Ethnomusicology Commons^™

Made In Italy: Gli Effetti Della Musica Italiana (T)Rap Sulla Società E Sulla Lingua, Paraskevi Z. Gkana-Alberico

Theses and Dissertations

This paper explores the history of Italian (t)rap music, and uses the lyrics of famous songs in an attempt to examine the effects the sometimes vulgar and explicit themes, which are usually accompanied by the use of foreign languages, could have on society and the Italian language.

Does Gender Matter? Gendered Relations In The Recording Studios, Diane Wong

Theses and Dissertations

Only 8.6% of all recording engineers currently employed in the United States are women. To understand the influence of a woman’s gender in their recording career, this study presents their experiences from multiple angles – the recording studio business, women engineers’ obstacles, the recording education pipeline, and diversity and inclusion in the industry.

“Started From The Bottom”: The Ascension Of Hip-Hop As A Sonic Art Form, Benjamin Nile Stewart

Theses and Dissertations

For over four decades, hip-hop has been a part of the American soundscape, drawing from influences of jazz, rhythm and blues, disco, etc. Hip-hop is one of the cultural bridges between African Americans and the world. This paper will focus on the artists, culture and its ascent to high art.

On Displacement And Music: Embodiments Of Contemporary Nubian Music In The Nubian Resettlements, Fayrouz Kaddal

Theses and Dissertations

Between 1961-1964, an estimated number of 113’000 Nubians, who were living south of the site of the Aswan High Dam, the area now beneath Lake Nasser, and Wadi Halfa, north of Sudan, were displaced to an area near Kom Ombo, 20 kilometres away from the Nile and 50 kilometres north of Aswan. This major project of resettlement occurred for the construction of the Aswan High Dam, Nasser’s signature mega-project. The 1961-1964 displacement was the culmination of earlier waves of relocation that Nubians witnessed during their recent history. In 1902 the British constructed the Aswan (lower) Dam by the first cataract …

A Roda De Choro In New York City: The Regional De Ny In A Global Imagined Community, Maurice Restrepo

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates two pillars of the NYC choro community: The Regional de NY and their roda de choro. It situates the group within a global community for whom choro has materialized a shared identity, explores instruments and their agency, and presents cultural themes and aesthetic priorities as conceptualized by the ensemble’s members.

The Alphorn In North America: “Blown Yodeling” Within A Transnational Community, Maureen E. Kelly

Theses and Dissertations

Musicians in North America have adopted the alphorn as a tool that builds community, enhances musical training, and interprets the Swiss tradition for a new generation. Meaningful combinations of experiences and identities combine to create a robust relationship and kinship among alphorn players in an intentionally international community.

Time Machine Research And Approach, Tarek Bouraque

Theses and Dissertations

Time Machine is a hybrid documentary that explores the logics of enslavement, colonialism, eurocentrism and their interconnectedness in our globalized world. Mustapha Azemmouri, born in 1502, undertakes a journey to the 21st century to recount his own story of enslavement and exploration, and reflects on a collective puzzle of 500 years of hidden history.

Women In Music: Letting A Long Story Be Long Contemplating Women’S Sonic, Musical, And Spiritual Experiences In Prehistory, Deborah J. Saidel

Theses and Dissertations

Situated within deep history, this study explores the auditory and spiritual lives of Paleolithic women. It considers their personal agency in mediating the spiritual power of sound and how doing so contributes to a multifaceted musicality. The theoretical framework involves a wide spectrum of topics, from ways of rethinking the writing of history and reckoning with time, to sound studies and the study of acoustics in ancient sites, to a critical examination through a feminist lens of normative disciplinary scholarship in anthropology and archaeology, religious studies, and musicology. I explore potential audio-visual-lithic relationships for their implications for deepening an understanding …

"La Reyna Es El Rey": Expressions Of Gender Identity By Female Mariachis In The Southwest, Erika J. Soveranes

Theses and Dissertations

Since the 1990s, the popularity of all-female mariachis has grown in the United States. These ensembles push the boundaries, both socially and stylistically, of a genre which has traditionally disregarded female participation. In this thesis, I study two all-female mariachi groups in the Southwest in which I have participated: Mariachi Buenaventura from Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Mariachi Margaritas from Brownsville, Texas. These two groups struggle to establish their reputation and aspire towards equal recognition to their male counterparts on the basis of musicality. Based on musical analysis and ethnographic reflections, I argue that the mariachi tradition embodies patriarchal values …

The Evolution Of La Mexicana In Corridos Popular In The South Texas Borderlands (1930-2016), Gabriela Cavazos

Theses and Dissertations

Corridos have been exhibiting history for almost two hundred years. Moreover, throughout the years, corridos have been demonstrating the cultural shifts of Mexico and the South Texas Borderlands. Corridos represent the spirit of the Mexican and Mexican American culture. They are ballads written to celebrate or to be critical of the life of the protagonists through their accomplishments and actions.

Elevating My Chicana Feminist Consciousness Through The United States' First Female Show Mariachi, Monica A. Fogelquist

Theses and Dissertations

Mariachi Reyna de Los Ángeles is widely recognized as the premier all-female mariachi in the world. In my thesis, I examine the gendered implications of a female group directed by a man and their relation to Mexican and Mexican American gender ideologies. Many of the ideas on gender roles traditionally inculcated in previous generations of Mexican and Mexican Americans are still manifest in the ways in which the group functions. Through my personal testimony as a former member, and accounts by other past and present members of Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles, I argue that Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles …

The Transnational Guqin Revival In Flushing, New York, Tyler L. Burba

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the guqin 3,000-year-old history the instrument nearly faced extinction in the Twentieth Century. Since the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which featured the guqin as a cultural symbol of Chinese identity, there has been a revival of the guqin and its traditional repertoire. This study looks at a small guqin community in New York City's Flushing neighborhood, centered around Master Shi-hua Judy Yeh, and how transnational students are taking advantage of transnational organizations, like the New York Guqin School, to ease the transition into life in New York.

Individual Thought Patterns: Women In New York's Extreme Metal Music Scene, Joan M. Jocson-Singh

Theses and Dissertations

Extreme metal music (EMM) is both an umbrella term and a sub-category of heavy metal. Although women have a small but steady presence in heavy metal, this number shrinks when applied to the EMM scene. Using ethnographic research, participant-observation and interviews, this study surveys women in New York's EMM scene to address participation, gender performativity and feminist musicology.

El Son De "El Cuervo": The Transformation Of Armonía Practice In The Mariachi Tradition, Adolfo Estrada Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

In mariachi scholarship to date, armonía practices are often overlooked. The armonía instruments provide essential rhythmic and harmonic support, yet their specific practices are assumed to be invariable. Close analysis suggests a more complex story. This work provides an analysis of the armonía within the son jalisciense song form in particular, by comparing several performances of the popular son jalisciense song “El Cuervo ” (The Crow). Analysis reveals that the armonía underwent a homogenization process before arriving at present-day practices, and I argue that the 1965 Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán recording is the point of homogenization on which future …

The Future Of Arabic Music: No Sound Without Silence, Nesma Magdy Khodier Vcuq

Theses and Dissertations

For centuries, Arabic music has been intrinsically linked to Arab culture and by extension bonded to the environmental landscape of the region, reflecting their emotions, moods, and behaviors. Numerous technological advancements in the latter half of the twentieth century, have greatly affected the rich legacy of Arabic music, significantly impacting the natural progression of traditional Arabic musical genres, scales, and instrumentation.

This thesis serves as an introduction to generative methods of music production, specifically music generated through gestures. Through generative music, and its unique ability to map gestures to different musical parameters, music can be produced using computer algorithms.

The …