For questions about the study of the music of different cultures and how music shapes these cultures.
Questions tagged [ethnomusicology]
18 questions
160
votes
12 answers
Why do minor keys sound “sad”?
Oftentimes major keys are called "happy" and minor keys are "sad". Why is this? Is it universal across cultures that use these scales? Do similar connotations exist in other scale systems?
(If this isn't universal, then perhaps someone could explain…
Sophie Alpert
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31
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5 answers
How can a non-musician recognize anacrusis?
I need help understanding anacrusis (pickup notes). I'm no musician - I'm more of an anthropologist. I was reading some articles on ethnomusicology, and one of them makes reference to anacrusis in some indigenous musical traditions. In some cases,…
Teusz
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19
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7 answers
Where should I go to learn about non-Western scales (particularly Turkish & Greek)
Apart from Turkey and Greece, I mean.
I'm looking for fairly abstract musicological and comparative descriptions, not "how to play"-style information. Particularly interested in departures from the well-tempered 12-semitone "Western basic"…
Tikitu
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19
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5 answers
Differences between the concept of Scales , Raagas, and Thaats?
Western music has Scales (major, minor, etc.) while Eastern Music primarily has a large number of Raagas derived from some basic Thaats. Both these groups represent sets of notes on which actual song tunes are based, yet they have very superficial…
explorer
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18
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5 answers
Does music all over the world tend to centre on a single note which is returned to, and split up the range of pitches most fundamentally into octaves?
What are the exceptions to this, if they exist?
Assuming that's the norm, do we know why this is the case?
What are the causes of the exceptions?
Why is what I've outlined in the title the norm?
Step Start
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14
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2 answers
How bluesy is Ravel's Blues actually?
The second movement of Maurice Ravel's second Violin Sonata (1922-1927) is titled Blues (example performance). Wikipedia claims it is inspired by jazz and blues music, and that Ravel had first-hand knowledge of these styles e.g. from going to night…
guest
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7
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Why do some intervals sound better than others?
Why do some intervals sound so good (e.g. a perfect fifth: seven semitones), whereas others sound so awful and diabolical (e.g. an augmented fourth: six semitones)? Is this phenomenon dependant on one's musical culture or could it be our brains are…
Michael Lee
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6
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What is the study of song structure called?
I'm describing native Hawaiian songs as part of a research project. The songs are sung by a single performer without instruments.
We transcribed the song into stanzas and now see a number of patterns relating to the length of those stanzas…
Teusz
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5
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1 answer
How many kinds of Maqam systems are there in far and middle eastern music
I have read about "Arabic Maqams" used in music (which is quite well discussed) but there are other Maqam systems as well.
What are the other Maqam systems used in other cultures/ traditions? And how many different maqams they include?
Thank
Update:…
user89029
5
votes
2 answers
Are there folk music families, analogous to language families?
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestral language or parental language, called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in historical…
Modal Nest
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4
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At the research of some folklore russian accordion tunes
The other day I was watching a video documentary about the discovering of frozen mammoths in the Siberian tundra. At some moment there was a tune in I really enjoyed.
It was mainly accordion, rather fast, and the theme was on a scale really similar…
Stephane Rolland
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4
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1 answer
learning the Kora
Are there any written methods for learning the Kora, a West African instrument which traditionally is taught only by example and whose repertoire is not notated?
globalhiccup
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3
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Music of the Caribbean
How does the West African heritage in Caribbean music compare with the European influence in Caribbean music?
I did research on this but couldn't really understand the european influence.
anisa
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2
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Magen Avot Scale - Indigenous Recordings
In a purely theoretical space, I noticed some interesting properties of a scale which I determined to be the Magen Avot Scale.
The scale I am interested in is:
C Db D# E F# G# A B
or
1 b2 #2 3 #4 #5 6 7
My question is, does anyone know of specific…
Matthew James Briggs
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What makes this song sound so middle eastern?
What makes this song to feel so middle eastern? I mean harmonically and theoretical context. Because as I see live here all performed instruments are western but still it feels so oriental.
Also here are tabs for guitar If it will help to…
Nabla
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