No matter which of these you pick, however, you will need to bring in something from at least two of the others. For instance, if you choose a creative project you should also make use of archives and published scholarship or bring in some field research; or, if you opt for a field project, you should also reference archives and/or scholarship and might also incorporate some performance in that field project; an archival project could include performance of a couple of versions of a song or tune found in the archives backed up by research on them in scholarly publications. You might compare recordings of a song, discussing vocal style and accompaniment, with reference to any information you can glean from various sources about the song. Similarly, you could take several performances of an instrumental tune, analyzing the differences between versions and the variation that performers put in, as well the choices made by members of a band who play accompaniment (chords, bass, countermelody).

Choose one or more ways to engage with theoretical frameworks of interpretation, drawing on class discussions and Ruth Stone’s Theory in Ethnomusicology.

Here are some suggestions for final projects. Even if you choose another topic (you  do not have to select one of these!)  you can get a sense of scope from them.

1) Archives: Here are two sets of possibilities. You could choose to focus on archives of Irish music or archives for Javanese gamelan. You could even do a comparison across those two categories. OR you could look into other archives, physical or online.

Irish traditional music: Select one of the Irish tunes you have heard in this course and search for it in several online archives such as thesession.org, irishtune.info, Comhaltas Ceoltóiri Eireann, and itma.ie. What kind of information does each website for the tune you have selected (such as notation, list of recordings, composer, tunes it is commonly played with, etc)? What else would you like to have found there?How do the sites compare in terms of organization, sponsorship, and type of webpages and posts?   

Javanese gamelan: The American Gamelan Institute as a whole, or take a dive into the directory of gamelan groups or the very different database Gendhing Jawi – Javanese Gamelan Notation. 

In your paper you will need to address the following questions: 

a) who/what institution hosts the site

b) what kind of information is provided, either directly or through links

c) What is its stated focus and purpose

d) how are new items added? by the general public? by members of the organization? and what are the criteria for inclusion or exclusion from this archive? 

2) Field research: In the time you have before this is due, a field project will necessarily be quite limited in scope, so think of this as exploratory. Go to a venue (anything from Hertz Hall to the Starry Plough (an Irish pub on Shattuck) to Sproul Plaza and observe one or more performances, to observe and take notes on every aspect that seems important to understanding what is going on in this place, how it is shaped by the characteristics of the space, who is performing and for whom, what they are performing, and what it might mean for the people present (obviously a very broad question!!). If possible, engage in some conversations with audience and performers. Submit a report that includes

a) descriptions and drawings or photographs of the performance venue with the performers and audience/participants,

b) the type of music being performed,

c) aspects of the performance (including how it unfolded through time and the differing involvements of all those present),  and resources you used to learn more about the event.

d) What are some research questions you would pursue if you were to observe additional performances there or at other venues where you could experience similar music?

3) Scholarship: formulate a research question on a topic such as the development of a particular instrument, the  impact of mass media for a given kind of music, the history of a band, music technology, etc.. Assemble a bibliography of 5-10 references (scholar.google.com is one place to start, the library catalogs offer another) that will help you find answers to your question.

Submit:

a) the research question, with a paragraph explaining why you think this is interesting or important

b) an annotated bibliography of those references (a brief summary of content, noting the authors’ goals and approaches) and 

c) any preliminary answers you have found to your initial question 

d) what else you would do to pursue this further

4) creative composition or performance: 

Your composition or performance must relate to the content of this course. Any of the following are possible:

a) arrangement of one (or more) of the pieces we have studied. This could be written, recorded, or performed live depending on the means at your disposal.

b) an original composition based on the characteristics of any of the music we have studied. This also could be written, recorded, or performed live depending on the means at your disposal.

In either case, you will need to write about your process for the final paper and you will need to include something from at least two of the other possibilities – using an archive for your source material or doing some relevant research in ‘the field’ or in written sources.

!!!*Write the project proposal first.The proposal should be 1-2 paragraphs describing your topic and how you plan to approach it.(this one due on Firday)