Some Problems of Theory and Method in the Study of Musical Change

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to draw attention to the need for a comprehensive theory of music and music-making, and for studies that seek to distinguish musical change analytically from other kinds of change, and radical change from variation and innovation within a flexible system.

Toward a new comparative musicology

“…Objections to comparison have often focused on past reliance on acoustic features-particularly structural features such as the scales or meters that are prominent in Western music theory-to the exclusion of other features that may be more relevant for other musical cultures. The latter include non-acoustic features, such as social function or symbolic meaning, as well as acoustic features such as performance style, micro-rhythms, or micro-tonality (Blacking 1977). To date, classification schemes have tended to focus on acoustic features related to performance (Lomax and Grauer 1968) and structure , although Hornbostel andSachs's ([1914] 1961) influential instrumental classification scheme also incorporates elements of sound-production mechanisms that are not necessarily audible.…”

“…While classification (Issue 1 above) can proceed by describing musical relationships in terms of phenetic (surface) similarities, cultural evolution is largely concerned with the phylogenetic (evolutionary) mechanisms underlying these similarities. This has long been a topic of interest to ethnomusicologists intrigued by situations where the same musical "surface structure" originates from very different "deep structures" (Blacking 1971).…”

‘The most Martian of Martianesses’: Zhanna Aguzarova, (post-)Soviet rock ‘n’ roll, and the musico-linguistic creation of the ‘outside’

“…Rather, as Blacking (1979) has positedand as I hope to have shown in the discussion of Aguzarova's voice, abovemusical communication is often the vehicle par excellence for transmission and performance of that which cannot (yet) be expressed through language. Rather, as Blacking (1979) has positedand as I hope to have shown in the discussion of Aguzarova's voice, abovemusical communication is often the vehicle par excellence for transmission and performance of that which cannot (yet) be expressed through language.…”

Steep Slopes: Music and change in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea

“…Within ethnomusicology more generally, the literature on music and change is various and includes the earlier theoretical work by scholars such as Blacking (1977) and Kartomi (1981). A number of case studies support and develop this theoretical work, by scholars such as Kubik (1986), Waterman (1990), Manuel (1994) and Kidula (1995Kidula ( , 1999, to name just a few.…”