Nov
14
Rob’s book: “Adventures in Music and Culture” out before the end of November
Filed Under (Beninese culture, Ethnomusicology, General) by Rob on 14-11-2012

…so make sure you ask Santa for a copy!

Yes, I’m thrilled and excited to be able to share my African travels with you all, and to open people’s hearts and minds to the fascinating world of ethnomusicology. It will be available on the Ambassador International website soon, in paper and electronic form. Meanwhile, here’s an extract from the introduction to whet your appetites:

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At last – I have an interesting job! One to which people respond: “Oh, how fascinating,” or: “Tell me more about what you do!” Although there’s not much money in it, it’s a job which is exciting, enriching, pioneering and intriguing. At times it can be frustrating, exhausting – even dangerous, but is never boring, tedious or repetitive, like some jobs I’ve had.

I used to have a job which I enjoyed, but which nobody else found particularly exciting. I would almost dread the inevitable party question: “What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a French teacher,” I would reply, shamefully.
“Oh, right. Where do you teach?”
And that was one of the more interesting responses. The bravest (or most foolhardy) would reply: “Ah oui! Un kilo de tomates, s’il vous plaît!” Others would merely reel out a string of random French words, presumably in an attempt to impress me: “Ooh là là! Gerard Depardieu, Arc de Triomphe, Joe le Taxi, tarte aux pommes…” However, by far the most common response inflicted upon me on such occasions was the likes of: “I was rubbish at French in school,” or “I had a terrible French teacher who wore corduroy, smelt of garlic, and gave me a ‘D’ grade even when I did my best.” How can the conversation spontaneously evolve following such a statement? And so my job was the definitive conversation stopper; I may as well have said I watched paint dry for a living (which would, in fact, probably have sparked off more interest).

So, this is why I’m delighted to have a job which is not only interesting to me, but for which other people show a genuine interest. It’s a job they can scarcely pronounce, let alone define or describe: I am an ethnomusicologist. “What does one of those do?” you’re asking yourself. See, you’re doing it too already!

Without going into too much boring detail, there are two main types of ethnomusicologist. The first is the secular type, who studies world music for the same reason Sir Edmond Hilary climbed Everest: because it’s there. Of course, this kind provides much vital information about music in culture and many useful anthropological insights along the way. The second type is the missionary ethnomusicologist or ethnodoxologist, who does the same kind of research as the first, but then applies this to Christian mission. “So, I’ve found this fact out about their music, how can I use it to help encourage local Christians and their churches?” The results – as I hope you’ll see – are often stunning, as people begin using their music, rather than something pertaining to a foreign culture.

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