Ethnomusicology and African Music: Modes of inquiry and interpretation

Download or read book Ethnomusicology and African Music: Modes of inquiry and interpretation written by J. H. Kwabena Nketia and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The volume in hand deals with modes of inquiry and interpretation broadly organised into sections on theory, and historical and creative studies. The section on theoretical issues comprises papers on: the problem of meaning in African music; musicology and African music; the juncture of the social and the musical; integrating objectivity and experience in ethnomusicological studies; the aesthetic dimension in ethnomusicological studies; universal perspectives in ethnomusicology; and contextual strategies of inquiry and systematisation. The section on creative and historical topics covers the following: the history of music in African culture; history and the organization of music in West Africa; historical evidence in Ga religious music; processes of differentiation and interdependency in African music; African musical roots in the Americas; and developing contemporary idioms out of traditional music.