Musical Ethnography Frequently Asked Questions

Today's class focused on specific questions regarding the ethnography due Thursday. Below is a summary of our discussion with a few links for more information.

Citations and Sources
Everything you consulted (i.e. program notes, people, the event, etc.) to write about this music-culture is considered a source and must be cited. The purpose of citations and a Works Cited page is two-fold:
1) Give credit to the source
2) Provide information the reader needs to locate the source

Since you are writing blog entries, it is understandable that other forms of citation (i.e. hyperlinks) might be more appropriate. If you have a website you wish to cite, you may choose to hyperlink part of a sentence or a quote instead of providing the in-text citation and adding a Works Cited page. You MUST, however, do or or the other.

How do you cite using MLA?
I have included a helpful website with a brief overview of MLA citation as well as sample entries here.

How do you cite the event you attended or program notes (if available)?
Please refer to the information under "Works Cited" in your Performance Report assignment guidelines.

Macro-Level Organization (General Ethnography Organization)
Please make use of heading titles (i.e. bold, underline, or italics) for the major sections (Introduction, Methodology, Aspects of Music Culture, Conclusion) as well as sub-topics (Ideas, Activities, Repertoires, Material Culture). Be sure to break down the aspects of music culture for the majority of your report.

Writing About Music vs. Writing About Music Culture
Some students have struggled with trying to write about the music using the music vocabulary we have discussed this semester. Please keep in mind that this ethnography is about a music culture, not just the music itself. You may choose to focus on a particular musical elements in the "Ideas" section, but keep this limited to the musical elements you feel comfortable explaining. There is considerable flexibility in this assignment. Although you MUST write something about each aspect and address as many questions as possible, put more content in sections about which you are more sure and confident.

Embedding Videos and Adding Photos
Because this assignment is a blogged assignment, there are options in this submission that you do not have in a paper ethnography. Feel free to add hyperlinks to direct the reader to more information, videos (embedded or linked) to show examples of this music culture, or pictures. At the same time, you should comment on any videos, audio clips, or pictures you include and indicate why it was included.

Presentations
Presentations over this ethnography are extra credit and do not require any formal dress or PowerPoint. If you would like to show the ethnography on your blog, you are welcome to use the computer. Most presentations will be about 3-5 minutes depending on the number of students interested. Even if you do not plan to present, come to class. There will be a double participation grade on Thursday.