Critical Review - Seeger (1992)

Anthony Seeger, in his article on the Ethnography of Music, provides an interesting anecdote about three blind men and an elephant, which he likens to the way that many people view and think about music: although they can only view one part of it, they think they can understand the whole. Indeed, many musicologists focus solely on the few aspects of a culture's music that they believe to be the most vital, in the hopes of narrowing down the practically limitless range of issues that affect both culture and music. This is understandable, as one can imagine the limitless possible perspectives a person could take, but understandable doesn't necessarily imply "acceptable".

Seeger suggests that, "Instead of defending our own points of view, perhaps we should move around more, approach music from different sides, and listen to those who describe it differently." (p.107). Though he acknowledges that for one man to try to view music from every perspective is just as impossible (and not necessarily beneficial, either), he still insists that, at the very least, an acknowledgement of these other perspectives is crucial. After all, music is much more complex than just "humanly organized sound" or a conversation between musician and audience. It is a complex dialog between various factors of society, individuals, culture, history, etc. that are often hard to separate, that is, if seen at all. Yet he concludes, "If we work together, we can begin to see the unseen whole, and understand the phenomenon we can only partially perceive by ourselves." (p.107)

On page 90, he lists six questions that to me, seem at the core of any ethnomusicological exploration, and which I think will come in handy in the future:

1. What is going on when people make music? What are the principles that organize the combinations of sounds and their arrangements in time?

2. Why does a particular individual or social group perform or listen to the sounds in the place and time and context that he/she/does?

3. What is the relation of music to other processes in societies or groups?

4. What effects do musical performances have on the musicians, the audience and the other groups involved?

5. Where does musical creativity come from? What is the role of the individual in the tradition, and of the tradition in forming the individual?

6. What is the relation of music to other art forms?

My own question is, how does one find the proper balance between viewing music from a broad range of perspectives, while at the same time, narrowing it down enough to actually learn something?