Syllabus for Roster(s):

  • 16Sp MUSI 4525-001 (CGAS)
In the UVaCollab course site:   Global Beats (MUSI 4525 )

Global Beats: from talking drums to digital turntables (MUSI 4525)

MUSI 4525: Global Beats: from talking drums to digital turntables

Spring 2016

Tue Thu 09:30 – 10:45

Old Cabell Hall 107

Course instructor:   

Noel Lobley, Assistant Professor of Music (Critical and Comparative Studies)

Contact:                                     noel.lobley@virginia.edu

Office hours:           Tuesdays 12:00 – 14:00 (or by appt.), Wilson 109 (434-297-6987)

SYLLABUS SUBJECT TO REVISION – Definitive version always on Collab

Course description:

Water drums, donkey jawbones, and digital slicing; Braindance, work songs and Javanese percussion orchestras. The organization, articulation and sharing of beats in communities can bring transcendence, ancestral communion, and political revolution.

Operating in the intersections between ethnomusicology, sound studies, and deep beat listening, in this course we seek to feel and understand what is communicated when an artist or community composes and moves rhythmically.

How do we listen to, feel, and appreciate the value of, for example, dubstep, Congotronics, and Brazilian samba? To find out, we trace the stories, rhythms and dances that link major global artists with ethnographic sounds, remixes and productions. We consider how, why and where beats evolve, slice, change and resonate through time, among people, and across continents.

No prior musical experience is required.

COURSE MATERIALS

During the semester, we will read and be guided by key texts and articles, many of which are available in full online, and all will remain on reserve at the Music library in Old Cabell Hall. According to class demand, I can arrange for copies to be ordered to be UVa bookstore

Texts Available Online

Becker, J. 2004.  Deep Listeners: Music, Emotion and Trancing. Bloomington, IN.: Indiana University Press.

Bender, S. 2012. Taiko Boom: Japanese Drumming in Place and Motion. Oakland, Ca.: University of California Press.

DeFrantz, T. 2002. Dancing Many Drums: Excavations in African American Dance. Madison, WI.: University of Wisconsin Press.

Gaunt, K. 2006. Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double Dutch to Hip-Hop. New York, NY: New York University Press.

Munro, M. 2010. Different Drummers : Rhythm and Race in the Americas. Oakland, Ca.: University of California Press.

Kwasi Dor, G. 2014. West African Drumming and Dance in North American Universities: an ethnomusicological perspective. Jackson, MI.: University of Mississippi Press.

Schloss, J. & J. Chang. 2014. Making Beats: The Art of Sample-Based Hip-Hop. Middletown, CT.: Wesleyan University Press.

Schweitzer, K. 2013. Artistry of Afro-Cuban Batá Drumming: Aesthetics, Transmission, Bonding, and Creativity. Jackson, MI.: University of Mississippi Press.

Sicko, D. 2010. Techno-rebels: the renegades of electronic funk. Detroit, MI: Painted Turtle.

Sullivan, P. 2014. Remixology: Tracing the Dub Diaspora. London: Reaktion Books.

Tejumola, O. 2004. Arrest the Music!: Fela and His Rebel Art and Politics. Bloomington, IN.: Indiana University Press.

Veal, M. 2007. Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae. Middletown, CT.: Wesleyan University Press.

Also Valuable

(on reserve in the Music Library for three hour loan periods)

Chernoff, J. M. 1979. African Rhythm and African Sensibility: aesthetics and social action in African musical idioms. Chicago, IL.: University of Chicago Press.

Gioia, T. 2006. Work Songs. Durham, NC.: Duke University Press.

Hart, M. 1990. Drumming at the Edge of Magic: a journey into the spirit of percussion. San Francisco, CA.: Harper.

Katz, M. 2012. Groove Music: the art and culture of the hip hop DJ. Oxford & NY: University of Oxford Press.

Miller, P. 2008. Sound Unbound: sampling digital music and culture. Cambridge, Ma: The MIT Press.

Most other reading, listening and viewing materials will be available online, and

there is also a short extra general bibliography at the end of the syllabus.

Useful Journals

Dancecult: Journal of Electronic Dance Music Culture

https://dj.dancecult.net/index.php/dancecult

Organized Sound

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=OSO

Ethnomusicology

http://www.ethnomusicology.org/?Pub_Journal

Ethnomusicology Forum

http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/remf20/current

Useful Websites and Blogs

Bleep

https://bleep.com

Congress on Research in Dance (CORD)

http://www.cordance.org/danceresearchjournal

[publishes Dance Research Journal]

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=DRJ

edmSauce

http://www.edmsauce.com

FACT Magazine

http://www.factmag.com

FADER

http://www.thefader.com/

Resident Advisor

http://www.residentadvisor.net

The Wire

http://www.thewire.co.uk

Assessments

This semester we will complete three assignments in a range of creative formats: two shorter pieces of work [(i) a blog entry or paper reporting personal observations on rhythm, and (ii) a curated playlist with commentary], plus a final project.

The first two assignments should be approximately 1500-2000 words in length. For the final project (approx. 3000 words) you will be asked to identify a specific topic/ idea/ series of case studies that will enable you to explore some of the major themes of our course.

Please discuss your ideas for your final paper with me in the week after spring recess. I encourage you all to propose possible alternative creative formats for your final paper, which need not be, but also certainly can be, a standard written paper.

All students will also have a chance to prepare and share a short presentation in class during the second half of the semester.

Course work will be assessed on the following basis:

30%     Participation (including attendance, responsiveness in class, timeliness of submissions, short presentations and overall engagement)

30%     Written assessments count as 15% each [(i) rhythm blog entry, and (ii) curated popular music playlist and commentary]

40%     Final project broadly addressing the question ‘what and how do beats communicate and transmit?’ [due in the last week of the semester]

Key Assessment Deadlines

  1. First Written Assignment [Week 6]: a blog entry or paper on beat and rhythm observations– due by 17:00 Friday 27th February [Approximately 1500 - 2000 words]
  2. Second Written Assignment [Week 12]: a curated beats and rhythm playlist and commentary exploring a narrative – due by 17:00 Friday 8th April [Approximately 1500 words].
  3. Third Written Assignment [Week 16]: Final Paper answering the question ‘What and how do beats communicate and transmit?’ – due in the last week of the semester [Approximately 3000 words]

Course attendance and participation

As this course is a seminar, participation in class discussions will be particularly important. Attendance and respectful participation are expected. More than two unexcused absences from class will adversely affect the final grade.

Course policies

No late assignments will be accepted without very good reason. It is always best to advise me in advance if you anticipate any problems meeting deadlines.

Please remember to turn off all cell phones during class. In general, no emailing or social media use is allowed during class. However, in most seminars I will invite us all to conduct brief research in class using our devices.

Honor

I trust every student in this course to comply with all of the provisions of the UVA honor system. You must pledge and sign your three written assignments. Your signature on the papers affirms that they represent your original work, and that any sources you have quoted, paraphrased, or used extensively in preparing the paper have been properly credited in the footnotes or bibliography.

Thematic Course Questions

Through a wide-ranging variety of literature, case studies, and audio-visual sources our course will address the following three broad thematic areas of investigation:

Course questions

  • Why do people and communities create and express beats and rhythms? How are they made? What do they sound like?
  • What and how do rhythms communicate? 
 How do the sounds and messages they convey vary across global music scenes?
  • What are the histories and futures of local and global rhythms?

Overview of Topics

I. Beating Social Glue

Week 1: Welcome and introduction: what are global beats?
Week 2: Collective rhythms: beats, bonding and society
Week 3: Beating tedium: rhythmic work songs

II. Beating the Elements

Week 4: Pulsing soundscapes: did insects give us rhythm?
Week 5:
Moving together: the philosophy and physicality of dance
Week 6: Moving streets, overturning order: marching bands, carnivals, protest and euphoria


III. Beating, Stretching and Transcending Time

Week 7: Beating conscious thought: music and trance
Week 8: Spring Recess
Week 9: Caribbean beats, sun and sound Systems: mento, ska, reggae, dub and dancehall

IV. Global Beats Time

Week 10: African beats: from tribal to Afrobeat, talking drums to Afro-futurism
Week 11: Street beats: beat digging, beat juggling, turntables and global hip hop
Week 12: Beating bronze in courts and villages: Indonesian percussion orchestras


V. Remixing Global Beats

Week 13: Global house music: American, European, African and Latin house
Week 14: Global electronica beats: Braindance, glitch, EDM and remixology
Week 15: Global beat fusion: Congotronics, Shangaan Electro, and gqom apocalyptic bass music

Return

Week 16: Revision: what are global beats?

COURSE OUTLINE

I. BEATING SOCIAL GLUE
 

Week One:      Welcome and introduction

Class 1:          Thursday 21st January 2016           

Introduction Scope of the course: what are global beats?

Video Playlist for Class 1 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103QgEvn5cCTIOsWXqsm_-qsI


Week Two:      Collective rhythms: beats, bonding and society

Classes 2 & 3:           Tuesday 26th & Thursday 28th January 2016

Key Questions:

  1. What is a beat?
  2. Why do humans beat time?
  3. What makes rhythm social?
     

Video Playlist for Class 2 

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103R9k09HvDK500higk-XKEfK

Video Playlist for Class 3

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103T8PJ3CUdK8mvkRO2Z1XTdQ


Key Texts & Readings:

Patel, A. 2006. 'Musical Rhythm, Linguistic Rhythm, and Human Evolution', Music Perception: an interdisciplinary journal, 99-103. [Available as a PDF in 'resources']
 

Week 3:      Beating tedium: rhythmic work songs

Classes 4 & 5:           Tuesday 2nd  & Thursday 4th February 2016

Key Questions:

  1. What are the rhythms of work?
  2. How and why are they created and expressed?
  3. What are work songs?

Key Texts:

Work Songs  (Gioia, 2006) -  please read introduction and at least 1-3 chapters that most interest you.

Video Playlist for Class 4

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103TuSpIgvSeLzsDRFP4qUXYj

Video Playlist for Class 5

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103Tqeactk5Wv9sGV7cADZ7cN

II. BEATING THE ELEMENTS

Week 4:      Pulsing soundscapes: did insects give us rhythm?

Classes 6 & 7:           Tuesday 9th & Thursday 11th February 2016

Key questions:

  1. What are soundscape rhythms?
  2. What are the relationships between the natural environment, the biological environment and human rhythms?
  3. Does the wind beat?

Key Readings:

Bug Music (Rothenberg, 2013)

Pijanowski, B. (et al.). 2011. 'What is Soundscape Ecology? an introduction and overview of an emerging science', Landscape Ecology 26: 1213–1232

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10980-011-9600-8

Farina, A. 2014. Soundscape Ecology: Principles, Patterns, Methods and Applications.

[Please read 'Sonic Patterns III: Sounds and Vibrations from Soils' (pages 209-220)]

http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-94-007-7374-5

[** please note that both of the above readings are available online via Virgo so there is no requirement to pay for them via Springer as UVa Library pays the subscription**]

Video Playlist for Class 6

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103SzAtxt8RlIKVDsYaDWUfeV

Video Playlist for Class 7

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103QgqpO9Jsom6pRMiQh9MFaa

Week 5:      Moving together: the philosophy and physicality of dance

Classes 8 & 9:           Tuesday 16th & Thursday 18th February 2016

Key questions:

  1. Why dance when we can walk?

  2. What can dance express and communicate?

  3. How do people dance?

Key Readings:

DeFrantz, T. 2002. Dancing Many Drums: Excavations in African American Dance. Madison, WI.: University of Wisconsin Press.
[Available online via Virgo - please read 'Christian Conversion and the Challenge of Dance' in Part 1: Theory (pp. 39-58)]

&

Johnson, I.K. 2014. 'From blues women to b-girls: performing badass femininity', Women and Performance 24(1): 15-28.

&

Nichols, J. 2014. 'Crank that thang: contextualising black masculinities and hip hop dance in the South from 2000-2010', Western Journal of Black Studies 38(2): 84-97.

&

Ruchala, J. 2015. 'The Old Folks Danced the Do Si Do: Dancing in the Old-time Music Community of North Carolina', The Journal of American Culture 38(1): 39-50.

[All of the above are available online via Virgo]

Video Playlist for Class 8

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103SVm62kyqZ-RXbQo9vhoUye

Video Playlist for Class 9

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103SSok77auY6DTIhjiqlhQlN

 

Week 6:      Moving streets, overturning order: marching bands, carnivals, protest and
                   euphoria

Classes 10 & 11:       Tuesday 23rd & Thursday 26th February 2016

Key questions:

  1. What is carnival?
  2. Why do bands march?
  3. How do beats protest?
     

Key Readings:

Munro, M. 2010. Different Drummers: Rhythm and Race in the Americas. Oakland, Ca.: University of California Press.

*** The whole book is very useful in general, but for this week please read 'Introduction: slaves to the rhythm' (pp. 1-23), and  'Beating Back Darkness: rhythm and revolution in Haiti (pp. 24-77) ***

Smith, R. & K. Hetherigton (eds.). 2013. 'Urban Rhythms: Mobilities, Space and Interaction in the Contemporary City', Special Issue of The Sociological Review 61(S1): 1-168.

*** The whole issue is of interest for the study of urban rhythms, memory, heritage and soundscapes. For this week please read the introduction and Beatriz Jaguarabe's article 'Carnival Crowds'

Smith, R. & K. Hetherigton, 2013. 'Urban rhythms: mobilities, space and interaction in the contemporary city' Special Issue of The Sociological Review 61(S1): 4-16

Jaguaribe, B. 2013. 'Carnival Crowds', special issue of The Sociological Review 61(S1): 69-88

[All of the above readings are available for free online via UVa Virgo. I have uploaded PDFs of the two sections from 'Urban Rhythms' to the resources section of Collab under Week 6.]


Video Playlist for Class 10

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103SeBE-M0oFhOvHCeuzJMrHN

Video Playlist for Class 11

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103QPqTklT4IXbVf_rmhHOBpM

III. BEATING, STRETCHING AND TRANSCENDING TIME

Week 7:      Beating conscious thought: music and trance

Class 12 & 13:           Tuesday 1st & Thursday 3rd March 2016

Key questions:

  1. What is trance?
  2. How do beats possess the mind?
  3. What is communicate in altered states?

Key Readings:

Becker, J. 2004. Deep Listeners: music, emotion and trancing. Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.

[available online via Virgo]

http://quod.lib.umich.edu.proxy.its.virginia.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=acls;idno=heb05905.0001.001

[*** The whole book is invaluable for its range of examples, but please make sure that everyone reads at least pp. 1-44 ('Introduction', 'Interlude', and 'Rethinking Trance').

For those that want to explore more deeply, I highly recommend Chapter 2 ('Deep Listeners') as well, and Chapter 6  'Magic Through Emotion: Toward a Theory of Trance' plus the Postscript. **]

Janowsky, R. 2007. 'Music, Spirit Possession and the In-Between: Ethnomusicological Inquiry and the Challenge of Trance', Ethnomusicology Forum 16(2): 185-208.

[Available online via Virgo and PDF available in the 'resources' folder for Week 7]

http://re5qy4sb7x.search.serialssolutions.com/?genre=article&issn=17411912&title=Ethnomusicology%20Forum&volume=16&issue=2&date=20071101&atitle=Music%2C%20Spirit%20Possession%20and%20the%20In-Between%3A%20Ethnomusicological%20Inquiry%20and%20the%20Challenge%20of%20Trance.&spage=185&sid=EBSCO:a9h&pid=%3Cauthors%3EJankowsky%2C%20Richard%20C.%3C/authors%3E%3Cui%3E26774342%3C/ui%3E%3Cdate%3E20071101%3C/date%3E%3Cdb%3Ea9h%3C/db%3E

Needham, R. 1967. 'Percussion and Transition', Man 2(4): 606-614.

[Available online via Virgo and PDF available in the 'resources' folder for Week 7]

http://www.jstor.org.proxy.its.virginia.edu/stable/pdf/2799343.pdf?acceptTC=true


Video Playlist for Class 12

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103ShyZy1kFAqliFwpFZiG11b

Video Playlist for Class 13

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103QRobf2inKG9P1sb1eGAupo
 

Week 8:      Spring Recess

Reading week (Saturday March 5th – Sunday March 13th): no classes

Week 9:      Caribbean beats, sun and sound Systems: mento, ska, reggae, dub and dancehall

Classes 14 & 15:       Tuesday 15th & Thursday 17th March 2016

Key questions:

  1. What does dub do to rhythm?
  2. Who was King Tubby? Who is Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry?
  3. What did the sun do for ska?

Key Readings:

Veal, M. 2007. Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae. Middletown, CT.: Wesleyan University Press.

[** Please read at least the Introduction and Chapters 1-2. Chapter 8 and the Coda are also very valuable, as indeed is as much of the book as you have time for **]

Sullivan, P. 2014. Remixology: Tracing the Dub Diaspora. London: Reaktion Books.

[** Please read at least the Introduction and Chapters 1-2. The conclusion is also very valuable, as indeed is as much of the book as you have time for as it explores the influence of dub in more global contexts**]

Video Playlist for Class 14

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103S--kfEiVaTTnL7LQV8YZAj

Video Playlist for Class 15

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103QLNrPbqbB8EHeFOQ9BZsGe

'Dub Presentation' Playlist from class presenter, Andrew St Jean

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiFWvEtA5D9cm1dGs5tBajEgZpTQHGdrm

IV. Global Beats Time

Week 10:      African beats: from tribal to Afrobeat, talking drums to Afro-futurism

Classes 16 & 17:       Tuesday 22nd & Thursday 24th March 2016

Key questions:

  1. What are talking drums?
  2. Why has Africa been dubbed the rhythmic continent?
  3. What is a cross rhythm?

Key Readings:

Munro, M. 2010. Different Drummers : Rhythm and Race in the Americas. Oakland, Ca.: University of California Press. [Available online]

http://site.ebrary.com/lib/uvalib/reader.action?docID=10402712

[** Read Chapter 4 'James Brown. Rhythm and Black Power' (pp. 182-213) **]

Tejumola, O. 2004. Arrest the Music!: Fela and His Rebel Art and Politics. Bloomington, IN.: Indiana University Press. [Available online]

http://site.ebrary.com/lib/uvalib/reader.action?docID=10116592

[** Read Chapter 1 'Introduction: 'Living in the Interregnum': Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and the Postcolonial Incredible' (pp. 1-6), Chapter 3 'The Afrobeat Moralist' (pp. 24-49), and 'Chapter 5 'Fela, Lagos, and the Postcolonial State' (pp. 87-107),Chapter 10 'Conclusion:: Afrobeat after Fela' (pp. 175-190) **]

We will also focus on 'Music is the Weapon', a documentary about Fela Kuti and Afrobeat

http://virginia.kanopystreaming.com/video/fela-kuti-music-weapon

Video Playlist for Class 16

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103RtIsd96ijM5J5tlXdHRs1A

Video Playlist for Class 17

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103RmLH6-coNqItErg70aIi6W

'Afrobeat' Presentation Playlist from class presenters Catherine Schreiber and Emilie Mills

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgTmbAApNTHlTkkb4IOtDbAg59wjDwVTO
 

Week 11:      Street beats: beat digging, beat juggling, turntables and global hip hop

Classes 18 & 19:       Tuesday 29th March & Thursday 1st April 2016

Key questions:

  1. Where do hip hop beats come from?
  2. Who samples beats?
  3. What does a hip-hop DJ do?

Key Readings:

Katz, M. 2012. Groove Music: the art and culture of the hip hop DJ. Oxford & NY: University of Oxford Press.
[Available on reserve in the music library].

[** Please read Chapter 1 'The Breaks and the Bronx: 1973-75' (pp. 23-48), and Chapter 2 'Mix and Scratch: the turntable becomes a musical instrument: 1975-78 (pp. 49-73) **]

Schloss, J. & J. Chang. 2014. Making Beats : The Art of Sample-Based Hip-Hop. Middletown, CT.: Wesleyan University Press. [Available online via Virgo]

[** Please read 'Introduction' (pp. 15-34), Chapter 2 '"It's About Playing Records": history' (pp. 35-63), Chapter 4 'Materials and Inspiration: Digging in the Crates' (pp. 77-96), and Chapter 6 'Elements of Style: aesthetics of hip hop composition' (pp. 123-150) **]


Video Playlist for Class 18

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103RW0WVCtmjvh-i1SxmWefWb

Video Playlist for Class 19

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103TDn3ee9UhrrguVPZVBtwLh

'Global Beats Hip Hop Presentation' Playlist from class presenters Maggie McCoy and John Mourad

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRrvvinp3iSPpd31WdGLpD7NdIsafVGAd&jct=IFpuAv1y3WCNfadSQVJitSIOFKTyAg

Week 12:       Beating bronze in courts and villages: Indonesian percussion orchestras

Classes 20 & 21:       Tuesday 5th & Thursday 7th April 2016

Key questions:

  1. What is gamelan?
  2. Why do people beat bronze and bamboo?
  3. What are percussion cycles?

Key Readings:

Blench. R. 2007. 'From Vietnamese Lithophones To Balinese Gamelans: a history of tuned percussion in the Indo-Pacific Region', Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Pre-History Association 26

http://journals.lib.washington.edu/index.php/BIPPA/article/view/11993/10618

Sumarsam, P. Introduction to Javanese Gamelan (notes for Music 451 - Javanese Gamelan-Beginners)

http://sumarsam.web.wesleyan.edu/Intro.gamelan.pdf

Video Playlist for Class 20

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103QwVMDXY25VTD_Qa0pqQCXx

Video Playlist for Class 21

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103S-NSlY0hYCKm19xriHkE5K

V. REMIXING GLOBAL BEATS

Week 13:      Global house music: American, European, African and Latin house

Classes 22 & 23:       Tuesday 12th & Thursday 14th April 2016

Key questions:

  1. What is house music?
  2. What makes it local and global?
  3. What does it communicate?

I would like us all to watch two documentaries on house music - one on the history ('Pump up The Volume'), and one focusing on the house scene in Johannesburg ('Real Scenes: Johannesburg'). They are both in the playlist below. Please watch them in your own time this week.

I have not assigned any reading this week, but please spend time researching house music online, in You Tube etc to get a fuller picture of some the sounds and histories.

Video Playlist for Classes 22 & 23

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103QnpcY8TpSWbYoCDhlgJzvL

Week 14: Global electronica beats: Braindance, glitch, EDM and remixology

Classes 24 & 25:       Tuesday 19th & Thursday 21st April 2016

Key questions:

  1. What are EDM rhythms?
  2. What is WARP and braindance?
  3. What is remixology?


Key Readings:

Reynolds, S. 2013. Energy flash: a journey through rave music and dance culture. London: Faber & Faber.

St John, G. 2009. Technomad: global raving countercultures. London & Oakville, CT: Equinox.

Remixology (Sullivan, 2013)

Video Playlist for Classes 24 & 25

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103RsL0BEmDHVwXVLyDiUNy-L
 

Week 15: Global beat fusion: Congotronics, Shangaan Electro, and gqom
                 apocalyptic bass music

Classes 26 & 27:         Tuesday 26thApril & Thursday 28th April 2016

Key questions:

  1. Are car parts rhythmical?
  2. Who speeds up guitars on computers?
  3. What is apocalyptic bass music?

Video Playlist for Classes 26 & 27

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuoiSwM3103TFqDpR7yGyU2iCc5tL0o0F
 

RETURN and REVISION

Week 16: Revision: what are global beats?

Class 28:                    Tuesday 3rd May 2016

Key questions:

  1. Why do people and communities create and express beats and rhythms?
  2. What and how do rhythms communicate?
  3. What are the histories and futures of local and global rhythms?

 

 

Student Life

I will work hard to encourage a safe and equitable learning environment in this course.  But, what happens in the classroom will be just one element of your experience at UVA this semester. Although I may not always be able to address your questions and concerns, I will certainly be able to guide you towards all necessary support and resources, so please do not hesitate to contact me about any issues that may be affecting your experience of this class.

Additional resources that are available to you:

Resources for Addressing Sexual Violence:

The University’s central site is: http://www.virginia.edu/sexualviolence/.

You can also contact the Office of the Dean of Students: 434- 924-7133 (or after hours and weekends call 434-924-7166 for the University Police Department; ask them to refer the issue to the Dean on Call)

Sexual Assault Resources Agency (SARA) hotline: 434-977-7273 (24/7)

Shelter for Help in Emergency (SHE) hotline: 434-293-8509 (24/7);

UVA Women's Center: 435-982-2361; and

Student Health (CAPS).

Resources for Addressing Racial Violence or Other Instances of Harassment or Discrimination:

http://www.virginia.edu/justreportit/.

You can also contact the Office of the Dean of Students: 434-924-7133 (or after hours and weekends call 434-924-7166 for the University Police Department; ask them to refer the issue to the Dean on Call); and Student Health (CAPS).

In addition, the Center for Teaching Excellence (formerly the Teaching Resource Center) has assembled a wide-ranging list of sites and offices that can help respond to both academic and non-academic concerns.

You can find it at: http://trc.virginia.edu/resources/support-for-uva-faculty-and-students/.

Finally, if you have any questions about academic integrity or what counts as plagiarism, please let me know. The Honor Code applies to all assignments for this course. The Library also offers helpful information at:

http://guides.lib.virginia.edu/content.php?pid=385908&sid=3162708

Music Department Community & Safety

Please see below for recommended actions to prevent and respond to violence involving students, faculty and staff in the department. These guidelines aim to promote safety, community and awareness amongst students in classes and ensembles, musicians and other members of the department.

Syllabi statement

The McIntire Department of Music is committed to providing a safe and equitable learning environment for all students, and holds the following two values as critically important:

  1. Power-based personal violence will not be tolerated.
  2. Everyone has a responsibility to do their part to maintain a safe community on Grounds.

Please know that as a faculty member, I support a safe and violence-free campus. If you or someone you know has been affected by power-based personal violence, more information can be found on the UVA Sexual Violence website, which describes reporting options and the many available resources. A link is given for reporting misconduct through the university’s Title IX process.

If you have concerns or questions about any aspect of this, you can approach any faculty or staff member of the music department, or any of these offices:

  • ODOS Dean on Call: (434) 924-7166; DeanofStudents@virginia.edu
  • CAPS (individual counseling) :
    • Day time – (434) 243-5150
    • After hours – (434) 972-7004
  • SARA 24-hr Sexual Assault Hotline: (434) 977-7273
  • University Women’s Center: (434) 982-2774 or sdvs@virginia.edu
  • Campus Police à Call 911 for emergencies or (434) 924-8843

Reporting misconduct

  • Misconduct includes any type of power-based personal violence and any type of sexual conduct and / or sexual intercourse that occurs without effective consent; misconduct includes intimate partner violence, domestic violence and stalking, as well as sexual harassment, defined as unwelcome verbal, written, physical or other conduct that is sex or gender-based and creates a hostile environment

The Gigging Musicians’ Guide to Getting Home Safely

Arrange how you’re getting home before you go

- Don’t wait and see if you can hitch a ride home, get in touch with the people you know who will be there and figure out a car pool! Don’t be shy; getting to know your fellow musicians may even turn out to be a great networking opportunity to line up future gigs!

- If you need to walk or take transportation after all, map out a route along the busiest streets where you are least likely to be alone.

On your way home: STAY ALERT

                        - Know what is going on around you, even in unfamiliar situations.

                        - If you’re walking or taking public transportation:

Stay awake

Don’t let yourself get lost in your phone or a book

- If your surroundings become unsafe, you need to be able to react quickly.

“Keep your cards close”!

- Keep your phone, wallet, laptop and any other valuables out of sight

- Take off any valuable jewelry before you leave and put them out of sight

- Wear instrument cases and other bags strapped as closely as possible to you

- If anyone asks you any questions, be polite but don’t give them any information that makes you look vulnerable and just keep walking or otherwise move away, for example:

“Where are you headed so quickly?”

                                                “My friends are expecting me; have a good night!”

                                    “What do you have in that big bag? Is that an instrument?”

                                                “Too much stuff! Have a good night!”

Preventative measures

  • Contact Buddies on Call to accompany you home after rehearsals, concerts and other evening events Thursday – Sunday: (434) 260 -0545
  • Contact Campus Police for safe rides home: (434) 242-1122
  • Safe Ride (434) 924-4225

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************