Revision as of 09:20, 16 September 2010

Some concepts we've introduced so far...

oral tradition vs written tradition, mnemonics of scripts
ethnomusicology and comparative musicology
Hornbostel-Sachs system for classifying musical instruments
concept of frequency ratios and musical intervals (e.g. an octave is 2:1)
'Microtones', 'quartertones' (see www.maqamworld.com), equal temperament, frequency ratios
emic/etic distinction
ethnocentrism
Orientalism
critique:
- 'Arab' (people, music): who's an Arab? What counts as their music?
- 'Music' (What counts as music? etic vs. emic definitions)

Review: classes of instruments, concept of maqam
Ear training with the nay: Rast.
Continue critical introduction: "What is ethnomusicology of the Arab world?" (what is the Arab world? who is an Arab? what is Arab music?...)
- The history of the word "Arab" from earliest times to present
- Concepts and nationalisms, e.g. "Arab music" (vs. "Middle Eastern music", "Egyptian music", "Islamic music", etc.)
- Critique
- Definitions?
Your turn: empirical investigations regarding "Arab music" (audio and video recordings)
"Drop the needle" test - The Berlin Phonogramm-Archiv, 1900-2000 & ethnomusicology/comparative musicology of the (Arab) world
Role of Arab nationalism (since 19th c) in formulating "Arab music" as "al-musiqa al-arabiyya"
Some historical overview...
- Islamicate timelines and periods
- The history of Islamicate music (as presented by Touma)
- Outline of the history of music in the Arab world (as presented by me)
What is an SC paper? - ex: Touma (critical reading & analysis, together...)
Film: the celebrated pan-Arab singer Umm Kulthum plays the role of the famous Abbasid-era qayna, Dananeer, in the film Dananeer (1940)

Three ways of reading this film

as an (explicit) representation of 9th c Abbasid culture
as an (implicit) representation of Egyptian perceptions of "Arab history" in 1940
as an (implicit) representation of Egyptian film music in 1940

@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 ** [[Outline of the history of music in the Arab world]] (as presented by me)
 * What is an SC paper? - ex: [http://www.fwalive.ualberta.ca/~michaelf/MENAME/ArabCulture/dev.arabworld.nitle.org/textsf339.html?module_id=5&reading_id=45&sequence=1 Touma] (critical reading & analysis, together...)
-* Film: Umm Kulthum plays the role of the famous Abbasid-era qayna, Dananeer
+* Film: the celebrated pan-Arab singer Umm Kulthum plays the role of the famous Abbasid-era qayna, Dananeer, in the film ''Dananeer'' (1940)
+Three ways of reading this film
+# as an (explicit) representation of 9th c Abbasid culture
+# as an (implicit) representation of Egyptian perceptions of "Arab history" in 1940
+# as an (implicit) representation of Egyptian film music in 1940
 = Typology =