Tripoli's musical soundscape: experiences and meanings

Abstract

AbstractExploring the musical soundscape of a city like Tripoli is fascinating as much as it is challenging to retrieve meanings underlying the same soundscape. The fine blend between, for instance, ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’ musical practices and aesthetics, appertaining to this soundscape, presents the music researcher with a complex scenario to investigate. For this purpose, contemporary music research recognises music ethnography (superficially defined as the writing about the way people get involved in and make music) as a means by which such scenarios can be explored. In line with this, the present article explores Tripoli's musical soundscape by presenting vignettes of people listening to music, actively participating in musical events, as well as making music. Such depictions must shed light on the musical life in contemporary Libya with particular focus on the musical life in Tripoli. The commentary accompanying these vignettes links the sound not only with the people interacting with it, but also with the events that generate it, the place in which it evolves and the socio-cultural context that endows it with meaning.