in self-reflective music research, performance studies (Carless & Douglas, 2021;Castro, 2016;López-Íñiguez & McPherson, 2020), composition (Hollingworth, 2019), and music education (Gouzouasis & Ihnatovych, 2016;Kladder, 2021;López-Íñiguez & Courts, 2020;Waters, 2021;Wiley, 2019). Autoethnography can be applied in an evocative manner, as a reflection based on emotional recalls about lived experiences (Bartleet & Ellis, 2010;Ellis & Bochner, 2000), in a writing format closer to a descriptive literary approach (Anderson, 2006), or, as in this study, in an analytic manner.…”

Performance Autoethnography of a Philippine Music Concert

“…At the heart of both is the desire to communicate engaging and personal tales, through music and words, which inspire audiences to react, reflect, and in many cases, reciprocate (Bartleet & Ellis, 2009). Castro (2016) proposes the combination of performance and autoethnography as alternative methods to make use of musical scores. This approach strives for overcoming the duality body/mind in academic, musical research and comprises the embodied knowledge that arises from experience as a complementary epistemology to the corpus of knowledge about these instruments (Castro, 2016).…”

“…Castro (2016) proposes the combination of performance and autoethnography as alternative methods to make use of musical scores. This approach strives for overcoming the duality body/mind in academic, musical research and comprises the embodied knowledge that arises from experience as a complementary epistemology to the corpus of knowledge about these instruments (Castro, 2016).…”