DOCSLIB.ORG

Maintaining a Musical Tradition in Arab-America: an Oral History of Abdel Karim Bader

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Maintaining a Musical Tradition in Arab-America: an Oral History of Abdel Karim Bader MAINTAINING A MUSICAL TRADITION IN ARAB-AMERICA: AN ORAL HISTORY OF ABDEL KARIM BADER By Igor Nunes Houwat A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Musicology 2011 ABSTRACT MAINTAINING A MUSICAL TRADITION IN ARAB-AMERICA: AN ORAL HISTORY OF ABDEL KARIM BADER By Igor Nunes Houwat Abdel Karim Bader, a cosmopolitan oud performer and teacher, was born in the Arab world in the early 1920s and immigrated to the United States of America in the early nineteen seventies. This thesis is an oral history that explores Bader as a carrier of an Arabic musical tradition, tarab, through three topics: biography, pedagogy, and improvisation. Bader’s biography unveils a rich social and musical persona which is understood through the lens of tarab musicianship and values. He favors a pragmatic apprenticeship method, common to tarab musicians, that heavily relies on oral methods to transmit ideas, repertoire, and stylistic subtleties. Finally, Bader’s improvisatory thought is influenced by both his knowledge of Arabic music theory and his performance experience, and it is exposed through examples from my lessons and an analysis of a solo improvisation. I have been Bader’s apprentice since January 2010 and view this study as a contribution to a little-known facet of Arab-American identity and cultural practice. Copyright by IGOR NUNES HOUWAT 2011 To Abdel Karim Bader iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES......................................................................................................................vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................1 My Path to Abdel Karim Bader.................................................................................................4 Methodology..............................................................................................................................5 Literature Review and Setting the Context................................................................................7 Chapter Outline.........................................................................................................................10 A Note on Translation...............................................................................................................10 CHAPTER 2 A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH....................................................................................................12 Bader’s Biography....................................................................................................................12 Apprenticeship..........................................................................................................................23 Knowledge of the Oud and of Music Theory...........................................................................24 Performing Experience.............................................................................................................27 Reading Skills...........................................................................................................................30 CHAPTER 3 PEDAGOGY.................................................................................................................................36 Bader’s Teaching Method........................................................................................................40 Beginnings........................................................................................................................40 Scores, Solfege, and Recordings......................................................................................41 Singing..............................................................................................................................43 Mimicking Live Performance...........................................................................................44 Signals of Progress...................................................................................................................46 More Milestones: Ouds and Gigs.............................................................................................48 Three Vignettes.........................................................................................................................50 Pedagogical “Songprints”.........................................................................................................52 CHAPTER 4 IMPROVISATION........................................................................................................................57 Some Improvisation Elements..................................................................................................58 “Expertise” Pedagogy...............................................................................................................61 The Golden Oud Award Improvisation....................................................................................72 Modal Outline...................................................................................................................73 Section 1...........................................................................................................................74 Section 2...........................................................................................................................76 Section 3...........................................................................................................................80 Bader's Aesthetics....................................................................................................................83 v CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................................85 APPENDIX A Glossary....................................................................................................................................90 APPENDIX B Transcription of the Improvisation from the Golden Oud Award............................................93 APPENDIX C Maqam Structure Example.....................................................................................................102 APPENDIX D Audio Track Index..................................................................................................................103 REFERENCES............................................................................................................................105 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1..........................................................................................................................................66 Figure 2 (Audio track # 1: Figs. 1 and 2)......................................................................................66 Figure 3..........................................................................................................................................67 Figure 4 (Audio track #2)...............................................................................................................67 Figure 5..........................................................................................................................................67 Figure 6..........................................................................................................................................68 Figure 7..........................................................................................................................................69 Figure 8 (Audio track # 3: Figs. 6, 7, and 8).................................................................................69 Figure 9 (Audio track #4)...............................................................................................................69 Figure 10 (Audio track #5).............................................................................................................70 Figure 11........................................................................................................................................70 Figure 12 (Audio track #6: Figs. 11 and 12).................................................................................70 Figure 13........................................................................................................................................74 Figure 14 (Audio track #8)............................................................................................................75 Figure 15 (Audio track # 9)...........................................................................................................75 Figure 16 (Audio track #10)..........................................................................................................77 Figure 17 (Audio track #11)..........................................................................................................79 Figure 18........................................................................................................................................81 Figure 19 (Audio track #12: Figs 18 and 19)................................................................................81 Figure 20........................................................................................................................................81 Figure 21........................................................................................................................................82 vii Figure 22.......................................................................................................................................93
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Download the Chapter (PDF, 1
    Recovering Nonviolent History Civil Resistance in Liberation Struggles edited by Maciej J. Bartkowski boulder london 7 Egypt: Nonviolent Resistance in the Rise of a Nation-State, 1805 –1922 Amr Abdalla and Yasmine Arafa In this chapter, we identify and examine important episodes of Egyptians’ nonviolent resistance against foreign domination in the nine - teenth century, including the 1805 revolution, the 1881 Orabi movement, nonviolent organizing against the British occupation after 1882, and the 1919 revolution that led to Egypt’s formal independence in 1922. Often, the focus on the role of political elites, elite-driven events, bru - tal internal political strife, aggressive foreign interventions, armed resis - tance, and violence overshadows seemingly less visible but no less impor - tant people-driven nonviolent actions. Sometimes, the stories of mass nonviolent resistance are ignored altogether, even in well-respected aca - demic publications. For example, The Cambridge History of Egypt offers only a few lines on the events of 1805, overlooking entirely the civilian-led nonviolent mobilization. 1 In this chapter, we aim to create greater aware - ness about the history of nonviolent actions in Egypt’s struggle against for - eign domination and offer insights into their role and effectiveness and their contribution to strengthening a national fabric—the process that eventually led to the emergence of a truly nationwide and nonviolent movement ex - emplified by the 1919 revolution. We also make some references to the 2011 revolution in order to emphasize similar nonviolent patterns that seem to have been present in both the 1919 revolution and the events that led to Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak’s departure under the pressure of a pop - ular nonviolent uprising.
    [Show full text]
  • Am Ir El S Affar
    Two RiversTwo Ensemble AMIR E Visiting Artist Series presents L SAFFAR’S ARTIST PARTNER PROGRAM March 3, 2017 . 7&9PM KOGOD THEATRE at The Clarice VISITINGVAS ARTIST SERIES Visiting Artist Series presents AMIR ELSAFFAR’S Two Rivers Ensemble Amir ElSaffar,trumpet/santur Francois Moutin, bass Nasheet Waits, drums Ole Mathisen, tenor saxophone/soprano saxophone Tareq Abboushi, buzuq Zafer Tawil, percussion/oud This performance will last approximately 1 hour 10 minutes without intermission. The Two Rivers Ensemble is a sextet of jazz and Middle Eastern musicians that has made innovative strides in using the maqam modal system to transform the jazz idiom. Deeply rooted in musical forms of Iraq and the Middle East, the music still speaks the language of swing, improvisation, and group interaction, resulting in a sound that is distinct from other contemporary cross-cultural musical fusions. After more than a decade of extensive performing and touring and the release of three critically- acclaimed albums, the Two Rivers Ensemble has developed an instinctive ease PROGRAM NOTES with ElSaffar’s innovative music, playing with a creativity in a style that is rooted in tradition, while venturing into an entirely novel aesthetic. Tonight’s program consists of Amir ElSaffar’s composition entitled Crisis was commissioned by Newport Jazz Festival in 2013 and called by Downbeat Magazine, “certainly the first Middle Eastern-imbued jazz combo at Newport to win a standing ovation for its first song.” The music was composed after Amir ElSaffar spent a year living in Egypt, where he witnessed the Arab Spring protests first-hand, and Lebanon, where he worked with Syrian musicians who were living through that country’s harrowing civil war.
    [Show full text]
  • Mary Gottschalk Cultures of the Middle East 220 Professor Abdelrahim Salih Final Paper Music in the Middle East
    Gottschalk 1 Mary Gottschalk Cultures of the Middle East 220 Professor Abdelrahim Salih Final Paper Music in the Middle East The “Middle East” is a term to describe the areas of North Africa and East Asia, where there is a deep cultural history and diverse people, commonly grouped in this term for their cultural similarities. As with trade, information, and innovation, music and the arts moved and assimilated throughout the area. Music pervades the culture in aspects of religion, tradition, and entertainment, and differs according to various conceptions of music based within those religious and cultural ideals. This paper will discuss some of the similarities and differences in middle eastern music: in the instruments as they relate to location, conceptions as they are formed by Muslim doctrine, and traditions based in their respective time periods. Instruments / Place Musical instruments in the middle east range in the complexity, skill needed to play, and type. Broad classifications consist of percussion, bowed, plucked, and wind instruments (Touma 1996 109). A predominant stringed instrument is known as the ‟ud, which literally means “wood”, but it has many names and variations throughout the world (Miller and Shahriari 2006 204). The ‟ud, or al‟ud “…is a fretless, plucked short-necked lute with a body shaped like half a pear” (Touma 1996 109). Its history traces back to the eighth century BCE with changes in size and number of strings, and today is commonly seen with “…five „courses‟ of strings, a course being a pair tuned in unison” (Miller and Shahriari 2006 204). The lack of frets allows the musician to articulate fine gradations of tone, strumming with either a plectrum or fingernails over the middle of the „ud‟s body (Miller and Shahriari 2006 205).
    [Show full text]
  • Jordan Travel Guide
    Jordan Travel Guide Petra in Jordan Jordan is one of the most fascinating and clean cities in the entire Middle East and its capital is Amman, which features numerous tourist attractions like old Roman theater, an ancient Citadel, an archaeological museum, and numerous dazzling shopping malls to grab the attention of the tourists. The extensive list of sightseeing destinations that meet up your expectations with flying colors. Jordan is surrounded by Syria in the north, Iraq in the northeast, Saudi Arabia in the east and south, and Israel in the west, and it also shares the coastlines of the Dead Sea with Israel and the Gulf of Aqaba with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. The ideal season to visit the country of Jordan is spring or autumn, as during this season the tourists don't face either the scorching heat of the sun or the freezing winds of winter. They can take part in various outdoor activities and catch a real glimpse of the country. The premier sightseeing destinations of Jordan predominantly comprise of Amman, Petra, Jerash, Irbid, Aqaba, Al- Mrrajam, Wadi rum, Ajlun, Rum, Umm Qais, Iraq al amir, and Karak. Other significant highlights for the tourists include Jordan River and Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth. Getting In This country in the Middle East is comparatively small in size. The transportation network is quite appreciating and gives a lot of choice to get in. The tourists can avail from the number of world class airlines serving three quality airports of Jordan. Apart from the Queen Alia International Airport, Jordan has two other international airports viz., the Marka International Airport in East Amman and the King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba.
    [Show full text]
  • Istanbul Technical University Graduate School of Arts
    ISTANBUL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES TRANSFORMATIONS OF KURDISH MUSIC IN SYRIA: SOCIAL AND POLITICAL FACTORS M.A. THESIS Hussain HAJJ Department of Musicology and Music Theory Musicology M.A. Programme JUNE 2018 ISTANBUL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES TRANSFORMATIONS OF KURDISH MUSIC IN SYRIA: SOCIAL AND POLITICAL FACTORS M.A. THESIS Hussain HAJJ (404141007) Department of Musicology and Music Theory Musicology Programme Thesis Advisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. F. Belma KURTİŞOĞLU JUNE 2018 İSTANBUL TEKNİK ÜNİVERSİTESİ SOSYAL BİLİMLER ENSTİTÜSÜ SURİYE’DE KÜRT MÜZİĞİNİN DÖNÜŞÜMÜ: SOSYAL VE POLİTİK ETKENLER YÜKSEK LİSANS TEZİ Hussain HAJJ (404141007) Müzikoloji ve Müzik Teorisi Anabilim Dalı Müzikoloji Yüksek Lisans Programı Tez Danışmanı: Doç. Dr. F. Belma KURTİŞOĞLU HAZİRAN 2018 Date of Submission : 7 May 2018 Date of Defense : 4 June 2018 v vi To the memory of my father, to my dear mother and Neslihan Güngör; thanks for always being there for me. vii viii FOREWORD When I started studying Musicology, a musician friend from Syrian Kurds told me that I am leaving my seat as an active musician and starting a life of academic researches, and that he will make music and I will research the music he makes. It was really an interesting statement to me; it made me think of two things, the first one is the intention behind this statement, while the second was the attitude of Kurds, especially Kurd musicians, towards researchers and researching. As for the first thing, I felt that there was a problem, maybe a social or psychological, of the Kurdish people in general, and the musicians in particular.
    [Show full text]
  • When Art Is the Weapon: Culture and Resistance Confronting Violence in the Post-Uprisings Arab World
    Religions 2015, 6, 1277–1313; doi:10.3390/rel6041277 OPEN ACCESS religions ISSN 2077-1444 www.mdpi.com/journal/religions Article When Art Is the Weapon: Culture and Resistance Confronting Violence in the Post-Uprisings Arab World Mark LeVine 1,2 1 Department of History, University of California, Irvine, Krieger Hall 220, Irvine, CA 92697-3275, USA; E-Mail: [email protected] 2 Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University, Finngatan 16, 223 62 Lund, Sweden Academic Editor: John L. Esposito Received: 6 August 2015 / Accepted: 23 September 2015 / Published: 5 November 2015 Abstract: This articles explores the explosion of artistic production in the Arab world during the so-called Arab Spring. Focusing on music, poetry, theatre, and graffiti and related visual arts, I explore how these “do-it-yourself” scenes represent, at least potentially, a “return of the aura” to the production of culture at the edge of social and political transformation. At the same time, the struggle to retain a revolutionary grounding in the wake of successful counter-revolutionary moves highlights the essentially “religious” grounding of “committed” art at the intersection of intense creativity and conflict across the Arab world. Keywords: Arab Spring; revolutionary art; Tahrir Square What to do when military thugs have thrown your mother out of the second story window of your home? If you’re Nigerian Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuta, Africa’s greatest political artist, you march her coffin to the Presidential compound and write a song, “Coffin for Head of State,” about the murder. Just to make sure everyone gets the point, you use the photo of the crowd at the gates of the Presidential compound with the coffin as the album cover [1].
    [Show full text]
  • Instrument List
    Instrument List Africa: Europe: Kora, Domu, Begana, Mijwiz 1, Mijwiz 2, Arghul, Celtic & Wire Strung Harps, Mandolins, Zitter, Ewe drum collection, Udu drums, Doun Doun Collection of Recorders, Irish and other whistles, drums, Talking drums, Djembe, Mbira, Log drums, FDouble Flutes, Overtone Flutes, Sideblown Balafon, and many other African instruments. Flutes, Folk Flutes, Chanters and Bagpipes, Bodran, Hang drum, Jews harps, accordions, China: Alphorn and many other European instruments. Erhu, Guzheng, Pipa, Yuequin, Bawu, Di-Zi, Guanzi, Hulusi, Sheng, Suona, Xiao, Bo, Darangu Middle East: Lion Drum, Bianzhong, Temple bells & blocks, Oud, Santoor, Duduk, Maqrunah, Duff, Dumbek, Chinese gongs & cymbals, and various other Darabuka, Riqq, Zarb, Zills and other Middle Chinese instruments. Eastern instruments. India: North America: Sitar, Sarangi, Tambura, Electric Sitar, Small Banjo, Dulcimer, Zither, Washtub Bass, Native Zheng, Yuequin, Bansuris, Pungi Snake Charmer, Flute, Fife, Bottle Blows, Slide Whistle, Powwow Shenai, Indian Whistle, Harmonium, Tablas, Dafli, drum, Buffalo drum, Cherokee drum, Pueblo Damroo, Chimtas, Dhol, Manjeera, Mridangam, drum, Log drum, Washboard, Harmonicas Naal, Pakhawaj, Tamte, Tasha, Tavil, and many and more. other Indian instruments. Latin America: Japan: South American & Veracruz Harps, Guitarron, Taiko Drum collection, Koto, Shakuhachi, Quena, Tarka, Panpipes, Ocarinas, Steel Drums, Hichiriki, Sanshin, Shamisen, Knotweed Flute, Bandoneon, Berimbau, Bombo, Rain Stick, Okedo, Tebyoshi, Tsuzumi and other Japanese and an extensive Latin Percussion collection. instruments. Oceania & Australia: Other Asian Regions: Complete Jave & Bali Gamelan collections, Jobi Baba, Piri, Gopichand, Dan Tranh, Dan Ty Sulings, Ukeleles, Hawaiian Nose Flute, Ipu, Ba,Tangku Drum, Madal, Luo & Thai Gongs, Hawaiian percussion and more. Gedul, and more. www.garritan.com Garritan World Instruments Collection A complete world instruments collection The world instruments library contains hundreds of high-quality instruments from all corners of the globe.
    [Show full text]
  • Public Sounds, Private Spaces: Towards a Fairouz Museum in Zokak El­Blat
    OIS 3 (2015) ± Divercities: Competing Narratives and Urban Practices in Beirut, Cairo and Tehran Mazen Haidar and Akram Rayess Public Sounds, Private Spaces: Towards a Fairouz Museum in Zokak el-Blat Figure 1: Young Nouhad Haddad (Fairouz) to the right, with one of the neighbours, on the staircase of her family©s house in Zokak el Blat in the late 1940s. Source: Fairouz 1981 USA Tour catalogue. <1> The idea of dedicating a museum to Fairouz, the famous singer and doyenne of musical theatre in Lebanon, at her childhood home in Beirut has circulated in the local media for several years.1 The persistent media 1 A variety of articles and television reports from Lebanese and Arab newspapers and TV stations from 2009 to 2015 have covered the issue of the "Fairouz Museum" in Beirut, in parallel to studies and research conducted by institutions and civil society associations such as MAJAL ± see for instance MAJAL Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts, Urban Conservation in Zokak el-Blat (Université de Balamand, 2012) ± and Save Beirut Heritage. Among these we mention the following media resources: Chirine Lahoud, "The House where a Star was Born", Daily Star, Beirut, 18 June 2013; Haifa Lizenzhinweis: Dieser Beitrag unterliegt der Creative-Commons-Lizenz Namensnennung-Keine kommerzielle Nutzung-Keine Bearbeitung (CC-BY-NC-ND), darf also unter diesen Bedingungen elektronisch benutzt, übermittelt, ausgedruckt und zum Download bereitgestellt werden. Den Text der Lizenz erreichen Sie hier: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/de campaign, initiated by a number of associations and activists calling for the preservation of plots 565 and 567, the cadastral numbers of the two properties on which Fairouz©s childhood home was located, came to fruition when the endangered nineteenth-century mansion in the Zokak el-Blat district was declared a building of public interest.2 <2> This paper discusses Fairouz©s house as part of a contested urban space, and the multiple readings and interpretations of Beirut©s architectural heritage that have arisen in this contentious context.
    [Show full text]
  • MUS 115 a Survey of Music History
    School of Arts & Science DEPT: Music MUS 115 A Survey of Music History COURSE OUTLINE The Approved Course Description is available on the web @ TBA_______________ Ω Please note: This outline will not be kept indefinitely. It is recommended students keep this outline for your records. 1. Instructor Information (a) Instructor: Dr. Mary C. J. Byrne (b) Office hours: by appointment only ( [email protected] ) – Tuesday prior to class at Camosun Lansdowne; Wednesday/Thursday at Victoria Conservatory of Music (c) Location: Fischer 346C or Victoria Conservatory of Music 320 (d) Phone: (250) 386-5311, ext 257 -- please follow forwarding instructions, 8:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. weekdays, 10:00 to 2:00 weekends, and at no time on holidays (e) E-mail: [email protected] (f) Website: www.vcm.bc.ca 2. Intended Learning Outcomes (If any changes are made to this part, then the Approved Course Description must also be changed and sent through the approval process.) Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: • Knowledgeably discuss a performance practice issue related to students’ major • Discuss select aspects of technical developments in musical instruments, including voice and orchestra. • Discuss a major musical work composed between 1830 and 1950, defending the choice as a seminal work with significant influence on later composers. • Prepare research papers and give presentations related to topics in music history. 1 MUS 115, Course Outline, Fall 2009 Mary C. J. Byrne, Ph. D. Camosun College/Victoria Conservatory of Music 3. Required
    [Show full text]
  • Program Features Don Byron's Spin for Violin and Piano Commissioned by the Mckim Fund in the Library of Congress
    Concert on LOCation The Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation The McKim Fund in the Library of Congress "" .f~~°<\f /f"^ TI—IT A TT^v rir^'irnr "ir i I O M QUARTET URI CAINE TRIO Saturday, April 24, 2010 Saturday, May 8, 2010 Saturday, May 22, 2010 8 o'clock in the evening Atlas Performing Arts Center 1333 H Street, NE In 1925 ELIZABETH SPRAGUE COOLIDGE established the foundation bearing her name in the Library of Congress for the promotion and advancement of chamber music through commissions, public concerts, and festivals; to purchase music manuscripts; and to support musical scholarship. With an additional gift, Mrs. Coolidge financed the construction of the Coolidge Auditorium which has become world famous for its magnificent acoustics and for the caliber of artists and ensembles who have played there. The McKiM FUND in the Library of Congress was created in 1970 through a bequest of Mrs. W. Duncan McKim, concert violinist, who won international prominence under her maiden name, Leonora Jackson, to support the commissioning and performance of chamber music for violin and piano. The audiovisual recording equipment in the Coolidge Auditorium was endowed in part by the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Fund in the Library of Congress. Request ASL and ADA accommodations five days in advance of the concert at 202-707-6362 [email protected]. Due to the Library's security procedures, patrons are strongly urged to arrive thirty min- utes before the start of the concert. Latecomers will be seated at a time determined by the artists for each concert. Children must be at least seven years old for admittance to the chamber music con- certs.
    [Show full text]
  • Vid Tigris Utlopp - En Hyllning Till Den Irakiska Musiken
    2013-02-25 10:00 CET Vid Tigris Utlopp - En hyllning till den Irakiska Musiken Musiken för dem samman. Från exilen i flera olika länder möts nu i mars 2013 här i Sverige några av Iraks främsta konstmusiker för en konsertturné. Re:Orient sammanför här – med stöd av Statens Musikverk - den populära sångerskan Farida Muhammed Ali, numera bosatt i Holland, oudsolisten Omar Bashir från Ungern samt violinisten och oudspelaren Yair Dalal från Israel, m.fl. Musiker av världsklass! Från olika religioner och olika länder idag möts de i sin musikalitet likväl som i sin önskan om en fredlig framtid för Irak. De framför både stycken ur den traditionstunga irakiska musikhistorien och eget material, skapat i sina olika nuvarande länder. Lördag 16 mars · kl 19:00, insläpp kl 18:30 · förköp 150kr via tickster.com & kulturcentralen.nu Detta är musiker av världsklass! Från olika religioner och idag olika länder möts de i sin musikalitet likväl som i sin önskan om en fredlig framtid för Irak. De framför både stycken ur den traditionstunga irakiska musikhistorien och eget material, skapat i sina olika nuvarande länder. ”Jag är mycket glad över att få medverka i Vid Tigris utlopp. Ända sedan min första konsert på Re:Orientfestivalen 1999 har jag gjort flera besök till min trogna publik här. Detta blir sjunde gången jag möter den svenska publiken. Projektet är ett bra sätt att hålla samman oss som lever i den irakiska diasporan”, säger Farida Muhammed Ali ”Jag tror att men den här typen av samarbetsprojekt med professionella musiker kan uppnå nya musikaliska storheter. Ett resultat idéutbyten och upplevelser som visar på musikens kraft och gränslöshet.
    [Show full text]
  • Open Lapp Samuel Modelingintonation.Pdf
    THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHREYER HONORS COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND MECHANICS AND SCHOOL OF MUSIC MODELING INTONATION IN NON-WESTERN MUSICAL CULTURES SAMUEL LAPP SPRING 2017 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a baccalaureate degree in Engineering Science with interdisciplinary honors in Engineering Science and Music Reviewed and approved* by the following: Matthew B. Parkinson Associate Professor of Engineering Design and Mechanical Engineering Thesis Supervisor Mark Ballora Associate Professor of Music Technology Honors Adviser Gary Gray Associate Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics Honors Adviser Judith A. Todd Department Head P. B. Breneman Chair and Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics *Signatures are on file in the Schreyer Honors College and Engineering Science and Mechanics Office. i Abstract Musical cultures around the world use tuning systems very different from the tuning system used in Western music. Comparing and contrasting intonation from various cultures could give insight into the question of learned versus innate preferences in the perception of music, and into the cultural development of musical traditions. However, methods for analyzing intonation in Western music have not been generalized to non-Western contexts. Flexible and non-discrete tuning used in cultures such as Arabic maqam music pose a chal- lenge for analyzing intonation. This paper attempts to generalize Stolzenburg’s “Periodicity” method and Gill and Purves’ “Similarity” method for microtonal music, and finds that they are ill-suited for the analysis of Arabic music. An alternative approach is developed, which analyzes the relative intonation of a series of consecutive notes. This approach reveals that Arabic intonation is fundamentally different from Western and Chinese intonation.
    [Show full text]