Click Here to Download: What in the World is Music? By: Alison E. Arnold Publisher: Routledge Print ISBN: 9781138790254, 1138790257 eText ISBN: 9781315764306, 131576430X Edition: 1st Copyright year: 2016 Format: EPUB Available from $ 35.60 USD SKU 9781315764306R90 What in the World is Music? is an online textbook for the general undergraduate student taking an introductory college music course in Music Appreciation. The range of examples and musical concepts in the lessons allows this course to be used for both World Music (non-Western), as well as Music Appreciation (traditional Western canon). What in the World is Music? is an innovative curriculum focusing on the ways music is used throughout the world, providing students with a strong point of connection to the ways music affects their own lives. No prior musical knowledge or literacy in Western notation is assumed. The global approach is informed by both musicological and ethnomusicological methodologies and modes of inquiry. The structure of the course does not follow the chronological survey typical of most Western Music History textbooks, nor the regional studies approach of most World Music texts. Rather, it has a thematic approach, organized in four large units. The Foundations of Music, explores four fundamental questions about music -- the definitions, elements, possible origins, and functions of music that will inform the rest of the course material. Thesubsequent units examine three of the ways music is used throughout the world: in the expression and projection of social identity; in connection with religious belief, observation, and experience; and in various aspects of social life including narrative forms (epic songs, dance, theater, film) and public events (social dancing, sporting events, civic ceremonies). In this process, students understand music as a social activity and an economic commodity, as an expression of religious devotion and political ideology, as a connection to millennia-old traditions and as up-to-the-minute fashion statement. Some will identify this approach with the World Music Survey course more than with the traditional Western Music Appreciation course. Those who take a more holistic approach should find What in the World is Music? ideal for their coursework. It provides an alternative for instructors who no longer feel comfortable with the separation of Western and non-Western musics, and an alternative for today’s students who appreciate a curriculum housed entirely online, with all audio and video examples linked directly to the text as streaming media. It is perfect for distance learning courses.
