Worlds of Music General Editor: Jeff Todd Titon
Table of Contents:
1. The Music-Culture as a World of Music
2. North America/Native America
3. Africa Ewe, Mande, Dagbamba, Shona, BaAka
4. North America/ Black America
5. Europe/ Central and South Eastern Regions
6. India/South India
7.Asia/ Music of Indonesia
8. East Asia/ China, Taiwan, Singapore, Overseas Chinese
9. Latin America/ Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru
10. The Arab World
11. Discovering and Documenting a World of Music.
Introduction:
Unlike other texts we have observed as a class, Titon only uses one chapter to introduce students to music. Within this chapter he approaches music as soundscape and a cultural experience. He also addresses the same basic questions we encounter such as “What is Music?” While he does approach it in many of the same ways as other texts, he does not specify that music is determined by humans, as the Bakan does. He approaches the idea of soundscape and musical culture in terms of Ecology.
Likes:
• There are brief but detailed descriptions of the recordings when they are called for in context of the chapter. This may include length of piece, artist, album, composer, country of origin, important and relevant details and context.
•“Salient Characteristic” boxes include important cultural context for understanding the music.
•In depth pronunciation guides are found in many of the chapters.
•In depth and detailed listening guides which include translations when needed.
•Brightly colored photographs and useful illustrations.
•Supplementary material appears throughout the text to help the reader understand music performance.
•Three new chapters are added in the latest edition: East Asia, Middle East and Europe.
•Colored and Topographical Maps.
Dislikes:
• Some symbolic representations are more confusing than helpful.
• The Japanese chapter which was included in an earlier edition is removed.
• Study Questions are not included in the longer edition of the book.
• The older edition included resource lists at the end of the chapter as well as a detailed glossary for every chapter.
• The shorter version sometimes tries so hard to avoid musical notation it becomes confusing.
Neutral:
• Different Authors: While this assures authority on a subject, it can sometimes leave the book feeling disjointed.
• Case Study Approach: While it can give details
to a specific tradition, it can sometimes neglect numerous others.
• Use of Western Notation: This could good or bad depending on how you see it.
Short:
• Focused on world music in terms of culture, not music.
• Less information
• Study Questions
Long:
• Focused on a music background
• More musical examples
• No study questions in the back of the chapter
• More boxes with extraneous musical context
Conclusion:
While there is no conclusion specifically, the last chapter focuses on performing an ethnography in your real life. While the idea may seem trite at first, looking closer at the idea it could be a very beneficial experience for an undergraduate. As many of us have stated, we want to have an impact on students and this could be a way to accomplish it.