MUS 3b: World Music – Performing Tradition Through Sound
Spring, 2015
Tues/Thurs 2 – 3:20 pm, Slosberg 212, other venues as announced
SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Instructor: Prof Judith Eissenberg eissenbe@brandeis.edu
Office: Slosberg 125 Office hours: BY APPOINTMENT, on Mon/Wed 1:30-3:30;
(Tu/Th) after class. If these don’t work and you need to see me, contact me.
The TA: Derek Strykowski dstrykowski@brandeis.edu Office hours: BY
APPOINTMENT, Tuesdays 3:30-4:30 and Thursdays 1-2. If these don’t work for you,
contact Derek directly.
Required Textbook/Resources:
 Textbook: Excursions in World Music, Sixth Edition. Nettl, Rommen, Capwell,
etc. 2012. Pearson. (Our bookstore can help you with this)
The textbook has an associated web resource called MyMusicLab that you must
purchase. MyMusicLab includes the music that goes with the Listening Guides
in the book. MML includes other resources as well, including an etext and
audio text version of the book.

All other required reading, listening, viewing (video) will be assigned
and posted on latte
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CLASS DESCRIPTION
“Every time I open a newspaper, I am reminded that we live in a world where we can
no longer afford not to know our neighbors.” - YO YO MA
Every culture we know of has music of some kind. Why? What is music? Why do
humans need music? How do we use it in our lives? What does the music tell us
about the people who play it, dance to it, and listen to it? Are there universals in
music?
We’ll begin the semester with the question, what is world music? Throughout the
semester, in order to listen more deeply, we’ll develop a vocabulary to talk about
what we are hearing…practicing in whatever cultural tradition we find ourselves.
We’ll look at what ethnomusicologist Steven Feld calls the “celebrations and
anxieties” of world music…here he is bringing up, through music, the ethical
concerns that come from globalization…we’ll address those early on, through a few
interesting case studies.
Our first guest is Maure Aaronson, founder and head of the Boston’s Music/Crash
Arts concert series. Maure worked with some of the musicians involved in Paul
Simon’s Graceland project in South Africa. This semester we will ‘visit’ Sub –
Saharan Africa, learning about a variety of musical traditions from the continent,
including hands-on experience with the polyrhythmic drumming from Ghana, led
by Brandeis’s new director of the Ghanaian music and dance ensemble, Fafali. We’ll
have a virtual (video-conference) visit with the Q’eros of Peru, who continue to
practice traditional rituals that go back before the Inca. We’ll explore how music
expresses identity through gugak from Korea, touching on court music traditions,
but with a focus on folk music. Do Yeon Kim, gayageum player, will come to teach us
about sanjo and demonstrate the beautiful movements in Korean dance. In March,
vocalist Fargana Qasimova and her ensemble will share songs of the bardic tradition
of Azerbaijan and Sufi-inspired mugam. We will have the chance to hear about
cultural advocacy in music from Toni Shapiro-Phim of the Philadelphia Folklore
Project, and how a group of women in Liberia are working for change through their
music – Fatu Gayflor, vocalist in the group will share her work. Our final guest will
be international tabla star Sandeep Das, who will teach us, in traditional guru-style,
some of the intricacies of classical raga from India. Later that week, Sandeep will
join the Lydian String Quartet in a piece for string quartet, tabla and pipa (Chinese
lute).
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Goals of the course:
 To listen deeply
 To appreciate the values and knowledge that a culture/society holds
dear – through experiencing its music

We’ll do this by:
 Sampling some of the diversity of world musics
 Developing language to talk and write about music
 Figuring out how the musics ‘work’ (listening from the inside)
 Exploring connections between musical aesthetics and cultural/social values
 Looking at ethical considerations in ‘world music’ production
Grading:
 This course covers a LOT of material and uses listening, video, reading, and
doing. It is really important that you do the assignments so that you are
prepared for class. Therefore, I use online written responses as a graded
assessment - these prepare you for the following class. See LATTE site for
response guidelines
Your final grade (100 points):
70 points from responses
30 points from quizzes
11 Online Responses: (two types)
 FIVE 10-point responses: there are four essay responses, one listening
response (50 possible points)
 SIX 5-point responses (30 possible points)
Here is how you can earn the 70 points:
Example 1: Five 10 point-responses (50) plus four 5-point responses (20) = 70
Example 2: Four 10 point-responses (40) plus six 5-point responses (30) = 70
If you want to do them all, you are welcome to choose the highest scored responses.
You can use one extra response (up to 5 points) for extra credit to your final grade.
3 Listening quizzes: (30 POINTS TOTAL)
For the three larger units (Korea, Sub-saharan Africa, Raga from India). Primarily
listening/id, worth 10 points each.
NO MIDTERM, NO FINAL
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Class participation:
While I don’t put a point value down for participation, it matters to me. It can have
an effect on your grade, especially if it is thoughtful. I know that there are varying
comfort levels, especially with large class discussion, so there are a number of ways
that you can participate and have it impact your grade in a positive way.
Types of participation:
Big/small group class discussions, partner
Engagement in in-class activities, guest artist visits/activities
Quality of responses
Attendance to concerts that have relevance to this class.
 For example, the Fargana Qasimova concert on Saturday, March 7; the Lydian
concert on Saturday, April 18 with guests Sandeep Das (tabla) and Chen
YiHan (pipa). Both require tickets ($5 for students) and are at Slosberg
Recital Hall.
See LATTE site for
 A more in-depth description of what I expect for responses, including that I
do not accept late ones!
 My policy re attendance. Please read it carefully.
 Complete, up to date class schedule, with supplementary
reading/listening/viewing
 Computer in the classroom policy
If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis
University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this
class, please see the professor immediately. Retroactive accommodations
cannot be provided.
FYI! I know that most of you are not music students – that is one of the aspects of
teaching the course that I most enjoy! Music is my professional life; my goal in this
course is to explore it with you.
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Class Schedule (subject to change, always check latte as it is up to date). This class
schedule will give you an idea of the flow of the class; all details about readings, video,
listening, assignments posted on latte.
1.
Tuesday, January 13 - Intro to the Class, World Music
In class:
Class overview
Mystery Music
Discussion about the nature of music
Intro ppt
Preview of assignment
Assignment for next class:
Read Nettle: Preface and Chapter 1
See related posted youtubes)
2.
Thursday, January 15 – What are we hearing, how do we listen? How do we
talk about music? Preview of assignment
Go over listening/reading
We’ll practice using the terminology, Sound/Behavior/Ideas model,
instrument id
Preview assignment
Assignment for next class:
Read Feld “A Sweet Lullaby for World Music”
Listen/view associated youtubes
Do Essay Response #1 (all responses submitted online).
3.
Tuesday, January 20 – Celebrations and Anxieties of World Music
In class:
Feld discussion, music and globalization, celebrations and anxieties of world
music.
Preview of Paul Simon’s “Graceland” assignment and prep for first class
visitor, Maure Aaronson (Director of Boston’s premiere World Music
presenting organization: World Music/Crash Arts
Assignment for next class (to prepare for guest):
Read: Hamm “Graceland Revisited”
Read: Meintjes “Graceland, South Africa, and the Mediation of Musical
Meaning”
4.
Thursday, January 22 – Guest: Maure Aaronson
(last day to drop class)
In class:
Maure will speak about music and politics in South Africa during the time of
Paul Simon's project "Graceland". Maure worked with some of the
musicians that were a part of it. The project was controversial, as it took
place during Apartheid. Ladysmith Black Mambazo (of South Africa) gained
the international stage through Simon's project. Ladysmith Black Mambazo
is playing in Cambridge on Feb. 7, presented by WM/CA.
Assignment for next class:
Do Essay Response #2
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5.
Tuesday, January 27 – Graceland Discussion: Music and Politics, Preview
Q’eros of Peru
Discussion of the Graceland Project – Celebrations and Anxieties
Preview of our visit to the Q’eros (ppt)
Using the three part model (from 10,11 of textbook): Sound, Behavior/Idea
Assignment for next class (to prepare for virtual guests):
See Wissler documentary “From Grief and Joy we Sing”
Read Wissler “Grief-Singing and the Camera: The Challenges and Ethics of
Documentary Production in an Indigenous Andean Community”
6.
Thursday, January 29 – Virtual Visit with the Q’eros of Peru
We will have video-conference class in Cusco, Peru to meet some of the
Q'eros who live high in the Andes. Ethnomusicologist Holly Wissler will
introduce, give some context, and interpret for the Q'eros as they share their
music and experiences with us.
Assignment for next class:
Read an introduction to Korean cultural/political history/music
Read an introduction to Korean dance: court, ritual, folk
Peruse photos of traditional instruments
Do Big Listening Response #3
7.
Tuesday, February 3 – Music and Ritual, Preview of Korea
In class:
Intro to Korea ppt: cultural history, music and identity
Unpacking your three part models of mystery gugak (from response)
Assignment for next class:
See documentary “Intangible Asset No. 82”
Do Video Response #4
8.
Thursday, February 5 – Gugak: Korean Traditional Music
Continuing to listen/watch Korean performances to identify what makes
Korean music, Korean
Looking at state ritual, court music, folk music genres
Assignment for next class:
See youtube on Shamanism in Korea
Read Park “Rituals Revisited: The Case of Chindo Ssikkim-kut”
Do Essay Response #5
9.
Tuesday, February 10 - Spotlight on Folk Music of Korea
In class:
Discussion on the pros and cons of preservation
A closer look at folk music genres to prepare for our next class visitor, Kim
DoYeon
Assignment for next class (to prepare for guest):
Read about the dance genre of Salpuri
See associated video
Read about sanjo
See DoYeon’s youtube of her sanjo performance
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10.
Thursday, February 12 – Guest artist Kim DoYeon from South Korea
In class:
DoYeon is a gayageum player who has come to Boston to study in the jazz
program at New England Conservatory. She studied traditional Korean
music (gugak) and dance. She will be teaching us the changdans (rhythmic
cycles) that accompany sanjo, a traditional form of instrumental folk
music. We will then accompany her as she plays a sanjo composition on
gayageum! DoYeon will also dance, demonstrating Salpuri - a dance that is
part of a Shaman ritual.
Assignment for next class:
See short youtube intro to p’ansori
Read selection on p’ansori
See film “Chunhyang” or “Sopyonje”
Do Video Response #6
BREAK
11.
Tuesday, February 24 - Discussion on P’ansori, Review of Korean Unit
Discussion on the film and on the folk genre of p’ansori
Review
Assignment for next class:
Prepare for listening quiz
12.
Thursday, February 26 Quiz, Sufism, Preview of upcoming guest visit from
Azerbaijan
Quiz
Short presentation on Sufism
Preview of our guests: Fargana Qasimova and Ensemble
Assignment for next class (to prepare for guests):
Read Naroditskaya “Female Musicians: Women’s Voices Defying and
Defining the Culture”
See youtubes of Fargana in performance
(Optional readings on Sufism posted)
Do Reading Response #7
13.
Tuesday, March 3 - Visiting Artists: Fargana Qasimova and Ensemble
For Fargana Qasimova, the passionate lyrics of Azerbaijani mugham and
spirited songs of the bardic ashiq tradition provided the soundscape of her
childhood. Now a consummate vocalist in her own right, Fargana has
developed her own distinctive style that builds on the formidable artistic
legacy bequeathed to her by her father, the renowned musician Alim
Qasimov. Accompanied by the same quartet of young musicians as her
father, Fargana offers a brilliant example of tradition-based music
performed with a contemporary sensibility.
Assignment for next class (to prepare for guests):
Read two articles on the Liberian Women’s Chorus for Change
Read excerpt of article on the impact of dance in social transformation
See short youtube of LWCC
Listen to Princess Fatu Gayflor
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14.
Thursday, March 5 – Music and Social Transformation with guests
Toni Shapiro-Phim received her Ph.D from Cornell University in cultural
anthropology, exploring the relationship between war, migration and the
art. She is presently Director of Programs for the Philadelphia Folklore
Project.
“Princess Fatu Gayflor, the golden voice of Liberia" is a member of the
Liberian Women’s Chorus for Change. Naming and lamenting the injustice of
domestic violence, encouraging women to make their voices heard, or
paving possible paths to peace, these award-winning vocalists are using the
power of their traditional songs as an inspirational call to action on the
pressing issues facing local Liberian and other African immigrant
communities.
Assignment for next class:
Do Reflection Response #8
15.
Tuesday, March 10 – Discussion on the Power of Music in Social
Transformation, Preview of Music of Sub-Saharan Africa
In class:
Discussion
Preview of next unit: basic history of W Africa, instruments, short preview of
mbira, Mbuti, the griot tradition, Ewe of Ghana
Assignment for next class:
See a mbira performance
Follow the listening guide for mbira music
16.
Thursday, March 12 – Mbira, Listening to Polyphonic Textures
Discussion of mbira, the bira ceremony
Go over listening guide
Mbira today (ppt)
Mbuti (ppt)
Kora and the griot/jeli tradition
Use three-part model for each – look closely at behavior, what do the
musical values represent?
Assignment for next class:
Read about Mbuti vocal music and social structures
Read about kora music in the Mande tradition
Follow the two related listening guides
17.
Tuesday, March 17 Continuing with Polyphonic Textures, Drum Polyphony in
Ghana
Review of listening guides (compare)
Immersion into the Ewe drum polyphony as preparation for our next guest
visit
Assignment for next class:
Read about Asanti (Ashanti) social order
Read Paulding’s intro to Kete
See youtube of kete performance
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18.
Thursday, March 19 – Guest Artist Ben Paulding teaching us!
Ben Paulding is leading Fafali, Brandeis's Music and Dance from Ghana
ensemble. He teaches 87b Music and Dance from Ghana. Ben will focus on
Kete - a royal drumming piece from the Ashanti Region of Ghana. He has
written extensively on Kete, and spent the past two years in Kumasi playing
it. We will be learning to play the polyrhythms of Kete, and if there is time, a
little of the dance. DRESS COMFORTABLY!
Assignment for next class:
Read Duran’s short intro to music of Mali from the Rough Guide
Read Duran “The Woman is a Slave”
Listen to the youtube of Oumou Sangare singing “Womotan”
Do Reading Response #9
19.
Tuesday, March 24 – Discussion, Review of Sub-Saharan African Unit
Discussion “The Woman is a Slave”
If time, Fela Kuti and “Music is the Weapon”
Review of the Sub-Saharan Africa Unit
Assignment for next class:
Prepare for the listening quiz
20.
Thursday, March 26 – Quiz, Intro to Classical Music from India
In class:
Quiz
Intro to Classical Music from India (short history, dance, instruments) (ppt)
If time, listen to Ruckert’s composition OR surprise (dance) visit
Assignment for next class:
Read excerpt from Hamilton Indian Philosophy – A Very Short Introduction
Watch/listen to beginning of Raga Unveiled (Intro and Philosophy & History)
Do Essay Response #10
21.
Tuesday, March 31 – Philosophical Context of Raga, Elements of Music
In class:
Reflections on philosophical/musical journey
More intro to the music (ppt), including dance, musical elements, raga
If time, listen to Raga Yaman together
Assignment for next class:
Read from Chapter 2 of textbook
See short video of sitar/tabla performance of raga
Follow listening guide for Raga Yaman
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22.
Thursday, April 2 – Exploring Raga
In class:
Go over Nettle Listening Guide for Raga Yaman
What is really going on in the music, and why does it draw us in? What
makes tension in this music? How does raga explore the possibilities in
rhythm? How does improvisation ‘live’ in a composition that has such strict
guidelines?
Assignment for next class:
See The next section in the video Raga Unveiled (Note and Melody)
Read Alves selection about the melodic details of raga; make sure you play
the cd excerpts that go with this reading as you make your way through it.
Do the posted listening guide (posted on latte, not in your textbook) for
Raga Khamaj.
BREAK
23.
Tuesday, April 14 – Inner Journey
In class:
Getting deeper into the music by exploring how this very beautiful raga is
built and how it was ‘unveiled’ in this performance by one of the greatest
sarod players of the 20th century. We’ll analyze all the little building blocks
that make up the whole.
We’ll count the tala to appreciate the organizing of time, and how time
weaves in and out of the melody.
Assignment for next class (to prepare for our next guest):
See the next section in Raga Unveiled (Tempo & Rhythm – Laya & Tala)
See the youtube of the renowned tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain. He speaks
the bols (rhythmic syllabals) then plays them on his tabla…you’ll be amazed!
See the youtube with our guest, tabla player Sandeep Das
24.
Thursday, April 16 - Guest Artist Sandeep Das, tabla
In class:
Grammy-nominated Sandeep Das is considered one of the leading tabla
players today. One of the favorite disciples of the legendary tabla maestro
Pandit Kishan Maharaj ji of the Benaras Gharana, Das has carved out a niche
for himself around the musical world. His concerts have taken him to major
centers of music around the globe, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center,
Royce Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Hollywood Bowl and the Petronas Tower Hall
in Malaysia.
Sandeep will play for us, and teach us, guru-style. Be prepared to sit on the
floor!
Assignment for next class:
Do Reflection Response #11
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25.
Thursday, April 21 – How was the journey? Review of Raga, Contemporary
Expressions
In class:
Discussion of the raga encounter…if we haven’t yet heard Ruckert’s
composition, let’s do it!
Analyze raga using three part model: sound, behavior, idea
Contemporary expressions, from Bollyhood to fusion
Assignment for next class:
Prepare for the listening quiz
26.
Tuesday, April 24 Quiz and….?
In class:
Quiz
Possibly we’ll look at Adiemus,, possibly Quiz Show with prizes, as in past
years….
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