A musical ethnography is a piece of writing that explores some aspect of a particular music-culture through fieldwork. The main goal in doing musical ethnography is to come to an understanding of how an “insider” experiences their own music-culture and then to write up your findings in a way that communicates this perspective to your readers. To gain an “insider” perspective, ethnographers must seek out first-hand experience with their subject, usually by conducting interviews with musical “insiders” and by spending time participating and observing the music-culture. For this assignment, you will have the opportunity to choose a music-culture that interests you and research it in two ways: first-hand (via an interview and/or fieldwork) and also via secondary sources (traditional library research). The first-hand information is the most valuable to an ethnographer, but library research will provide you with the necessary background information to design your project, formulate questions for your interviewee, and write up your findings. Basic Requirements: - A one-paragraph to one-page proposal of the project (which must include the name of your interviewee, your subject, and your topic) - A 6-8 page paper (double-spaced, 12 pt font) with properly formatted bibliography, which must include at least two outside sources, one of which must be a print source (book, journal article, newspaper or magazine article). Project Steps: Step 1: Choose a Topic/Write a Proposal Read the article “Doing Musical Ethnography” on BB—it provides excellent guidance for choosing a topic for your project. A good way to start is by brainstorming people that you know who are involved in music (musicians, teachers, producers, students, also active listeners and fans) or thinking of musical organizations (bands, clubs, radio stations, dance troupes, fan clubs) that you have some connection to. Consider your own family or group of friends, and don’t be shy about asking around. You might assume that no one in your family is musical, but a few questions can turn up some very interesting information that may lead you to your topic. Once you choose your subject (the music-culture you want to explore, broadly speaking), you need to narrow down the topic that you want to study within that culture. For instance, let’s say you want to study the music-culture at your church, and decide to interview the choir conductor. You will soon discover that you could talk for hours with your interviewee about numerous things: what happens at a choir rehearsal? Who chooses the songs that will be performed? What is the relationship between the musical program and the religious service? Or you might ask the conductor biographical questions, or about their training, education, etc. Soon, you will have too much information and no way to organize it into a paper. The solution is to narrow down the scope before you conduct the interview, and let your questions rel.

1. A musical ethnography is a piece of writing that explores some
aspect of a particular music-culture through fieldwork.
The main goal in doing musical ethnography is to come to an
understanding of how an “insider” experiences their own music-
culture and then to write up your findings in a way that
communicates this perspective to your readers.
To gain an “insider” perspective, ethnographers must seek out
first-hand experience with their subject, usually by conducting
interviews with musical “insiders” and by spending time
participating and observing the music-culture.
For this assignment, you will have the opportunity to choose a
music-culture that interests you and research it in two ways:
first-hand (via an interview and/or fieldwork) and also via
secondary sources (traditional library research).
The first-hand information is the most valuable to an
ethnographer, but library research will provide you with the
necessary background information to design your project,
formulate questions for your interviewee, and write up your
findings.
Basic Requirements:
- A one-paragraph to one-page proposal of the project (which
must include the name of your interviewee, your subject, and
your topic)

2. - A 6-8 page paper (double-spaced, 12 pt font) with properly
formatted bibliography, which must include at least two outside
sources, one of which must be a print source (book, journal
article, newspaper or magazine article).
Project Steps:
Step 1:
Choose a Topic/Write a Proposal
Read the article “Doing Musical Ethnography” on BB—it
provides excellent guidance for choosing a topic for your
project. A good way to start is by brainstorming people that you
know who are involved in music (musicians, teachers,
producers, students, also active listeners and fans) or thinking
of musical organizations (bands, clubs, radio stations, dance
troupes, fan clubs) that you have some connection to.
Consider your own family or group of friends, and don’t be shy
about asking around.
You might assume that no one in your family is musical, but a
few questions can turn up some very interesting information
that may lead you to your topic.
Once you choose your
subject
(the music-culture you want to explore, broadly speaking), you
need to narrow down the
topic

3. that you want to study within that culture. For instance, let’s
say you want to study the music-culture at your church, and
decide to interview the choir conductor.
You will soon discover that you could talk for hours with your
interviewee about numerous things:
what happens at a choir rehearsal?
Who chooses the songs that will be performed?
What is the relationship between the musical program and the
religious service? Or you might ask the conductor biographical
questions, or about their training, education, etc. Soon, you will
have too much information and no way to organize it into a
paper.
The solution is to narrow down the scope before you conduct
the interview, and let your questions relate to one particular
theme. In some cases, the interview will go in a different
direction, and you will later choose to change the focus of your
paper, but the idea is to still keep a main theme or
research question
in sight.
In the example of the choir director, you might choose to focus
on the question of transmission, which is to say “how does this
church choir learn new material, and what steps go into
rehearsing for performance?”
From your interview you can gain the insider’s perspective on
how this works for this particular choir.
*For more on the difference between
subject
and

4. topic
see the reading “Doing Musical Ethnography.”
The proposal should include: a description of the music-culture
you propose to explore, and one or two provisional topics
related to it.
It should also identify the person you want to interview, and the
main research question you hope to find the answer to.
Step 2:
Identify Interview Subject and Conduct Background Research
It is important to find and contact your interview subject early,
so that you will be sure to have enough time to work with and
write up the data you collect. (Also, in case you have trouble
scheduling a convenient time for both of you to meet).
Approach your interview subject, who will likely be someone
you already know, and explain a little about your project and
express your interest in learning about their music-culture.
Schedule a time to conduct the interview.
Choosing a subject: For this project I
strongly discourage
you from choosing a peer/friend, a sibling/parent, or your
boyfriend or girlfriend.
If you think you have a compelling reason why you should work
with someone like this, check with me before you turn in your

5. proposal.
Before the interview you want to do some research in reference
books, the library, or on the web, so that you are as well-
informed as you can be before talking to your interviewee.
Be sure to start your bibliography at this stage, so you don’t
have to track down source info at the last minute.
Step 3:
Conduct the Interview/Fieldwork
Prepare questions in advance that relate to the topic you have
chosen. Refer to the reading “Doing Musical Ethnography” for
tips on writing good questions. Record your interview but also
take good notes.
If you are doing fieldwork, such as attending a concert,
rehearsal, etc., remember to take good notes there too and, if
you choose, to document it by taking audio, video, or
photographs (with permission of your subject!).
Step 4:
Writing the Paper

6. You paper will include both primary and secondary sources. It
should provide a healthy amount of background information
about the music-culture you are studying, but draw mainly from
your interview and fieldwork experience.
Always keep your research question in mind, and place it
prominently (as with a thesis statement) in the introduction to
your paper.
There are many ways to write up an ethnography, as we have
already seen in class (think of the different styles of Ted Levin,
Louis Sarno, Colin Turnbull, etc). Like these writers, you may
feel free to write in the first-person, and to include your own
experience of doing the ethnography as part of the paper.
Past Projects and Research Questions
-A study of an on-campus a cappella group that looked at how
they composed their songs collectively. Research question:
What is the process by which the group comes up with new
material?
-Military drill chants. What is their function? Who makes them
up?
-A paper based on an interview with a luthier (someone who
builds and repairs violins), who shed light on how musicians
relate to their instruments.
Research question: What is the significance of the instrument to

7. the person who plays it?
-A paper about a church music director that explored his views
on the difference between sacred and secular performance.
Research question:
What are some of the factors that inform a decision to pursue a
secular, rather than sacred music career?
-A paper about a local DJ that explored the interaction between
him and his audience on the dance floor.
Research question: In what way is DJ’ing an interactive art
form?
-A study of vocal improvisation among Carnatic singers.
Research question: What do singers think about as they
improvise? Is there a difference between those singers trained in
India and those raised in the U.S.?
-Bosnian folk music, people addicted to live band karaoke, the
church organist, Nigerian wedding DJ in Chicago, Tabla
students in the U.S., Indie rock band, jazz improvisation,
Korean Choir music, salsa dancers, Sufi poetry, high school
marching band, Bollywood Dance troupe…there are many, many
possibilities
Academic honesty and plagiarism:
Plagiarism will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
Students who plagiarize will automatically fail the class and it
will be at the instructor’s discretion to report the student to the

8. university. There is no such thing as “only plagiarizing a little.”
Plagiarism includes stealing paper/ project topics and the ideas
of others, as well as lifting specific language without giving
proper credit. If you have any questions as to what constitutes
plagiarism or how to properly cite your sources, see me and/ or
turn to these helpful online resources:
http://www.reshall.berkeley.edu/academics/resources/plagiarism
/
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Citations.html