ARCHIVES
A sketchbook for my return to ethnomusicology. Curious? Email me at hymnster(at)yahoo(*)com
Scrap pile
SEM
Friday, September 26, 2003
Proper grading scale
Grade inflation is a real concern at colleges. Grading is certainly subjective in the humanities and perhaps a more prose-oriented scale would be helpful. How about this:
A Outstanding, no flaws A- Excellent, few flaws B+ Very good B Good B- Fair C Poor D Unacceptable I don't see the need for shades of "C" in the humanities. That will only come out with numeric averaging. I hope to come up with some illustrations someday...
Monday, September 22, 2003
Sonic Analysis
I don't know if these are the best tools, but they exist. Loris is a library accessed through Python. (Finally an excuse to learn that language!) Lemur is a bit of a dinasaur, but it's easier to use. They are both available at this page at www.cerlsoundgroup.org.
UPDATE 0929: While Loris would be a good excuse for me to get all geeky coding, it may be that Lemur and Soundhack may be sufficient for me to get my work done. Or Loris may be a significant enough improvement in the accuracy of analysis over Lemur and SH that I SHOULD go with it. Who would know?
It's pricey, but it's there.
For $100/year (or $25/quarter) I can purchace a Harvard College Library Special Borrower Card. That's a lot of dough, but it would be worth it if I need to check books out and/or do reasearch in libraries other than the music library. Browsing the music library, however, is free!
Thursday, September 18, 2003
BBS-based Music communities
It's just something to look into. To get started, check the post in Boing Boing: A Directory of Wonderful Things.
Wednesday, September 17, 2003
The American Musical Instrument Society Home Page
The American Musical Instrument Society Home Page
Monday, September 15, 2003
The John McCutcheon Folk Music Page
The John McCutcheon Folk Music Page
Sunday, September 14, 2003
Better than I thought
I'm signed up to go on Thursday for my first piping lesson in three years. So, I pulled out my practice chanters, got them reeded and working (not easy) and started through the College of Piping tutor a few days ago. I'm up to "Scots Wha Hae" and have found that my fingers actually remember the tune fairly well! Good for me! Now I just have to get my d-throws to be less stiff. My fingers feel like their under water. (baaa-de-yup-beee-daaaaah...)
Friday, September 12, 2003
Skillz
I must remember to be myself and capitalize on my particular skills and interests. One of the biggies is technology, and in particular, connectivity (internet, wireless, etc.) I can use this both as a topic of study and as a medium for my work. Academia is still relatively stodgy when it comes to publication and publishing papers electronically usually spells death for any hope for print publication. However, i could publish a very rich online "world" which elucidates my project, without jepordizing the plain text article or book. Thus I would have two completely different publications, each of which played to the strengths of its medium.
For example: if I were to study the movements of pipe band members between bands in North America, I could have an online interactive map which demonstrated those movements in a way which a print publication would be incapable of. I could also write a paper discussing those movements and their impact -- and make that only available in print. Thus the online bit would be more like part of the raw data which I am making available, saving the analysis for the peper. Why all this bother? Because I get paid for the paper in both $ and in intellectual capital. It's still the only way to build a solid career.
Style Note
I need to vary the opening of my posts. Too many of them begin with "I need...". So what does this say about how I feel about re-beginning my academic career? Do I feel needy?
Piping Periodicals
I need easy ways to acquire insider knowledge in the pipe band world. The first is through piping lessons on Thursday evenings with Tulach Ard. I know that some people study a music (even piping) without learning the rudiments of playing it, but I'm not like that. Remember, I'm the one who got an MM at NEC so that I would be a better scholar of German Romantic Piano Music. Harumph.
Anyhow, another easy way would be to subscribe to some periodicals. That way I can at least read what's going on out there now and have the materials delivered to my door. So far I've found two publishers. The College of Piping (Scotland) publishes: "Piping Times" (monthly) and "Pipe Band Magazine" (quarterly). For North America specifically, there is Piper & Drummer (quarterly) published up in Ontario.
That's all I've found so far, but I think that's enough. (The College publications alone are going to cost me $75 annually as it is...)
Monday, September 08, 2003
Inter-disciplinary Reading
I need to read up on a number of subjects:
- The history of Scottish emigration to North America
- Research in virtual communities
- Research in competitions
Tuesday, September 02, 2003
Getting paid
I need to get educated about my options for getting money for my research and return to Ethnomusiology. The first place I can think of is the Office for Career Services. I also recall there being some sort of "support group" for grad. students with families. If I were to be a TF again, I could coordinate it with other things, and ask that my sections be close to the actual class time.
Getting paid to do my research and teaching would certainly help!
Monday, September 01, 2003
Bagpipe Music Museum
Oh...my...God. The New Hampshire School for Scottish Arts has opened up a Bagpipe Music Museum. In fact it's been open for a few years now. I gotta go spend some time there... How long a drive is that? (Answer: about 1 hour, 10 minutes -- Manchester is at the intersection of Interstates 3 and 93)
If I did some sort of catalogue project I wonder if I could find a fellowship/scholarship to offset the costs of gas and childcare?
Other Scottish music
Celtic Concerts in Lexington
- Music for Robin Celtic Concerts, Boston area
- http://www.standrewsri.org/calendar.htm
- NEFFA: New England Folk Festival Association
Stuff to buy
- Portable Recorders with Uploading Facilities
- Look into this portable hard disk recorder, too.
- MiniDV camcorder