The Influence of Digital Media Technology in World Traditions

837 Words4 Pages
Photograpic, audio, film, and video equipment have become a basic part of the ethnomusicologists’ toolkit. Many ethnomusicologists have used video materials to create visual resources for lectures, presentations and books. Documentary filmmakers have also been filming music and musicians. More recently films have been made by filmmakers from cultures that have previously only been the object of study, and music and music making are among their concerns. The popularity and expansion of television and the subsequent demand for more content made funding for ethnomusicological films available. In addition cheaper, lighter, and easier to operate cameras have become available, along with computer hardware and software, have made the production and distribution of films accessible to everyone. And today musicians can create their own films. Friedland and Boden (1994,23) note that “the immediacy of presence is extended by humans first through language,[and] now through technology” (as found Tong Soon Lee: 203) By using video in Ethnomusicological research, ethnomusicologists benefit in various ways, video can be valuable in the study of musical instruments and in documentation of the entire process of construction of instruments. The combination of audio and video is a valuable resource and detailed guide in the tuning of instruments. Also film will be very useful in the transcription of recorded music in the field. Steve Feld says, “As we move toward less reductive and ethnocentric forms of transcription we move closer to describing the relations between motor behaviour, sound production, and sound itself.” (Feld: 314) Film could enhance research in the study of musical performance, the dynamic relationships between performers and audiences, and the relationships between performing, rehearsing, and musical training. Furthermore film can shift the focus from the musicians

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