Music and Anthropology have been combined only relatively recently, and the means of approach to music from an anthropological standpoint have been in debate for some time. Many criticisms have been brought forth, including this one written by Ruth Finnegan “any ethnography should obviously include basic information such as relationship, social organization, ways of life, working assignment,, economic and political systems, religion, basic language characteristics, historic background, and perhaps some lesser attention to visual and plastic arts, but «marginal» and «specialized» aspects of culture such as musical performance or oral literature could be set aside as minor issues.”(http://www.imc-cim.org/mmap/pdf/prod-serra-e.PDF) This criticism proved a surprisingly common held view for some time, though today musical anthropology enjoys wider practice. Three orientations have emerged in this field,
“(a) an emphasis on musical sound, styles, and performance in non-Western societies described in their cultural context; (b) an emphasis on analyzing musical sound and style in dialectic with social processes through the application of anthropological methods and concerns; and (c) an emphasis on social life and processes as studied through musical styles and performance ("musical anthropology").” (http://science.jrank.org/pages/7893/Music-Anthropology.html)
Much of the debate surrounding the practice has centered around disagreement over the most basic idea of what music actually is. Though these arguments can often seem like splitting hairs, it is not entirely unfounded that this topic has experienced controversy and debate in the field of anthropology. In the western world, the definition of music as sound arranged by individuals and groups to be heard for pleasure, religious services, etc. This definition “‘music’ is a useful way of focusing on aspects of performance and ideas which are of great cultural significance, it encourages the application of musicological concepts whose scope is limited outside of the practice of Western European art music, and also divides experiences (through defining ‘music’ in opposition to ‘speech’ or *‘dance’) which other people might not consider divisible. (http://www.bookrags.com/tandf/music-9-tf/) As cultures change and differ from each other so often, a solid definition of any aspect of culture is sure to be challenged by the practices and behaviors of some group of people on the Earth. In many cultures, what the west would be consider “music” takes on a role and practice so different from that of say, a musician in the United States, that similarities truly end at the organized production of sound.
The following quote by Alvaro Adib Barreiro, Carlos Santos and Carlos Serra has by an large influenced this author in his approach to this study; “The purpose of this contribution is trying to prove how, from the anthropological point of view, it is possible to investigate “music” as well as human activity without the need for technical and musical analysis of performance, composition, or execution, but from a different perspective.”(http://www.imc-cim.org/mmap/pdf/prod-serra-e.PDF) The authors go on to say that “In other words, music could be the “excuse” for the study of certain social relationships. This shifting also appears as an efficient alternative to set the limits of object of the anthropological study.”(http://www.imc-cim.org/mmap/pdf/prod-serra-e.PDF)
As seen in previous post’s, by taking this approach and examining the use of one instrument (the hurdy-gurdy), one can find a wealth of both differences and similarities surrounding human culture and music. The hurdy-gurdy has found popularity throughout the western world, and it’s use has been a means of employment, a way of life among the blind and otherwise disabled, a center piece for early medieval religious music and practices, while, in some cultures simultaneously, the instrument has been looked down on as “lower class”(While again in other instances this reputation has made it an object of interest to the upper class as well as one of disdain), a beggars tool, and it’s users have even been the subject of violent social control and persecution. Even a rare instrument such as the hurdy-gurdy has shown us that music is by no means easily definable, nor even the means of it’s practice. The countless names, models, and uses of this instrument are not only a testament to itself but also to the power and influence music has had throughout history among any culture that can be found on this Earth.
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