Individual Musicians Research Articles

Multilingual Complexities in the Origins and Development of the Harrist Movement and Its Worship Patterns in Ivory Coast

The Harrist Church in Ivory Coast, West Africa, emerged from the ministry of Liberian William Wadé Harris who baptized between 10,000 and 200,000 people during his eighteen-month evangelistic tour, 1913–1915. This story is full of linguistic complexities and anomalies. Harris himself spoke only English and his own local Liberian Glebo language. He was therefore compelled to work through expatriate English-speaking merchants, knowledgeable of and conversant in local languages, as interpreters and translators in addressing the twelve ethnic groups who heard and accepted his message. Harris encouraged new converts to compose hymns in their own indigenous languages by transforming musical genres embedded in their local musical traditions. Additionally fascinating is that during this early colonial period, the twelve ethnic groups impacted by Harris’s ministry lived in almost total isolation from each other and developed their own hymn traditions for thirty-five years (1914–1949), unaware of the existence of churches and worship patterns in neighboring ethnic districts. Only in 1949 did they suddenly become acquainted with the broader, multi-musical, multilingual reality of the Harrist movement. Since then, individual musicians and choirs from local congregations have gradually begun to sing a few of each other’s songs, though the challenge of becoming a truly multicultural, multiethnic church remains a work in progress. Documentation of these developments include written colonial and early Protestant and Catholic missionary sources and a large number of eye-witness interviews. Primary research methods employed here come from four intersecting disciplines and theoretical frameworks: orality studies, with particular focus on oral sources in constructing historical narrative; religious phenomenology; mission history; and ethnodoxological research.

Yunwei in Nakhi Ethnic Minority Music: Shift from Gongche Notation and Oral Transmission to Simplified Notation Starting 1970s

During the 1970s, musicians of the Nakhi ethnic minority, one of China’s fifty-six recognized minorities, transitioned from oral transmission and indigenous gongche notation, methods used for thousands of years, to ciphered notation. They intensely debated whether to move away from tradition and which notation could better capture yunwei (akin to authenticity). The article explores the musical meaning of yunwei to Nakhi musicians. Yunwei transcends written notations; it represents a fluid aesthetic understanding of a music piece, rooted in the original interpretation yet open to innovation, and evolves alongside commercial and cultural tourism influences. The ongoing negotiation between international World Heritage institutions, the State, and individual musicians complicates the definition of yunwei. It involves three levels of validation: UNESCO’s recognition of Nakhi as a World Heritage Site, the State’s acknowledgment of musicians as “cultural bearers” within its patronage system, and these recognized “cultural bearers’” assessment of the authenticity of students’ music performances. This analysis invites a reevaluation of notation as a dynamic interface between tradition and modernity, suggesting its value lies in documenting musical pitches and rhythms and in its capacity to engage with the deeper, often intangible aspects of cultural heritage and identity.

Wind instrumentalists' work-related vocal tract discomfort.

Wind instrumentalist use the vocal tract intensively in their professional activities, which can lead to the development work-related voice disorders. To analyze the perception of vocal tract discomfort (VTD) by wind instrumentalists from Natal, Brazil. Cross-sectional study with 117 professional musicians and music students from six official bands/orchestras in the city of Natal. Both the Vocal Tract Discomfort Scale and a sample characterization questionnaire were applied. The Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, and Mann-Whitney U test were applied in the statistical analysis of the variables. The most frequent and intense symptoms of VTD were sensitive throat and sore throat. There was a significant difference between the values of frequency and intensity of all symptoms both before and after playing the instrument. Dryness was the most intense symptom felt after playing the instrument. Musicians who report muscle pain and gastroesophageal reflux showed more VTD symptoms. Symptoms of VTD are experienced by wind instrumentalists and can be work-related since there was a difference in their perception after playing their instruments. There was also a relationship with gastroesophageal reflux and muscle pain, indicating that, in addition to collective issues, the individual musicians' health should be taken into account.

Playing the Flute in Shanghai: The Musical Life of Dai Shuhong

Playing the Flute in Shanghai: The Musical Life of Dai Shuhong

Media Primitivism: Technological Art in Africa By Delinda Collier

Media Primitivism: Technological Art in Africa By Delinda Collier

Reading the Score of the Air—Change in Airborne Microbial Load in Contrast to Particulate Matter during Music Making

The potential impact of music-making on air quality around musicians was inferred at the outset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic from measurements on individual musical instruments and from theoretical considerations. However, it is unclear to what extent playing together in an orchestra under optimal ventilation conditions really increases infection risks for individual musicians. In this study, changes in indoor air quality were assessed by measuring common parameters, i.e., temperature, relative humidity, and carbon dioxide, along with particle counting and determining the presence of airborne pharyngeal bacteria under different seating arrangements. The study was conducted in cooperation with a professional orchestra on a stage ventilated by high volume displacement ventilation. Even with a full line-up, the particle load was only slightly influenced by the presence of the musicians on stage. At the same time, however, a clear increase in pharyngeal flora could be measured in front of individual instrument groups, but independent of seat spacing. Simultaneous measurement of various air parameters and, above all, the determination of relevant indicator bacteria in the air, enables site-specific risk assessment and safe music-making even during a pandemic.

Impact of COVID-19 on Virtual Guitar Communities

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the music industry was already experiencing uncertainty as musicians experimented with new modes of dissemination and monetization following developments in telecommunications. The arrival of the internet instigated varying, sometimes contradictory, cultural concerns including dispersion, dissipation, preservation, development, homogenization and heterogeneity. Guitar players have traditionally formed local networks and communities in geo-located domains. However, in the twenty-first century, community domains also include virtual spaces. An immersive netnographic study investigated activities in online guitar communities from the perspective of UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Data were analysed using the protocols of Inductive Thematic Analysis generating seven codes, regarding the impact of COVID-19 on virtual guitar communities. Without doubt, the pandemic has had serious negative effects on individual musicians’ and live venues’ income streams. However, it does seem to have acted as a catalyst for fresh vigour within online communities seeking new ways to connect. With more artists sharing and interacting, the result could be a richer environment in the future. However, without a strong recognition of cultural responsibility this richness may result in a homogenous melting pot. Alternatively, it may also bring to light cultural expressions previously suppressed.

Ragnar Kjartansson and the Art of Pleasure

Ragnar Kjartansson and the Art of Pleasure

Why did wind instruments stop evolving?

Adolphe Sax invented the last widely spread orchestral wind instrument in 1846, and the saxophone has hardly changed since its inception. Also, outside of classical music, wind instruments have not evolved with very few exceptions in popular music, like the melodica. The latter was popular in the mid 20th century, because it was one of the cheapest instruments with a piano-style keyboard before mass-produced electronic keyboards. Since its inception, jazz drew from traditional orchestral wind instruments that were invented long before jazz came up. They were easily available as they were widely spread in military ensembles. This presentation looks into the factors that stalled the evolution of mainstream wind instruments during the 19th century, such as instrument affordability, practice habits, conservatory education practices, standardization, and cultural identification. While individual instrument makers and musicians continue to develop fundamentally new wind instruments, they no longer exceed experimental status. Instead, widespread innovations now focus on electronic and digital musical instruments.

Reflections on "Orchestrating for Impact": Harmonizing across Stakeholders to Accelerate Global Health Gains.

ABSTRACT.For developing countries and partners to accelerate the availability of new innovations to communities in need of intervention, it is necessary to find improved ways to work together that challenge today’s status quo in global health. By adopting new approaches and accepting shared risk and reward, diverse partners can work together to accelerate progress toward a common global health goal. A symphony orchestra—with a conductor who recruits, arranges, harmonizes, and orchestrates diverse musicians to work together to create something not possible by individual musicians on their own—provides an apt metaphor for successful global health initiatives. In such settings, stakeholders must be engaged and harmonized, workplans composed, and partnerships conducted such that all stakeholder roles progress from workplans that are sequential and independent to those that are integrated and interactive. Reflecting on the successful global health partnerships discussed here and beyond, we use this orchestral metaphor to illustrate the elements needed to make partnerships increasingly successful.

The Emergence of Interactive Music: The Vision and Presence of Joel Chadabe

The Emergence of Interactive Music: The Vision and Presence of Joel Chadabe

Recent Books on Music and Politics

Compiled by Kai WestThe books listed in this column address music as it relates to political expression or focus on power relationships between individual musicians or musical communities and a governing authority. Readers are welcome to submit additional titles to musicandpolitics@umich.edu for possible inclusion in the next issue.

Letters from the Morawetz Collection (Musicians of Czech Origin in European Centres at the Turn of the 18th and 19th Centuries)

The article deals with the oldest music-related documents from the Morawetz collection (most of which come from the collection of Friedrich Donebauer), which the Czech Museum of Music obtained in 2003 and 2008. Specifically, this involves letters of musicians from Bohemia who were working in German-speaking countries around the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th (Jiří Antonín Benda, Leopold Koželuh, Antonín František Bečvařovský, and Jan Václav Hugo Voříšek). The study presents a critical edition of six letters and one receipt and their translations into Czech and English. On that basis, there is an examination of context within the framework of the lives of the individual musicians and of the period musical milieu. The letters document cultural exchange, tastes, and the stylistic orientation of the period as well as of the music business in Europe at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th. Voříšek’s letter documents the period reception of a Mass by Jan Václav Tomášek in Vienna in 1815.

Авангардные партитуры как предмет художественной интерпретации в современной рок-музыке

The artistic interpretation of musical works by academic composers is an integral component of certain styles of rock music, identified back in the 1960s at the very early stage of its formation. At the present time, various arrangements, transcriptions and adaptations, along with quotations of works from different periods, from medieval music to contemporary composer's music, have not lost their relevance and have remained part of the performing practice of rock musicians. This article is about the dialogue with 20th century music, in the interpretation of which the artistic qualities have not lost their value, but, on the contrary, have been reevaluated and enriched. In the albums of progressive rock, jazz-rock, fusion and avant-rock performers, 20th century contemporary composers’ music is cognized in a new way, from the use of short fragments borrowed as a source of the musical thematicism to the recreation of large cyclic forms. At the same time, an important aspect of the artistic creativity of individual musicians is their interest in verbal musical scores of the avant-garde trends, as well as spontaneous improvisational forms of minimalism, which have had ample opportunities for performing interpretations and have instigated the emergence of rock interpretations. Rock musicians, stemming from avantgarde musical texts, have tended to create a self-sufficient artistic integral entity, as in the case of In 0 to ∞ by ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE & THE MELTING PARAISO UFO, the structures of which have been based on Terry Riley’s In C. In conclusion, the album Goodbye 20th Century by SONIC YOUTH with selected works by avant-garde composers (Steve Reich, Cornelius Cardew, Christian Wolff, John Cage and Pauline Oliveros), which has formed an important stage in the history of experimental rock at the turn of the century, is examined.

Saturday night and Sunday morning: value monism and pluralism in contemporary evangelical musicianship

ABSTRACT Drawing on interviews with, and ethnographic observations of, evangelical Christian musicians with experience of contemporary worship music—as well as secular heavy metal and punk rock—this article analyses the competing value relations underpinning contemporary evangelical musicianship. Developing the work of Joel Robbins on value theory and the anthropology of Christianity and the work of Klisala Harrison on ethnomusicology, this article analyses four examples of different value relations between religious service and expressive individualism: strong monism, stable monism, stable pluralism, unstable pluralism. It is shown through case studies of individual musicians that, whereas strong value monist approaches to evangelical musicianship efface the presence of the subjective self and stable monist approaches suspend its presence, stable pluralism allows both religious and secular vocations to co-exist in separate social spaces, while strong value pluralist approaches to evangelical musicianship emphasise or celebrate the presence of the subjective self and, in so doing, sometimes undermine the ritual aims of congregational worship.

Student Retention in School Bands and Orchestras: A Literature Review

The purpose of this review was to synthesize the literature on attrition and retention in instrumental music and to identify strategies to encourage students’ continued participation in school bands and orchestras. Retaining members from 1 year to the next is a key factor in building ensembles and helping individual musicians reach their full potential. At least 35 years of research, however, has yielded little consistency in determining why students persist in or dropout of instrumental study. Most decisions likely involve (a) practical considerations, especially related to scheduling and other interests and commitments; (b) students’ attitudes on their musicianship and various aspects of the program; and (c) the influence of other people. The MUSICSM Model of Motivation can provide a framework through which stakeholders examine how their school bands and orchestras meet the needs of students, thus influencing their decisions to leave or remain in the program.

Extreme precision in rhythmic interaction is enabled by role-optimized sensorimotor coupling: analysis and modelling of West African drum ensemble music.

Human social interactions often involve carefully synchronized behaviours. Musical performance in particular features precise timing and depends on the differentiation and coordination of musical/social roles. Here, we study the influence of musical/social roles, individual musicians and different ensembles on rhythmic synchronization in Malian drum ensemble music, which features synchronization accuracy near the limits of human performance. We analysed 72 recordings of the same piece performed by four trios, in which two drummers in each trio systematically switched roles (lead versus accompaniment). Musical role, rather than individual or group differences, is the main factor influencing synchronization accuracy. Using linear causal modelling, we found a consistent pattern of bi-directional couplings between players, in which the direction and strength of rhythmic adaptation is asymmetrically distributed across musical roles. This differs from notions of musical leadership, which assume that ensemble synchronization relies predominantly on a single dominant personality and/or musical role. We then ran simulations that varied the direction and strength of sensorimotor coupling and found that the coupling pattern used by the Malian musicians affords nearly optimal synchronization. More broadly, our study showcases the importance of ecologically valid and culturally diverse studies of human behaviour.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.

PROMOTION OF UKRAINIAN-LANGUAGE RADIO PROGRAMS IN THE INFORMATION SPACE OF THE USA (EXPERIENCE OF 1930–1932)

<p><strong><em>The research objective </em></strong><em>is to introduce into the scientific discourse and information field of popular-science literature information about the establishing history of the world Ukrainian-language radio broadcasting, in particular in the context of its international sector.</em></p><p><strong><em>The methodological</em></strong><em> basis of the study is grounded on the use of historical method, the method of archival research, and is deepened by the bibliographic-descriptive method, the method of comparison in time, the method of induction and accentuation. The content of 913 issues of the oldest Ukrainian-language newspaper in the USA, </em><em>«</em><em>Svoboda</em><em>»</em><em>, in 1930–1932, was studied using the monitoring method; the use of qualitative content analysis allowed to comprehend the content of 375 materials of various genres, which contain valuable information on the analyzed topics.</em></p><p><strong><em>Results. </em></strong><em>The ways of promoting Ukrainian-language radio hours in the US media space in 1930</em><em>–</em><em>1932 were found out. It was established that the main ways to promote the media business of Ukrainians were personal communication and publication of advertising messages in the press. The tasks, types and efficiency of thematic event attractions, including competitions for the title of the best music groups, radio picnics, radio balls, radio entertainment balls, raffles, and later beauty contests, are studied. The importance of folk art in the context of the accumulation of interest in Ukrainian radio initiatives among the local community is emphasized. The genre diversity of thematic messages in the press was studied, in particular, the use of announcements, reports, advertisements, reviews, publication of listeners' letters. The advertising component of the Ukrainian-language radio space in the USA is evaluated, the first commercial program was analyzed, which consisted exclusively of advertisements. The potential of radio in promoting Ukrainian music groups, individual musicians and announcers is comprehended.</em></p><p><strong><em>Novelty.</em></strong><em> For the first time the methods of promotion of Ukrainian radio hours in the information field of the USA in 1930–1932 were carefully researched and documented, the competitive advantages and semantic potential of such programs in the conditions of rapid formation of the world radio space were comprehended.</em></p><p><strong><em>The practical significance </em></strong><em>of the research results lies in the introduction of the formation history aspects of Ukrainian emigration radio hours into the scientific discourse as a component of the world Ukrainian-language radio paradigm.</em></p><strong><em>Key words:</em></strong><em> archival periodicals, multicultural media space, radio business promotion, radio advertising function, Ukrainian-language radio broadcasting.</em>

Expert pianists’ practice perspectives: A production and listening study

The purpose of this study was to investigate how professional pianists practice music for a concert, and whether their individual cognitive orientations in such practice processes can be identified accurately from the resulting performances. In Study I, four pianists, previously found to be skilled music memorizers, practiced and performed a short piece by André Jolivet over the course of two weeks, during which their practice strategies were studied using semi-structured interviews, and analyses of practice diaries, practice activities, and eye-movement data. The results indicate that the pianists used similar basic strategies but had different cognitive orientations, here called “practice perspectives,” consistent with each individual, in that they focused on different kinds of information while practicing. These practice perspectives may be related to skills and habits in using imagery and music analysis, as well as to professional and educational background. In Study II, 34 piano teachers listened to recordings of the concert performances and evaluated them against 12 statements representing the four practice perspectives identified in Study I. The results did not support the prediction that practice perspectives would be correctly detected by listeners. Nonetheless, practice perspectives can be used to highlight potentially vast differences between the ways in which individual professional classical musicians conceptualize music and make it meaningful to themselves and others. They could be used in the context of music education to increase musicians’ knowledge of different practice strategies and the ability to develop their own preferred working methods.

Steven Joseph Loza, Barrio Harmonics: Essays on Chicano/Latino Music

Reviewed by: Barrio Harmonics: Essays on Chicano/Latino Music by Steven Joseph Loza Sarah Blanton (bio) Steven Joseph Loza, Barrio Harmonics: Essays on Chicano/Latino Music. UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Press, 2019. Pp. 240. Barrio Harmonics: Essays on Chicano/Latino Music is a complex, expansive collection of Steven Loza’s writings from 1982 to 2011. Loza introduces this text as a kind of sequel to his 1993 book Barrio Rhythms: Mexican American Music in Los Angeles. Unlike Barrio Rhythms, however, which focuses on specific geographic locations in the Mexican American areas of the Southwest, this twelve-chapter volume examines Chicano/Latino music on the global scale. The essays explore Chicano/Latino musical forms and styles and take into account their historical and sociocultural contexts. Themes such as identity, marginality, reinterpretation, and mestizaje form the foundation of his analysis. The chapters are diverse: some essays consider the lives and careers of individual musicians, while others analyze Chicano/Latino musical production and reception in Los Angeles and in the Northeastern United States. One chapter examines Japan’s fascination with Latino musical expression; two discuss the Cuban son and the Mexican son jarocho. Others focus on the African diaspora, the impact of globalization, intellectual capitalism, and the importance of including non-Western and non-Eurocentric voices into the academic, literary, and musical canon and curriculum. The introductory chapter, comprising nearly a quarter of the volume, regards Chicano/Latino music around the southwestern border of southern California and Arizona, as well as the Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Dominican influence in the northwestern region of the United States. Loza does not often write more than a sentence about many complex and captivating historical moments; however, he constantly references scholars who have dedicated entire books to these subjects and includes thorough bibliographies for anyone interested in delving deeper. In his discussion of la canción mexicana—that is, rancheras and corridos—he analyzes a few songs, pointing to artistic representations of conflict of the Mexican experience on the border. Loza swiftly moves through the twentieth century and discusses the increase of radio broadcasts, mariachi, and the individuals who “became musical leaders and symbolic beacons of hope for Mexican populations in the United States” (16). This formidable introduction is an excellent starting point for anyone interested in the foundations of Chicano/Latino music and its reverberations in the present day. [End Page 263] Chapters 2 and 3 analyze the origins of the Cuban son and the reinterpretation of the Mexican son jarocho from Veracruz to Los Angeles. In his analysis of these sons, a textual theme emerges concerning Latino identity and artistic reinterpretation: Loza states that the Chicano movement in the 1960s “achieved a stronger sense of identity, social power, and cultural legitimacy” among Mexican Americans, which was “accomplished in large part through a collective process of musical appropriation and reinterpretation” (82). This process of moving from tradition to reinterpretation to innovation is repeated in chapters 5 and 9 in the context of Los Angeles’s wave of banda and rap music. These musical forms express identity and are incorporated in different styles and fusions of music. Chapters 4, 7, and 8 look at the musical lives of individual artists Lalo Guerrero, Tito Puente, and Poncho Sánchez. Ethnographic profiles contextualize each figure, and the chapters focus on how identity as a marginalized Latino artist within urban infrastructures is negotiated and gives way to transformative expression and innovation. The essays also trace the ways assimilation, reclamation, and rejection fit the arc of each musician’s life in different ways. This chronology is echoed in chapter 9, which describes these processes in Latinos’ “own role as citizens of the United States” over the course of the last forty to fifty years (162). Chapter 6 addresses the fascination with Chicano/Latino music in countries far removed from Latin America and questions why certain Latino artists do or do not gain traction in different areas around the globe. This section discusses the rise of salsa, mariachi, and trio romantic in Japan and includes excerpts of interviews with five Japanese artists about these trends. Loza concedes that he is only scratching the surface in this brief chapter; though he states...