F111: World Music and Culture A FIRST GUIDE TO OBSERVING MUSICAL EVENTS1

Basic ethnographic description (written down initially as fieldnotes) is an important component of ethnographic research and writing. Since your paper will be based on detailed observation and analysis of a live musical event, it is never too soon to begin thinking about questions to keep in mind when preparing for participant-observation. Some of the following questions may seem so obvious you might think they are not worth considering. However, especially if you are experiencing an event you find familiar, you have to pay careful attention to aspects you might otherwise take for granted. The following questions may be helpful for ensuring that your observations have both breadth and depth. What to Bring: A pen that writes silently. A pad of paper, preferably one that is not too noticeable and allows you to flip pages easily and with minimal noise. If you plan on recording the event, a personal tape, video or voice recorder (or cell phone, as last resort). Make sure you obtain the participants permission to record before you turn on the machine. DO NOT record secretly, as doing so can be both a legal and an ethical violation of your informants trust (and, pragmatically, it will affect your paper grade). Things to Consider in Your Observations: What, when, and where is the event? Are there specific actions/signs/words/sounds that mark the beginning and the end of the event? What are the important characteristics of the physical space in which the event takes place? Where were you sitting/standing? [A diagram of the site could be useful here.] How does the event use the space? Is there organized or planned movement? Who are the participants? What is their age, gender, and ethnicity? How are they dressed? What information do they provide about themselves, either verbally or through their behavior? Who else is present? How are these other people dressed? Are there any noteworthy aspects of the attendees behavior and/or response(s) to the event? What is being performed? Describe what you hear, but do not simply replicate information on a written program (if you have one). If there is no written program created specifically for the event, it is very important to record in as much detail as possible exactly what is being per-

This handout is based on an earlier handout written by Kay Shelemay and supplemented by Judah Cohen for the Spring 2003 iteration of Literature & Arts B-78: Soundscapes at Harvard University.

formed, in what order, and by whom. Careful observation can help you understand the structure of the proceedings. Please do what you can to describe the sounds you hear and how they change over the course of the concert. Think about the sounds using the four criteria described in your Soundscapes book: *Pitch: Are the sounds high or low, going up or going down? Do the musicians use certain groups of pitches? How do they transition from one pitch to the next? *Duration: How fast or slow are the sounds? Are they grouped into patterns? textures? forms? *Intensity: Is the music loud or soft? How does the intensity change? *Quality: What kinds of qualities does the sound have: nasal? fuzzy? focused? guitarlike? What instruments are used? (Feel free to experiment with descriptions, but try not to get caught up in too great a metaphoric flight. Whats most important is what you saw and heard.) What is making the musical sounds? Are there musical instruments (how would you describe/ categorize them)? Are there singers? Are there any noteworthy physical characteristics of the instruments? Are there noteworthy playing/singing techniques or postures? What types of vocal style are used? Is there a text (and where is it located)? How do the performers communicate with and relate to each other? What important performance conventions do you see? Is musical notation used? Is there improvisation? Did you speak to anyone during the concert/rehearsal/service/event or overhear any comments that might be of interest? Did the musical performers make any formal remarks or spontaneous comments? Can you recall verbatim remarks? How do the attendees move and/or interact with each other? Try to be as precise and concrete as you can. How are people categorized at the event (such as: performer/audience; $25 seats/$50 seats/ backstage passes, etc.)? How can you tell which people are deemed more prominent in this setting? Did you speak to anyone during the event or overhear any comments that might be of interest? Did the participants make any formal remarks or spontaneous comments? Can you recall these remarks word-for-word? Were there any particularly notable moments or incidents that gave you insight into aspects of meaning or value among the participants? Were there moments when your own background or expectations led to confusion or surprise? Were there things you expected to observe, but did not encounter?

General Words of Advice: You will not be able to document everything you see and hearjust do your best, with the knowledge that your observations will necessarily be selective. Keep in mind that there is not one natural or correct way to write about what you observe; different descriptions of the same event are possible. If you take discrete notes before, during, or just after an event, try to record information that will help you remember key aspects of it. Jot down concrete details and verbatim quotes. These jottings will be your first fieldnotes and will likely be rather sketchy, disjointed, and full of abbreviations. Be sure to sit down as soon as possible afterward and expand on these sketchy notes, constructing a fuller account; if you wait more than twenty-four hours, you will inevitably forget important details. As you amend and expand the brief notes you made during the performance, try to remember things you saw or heard that you had not committed to writing. (Some ethnographers refer to these remembered observations as headnotes.) Be sure to allow enough time to document your observations in detailand know that it can take as much time to write up as it did to observe (if not more)!