Forming a Collaborative Relationship between an Applied Researcher and the Researched Subject in Contemporary Taiwan: A Case Study from Beiguan Opera (北管戲)

Abstract

In contrast to the practice of the one-way collection and analysis of data from the field as found in existing beiguan literature, this article presents a role-changing process used in the recording of beiguan opera with the Qinghexuan ensemble (慶和軒) in Taiwan, formed in order to generate bilateral benefits through a collaborative applied project. I discuss both the practical recording skills needed in the field and the mixing down skills employed in the studio to demonstrate how the designed interactive process reflects the needs in the community and how the collaboration aspect creates an interface with each step of the recording process, from making to checking. Firstly, I examine the recording process in the field, including microphone placement and recording strategy. Secondly, I discuss how the utilisation of plug-ins (equaliser, compressor, panning, balance) in the mixing of tracks is similar to, and based on, that seen in popular music and also on the research collaborators’ opinions, as shared during the fieldwork. Also presented are details behind the dynamic range of the suona (嗩吶) and the percussion instruments in this genre, for example the natural frequency arrangement on the spectrum. Thus, this discussion shows how an ethnomusicologist can be responsive to needs shared by the community if they apply their professional training in relation to the recording process; it also reshapes the relationship between researcher and informant in an ethnographic context, in comparison to previous beiguan research, by engaging the musicians as collaborative listeners in the curation of their own art form.