Bakan WORLD MUSIC blog

2010-01-30T13:50:00.000-08:00

Outstanding Balinese gamelan beleganjur contest video

2009-09-04T08:50:00.000-07:00

Here is a great video of a lomba beleganjur (beleganjur contest) performance shot in Bali in 2005. Highly recommended for the unit on kreasi beleganjur music in Chapter 7 of World Music: Traditions and Transformations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28-5r9-BdwQ

Error on p. 46 (re: Warao songs)

2009-08-31T13:50:00.000-07:00

Please note that in the Insights and Perspectives box on p. 46, there is an error: Warao shamanistic inflicting songs ascend, whereas the curing songs descend. The reverse is stated in the text. This will be fixed in the next edition of the book. Thanks to Tim Watkins for bringing this error to my attention. I apologize for the error. -mb

Wesleyan Virtual Instrument Museum

2009-07-15T15:54:00.001-07:00

Fantastic resource. YouTube clips of demonstrations on 54 instruments from diverse world cultures, played by master performers. Includes many African percussion and Javanese gamelan instruments, steel drums, and much more.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=CF5B8EB1A7AF8A39

FSU Gamelan alumnus wins Guenter Schwarz Memorial Scholar Award in physics

2009-07-02T11:43:00.000-07:00

https://campus.fsu.edu/profiles/7/

FSU third in nation in arts research

2009-07-02T11:32:00.000-07:00

Rankings released by Science Watch rank Florida State University third among U.S. universities for most published papers in performing arts disciplines. FSU's ethnomusicology program was among those identified as being "at the cutting edge of research." Take this link for related article.

http://www.fsu.com/pages/2009/06/30/arts_research.html

Erratum notice from McGraw-Hill (gongon v. dawuro)

2009-06-18T11:29:00.000-07:00

Erratum

Due to an editing error in preparing for a reprint of World Music: Traditions and Transformations a term appears inconsistently in the coverage of Fontomfrom music on pages 192-195 of the text. Both gongon and dawuro are used to refer to an iron bell used in this music. The term dawuro is preferred and should have been used throughout. The first printing of the text used only the term gongon, and this is also the term used throughout the online audio Musical Guided Tour for this material.

We regret the error and any confusion it might cause.

Listing of ethnomusicologists' blogs

2009-05-27T07:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a quite comprehensive, annotated listing of blogs by ethnomusicologists (with links). A very helpful resource compiled by Barbara Alge of the University of Vienna. Thanks, Barbara!

http://www.ethnomblogs.blogspot.com/

New videos from Mali, West Africa (2009)

2009-05-21T11:43:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of great video clips to supplement Chapter 10:

Malian bala (balafon) virtuoso Issa Keita in performance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnLaL1AOrro

A Dogon masked dance in Tireli, Mali:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDRMJox28y8

Thanks to Eli Newberger for sending these links to me.

Great new YouTube links

2009-03-13T07:23:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of additional great YouTubes for your courses. See giant list of YouTubes and other links in this blog for hundreds more! -mb

1. Kora and bala clip featuring Mamadou Diabate on kora and the OTHER Mamadou Diabate on bala. Perfect supplement to discussion of kora and MD in Chapter 10.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAmB5ENJ8Vs

2. "Mission Impossible"theme by Indonesian jazz fusion band and gamelan. Great and fun addition to Chapter 7 intercultural gamelan fusion section, and as a general example of the "traditions and transformations" theme of the text/course.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h5dcjRIQ-E

Visit my website too!

2009-01-29T14:38:00.000-08:00

www.worldmusic-bakan.com

Full-semester course syllabus, schedule, lecture notes, study guides, assignments

2009-01-29T10:16:00.000-08:00

Attached are the files from my Fall 2007 world music course at FSU (15-week semester). The lecture note docs include embedded youtube links, as well as references to the book's CD set tracks and online listening resources. This particular course was for music majors, but I have included lecture notes docs for Chs. 1-6 for both music major and nonmajor courses (the other chapters I treat more or less the same in both contexts). I have also included the take-home self-study assignments that I used for Chapters 12 and 14 (which we did not cover in the lectures), study guides for the two exams, and instructions for a student musicultural journal assignment. I hope you find these resources helpful in the planning of your own courses using World Music: Traditions and Transformations. -mb

Syllabus_F07.doc
Course_calendar_F07.doc
Elements_lecs_Chs1-6_musmaj.doc
Elements_lecs_Chs1-6_nonmaj.doc
Africa_lectures_Ch10.doc
Latin_lectures_Ch11.doc
Irish_lectures_Ch9.doc
Exam_1_study_guide.doc
Bali_lectures_Ch7.doc
India_lectures_Ch8.doc
China_lectures_Ch13.doc
Exam_2_study_guide.doc
Self-Study_Assignment_Ch.12.doc
Self-Study_Assignment_Ch.14.doc
Musicultural_journal_assgnmt.doc

P.S. Links to tudy guides for exams 1 and 2 were formerly reversed. Sorry. Fixed now.

Giant world music youtube links list

2009-01-28T16:09:00.000-08:00

Take the link below to a list of hundreds of youtube video clips, organized by chapter, that connect to my textbook WORLD MUSIC: TRADITIONS AND TRANSFORMATIONS. Lots of cool stuff, and great for livening up lectures, giving students supplementary viewing/listening experiences, etc. -mb

Giant_youtube_link_list_upd.doc

Autism in academia article from Chronicle

2008-07-17T06:20:00.000-07:00

http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=c4kySwjbHNFTb53XbGGqr9sxNh5vsjht

Javanese gamelan teaching resources

2008-01-29T11:40:00.000-08:00

Take this link to a beautifully clear photo of the University of Wisconsin's Central Javanese gamelan. Hold cursor over any instrument and it will bring up the instrument's name. Click on any instrument and it will link you to close-up photos and instrument descriptions. Beyond the photo, the website as a whole is excellent. A very nice resource for teaching!

http://homepages.cae.wisc.edu/~jjordan/gamelan/instrum-photo.html

Great beleganjur video clips for Chapter 7 (Bali)

2008-01-09T13:57:00.000-08:00

It's very hard to find good video examples of Balinese gamelan beleganjur performances (the main focus of Chapter 7), but having access to same will do wonders for your lectures. Posted below are excerpts from my field videos of cremation procession and beleganjur contest performances, with accompanying notes. Another great resource is this youtube example, which I am quite certain is from a melis procession, in which effigies of deities (arca, pratima) are carried in procession to a ritual bathing to the accompaniment of multiple beleganjur ensembles (see p. 80-81 of my book Music of Death and New Creation for more on melis). Close-up of a marching beleganjur group at the end of the clip is very useful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36Z3ldREM8k

And here's some footage from a grand royal cremation in Ubud in summer 2008.

http://www.youtube.com/user/jgerstin

Videos of gamelan beleganjur (Ch. 7)

2008-01-08T09:19:00.000-08:00

This example features a contest performance by the famous beleganjur group from Banjar Meranggi (Denpasar), Bali. The group won the 1992 championship in the most prestigious belganjur competition (lomba) with this performance. This clip features an excerpt of the same composition, Suandita's "Wira Ghorava Cakti," that is featured on CD 2, tr. 7 of the WMTT 3-CD set (see also pp. 109-110 of the text).

This example features the opening portion of a small cremation (ngaben) procession in Wanasari, Bali. You will see the beleganjur group positioned right behind the cremation tower and the spinning of the tower at the first crossroads of the procession route. A great supplement to the discussion on pp. 99-103 of the text (and to CD exs. #2-4 and 2-5).

Conclusion of the same cremation procession in Wanasari. The tower is carried and spun with great energy with the arrival at the cremation grounds (kuburan).

More new youtubes for Chapter 7

2008-01-07T10:23:00.000-08:00

More cool youtubes for enhancing your Chapter 7 (Bali/Indonesia) lectures, including some fun "surprises."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiz83vNXGZc (Balawan--Bali guitar rock meets beleganjur)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs7i8j48EJ4 (Beleganjur and beyond Dance Dance Revolution)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS-ojK6yGSw (Mr. Bungle--Goodbye Sober Day w. "kecak")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IShF-NB-5Ig (Hanuman animated film w. kecak)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3eeaufzBSo(George Bush plays Javanese gamelan)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwisQkmpqmQ (George Bush plays African drums and dances--[couldn't resist throwing this one in, too!])
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9sn2D5JY28(Gamelan Shokbrek, high octane Sundanese gamelan-jazz fusion)

Old lecture notes

2007-09-20T16:08:00.000-07:00

Lecture notes instructions.doc
Syllabus.doc
Course_schedule.doc
Elements_lectures_Chs_1-6.doc
Chs._1-6_lecs_music_majors.doc
Ch.7_lecs_Bali.doc
Ch.8_lecs_India.doc
Ch.9_lecs_Irish.doc
Ch.10_lecs_Africa.doc
Ch.11_lecs_Latin.doc
Ch.13_lecs_China.doc

Bakan Public Radio interview on gamelan musics

2007-05-11T06:35:00.000-07:00

I was the guest on Florida Public Radio's call-in show Perspectives, with Mark Simpson, on May 10, 2007. The show (just under an hour in length) dealt with gamelan musics of Indonesia (mainly Bali) and included lots of musical examples: kebyar, Kecak, joged, jegog, enggung, contemporary Balinese pop, Central Javanese court gamelan, plus a piece of my own for scratch turntable soloist and Balinese gamelan (featuring DJ Charles Tremblay with FSU's gamelan group).

For those of you using the book World Music: Traditions and Transformations, there are lots of tie-ins to Chapter 7, musically and otherwise. Having students listen to the interview in conjunction with their study of Chapter 7 would be a good supplementary resource/extra credit opportunity.

You can listen to the archived version of the program by taking the attached link, then clicking on the "Listen Now" button for the "05/10/07--Gamelan Music of Indonesia" program at WFSU-FM's 2007 audio archive page.

Bakan gamelan interview on Perspectives, Florida Public Radio

Tuvan throat singing meets Bela Fleck youtube

2007-05-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKImvikolMM ("Alash Khem" [Alash River Song], Kongar Ol-Andar)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFwrJ1rd_xQ ("A Moment So Close," Bela Fleck and the Flecktones with Kongar, Sandip Burman--tabla, Andy Narell--pans, Paul McCandless--Eng. horn/sop. sax, Paul Hanson--bassoon)