The Musical Ear: Oral Tradition in the USA (review)

Abstract

Musical Ear: Tradition in USA. By Anne Dhu McLucas. (SEMPRE Studies in Psychology of Music.) Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2010. [205 p. ISBN 9780754663966. $79.95.] Music transcriptions, footnotes, bibliography index, compact disc. Anne Dhu McLucas, professor emerita from University of Oregon, has written one of few books on topic of in music. There are many books on specific traditions within United States, but this is perhaps only one that begins with as central topic, and then compares commonalities of between many different styles of American music. McLucas uses term oral tradition to cover all facets of a process-the aural, or taking in by ear of sounds, and oral, or transmission by mouth (but also understood to cover instrumental performances passed on without notation) . . . . [t]he term oral tradition will be understood to encompass all music not handed down in or necessarily learned from a written form (pp. 1-2 n. 2). There are many places where she uses duel term oral/aural. musical case studies come entirely from United States. We would expect that most of examples would be of folk music, but McLucas gives just as many examples from popular, Native American, and art music, from seventeenth century to pres - ent. She has drawn examples from her reallife experiences, many locally from Eugene, Oregon. narrative also shows all earmarks of extensive teaching experience, with examples that could easily be shared with students, and also examples drawn from students. After each of four chapters McLucas inserts an interlude that explains underlying psychological research behind things described in preceding chapter. She does a fine job explaining this research in plain language, providing a good introduction to topic for any interested reader. In first chapter, The Process and 'Roots' Music, McLucas considers four musicians as examples of breadth of in United States. These are Hazel Dickens, an Appalachian singer; Willetto Antonio, an Apache singer and healer; Eagle Park Slim (Autry McNeace), a blues singer originally from East St. Louis, Illinois; and Kevin Burke, an Irish- American fiddler. last two musicians currently live in Oregon. accompanying compact disc contains examples of music from each of them. In describing these musicians, McLucas touches upon some of major themes that will be explored later in book, such as how musicians learn their repertory, role of in performing, and boundaries of creativity in adding to repertory. first interlude examines The Brain, Memory and Tradition. McLucas reviews a wide range of literature from neuroscience, psychology and psychology of music, studying how music memories are created, stored in brain, and retrieved during performance. She concludes that musical memories are not like sound recordings, but are stored as various strands of sound, from which complete pieces have to be re-created at every performance. Previous experiences enrich musical memories and influence new performances, thus memory and creativity are not so far apart (p. 47). second chapter covers Oral Tradition in American Popular Music. Many famous American song writers could not read music, though they composed great songs. Before age of digital recording and music software, it took someone like Lou Halmy (1912-2005) to transcribe and arrange pieces for publication. Pat Monahan, a guitarist and songwriter from Seattle, records his songs directly, or works with other musicians to write arrangements. His song Her Eyes shows importance of the hook in popular music, a musical or lyrical phrase that stands out and is easily remembered. Andrew Glennon, a hip hop producer from Portland, creates beats from samples and loops of other recorded music, forming underlying foundations for hip hop songs. …