Musical Transculturation and Acculturation
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MUSICAL TRANSCULTURATION AND ACCULTURATION Author: Dharma Deva Year: 2000 Definitions In the field of ethnomusicology, the term "transculturation" may encompass various processes concerning how cultural contact between 2 or more cultures, in relation to musical influences, can set processes in motion, either undesirably or as a means of enhancement, so that the music of an effected culture is altered in some way. In this regard, the music of the cultures may merge and result in a single culture (Khartomi). More often, one culture virtually absorbs the musical styles of another through a process of selection and modification. This is referred to as "acculturation" (a term borrowed from anthropology) and can be considered a form of transculturation. Acculturation has mostly occurred because of political or colonial domination, with its accompanying social unrest. The noted ethnomusicologist, Jaap Kunst said the phenomena of musical acculturation involves "the hybridising influence of alien musical elements" (Myers 1992:7). Any distinguishable phenomenon involving musical cultural interchange and its related sociological aspects can be considered within the ambit of transculturation. Within this broad spectrum several significant processes have been identified as follows: transplantation, acculturation, westernisation, modernisation, syncretism, cultural addition, compartmentalisation and class imposition. In addition, 'transculturation' in a more narrower sense can also be included in the list. Many of these terms do not have specific boundaries and an appropriate description of how a music has been influenced will depend on the context. Other effects such as musical revitalisation, abandonment and impoverishment are also related. Transplantation and acculturation Musical acculturation is a process whereby a society's music, or part of it, undergoes changes that are directly attributable to the influence of a foreign culture. There have been many impacts of western music on non western musical cultures. Transplantation of a musical culture (mainly western) is usually the initial phase of acculturation or intercultural musical synthesis, leading to results such as the adoption of a different musical culture, loss of an existing musical culture or cultures coming together. Generally, acculturation involves intercultural borrowings marked by continuous transmission of traits and elements between 2 or more diverse peoples. For this process to become truly embedded it depends on the compatibility or similarity of the 2 cultures, and on whether the exchange involves essential or non essential musical characteristics. Essential characteristics concern the musical language itself and may include harmony, tonality (tonal or key centre), modality (or scale), rhythm and metre. This may account for the easy spread of folk music across Europe. Non essential characteristics may include instrumentation, tuning, temperament (division of the octave), amplification, notation and the social and behavioural features of musical performance. Acculturation can occur as a process of antithesis against thesis to produce a new synthesis (as in classical dialectic analysis). There is also usually a dominance of one culture over another subordinate culture, resulting in pressures created by the dominant or donor culture and resistance by the subordinate or recipient culture with a series of compromises being forged between the interacting groups. Ultimately, there is a modification of the host culture resulting from prolonged contact with the donor culture. Over an extended period of time acculturation can also occur as a cyclic process involving reciprocity of musical cultures. Such reciprocity is evident in the development of American jazz music (Slotkin). The slave trade across the Atlantic Ocean allowed for African music to be introduced into the Americas, where it eventually merged with European (including Hispanic) elements creating syncretised Afro-American and Afro-Caribbean forms. Negro acculturation has been considerable in these regions affecting the music of a wide range of ethnic groups and mixed groups (Hernandez). Another example is Kroncong music in Indonesia which has crossed the borders of local cultures and is played across the archipelago. It includes western instruments such as flute, mandolin, guitars, violins and cello. The reason for its success is that it was neither music of the courts nor of Dutch residents, but of the racially mixed lower classes of Batavia (now Jakarta). Deriving from Portuguese folk music since at least the 17th century, but making its mark around World War I, it became the music of migrating street musicians and gained the attention of Indonesian nationalists because it was not in Dutch or any local language but in Indonesian (Seebass). It is now a popular music. Acculturation can also embrace musical changes within a society brought about by economic, technological and political developments. An example is the effect of urbanisation and industrialisation on the rural and agricultural work songs of the Negroes in the USA before or in the course of the development of jazz music (Cray). Westernisation Westernisation occurs when a society changes its traditional music by taking what it considers to be essential elements from the western musical system, even though they may be incompatible with that tradition. This involves incorporation of 'foreign' elements into a 'home' style and is a type of acculturation of western elements. A possible result is that similarities of musical structures then tend to unite the various songs of the home region, even though there may be no apparent political, ideological or other generic connection for doing so. The use of the Hawaiian steel guitar, developed from the classic guitar brought there by sailors from the USA, now used in the country and western music genre, is an example of this process. The changes to Tongan dances due to Christian restrictions (Kaeppler), in particular the lakalaka and me'elaufola dances, so that they seemed 'non heathen' was also a western influence. Another example can be seen in the Meiji era of Japan (1852-1912) with the foreign import of band music. Band music for military purposes had been introduced by the Dutch in Nagasaki during the early 19th century. After Matthew C Perry's arrival from the USA in 1853 marching bands became popular and various Japanese regional and national military leaders quickly added them to their modernised armies. The emperor of Japan also liked the western musical values displayed by the foreign missions after Perry's arrival and ordered that the gagaku (court) musicians be trained in band music as well. The training of the new ensembles was done by English, French, and German bandmasters, and new music was created by them and their Japanese students to show the spirit of Meiji modernism. The national anthem, "Kimi ga yo" was a successful early attempt at combining western and Japanese traditions through the work of the British bandmaster, William Fenton and his German successor, Franz Eckert, who worked with gagaku musicians one of which, Hayashi Hiromori, is credited with the melody. Written in gagaku notation; and 'corrected' with western harmonisation, the anthem fits into both a gagaku mode ( ichikotsu ) and western church mode ( dorian ). Music in schools and popular music was also influenced, with such genres as rappa-bushi ('bugle songs') developing. Modernisation Modernisation occurs when a society creates a new, adapted or revitalised version of its traditional music by adopting similar, but not necessarily essential, elements of western music, but at the expense of traditional form and style. Modernisation is comparable to westernisation, and arises today through rapid technological advances in global communications. At one extreme, the concern is that it can lead to the contraction and loss of musical diversity, resulting in what can be described as 'cultural grey-out'. The growth of tourism has had some effect towards this occurring. For instance, certain non western cultures have accommodated western preconceptions by exaggerating or distorting their traditions, or by artificially preserving those elements by which they believe western tourists are attracted to and neglecting those not so compatible. The process whereby developed forms of Afro-American and Afro-Caribbean music have been conveyed back and reintroduced to Africa by the western commercial recording industry also, most likely, falls within the scope of modernisation. This is because the music has become a modernising influence on Africa's developing urban popular music. It subsequently induced new hybrids of African music in the 1950s and 1960s. These, in turn, were to be vital influences in the development of new Caribbean pop and jazz forms in the 1970s. The process has continued since with African pop music absorbing these new Caribbean styles. The whole process (crossing the Atlantic Ocean in this way), because of its cyclic, reciprocal and regenerative nature, is in a wider sense one of acculturation (Merriam). Or, given any lack of dominance by one culture over another, a process of syncretism. Syncretism Musical syncretism occurs when the encounter between two musical systems results in a new hybrid style. This seems to happen most naturally when there are recognisable musical similarities between the two cultures and, in particular, when they share essential characteristics. In comparison to 'directed culture change' (Linton),