Becoming a Garamut Player in Baluan, Papua New Guinea

Musical Analysis as a Pathway to Learning

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Music, Theory & Criticism, Ethnomusicology
Cover of the book Becoming a Garamut Player in Baluan, Papua New Guinea by Tony Lewis, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Tony Lewis ISBN: 9781315406480
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: April 19, 2018
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Tony Lewis
ISBN: 9781315406480
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: April 19, 2018
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

The garamut is a log idiophone that is found in many of the coastal and island areas of Papua New Guinea. The instrument’s primary use is as a speech surrogate and in some regions the garamut is also used in large ensembles to play complex music for dancing. In Baluan Island, within the Manus Province, this style of garamut playing is comparatively highly developed. This book follows the author’s processes and methods in learning to play the music of the garamut, to the level at which he became accepted as a garamut player by the people of Baluan.

Lewis argues that analysis is essential in learning to play the rapid tempi and complex rhythms of Baluan garamut music, in a cultural context where there is no formal teaching process for the music. The transcription and analysis of the Baluan garamut repertoire is the centrepiece of this study, reflecting the cognitive structures of the learning process, and revealing the inner workings of the music’s complexity as well as a striking beauty of form and structure.

The book concludes with reflections on the process of a ‘cultural outsider’ becoming a garamut player in Baluan and on the role of musical analysis in that process, on the ethnomusicologist’s role in transmission of the music, and on the nature of continuity and change in a musical society such as Baluan.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The garamut is a log idiophone that is found in many of the coastal and island areas of Papua New Guinea. The instrument’s primary use is as a speech surrogate and in some regions the garamut is also used in large ensembles to play complex music for dancing. In Baluan Island, within the Manus Province, this style of garamut playing is comparatively highly developed. This book follows the author’s processes and methods in learning to play the music of the garamut, to the level at which he became accepted as a garamut player by the people of Baluan.

Lewis argues that analysis is essential in learning to play the rapid tempi and complex rhythms of Baluan garamut music, in a cultural context where there is no formal teaching process for the music. The transcription and analysis of the Baluan garamut repertoire is the centrepiece of this study, reflecting the cognitive structures of the learning process, and revealing the inner workings of the music’s complexity as well as a striking beauty of form and structure.

The book concludes with reflections on the process of a ‘cultural outsider’ becoming a garamut player in Baluan and on the role of musical analysis in that process, on the ethnomusicologist’s role in transmission of the music, and on the nature of continuity and change in a musical society such as Baluan.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book Routledge Handbook of Global Public Health in Asia by Tony Lewis
Cover of the book Understanding Japanese Savings by Tony Lewis
Cover of the book Rhetoric and the Arts of Design by Tony Lewis
Cover of the book Re-engaging Young People in Education by Tony Lewis
Cover of the book The Ashgate Research Companion to the Politics of Democratization in Europe by Tony Lewis
Cover of the book Leading for Change by Tony Lewis
Cover of the book Invention And The Unconscious by Tony Lewis
Cover of the book Seven Masterpieces of Philosophy by Tony Lewis
Cover of the book Teacher Education in Plural Societies (RLE Edu N) by Tony Lewis
Cover of the book Advances in Tourism Destination Marketing by Tony Lewis
Cover of the book Transitional Justice by Tony Lewis
Cover of the book Alternative Real Estate Research by Tony Lewis
Cover of the book Strategy and Politics by Tony Lewis
Cover of the book Corporate Public Relations by Tony Lewis
Cover of the book Digitized Lives by Tony Lewis
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy