Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | The elusive rainbow
Don't quite know what to make of this. Still, interesting...
Thursday, February 24, 2005
UJ - University of Johannesburg
UJ - University of Johannesburg
All info relating to the merging of the universities that led to the merging of the choirs is available here, including government documents
All info relating to the merging of the universities that led to the merging of the choirs is available here, including government documents
METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES IN CONVERSATION ANALYSIS
METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES IN CONVERSATION ANALYSIS
My supervisor mentioned discourse analysis as a possible analytic method for this project, and I was fascinated. I have spent a lot of time ever since reading up on exactly what it is, and how it works. In an article by Helmi Jarvilisoma (1995) I found reference to Harvey Sacks, and conversation analysis. This link is to a paper on conversation analysis which explains a lot about what it is, and some of its problems
My supervisor mentioned discourse analysis as a possible analytic method for this project, and I was fascinated. I have spent a lot of time ever since reading up on exactly what it is, and how it works. In an article by Helmi Jarvilisoma (1995) I found reference to Harvey Sacks, and conversation analysis. This link is to a paper on conversation analysis which explains a lot about what it is, and some of its problems
Two interviews
I started my day off yesterday with a follow-up interview with the director of the new choir, and an interview with its chairman. they were both fascinating, and really are lovely, interesting, thoughtful people to speak to.
On my way to the first interview, however, I was approached by someone who asked if I was on my way to class. Nothing unusual about that, except that this particular university is the site of a lot of unrest at present, linked to the combining of this university with two other tertiary institutions. Her question immediately made me wonder whether I was about to be harassed. I explained that I wasn't a student there, and was there for a meeting, and she apologised and moved on, but the incident, and my instinctive reaction, stuck with me.
The first interview with the director was interesting mainly in that it gave me some insight into the process of auditioning choristers, and the background to running a choir like this. I gathered a lot of technical info, which I will need to process very carefully in order to understand how it works. One of the oft-mentioned 'issues' with singing, is that so much of it is an inexact science. The director, or vocal coach, or whoever, uses abstract imagery to describe processes that while physical, are often only partly under the control of the singer. Part of this is because we can't see the singing mechanism, and so it is difficult to alter, or manipulate, it in a measurable way. The other is that what constitutes beautiful singing is such a subjective issue that it is impossible to give difinitive instructions for its achievement.
the interview that followed this one was with the young, energetic and enthusiastic chairman of the choir. It was held in a rather noisy restaurant, as he obviously has no office, and while fascinating, I am a little nervous of the quality of the recording. He had a rather different perspective from the last chorister I interviewed, as he is much more enthusiastic about the potential of the combined choir. He likes the idea of a mixed sound, whereas the previous chorister was sceptical about its musical value. He enjoys singing more energetic music, whereas the other chorister prefered the earlier, more tonal/timbral oriented music. It was great to get both perspectives.
Despite the value of this interview to my project, it left me feeling insecure about the whole process of research, as i became very aware of the artificiality of the relationship I was creating. I would really like to build relationships with these people. I am interested in them as more than just 'choristers', or 'research subjects', and I don't know how to bridge that gap.
On my way to the first interview, however, I was approached by someone who asked if I was on my way to class. Nothing unusual about that, except that this particular university is the site of a lot of unrest at present, linked to the combining of this university with two other tertiary institutions. Her question immediately made me wonder whether I was about to be harassed. I explained that I wasn't a student there, and was there for a meeting, and she apologised and moved on, but the incident, and my instinctive reaction, stuck with me.
The first interview with the director was interesting mainly in that it gave me some insight into the process of auditioning choristers, and the background to running a choir like this. I gathered a lot of technical info, which I will need to process very carefully in order to understand how it works. One of the oft-mentioned 'issues' with singing, is that so much of it is an inexact science. The director, or vocal coach, or whoever, uses abstract imagery to describe processes that while physical, are often only partly under the control of the singer. Part of this is because we can't see the singing mechanism, and so it is difficult to alter, or manipulate, it in a measurable way. The other is that what constitutes beautiful singing is such a subjective issue that it is impossible to give difinitive instructions for its achievement.
the interview that followed this one was with the young, energetic and enthusiastic chairman of the choir. It was held in a rather noisy restaurant, as he obviously has no office, and while fascinating, I am a little nervous of the quality of the recording. He had a rather different perspective from the last chorister I interviewed, as he is much more enthusiastic about the potential of the combined choir. He likes the idea of a mixed sound, whereas the previous chorister was sceptical about its musical value. He enjoys singing more energetic music, whereas the other chorister prefered the earlier, more tonal/timbral oriented music. It was great to get both perspectives.
Despite the value of this interview to my project, it left me feeling insecure about the whole process of research, as i became very aware of the artificiality of the relationship I was creating. I would really like to build relationships with these people. I am interested in them as more than just 'choristers', or 'research subjects', and I don't know how to bridge that gap.
Some comments on taking field-notes
I am finding field notes much more difficult to write than I anticipated. I have always kept a journal, though not always regularly, but I am finding that the field-notes make me more aware than ever of how judgemental I am. everything has to be checked for bias or oppinion, and I am struggling to write about race, or language group. Anything that is 'other' for me is difficult to put into words without sounding judgemental or patronising. I am also finding it so difficult to keep from becoming 'instrumentalist' (my new word for the week ) when talking to people who I am researching. I really want to form more sincere personal relationships with them, but when one's first interaction with a person is in the role of 'researcher', it is really difficult to break out of that. In an interview yesterday, after I turned the taperecorder off, I tried to hold a casual conversation with the person I had been speaking with, but I found it just so stilted. From both sides. Every question I asked was answered as though it was an interview question, and I was in interview mode when talking about myself. I don't want to force unnatural friendships, but I wish I could find a more direct, honest way of building this relationship. I certainly intend to stick with them after my official research is over, because I am genuinely interested in what happens, but I am beginning to doubt the validity of the notion of 'participant observation'. No matter what I do, I am still in an artificial relationship to them. The fact that I was a member of the Wits choir before I began my research meant that the relationships were already established, and they knew me as human. They knew what i love, and what makes me cry, and that I was there because I loved the music, and the interaction, and them.
Writing that last sentence caused a light bulb to go on for me. I wanted as much out of that encounter as I do out of this. Perhaps more. I want something out of every encounter, and so does everyone else. Perhaps the research relationship is even less exploitative than an average encounter... At least I have layed my cards out on the table before it all starts. I still feel a little uncomfortable about it all, but I guess if I just remain open, honest, and and as aware as I can be of the situaiton, I'll be safe.
Writing that last sentence caused a light bulb to go on for me. I wanted as much out of that encounter as I do out of this. Perhaps more. I want something out of every encounter, and so does everyone else. Perhaps the research relationship is even less exploitative than an average encounter... At least I have layed my cards out on the table before it all starts. I still feel a little uncomfortable about it all, but I guess if I just remain open, honest, and and as aware as I can be of the situaiton, I'll be safe.
First rehearsal of a new choir
On Monday, I witnessed history! at least, that's how it felt. A new, racially integrated choir, formed from the remains of two segregated choirs, had its first meeting, and I was there to record the whole thing.
I arrived quite early in the hopes of setting up my camera and tape recorder, but there was a concert going on in the next room, and so I couldn't go in. This did, however, give me the opportunity to introduce myself to a few choristers. And to my delight, I recognised, and was recognised by, several people from the Youth Choir I sang with for years in Highschool. I also noticed, as I have in the past with other choirs, that choristers who have sung together for a while form a tight-knit group, and are quite unwilling to to deal with newbies. I generally had to make the effort to introduce myself, and even then, people wouldn't want to stay and talk. I understand that people may prefer to spend the time with friends that they often haven't seen for several months, but I was interested in the impact this would have on the formation of the new choir. I noted that the members of the previous 'chorale' stood in a group on the one side, and the 'choir' members stood on the other. One, obviously new, white chorister stood between the groups, and spoke to no one. One chorister, who had previously sung in both the choir and the chorale formed a point of connection between groups, but there was little, if any, direct interaction.
When the conductor arrived, the choir committee gathered everyone together on the grass a little distance away from the still ongoing concert, and the choir sat in roughly the same groups in which they had been standing. The director introduced the choir, and her plan for the year, followed by the chairman, who is a delightfully enthusiastic and energetic young man, and really eager for the combined choir to be a success.
The choristers then collected files, and we moved into the rehearsal room. As I was setting up my camera, I was immediately struck by the arrangement of the choir. New seating arrangements will be made at the choir camp this weekend, but in the interim, choristers sat in their voice groups, but in any order they chose. As could be expected, they sat in similar groups to which they had hitherto gathered. little intermingling.
The warm-ups were an education for me both as an aspirant conductor, and as a researcher. Some exercises, like those involving semi-tones, were not immediately correct, but were corrected rapidly, and the blend, and overall tone of the choir, sounded similar to that of the old choir's 2003 recording in a fairly short amount of time. I listened carefully to try to detect differences, but think I will have to compare recordings to be able to really hear anything significant. I did notice a more vibrato-laden soprano sound than I had previously heard, and, being aware of a common distrust of vibrato among a particular school of South African choral conductors, was interested to see how it would be approached, but no direct comment was made, and I will have to compare this recording to previous ones in order to describe the difference better.
The chairman had mentioned when we were outside, that the choir would be using the well-known South African carol[anthem?] Come Colours Rise as its theme song for the year, and so I noted that the first song they began working on also had a colour theme. It was an arrangement of Sting's Fields of Gold. This juncture in the performance brought about a significant change, in that when choristers who had hitherto read mostly tonic solfa were faced with staff notation, they suddenly found themselves in need of assistance, and the choir seating was rearranged in order to place strong sight singers between weaker ones, where they could offer assistance. The result was that the choir sight-read through the entire piece of music, and then performed it.
The rehearsal ended with everyone introducing themselves (and this included me), and with party packs and cake being handed out before some choristers went out together for drinks.
I arrived quite early in the hopes of setting up my camera and tape recorder, but there was a concert going on in the next room, and so I couldn't go in. This did, however, give me the opportunity to introduce myself to a few choristers. And to my delight, I recognised, and was recognised by, several people from the Youth Choir I sang with for years in Highschool. I also noticed, as I have in the past with other choirs, that choristers who have sung together for a while form a tight-knit group, and are quite unwilling to to deal with newbies. I generally had to make the effort to introduce myself, and even then, people wouldn't want to stay and talk. I understand that people may prefer to spend the time with friends that they often haven't seen for several months, but I was interested in the impact this would have on the formation of the new choir. I noted that the members of the previous 'chorale' stood in a group on the one side, and the 'choir' members stood on the other. One, obviously new, white chorister stood between the groups, and spoke to no one. One chorister, who had previously sung in both the choir and the chorale formed a point of connection between groups, but there was little, if any, direct interaction.
When the conductor arrived, the choir committee gathered everyone together on the grass a little distance away from the still ongoing concert, and the choir sat in roughly the same groups in which they had been standing. The director introduced the choir, and her plan for the year, followed by the chairman, who is a delightfully enthusiastic and energetic young man, and really eager for the combined choir to be a success.
The choristers then collected files, and we moved into the rehearsal room. As I was setting up my camera, I was immediately struck by the arrangement of the choir. New seating arrangements will be made at the choir camp this weekend, but in the interim, choristers sat in their voice groups, but in any order they chose. As could be expected, they sat in similar groups to which they had hitherto gathered. little intermingling.
The warm-ups were an education for me both as an aspirant conductor, and as a researcher. Some exercises, like those involving semi-tones, were not immediately correct, but were corrected rapidly, and the blend, and overall tone of the choir, sounded similar to that of the old choir's 2003 recording in a fairly short amount of time. I listened carefully to try to detect differences, but think I will have to compare recordings to be able to really hear anything significant. I did notice a more vibrato-laden soprano sound than I had previously heard, and, being aware of a common distrust of vibrato among a particular school of South African choral conductors, was interested to see how it would be approached, but no direct comment was made, and I will have to compare this recording to previous ones in order to describe the difference better.
The chairman had mentioned when we were outside, that the choir would be using the well-known South African carol[anthem?] Come Colours Rise as its theme song for the year, and so I noted that the first song they began working on also had a colour theme. It was an arrangement of Sting's Fields of Gold. This juncture in the performance brought about a significant change, in that when choristers who had hitherto read mostly tonic solfa were faced with staff notation, they suddenly found themselves in need of assistance, and the choir seating was rearranged in order to place strong sight singers between weaker ones, where they could offer assistance. The result was that the choir sight-read through the entire piece of music, and then performed it.
The rehearsal ended with everyone introducing themselves (and this included me), and with party packs and cake being handed out before some choristers went out together for drinks.
Thursday, February 17, 2005
reflections
I have begun going back over some of my early posts, and visiting some of the links. I have begun posting comments where I feel they are relevant. will continue to do so regularly.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)