The activity of creating and performing music in present-day societies in which mass media plays an important role in establishing channels of communication is affected by the volume of information processed through these channels. Do we define popular music as whatever music people like, those musics which most people like, or as was done until so very recently in the East Block nations, as music of the people, whatever definition the state in power might give it. There is a cultural context to the definition of what we call popular and this context affects the manner in which we recognize what is popular.
The presence of mass media support systems, CDs, cassettes, videos as well as magazines, newspapers, and radio, for the dissemination of music, helps to define what we call popular music in many of today's societies. Although all popular musics today depend on the media for dissemination far beyond the immediate realm of the artist and his circle of friends or the audiences at his own performances, the manner in which these forms are defined is delineated by each culture. In the United States the process used by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences known as the Grammy Awards may serve as one model for the process of interactions which create and define the parameters of American Popular Music. In other cultures, past and present, cultural, political and economic factors define these parameters differently.
The course will deal with the popular musics of many different cultures with a view to how different historical factors have affected their development. Using the model of the Grammy Awards process the course will explore the process by which what is popular is determined in this culture and compare that with what occurs in other cultures.
There is no text for this course. But I I will be assigning some readings.Grades will be based on a combination of daily attendance and performance on mid-term and final examinations. My office hours will in general be M-W-F 10 to 11AM room 2271 SSPB, or at other times upon agreement, but it will be helpful to make appointments to ascertain meeting times.
A. Mass media
1. Records -
2. Cds
3. TV and MTV
4.MP3
B. Recognition
1. Grammys
2. Other music awards