by Alex Smith Abstract The gyil, a Ghanaian xylophone, is caught at the intersection of environmental sustainability, global market strains, and its cultural relevance. Ghanaian people value the gyil’s primary material, the endangered African rosewood (Pterocarpus erinaceus, also called lera, liga, or nera by certain indigenous communities in Ghana’s northern regions where the [...]
by Emily Doolittle Abstract The hermit thrush (Catharus guttatus) is a small songbird, widespread across North America. During breeding season, which is spent in the western and northeastern United States and the southern half of Canada, the hermit thrush sings a song which is widely considered beautiful. This song has featured prominently in [...]
by Joshua Groffman Abstract This article seeks an account of how music and sound participate in the socio-cultural mediation of landscape. I adopt perspectives from previous ecomusicological studies, as well as the field of soundscape ecology, for my analysis. Using as a case study the marketing of a multi-million-dollar estate in the Hudson [...]
by James T. Spartz Abstract Course design and implementation for ecomusicology courses vary depending on the instructor’s background and institutional learning environment. Drawing on participation in a two-part ecomusicology panel presented at the International Environmental Communication Association’s 2019 conference and a subsequent weeklong Citizen Artist residency, the author developed an Ecomusicology & Place [...]
by Edwin K. C. Li Abstract In this article, I suggest that music theory, currently not being on the radar of ecomusicology, can offer ecomusicology a critical awareness of and sensibility to our relationship with nature itself that is neither apocalyptic nor nostalgic (Rehding 2011), but conceptual. Rather than merely asking questions about [...]
by Olusegun Stephen Titus Abstract Like many genres of song, nature songs contain philosophical principles which can be derived for human learning. This paper examines natural elements as socio-cultural signifiers in a selected song by Christopher Omotoso. One of his songs contains bird metaphors that re-enact the socio-cultural philosophies of the Yoruba people [...]
by Marcus Zagorski Abstract These four essays follow the course of water and its sounds: beginning from snow, moving through seasonal streams, to rivers, and ending in oceans. My hearings of place—in, respectively, the Carpathian Mountains of Slovakia, the hills above Portola Valley in California, the Danube river near Bratislava, and the Atlantic [...]
by Denise Von Glahn and Mark Sciuchetti Authors’ Note The following article is the result of a collaborative project between Denise Von Glahn, Professor of Musicology at Florida State University (FSU), and Mark Sciuchetti, newly appointed Assistant Professor of Geography at Jacksonville State University. They met at FSU while Sciuchetti was pursuing degrees [...]
From: Mark Pedelty, Mon, Feb 5, 2018 at 10:25 AM The floor is now open for a lively exchange around Jessica’s paper, Denise’s response, and the fascinating issues that they have introduced to get the conversation started. You can find Jessica’s paper and Denise’s response by revisiting your archived list of emails, the ER site, or [...]
By Denise Von Glahn [Note from Eseminar moderator Mark Pedelty, dated Jan 30, 2018: The Ecomusicology ESeminar moves to its second stage this week with Denise Von Glahn’s response to Jessica Schwartz’s manuscript, “Listen and Learn.” Please read Jessica’s piece if you have not had a chance yet, as well as Denise’s thoughtful [...]
