Music Commons^™

On Improvised Music, Computational Creativity And Human-Becoming, Arto Artinian, Adam James Wilson

Publications and Research

Music improvisation is an act of human-becoming: of self-expression—an articulation of histories and memories that have molded its participants—and of exploration—a search for unimagined structures that break with the stale norms of majoritarian culture. Given that the former objective may inhibit the latter, we propose an integration of human musical improvisers and deliberately flawed creative software agents that are designed to catalyze the development of human-ratified minoritarian musical structures.

A Glimpse Into Quiroga’S Musical Roots, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

“At the music conservatory, I was told that popular music is not music, and that’s one of the things that connected me with your dad, Aldemaro Romero. He could do classical, Bolero, so I felt connected because I felt ‘there’s someone who had the same problem that I did.’ I felt like classical music is, of course, beautiful, but I needed something else.”

That is how Selene Quiroga, an artist recently invited to Baruch College, explains why she crosses the borders between classical and popular music, as she did in a concert titled “Aldemaro Romero: Venezuelan Fiesta” where she performed …

The Mystery Of The Schubert Song: The Linked Data Promise, Kimmy Szeto

Publications and Research

Linked open data promises global interconnectedness of a vast amount of data. Web technologies promise to lower the barriers to accessing information and to enable knowledge production of massive scale. But can the web of data answer a music reference question? Starting with a seemingly impossible search for a Schubert song, this article describes how linked data technologies could overcome some limitations of catalog searching. However, technical and conceptual challenges are intertwined in the library community’s effort to publish linked data. Through an analysis of contrasting data models, this article offers a linked data reading of medium of performance and …

Dominican Migrants, Plural Identities, And Popular Music, Angelina Tallaj

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Marlow Has Music And Journalism In His Dna., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Not that many people are capable of excelling in two apparently different professions at the same time. Or at least that’s the assumption in today’s world, when it seems that specialization is the way to go if you want to succeed. Yet, from time to time, we encounter people who are exceptions to the rule.

One of those exceptions is Dr. Eugene Marlow. Even his academic background shows how versatile he can be. He holds a master’s degree in music composition from Hunter College in New York and a doctorate in media studies from New York University.

Davis, Katherine Kennicott (1892-1980), John A. Drobnicki

Publications and Research

Katherine Kennicott Davis was a teacher, composer, lyricist, and arranger whose most famous work was "The Carol of the Drum," which was reworked into "The Little Drummer Boy."

World Music And Activism Since The End Of History (Sic), Peter L. Manuel

Publications and Research

While the decline of protest music in the USA has often been noted, a global perspective reveals that progressive, activist protest musics occupied lively niches in many music cultures worldwide (e.g., of Jamaica, India, Spain, Latin America) during similar periods, roughly the 1950s-80s. While on one level these music movements were embedded in particular socio-political movements, on a broader level they reflected an ardent commitment to the secular universalist ideals of the Enlightenment. The subsequent dramatic decline of all these protest musics—roughly since Fukuyama’s much-debated “end of history”—reflects a broader transformation of the global political climate. This transformation has both …

Music And Words: Connecting The Love Of Music With Language, Eileen P. Kennedy, Raymond Torres- Santos

Publications and Research

Children from different cultures have a natural affinity for rhymes, rhythm and music. Imagine if students were able, from the beginning of their education and experiences with academic writing and literacy, to access their unconscious and original selves from which to create their writing. The study of music can help to access this aware, inventive side that can enhance anyone’s writing. As an early childhood writing teacher and a composition teacher, we draw on our experiences with young children with words and music. We examine the relationship between music and words in an effort to bring the primitive drive of …

Untangling Medium Of Performance For The Linked Data Environment, Kimmy Szeto

Publications and Research

Medium of performance is critical for music retrieval and has long been a complex facet of music cataloging. Recent years saw significant strides towards standardizing the vocabulary and encoding medium of performance data in the MARC environment as well as in the linked data environment. In the course of leading the MLA BIBFRAME task force to examine the potentials of expressing, standardizing, and implementing music-related data and data structures, I discovered our handling of medium of performance has not been consistent with respect to the FRBR constructs of “work” and “expression,” as well as the concept of “event.” After the …

"Luis Portorreal Días." Dictionary Of Caribbean And Afro-Latin American Biography, Ed. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. And Franklin K. Knight. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016., Nelson Santana

Publications and Research

This work provides an abridged biographical sketch of one of the most prolific Dominican artists from the Dominican Republic, Luis Días.

"Antony Santos." Dictionary Of Caribbean And Afro-Latin American Biography, Ed. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. And Franklin K. Knight. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016., Nelson Santana

Publications and Research

This work provides an abridged biographical sketch of one of the most prolific Dominican artists from the Dominican Republic, bachata legend Antony Santos.

Flamenco Jazz: An Analytical Study, Peter L. Manuel

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Afroreggae And Grupo Cultural Afro Reggae: A Study Of The Early Years, Sarah S. Ohmer

Publications and Research

The following study of AfroReggae and Grupo Cultural Afro Reggae (GCAR) calls attention to Brazilian presence and community organizing in the field of Hip Hop studies with a long memory framework: placing AfroReggae and GCAR in a long history of Africana resistance through music in Latin America. !990s GCAR group arises when reggae and Hip Hop music had become new global forms of solidarity among urban marginalized youths worldwide, making use of old and new strategies of social healing (Fernandes 2011). A close look at lyrics from the Hip Hop fusion band and the associated nonprofit organization shape the concepts …

Report Of The Cmc Bibframe Task Force To The Board Of The Music Library Association, Kimmy Szeto, Anne D. Adams, Kirk-Evan Billet, Catherine Busselen, Kevin S. Kishimoto, Anna A. Loprete, Lisa Mcfall, Sophie Rondeau, Tracey L. Snyder, James L. Soe Nyun, William R. Vanden Dries, Hermine Vermeij

Publications and Research

The BIBFRAME Task Force was established by the MLA Board of Directors in October 2014 for a two­-year period with the following charge:

● Provide a voice for the music library community in the formation and testing of the Bibliographic Framework Initiative (BIBFRAME)
● Test the BIBFRAME schema and the LC MARC­to­BIBFRAME converter with regards to how they handle music materials, including scores and sound recordings
● Provide feedback to LC and Zepheira on particular areas of interest for music, such as medium of performance, genre, preferred titles and name­title authorities
● Identify a means for continually monitoring, evaluating and …

The Fandango Complex In The Spanish Atlantic: A Panoramic View, Peter L. Manuel

Publications and Research

While the Andalusian and best-known forms of fandango share certain distinctive musical features, these same features can be seen to link these subgenres, historically and structurally, to much broader sets of transatlantic musical families, older genres like the zarabanda and chacona, a wide family of Caribbean-Basin ternary forms, as well as Andean and South American relatives. At the same time, clear distinctions can be made between genres related to this fandango complex and other major musical families in the Spanish Atlantic.

The Evolution Of Modern Thumri, Peter L. Manuel

Publications and Research

This essay outlines the evolution of thumri, tracing its development from pre-modern references through the bandish thumri of the mid-nineteenth century Lucknow, and the bol banao thumri of the courtesan era to its modern status as a light closing itme in classical concerts.

El Murciano's "Rondeña" And Early Flamenco Guitar Music: New Findings And Perspectives, Mª Luisa Martínez Martínez, Peter L. Manuel

Publications and Research

The "Rondeña" of guitarist Francisco Rodríguez Murciano (El Murciano, 1795-1848) of Granada--as documented in a notation made by his son--has been a subject of considerable interest among scholars interested in the evolution of flamenco guitar playing (toque). Such authors as Eusebio Rioja (2008, 2013), Javier Suárez Pajares (2003), Guillermo Castro Buendía (2014), and Norberto Torres Cortés (2010) have recognized the importance of this piece in the attempted reconstruction, however hypothetical, of the development of the art of flamenco guitar. These authors have raised various questions about the piece, involving the date and circumstances of its preparation and the …

Factororacle: An Extensible Max External For Investigating Applications Of The Factor Oracle Automaton In Real-Time Music Improvisation, Adam James Wilson

Publications and Research

There are several extant software systems designed to generate music in real-time using a factor oracle automaton constructed from the musical input of a human improvisor. The impetus for the design of the factorOracle external is neither a desire to supersede these systems nor introduce novel algorithms for traversing the oracle, but rather to provide a fast, canonical interface for the automaton in Cycling74’s Max and, in future iterations, the Pure Data programming environment. Technical features of the factorOracle software are introduced here.

Teaching Music History With Your Mouth Shut, Anne Stone

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Aquell Estiu Del 66. L'Actuació De Merce Cunnigham A Sitges, Ara Fa 50 Anys, Antoni Pizà

Publications and Research

El desembarcament a Sitges de la MCDC ara fa cinquanta anys exactes, es considera un punt crucial en la cultura catalana i espanyola tant en art com en música. Carles Santos ha titllat aquella actuació de «traumàtica» pel que va suposar per a la música espanyola. I a més a més, molts estudis erudits recents sobre l’art conceptual, la música electrònica i la dansa experimental consideren l’actuació a Sitges com un dels inicis de tots aquests moviments a l’estat espanyol. Al final, Clive Barnes va acabar per tenir raó: al Departament d’Estat l’havia subvencionat un pintor europeu, almenys la gira …

Counter Culture: A Brief Oral/Visual History Of Independent Record Shops, Lee Ann Fullington

Publications and Research

Independent record shops have long been focal points of local music communities. As online music becomes the new normal, the role of these shops is changing. Though many shops have disappeared, others continue to flourish as they have evolved to meet the tastes and demands of collectors, crate diggers, producers, and fans who prefer LPs to MP3s.

Drawing on original ethnographic research conducted in the early 2000s in the US and the UK, this presentation discusses the role and significance of independent record shops in various music scenes. Based on interviews with owners, staff, and customers, this talk is a …

The Feast Of Corpus Christi As A Site Of Struggle, Barbara R. Walters

Publications and Research

Multiple versions of the liturgy for the new fest of Corpus Christi provide evidence for changes in the theology of the Eucharist during the thirteenth century. These changes give pause in crediting the Miracle of Bolsena as the source of inspiration for the 1264 version of the liturgy by St. Thomas Aquinas. An earlier version of the "original office" with approbation from Liege Bishop Robert Thourotte in 1246 and a celebration of the feast by Hugh of St. Cher in 1252 weigh against the Bolsena Miracle as the source. Moreover, the idea of a corporeal presence with blood issuing from …

Patti Smith In The Changing Culture From The 1960s To The 1970s, Jay H. Bernstein

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Hathrasi Rasiya: An Intermediate Song Genre Of North India, Peter L. Manuel

Publications and Research

Hathrasi rasiya is a traditional song genre of North India’s Braj region, performed by semi-professional members of music clubs (akhār.ās) and informed by a complex set of prosodic schemes, with secondary melodic aspects. As these schemes involve, however tangentially, a kind of music theory, and the genre is patronized by local elites and enjoyed by connoisseurs, it constitutes a member of the “intermediate sphere” of regional genres that share features of both classical and folk musics. Although currently in a state of decline, Hathrasi rasiya flourished vigorously in the twentieth century. This article surveys its formal features and its place …

The Intermediate Sphere In North Indian Music Culture: Between And Beyond ‘Folk’ And ‘Classical’, Peter L. Manuel

Publications and Research

If in discourse about traditional music in North India, the notions of “folk” and “classical” continue to be widely used, in this essay I posit the existence of an “intermediate sphere,” comprising a heterogeneous set of traditional music genres that, in different ways, shares features with both folk and classical realms. I suggest five categories in this socio-musical stratum and provide brief glimpses of some of their constituents and distinguishing features, including the distinctive sorts of theory they embody and elite patronage that sustains them. I conclude with observations about historical changes in the status of this sphere in general.

Captain Beefheart, Monica Berger

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

Music Education, Aesthetics, And The Measure Of Academic Achievement, Karl Madden, David Orenstein, Alexei Oulanov, Yelena Novitskaya, Ida Bazan, Thomas Ostrowski, Min Hyung Ahn

Publications and Research

Grades and test scores are the traditional measurement of academic achievement. Quantitative improvements on standardized scores in Math/Science/Language are highly-coveted outcomes for meeting accreditation standards required for institutional program funding. Music and the Fine Arts, difficult to assess by traditional academic achievement measurement, and often devalued as so-called “luxury” subjects, struggle for necessary funding. Showing measureable collateral value to other academic subjects—such as math—in order to justify music program funding is dubious. To objectify the purpose of music education in terms of its influence on other subjects is to overlook aesthetic value. The scholarly literature recognizes an historical tendency to …

The Regional North Indian Popular Music Industry In 2014: From Cassette Culture To Cyberculture, Peter L. Manuel

Publications and Research

This article explores the current state of the regional vernacular popular music industry in North India, assessing the changes that have occurred since around 2000 with the advent of digital technologies, including DVD format, and especially the Internet, cellphones and ‘pen-drives’. It provides a cursory overview of the regional music scene as a whole, and then focuses, as a case study, on a particular genre, namely the languriya songs of the Braj region, south of Delhi. It discusses how commercial music production is adapting, or failing to adapt, to recent technological developments, and it notes the vigorous and persistent flowering …

Engaging With Research And Resources In Music History Courses, Jennifer Oates

Publications and Research

With the ever-expanding sea of resources available to students today, it is now more important than ever to teach students how to navigate, assess, and interpret resources. Given the ease of access to information, students tend to seek out the path of least resistance, most often a Google search and/or Wikipedia. Their unfamiliarity with print resources, such as thematic catalogues, means they are missing out on significant music scholarship that is not available online or through Google. Today’s students have grown up searching the internet. The single-search approach of a web search leaves many students confused by terms like …

To One Local Man, Clarinet More Than A “Stick”, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.