Customer Reviews:
Pioneering Philosophical Prattle.......2006-02-01
Western Michigan University Professor John Blacking (1928-1990) prefaces his intended answer to the titular question, How Musical is Man?, with the qualification that this work - originally printed in 1973 - is "not a scholarly study, so much as an attempt to reconcile my experiences." With this in mind, the reader should not be surprised to find a self-indulgent speculative which walks a fine line between narrowly focused ethnomusicologic comparative (Western society versus the Venda tribe of South Africa) and a loosely organized philosophical reflection. Ultimately, Blacking presents an indictment of Western culture with relatively rare bibliographic references. The absence of an index or collective bibliography, combined with the restricted assessment, limits the text's use as a convenient or scholarly reference. Nevertheless, it retains value as a time capsule of perspective from a pioneering ethnomusicological researcher.
Blacking divides his discussion into four sections: I. Humanly Organized Sound; II. Music and Society and Culture; III. Culture and Society in Music; IV. Soundly Organized Humanity. Throughout, he raises further questions crucial to answering the overriding inquiry. He describes the first three chapters as an attempt to show how research in ethnomusicology may resolve myriad related questions. In the final chapter he endeavors to address why answering the question is essential. Somehow he never quite answers the question satisfactorily.
After an enigmatic opening with what appears to be a feeble attempt at numerologic humor ("Ethnomusicology ... It's seven syllables do not give it any advantage over the pentasyllabic `musicology.'"), Blacking's first chapter positions music as a species-specific sonic phenomenon we are compelled to organize and argues the need to look for patterns and relationships between musical and cultural behaviors. Blacking turns constantly, if monoptically, to his own experiences with the Venda tribe.
Blacking goes on to insist the question of man's musicality cannot be answered without first understanding the processes of cause and effect, such as the issue of who performs, sings and listens to music and why. Here he also aptly suggests the social setting may at times even supersede the music in a culture's perception and that it is essential to listen with the appropriate cultural ears. Again he turns largely to the Venda tribe for examples and even provides an illustrated calendar of Venda musical practice and an complicated diagram of musical and social relationships in the Venda society.
Ironically, while stepping on and off his societal soapbox, Blacking manages to critique the presumptive arrogance of narrowly focused Western musicologists and condemn the practice of apartheid, but he inherently accepts the Venda tribe's mutilation of women in their annual season of female circumcision. Contradictions abound.
The book contains several confusing segues into self-indulgent recollections and intermittent non sequiturs, such as in the ultimate paragraph: "Even falling in love may be more significant as a cognitive activity in which learned categories are realigned, than as an exertion of the sex organs or a hormonal reaction."
For a scholarly tome suitable for extended practical shelf life from this author, one might do well to forgo his philosophical prattling for his actual research originally printed in 1967, Venda Children's Songs: A Study in Ethnomusicological Analysis (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1995)
© G. Galván
A small yet very powerful, provocative book.......2005-06-27
John Blacking was an ethnomusicologist who spent two years living with, and studying the Venda, a tribe in South Africa. As opposed to Western classical music where the few (professional concert musicians) are revered by the many, and only a handful are regarded as "talented" while most believe they have no "talent," with the Venda, everyone is expected to be able to perform; no one is excluded. Music is their religion.
In the first chapter of his small yet very powerful book, Blacking writes that when he began to live with and study the Venda, he believed that music began and ended with Western classical music, but, that after two years of living and studying the Venda and their music, he no longer understood Western music. Put differently, his experience living with and studying the Venda forced him to question all prior beliefs he had both about Western music and assumptions underlying them. The Venda taught him that all people have talent or musical ability. It is only Western values or myths that create hierarchies of talent and ability. And that these underlying Western values and myths subjugate countless people, causing them to dismiss key aspects of their inherent human potential, because of widespread belief that it is pointless to pursue musical ambitions only a fortunate few possess, but most do not.
Blacking's book is important not only as an ethnomusicological study, but has, I think, universal application because its underlying theses directly question Western assumptions and myths that adversely affect people regardless of musical preference. The book forces one to think, to challenge values one might previously have taken for granted.
I have recommended John Blacking's How Musical is Man? to friends who thought themselves totally bereft of any musical ability or talent, who were highly reluctant to attempt anything musical.
Though the book has musical examples, it can be read and appreciated by those with absolutely no ability to read or play music.
Highly recommended.
How narrow can a scholar be?.......2002-11-06
This book is an amalgam of flaws and flawed thinking. For starters, the title is a complete misnomer: only two musical traditions are extensively analyzed while hundreds of musical traditions -Native American, South American, Aborigine, Middle Eastern, Tibetan, Asian, etc. are ignored. Not to mention the fact that the animal world -bees, whales, birds- is skipped entirely. Most of the book is spent bashing European music and society with the music and social arrangements of the Venda tribe in Africa. More exasperating, Blacking's method of proving a point is often simply to state it: "it is reasonable to suppose that music ... is a species specific trait of man." What seemed like a very interesting thesis is, for the most part, finished with this statement!
We are treated to page after page of Venda music, and told such earth-shattering truths as when analyzing music, we have to take into consideration the society that produced it. Maybe this book can be forgiven for expecting this to be a momentous insight because it was written in 1974 before cross cultural studies were common. Reading this in 2002, Blacking is simply a preaching to a bewildered crowd of the converted.
Blacking also fails to make any distinction between songs composed for dance, for opera, for solo or choral performance, for ritual, for symphonies or any for any other type of music. He doesn't take into consideration that the inspiration for, say, blues, rock, and jazz, for classical and atonal Gregorian chanting may be quite different, that their functions may make for poor comparison. I lost the last of my tolerance for this book when, in the conclusion, Blacing decided to prove that purely musical considerations, such as "the logic of the melodic pattern" and tonal relationships, are not sufficient to analyze a song the Venda used to teach their children to count. Well, why should they be? This is the Venda version of Sesame Street ditties in which "on each half-note beat, a finger is grapsed and counted ... from the left little finger to the thumb ..." Who in the world would expect purely musical considerations to explain everything in such a pragmatic piece of work? Blacking utterly fails to take into account that virtually all of the Venda's music is of this sort-it serves a social or pragmatic function-whereas Western music has long since moved away from that into the realm of aesthetic expression.
Even the section of the book in which Blacking tried to decide whether there might be universal aspects to music was an abysmal disappointment because he fails in any way to expound on his idle musing that music may have universal elements.
By the time he gets to the conclusion, he will say a half dozen things about music that are either contradictory or simply hang there without any discussion, including the "hard task is to love, and music is a skill that prepares man for this most difficult task." He states this on page 103 (of 116) without any previous mention of love in the context of music. Nor will he go on to prove his point, instead he will briefly and tangentially discuss this before moving on to how music "may represent the human mind working without interference and therefore observation of musical structures may reveal some of the sturctual pinciples on which all human life is based." Indeed a revelation if only it weren't dropped on page 115 like paratrooper who finds himself utterly alone after the drone of the plane has faded into silence on the very next page. Perhaps the most absurd thing Blacking asserts in his conclusion is that "In order to create new Venda music, you must BE a Venda, sharing Venda social and cultural life from early childhood." It's no more absurd than the claiming that for an author to portray a believable male character, she must be a man.
"The chief function" -yet another chief function-"of music is to involve people in shared experiences within the framework of their cultural experience." Once again, he states this as if it were a self-evident truth and makes no attempt to sway anyone who might be skeptical. What about those of us who lean more toward the belief that music can be, if not a universal language, at least more mutually intellgible than, say, Turkish and German? In other words, the belief that a German musician can convey much much more with a musical composition than he or she can with a lecture given to a Turkish-speaking audience? Transcending culture, seems as much an element of music as perpetuating it. What a shame such a fascinating topic was given such unforgivably narrow treatment.
You are far better off reading what Mahler had to say about music (his are the most interesting quotes in this book) or, Igor Stravinsky's wonderfully concise and presented "The Poetics of Music."
best intro to ethnomusicology.......2001-05-07
This slim volume may be the be best single introduction to ethnomusicology we have. It is based on Blacking's fieldwork among the Venda, an agricultural people living in the African Transvaal. Blacking provides extensive musical examples and photographs covering children's music, ritual, spiritual possession, the musical calendar, etc. Unlike Westerners, who believe that only a few people are musical, the Venda believe that all people are musical and so all members of their culture actively make music.
it shows many different cultures of music.......1999-11-18
The book is great if you really want to do a research paper on the musical history of Europe.
Average customer rating:
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The Mel Bay story: how one man showed 6 million how to master the guitar. (Mel Bay Publications): An article from: Music Trades
Manufacturer: Music Trades Corp.
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ASIN: B00092AEQO
Release Date: 2005-07-28 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Music Trades, published by Music Trades Corp. on February 1, 1991. The length of the article is 1060 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: The Mel Bay story: how one man showed 6 million how to master the guitar. (Mel Bay Publications)
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Music Trades (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 1991
Publisher: Music Trades Corp.
Volume: v139
Issue: n1
Page: p126(3)
Article Type: Biography
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
- Interesting ideas, flawed presentation
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Communicating Unreality: Modern Media and the Reconstruction of Reality
Gabriel Weimann
Manufacturer: Sage Publications, Inc
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ASIN: 0761919864 |
Book Description
From interactive, real-time Internet broadcasts to video game-like images of smart bombs on television, our perception of reality is shaped by the mass media. Willing or not, we are a mass mediated society, and the electronic media, especially television and computer-mediated-communication, plays a vital role in our daily lives.
Communicating Unreality reviews the images and meanings of our mass-mediated world. With careful attention to the integration of news and entertainment, fact and fiction, and event and story, author Gabriel Weimann examines our symbolic environment, where reality and fiction are almost inseparable. Through discussion of mass-mediated images of people, cultures, war, love, sex, death, community, and identity, we learn that there often exists a large gap between reality and reconstruction of "realities" as communicated by the mass media. This comprehensive and entertaining textbook can breathe life into the standard mass communication course. Students, professors, and everyone interested in the influence of the media will enjoy this book.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting ideas, flawed presentation.......2000-10-14
This book, which is a major study on the impact of media on what we refer to as reality, is interesting. The ideas are set forth in a very logical, matter-of-fact fashion. It covers first the methodology, the historical (such as it is) ideas, and then it presents the data, and finally the conclusions. For those interested in media studies, this is invaluable as a starting place and for a general overview.
That said, this book is flawed. It spends a lot of time repeating itself. In one chapter near the beginning, it makes a statement, and in the next chapter, it repeats itself ad nauseum. When a whole chapter can be summed up in less than a paragraph, there's a problem.
The other major flaw is a definite lack of examples. Weimann makes blanket statements and then neglects to back them up with sufficient description. It's nice to say that cop shows convince people that there are many more policemen in the world than there really are, but does this happen in other fields? How does this affect people? Are they less likely to go into police work because they feel there is a surfeit of policemen? Do they feel safer at night, knowing that there are more police around?
Too often, the book neglects those questions.
However, as a general overview or textbook (with the implication that the student must find the answers or examples him- or herself), this book works very well.
Book Description
A delightful scrapbook for fans of Rachael Ray's popular $40 A Day show. Rachael revisits over 50 cities.This book is Illustrated with color photos and selected recipes from her favorite restaurants.
Customer Reviews:
An index would have been nice.......2007-09-27
I've had this book for a few years and used a recipe in it again last night. It reminded me that if you want to return to recipes in this book, you'll have to keep track of where they are. There is no index, and recipes don't appear in the table of contents either. I've wasted far too much time paging through this book to find what I want. Write the recipe titles on post-its and stick them to the appropriate pages, or note the recipe and page number in the table of contents. Something! Other reviewers bemoan the book's grammar and spelling errors... I wish the editors had paid an indexer. Big oversight.
Good Selections, But Few Per City.......2007-03-27
Before I opened Rachael Ray: Best Eats in Town on $40 a Day, I made a mental note of four places where I have taken people who raved about the experience and food at these low-cost venues. I decided that I would check to see if Rachael had spotted these sleepers as well.
The first is a little hideaway in Cambridge where I often bring friends, family, and out-of-town guests for great beer and food called Grendel's Den. Everyone raves about how great the place is and ask to be taken back on later visits. Rachael found it, too, but was low on money when she arrived so she mainly had a beer. But she enjoyed meeting a Harvard lawyer there. As a fellow Harvard lawyer, I'm pleased she mentioned that aspect of the Den. I've been going there for over 30 years and have loved every visit. The food, Rachael, is better than the draft beer. Come back and try it!
The second place was in Rome, where everyone I know loves to eat the fried artichokes at Pompiere. Yes! Rachael spotted it and ordered the right dish. That's pretty impressive when there are so many great, inexpensive restaurants in Rome.
The third place was one I found when one of my sons was in graduate school at Bennington in Vermont, The Apple Barn & Country Bake Shop. Yes! Rachael ordered the required apple pie.
The fourth was to enjoy wine, bread, and cheese in Europe. Rachael figured out this is a great thing to do in Paris. You win, Rachael, you do know how to pick great, inexpensive meals and snacks.
The book is also filled with lots of color photographs and a few recipes of mostly simple dishes. If you have seen lots of her shows, you'll feel like you are reading through a well-prepared scrapbook.
The main drawbacks of the book are the following:
Even major metropolitan areas (like Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Paris, Philadelphia, Portland, Rome, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, and Washington, D.C.) sported only three or four choices. You could obviously do a while book on each one.
Tiny towns (Cooperstown, Grand Canyon, and Sedona) get just the same amount of attention.
In the bigger areas, you could spend the better part of the day driving from one locale to another. In the big cities, you could spend an extra $40 a day in parking to get to some of these spots and stay there for a meal. There's no attempt to integrate the eating into a reasonable day of sightseeing.
This material is already very dated. With time, it will be less valuable.
There's not much logic behind the recipes that are selected. You could get more complicated ones from any of Rachael's recipe books.
So what's my advice? Borrow the book at the library if you are planning to go to one of these cities. Check to see if the places are still in business, look up how far apart they are, and investigate whether there's free parking or public transportation available at modest cost. And look forward to some wonderful times and good meals!
best eats in town.......2007-02-07
i enjoyed the Tv show very much and i am a big fan of rachael ray, with the shows not available on DVD the book was the next best option,
The book goes in to deatail about the towns and restraunts she visits but sadly does not metion how she achieved the goal of $40 a day
other tan that is it a great book to read before you go traveling
good but could have been better.......2005-12-04
I really like the upbeat personality of Racheal Ray as she finds some good food deals here and abroad. I really wanted this book because I love to travel and thought this would be a great companion for when I am in the locales covered. The problem that I have truly with the book are minimal. My expectations were higher, I thought that there would be more pictures of what she ate, and more of the scenery she took in while travelling. I didnt realize that most of the book would be a written commentary on each place the food was at, and how she knew this or that patron, a bio on the owners, or why she chose the spot. I liked all this but I really wanted to see the food and (even though this would eventually be inaccurate) how much her total tabs came out to for each meal. I did appreciate that she chooses diverse cuisine and the standard favorites. She included some recipes which were decent enough but not great pics of the food to accompany it with. For example I loved her Portland Maine lunch on tv- this large, juicy lobster roll that she had trouble picking up with huge pieces of meat, but in the book she just mentioned that for lunch she had one helluva lobster roll. Another example is the enchilada and eggs she had for breakfast in Laguna Beach, the book shows a small picture of it with the recipe, but on the show it looked mouth watering.
I agree with other reviewers, this book is a good companion but does nothing for the TV show. I would recommend the show over the book any day.
Great Book.......2005-09-06
I love this book. I enjoy traveling and eating at new and different places. This book was enjoyable to read and informative.
Rachael Ray has so much energy it is fun to watch her show. Reading the book puts you right there even if you can't travel to each town.
I recommend this book to everyone looking for new a varied tastes in eating enjoyment.
Product Description
2 Book Set By Rachael Ray; Best Eat in Town on $40 a Day; 30 Minute Meals Get Togethers.
Book Description
Tis guide is intended for students learning computer operations and administration on the AS/400 computer system. Offering a unique approach to learning AS/400 operations with extensive hands-on labs, self-tests, and review questions, this book uses real-world situations to enable users to be productive with AS/400 operations. This book also covers the requirements of the two IBM AS/400 certification exams: AS/400 Associate System Operator Certification (test 052) and AS/400 Professional System Operator Certification (test 053). The primary goal of this book is to teach users how to perform day-to-day operations on an AS/400 computer system, including IPL, starting and stopping the system, backup and recovery, and system cleanup. Procedures covered include creating and maintaining user environments, device configuration and management, security implementation, work and data management, and TCP/IP configuration. Console operations discussed include jobs, message handling, and working with spool files and peripheral devices. Functions of Operations Navigator are covered, and Electronic Customer Support (ECS) and PTF upgrades are also introduced.
Customer Reviews:
Great AS/400 beginner book.......2002-11-14
I not only bought the book, but I use it as a text book for the AS/400 Operations Classes that I teach. Material is placed in the correct order and explained in simple terms that are easy to follow. The authors also provide access to Powerpoint Presentations for each chapter - these are also wonderful. For the new user this is the best book to buy - or if you are studying for the IBM professional operator exam - this book also contains the right information to accomplish that goal.
Books:
- How to Pitch and Promote Your Songs
- Imaginary Men
- Introduction to Guitar Tone and Effects: A Manual for Getting the Sounds from Electric Guitars, Amplifiers, Effects Pedals and Processors
- iPod & iTunes: Missing Manual, Second Edition
- Jimi Hendrix: The Man, the Magic, the Truth
- John Mayer Room For Squares (Guitar TAB)
- Jumpin' Jim's Gone Hawaiian
- Kids' Broadway Songbook (Book/CD) (Vocal Collection)
- KISS and Make-up
- Led Zeppelin Classics (Authentic Guitar-Tab)
Books Index
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The Study of Ethnomusicology: THIRTY-ONE ISSUES AND CONCEPTS
The Anthropology of Music
Sound and Sentiment: Birds, Weeping, Poetics, and Song in Kaluli Expression (Publications of the American Folklore Society New Series)
Music, Culture, and Experience: Selected Papers of John Blacking (Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology)
Comparative Musicology and Anthropology of Music: Essays on the History of Ethnomusicology (Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology)
