Challenge Questions

1. In an age when technology facilitates the accessibility of countless music cultures, to what extent does the overall quality of research suffer within a specific music culture, due to the increased quantity of music cultures now available to us? Is there a threat of ethnographers being spread too thin wanting to take on numerous projects? Technology is an effective means for progression of a tradition, but does it come at a cost (i.e. loss of authenticity)? Examine the past, present, and/or future roles of technology in ethnomusicology and its inherent advantages and drawbacks. Feel free to include specific examples when technology has enhanced or held back the process of gathering information and producing an ethnography.

2. Bruno Nettl claims that “how a society transmits its culture, how a musical system transmits itself, is of enormous importance for understanding the society’s character” (37). From there he lists four ways in which a musical system is transmitted, namely oral or aural, written, printed, and recorded. Is there any one method that stands out as being the most informative? Offer critiques and criticisms of each method, and analyze the role of transcription and transmission in ethnographies. With a significant emphasis placed on Western music notation as a means of transcription, are we obliged to find alternative ways to visually represent a music-culture that does not necessarily adopt Western music tradition? Consider the ethical implications of doing so.