Antropologia della musica

by Alan P. Merriam, Elio Di Piazza (Translator)

«Una teoria e una metodologia dello studio della musica» definisce Alan Merriam questo studio - ormai un classico della etnomusicologia - che prende le mosse dai quesiti che sin dal suo nascere hanno agitato la disciplina. Vale a dire, se l'etnomusicologia sia lo studio di certe musiche particolari (le primitive, le esotiche, le non-europee) o sia invece un nuovo modo di affrontare lo studio della musica anche nelle sue forme più colte e a noi vicine; e se il metodo della etnomusicologia debba consistere nell'analisi delle strutture sonore dei prodotti musicali, o al contrario concentrarsi sui processi umani che danno alla musica significati culturali. Le soluzioni prospettate da Merriam convergono verso un'antropologia della musica, della quale, in questo libro, sono assestate metodologie e chiavi teoriche. «Laddove non esistono uomini che pensano, agiscono e creano, il suono musicale non può esistere; comprendiamo la musica molto meglio che non l'intera organizzazione della sua produzione. Questo libro si sforza quindi di colmare la lacuna che esiste nel campo dell'etnomusicologia; fornire un supporto teorico allo studio della musica in quanto comportamento umano; chiarire il tipo di processo che deriva da fattori antropologici e musicologici insieme, migliorare infine la nostra conoscenza di entrambe le discipline, sotto la comune prospettiva di studi comportamentali».

Genres: Music, Anthropology, Nonfiction, Academic

344 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 1964

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the nice things about the arts is that information does not become out of date as fast as it does in the sciences. This book was written in 1964, and I still found it largely useful. There were a few areas in which it showed its age, especially the use of "men" when the author clearly meant all the members of a society, tribe, group, etc. But I still got a lot out of it.
I went to Wesleyan University, which has a very good ethnomusicology program. My focus was more on piano, composing, and contemporary music, but I did take a couple of classes in world music, and I was very much aware of the world music studies going on around me. Reading The Anthropology of Music, I felt like I was filling in some of the the gaps of my knowledge of ethnomusicology. The book isn't really about specific music traditions or studies, although it has abundant examples drawn from ethnomusicological studies. It's more of an explanation and exploration of the concerns of ethnomusicology in general terms. According to Merriam, ethnomusicology had, prior to the mid 20th century, concentrated heavily on the analysis of the music itself. Thus, he concentrates on the anthropological and sociological side of the discipline: how music functions in a society, the role of the musician, how music is learned and transmitted, what music can tell us about a culture and its history, etc. It provided me with plenty to think about.

[Yode]

This is Alan P. Merriam's attempt to standardize the language of musical anthropology, and from what I understand, he did a rather good job. Some of the theory is a little dated, since he was writing over 50 years ago, but every other musical anthropologist I've read cites him repeatedly to ground their claims. Each chapter is its own entity that tackles a specific concept in the study of music. I luvs it.

[Tyler]

Great book with a general, yet thorough, approach to ethnomusicology.

[Henry Dissell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't be fooled by the title, this book is explicitly and quintessentially ethnomusicological. I was hoping to clarify the "anthropology of music" v. "ethnomusicology" distinction through this book; I did not. Nonetheless, Merriam is an invaluable read.