5,555 research outputs found
‘Back-to-front’ Bassists: Idiodextrous Approaches to the Double Bass in Jazz.
Get PDFIn the history of jazz, only a very few bassists have played ‘left-handed’ on a ‘right-handed’ instrument. This ‘idiodextrous’ approach is an embodied phenomenon that affects the body-instrument interface, giving rise to unique physical and sonic consequences. Each idiodextrous bassist studied here was mostly self-taught and ‘intuitively’ applied this unconventional handedness approach to a conventional instrument. Studying this rare practice raises questions that challenge traditions of string instrument playing and expose arbitrary prejudices against unconventional handedness approaches. Since its defining trait is the ‘reversed’ order of the strings in relation to the body, idiodexterity challenges assumptions about the ideal stringings for different musical contexts. The malleability of identities and cultures in jazz is arguably more receptive to unusual handedness approaches than is the classical tradition. In the context of jazz improvisation, idiodexterity may even facilitate the development of a ‘uniquely idiodextrous’ vocabulary of musical phrases and techniques. This paper is an attempt to succinctly encompass the issues central to idiodextrous double bass in jazz, within the scope of a one-year MA by Research programme, and to make recommendations for future studies. Four main areas of research have been investigated: Instrument, Body, Identity and Vocabulary. Interviews with bassists of varying handedness approaches, with luthiers and with body experts have been employed to address this unique subject, compensating for the effective non-existence of any previous academic literature. The insights of these expert practitioners contribute new knowledge on this rare and intriguing practice
The State of the Guitar in Kathmandu
Get PDFThe thriving guitar scene in Kathmandu is not well known outside of the country, and particularly not in the West. It has also not been the topic of much recent scholarship. It has been assumed that for Nepalis the guitar, as a foreign instrument, represents freedom and modernity; but, is this true, and what else might it signify to Nepali guitarists themselves? This article gives an overview of the history of the guitar in Kathmandu by drawing on both published scholarship and interviews conducted by the authors with twelve prominent Nepalese guitarists and guitar educators to establish the current state and future outlook of the guitar in Nepal. Findings suggest that, in addition to freedom and modernity, the guitar is connected with individualism, and is becoming naturalized and less foreign than it used to be
Playing Traditional Folk Music in Rural America
Get PDFIn the United States, folk musicians are commonly perceived as a liberal, progressive and politically active collective who perform music that was popular during the second wave folk revival of the 1960s. Most studies of folk musicians have focused on this culture, possibly because many aspects of the revival period remain prominent in modern coffeehouse and folk festival settings. Seldom examined is the traditional folk community, which possesses a distinctive set of norms and a small but devoted following. In the present study, musicians were asked to describe their motivations for playing traditional folk music. Interviewees reported that playing music served quasi-social, socializing and cultural functions, with emotional expression and social connection emerging as common reasons for becoming involved with the traditional folk music community
Essential Understandings: Exploring my personal relationship with The Multiple Intelligences through art
Get PDFThe theory of Multiple Intelligences holds that there are an array of different kinds of intelligences in human beings. Howard Gardner has identified 8 multiple intelligences: Verbal/Linguistic, Logical/Mathematical, Spatial, Bodily/Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalist. This project was designed to explore the practical applications of the theory through personal experience. A series of five artworks were produced using the artistic mediums of oil and acrylic paints, clay, natural found objects, songwriting and musical performance. The artworks served as external documentation of the inner processes through which the eight intelligences were manifested. A public lecture was held describing the artworks and the intelligences used in their production. All eight intelligences were discovered to exist during the making of the art. Several intelligences were noticed working in conjunction with others, as witnessed during the songwriting, where intrapersonal, musical and verbal/linguistic abilities were processing information to complete the song, and painting, where spatial skills and bodily movements worked in unison. The study showed that I used multiple intelligences in various ways for the task of making art
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