M.A. COURSES

Course Outline

MUSC 401, 405 Seminar in Ethnomusicology I & II
Originally, 'musicology' means 'studies in Western art music tradition'. Ethnomusicology, the study of musical traditions other than the Western one, was founded around 1900 by the British mathematician and philologist Alexander John Ellis and the German scholars, Carl Stumpf, Erich Maria v. Hornbostel and Curt Sachs. In Berlin Sachs and Hornbostel founded the first sound archive and developed the basic techniques of transcription and analysis. Sachs published several important works on organology, the origin of music, comparative studies of dance traditions, etc. The basic methods of research developed by these scholars have been refined and added to by ethnomusicologists all over the world.

More recently, also anthropological aims and means have been directed at music, as a system of sound communication with very special properties which require equally special analytic procedures. Such procedures have been developed and applied to music by musicologists. Musicology, therefore is the proper starting point for introducing an anthropological perspective to the analysis of musical sound.

Using a Western musicological base sensitzed to South Asian music by Indian musicology, it is possible to analyze an Indian or Nepalese musical idiom in terms of categories appropriate to the musical structure. Such an analysis will enable one to identify in the music its formal procedures, and to distinguish it from other musical idioms on the basis of distinctive musical features. What this musicological analysis will not do, however, is to explain the process of producing music in performance, where variability is often one of the identifying features of the music and crucial to its very function. Therefore it is necessary to expand the musicological approach so that it can account analytically for all the contextual features relevant to the performance process - this reqires tools which only anthropology can supply.

The result is an ethnomusicological model built to deal with the musical sound structure, the structure of the performance occasion, and with the style of singing, playing and dancing. Analysis of these three dimensions (i.e. the situational, the structural and the expressive) should lead to a deeper understanding of the respective culture.

However, it is not sufficient only to know about the music. The analyst has to become familiar with the ways of producing musical sound by learning how to make music, to sing, play and dance.

This course focuses on the history of the subject 'ethnomusicology', along with its chief exponents, theories, and methods. The major theoretical goals of ethnomusicology are the analysis and comparison of musical structures and events, the systematic description of musical instruments (organology and organography), the role of the musician, the performance context (including historical and ritual implications and those of the locality and society), and the study of musical change. Special emphasis is given to the documentation and preservation of tradition

MUSC 402, 407 Aural Training and Analysis I & II
The aims of this practical course in musical transcription and aural analysis are first, to sharpen the students' perception of musical parameters, especially pitch and rhythm, and secondly, to explore and practise techniques of notation appropriate to the transcription of musics. Both live and prerecorded music are used for these purposes and variable speed recorders as an aid to easier transcription from taped sources. The results are analysed and discussed.

MUSC 404 , 408 Special Seminar in World Music I & II
This course will be conducted by area specialists of various musical cultures, and is thus anticipated to focus on different regions each year.

NEPS 462 Research Methodology
This course imparts training in field methods in general and their application for projects in ethnomusicology. This includes designing a study plan and becoming acquainted with interview techniques.

NEPS 351 - 357, 363 - 369 Elective Language I & II
The students will select one of the local languages of Nepal which will be useful for their future work.

MUSC 406 Preparation for Fieldwork: Audio and Video Recording
Students will be given intensive training in the use of audio and video recording in the field., as well as a special course in studio recording and editing.

N.B.: Equipment will not be lent until the appropriate training course on ist use has been completed. Equipment is lent for the period of field work only . Equipment must be returned on the agreed date. When it is issued, the student will be asked to sign a form agreeing to this and accepting full responsibility if s/he fails to return it on the due date.

MUSC 501, 505 Tutorial
The tutorial is aimed at helping students to select, plan and conduct their individual field projects.

MUSC 502, 506 Student Seminars
Topics will be announced at the beginning of the term for the students to select and prepare their presentations. The individual presentations are followed by discussion of the topics.

MUSC 503 Research Project I: Data Collection
Students will be given approximately four weeks during the first term to conduct research for their projects. The project will be on a subject chosen in consultation between tutor and student and approved by the Department of Music.

MUSC 504, 508 Practical music (optional)
This is for students who are pursuing performance training at an advanced level.

MUSC 507 Research Project II: Research Report
The preparation of the final research report will include consultation with supervisors, preparation of data for analysis and presentation, as well as a demonstration of writing skills. The report should be prepared within the following broad outlines:
i) a study based on the candidate's own fieldwork, approximately 5000 words in length.
ii) As above, but approximately 1500 words in length, with substantial musical examples and transcription.
iii) A critical or philosophical study on an approved topic, approximately 5000 words in length.