Review

Author(s): Ben Brinner

Review by: Ben Brinner
Source: Yearbook for Traditional Music, Vol. 31 (1999), pp. 132-133
Published by: International Council for Traditional Music
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/767981
Accessed: 04-12-2015 10:37 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

International Council for Traditional Music is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Yearbook
for Traditional Music.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 193.137.168.32 on Fri, 04 Dec 2015 10:37:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
132/1999YEARBOOK FOR TRADITIONAL MUSIC

Nettl,Bruno and Melinda Russell (editors).In theCourseof Perform-

ance: Studiesin theWorldofMusical Improvisation. Chicago: Uni-
versityofChicago Press,1998. viii,413 pp., musicalexamples,pho-
tographs,notes,references, index.
Bruno Nettlintroducesthiscollectionby surveying musicologicaland
ethnomusicologicalscholarship to illustratethe relativeneglectof im-
provisation and to cull definitions of the term. The firstsectionof the
book is devotedto "The Concept and Its Ramifications." Stephen Blum
focuseson terminology, drawingon medievalAraband Persianwritersfor
characterizations of the acts,intentions, and experiencesassociatedwith
improvisation and thencomparing terms and associatedpracticesthrough
severalcenturiesof European musicalhistory. JeffPressing,buildingon
hisearlierwork,modelsthe"Psychological Constraints on Improvisational
Expertise."R. AndersonSuttonsuggeststhatamong CentralJavanese
musicians,improvisation decreaseswithexperience;he bolstershis con-
clusionwithcomparativetranscriptions and musicians'comments.
Seven articlesin the next sectionoffercase studiesof improvisation
fromvastlydifferent perspectives. JihadRacydiscussestheattainmentof
ecstasyin Arab music,contrastinga context-specific, process-oriented
approach based on audience feedbackwitha European model thatem-
phasizes the intrinsicvalue of a work of art. Eve Harwood looks at
improvisatory singing,clapping,and movementinAfricanAmericangirls'
singinggames. PeterManuel outlinesa historyof LatinAmericandance
musicand concludesby "hypothesizinga consistentaesthetic"for this
music(p. 143). IngridMonson reflects on thelimitations ofcurrentschol-
arlyideologies in her exploration of contributions byJohnColtraneand
George Russellto modaljazz in the 1950s and '60s. Tullia Magrinicon-
traststworegionaltraditionsof Italianlyricalsingingto demonstratethe
organizationof group behaviorand the varyingscope of improvisation
withinperformers' sharedconceptions.Sau Y. Chan presentsan interest-
ingcase ofgroupimprovisation performedas a spontaneousextensionof
a Cantoneseopera. Finally, T. Viswanathanand JodyCormackprovidea
comparisonoftheimprovisatory
fascinating ofragain Karnatic
possibilities
musicbycontrasting twocommonperformance contexts.Their examples
are particularlyhelpful.
Studies of individualartistsconclude the volume. Valerie Goertzen
examinesClara Schumann'spreludesas recordsof her improvisations.
ChrisSmithoffersa semioticanalysisof communicationin Miles Davis'
ensembles,showingthat he "constructeda specificritualperformance
context"(p. 286). Louis Armstrong's achievementsas an improviserand
in
majorfigure jazz are discussed by LawrenceGushee. Stephen Slawek
focuseson Hindustaniprocessesof improvisation and associatedtermi-
nology.The volumeends witha minimalrevisionof the groundbreaking
analysisofJihad Racy'simprovisations originallyco-authoredby Bruno
Nettland Ronald Riddle in 1971-72.
The essaysin thiscollectioncovertremendously variedground.Some
contributions are illustratedwithnumeroustranscriptions, while others

This content downloaded from 193.137.168.32 on Fri, 04 Dec 2015 10:37:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
REVIEWS BOOKS / 133

dispensewithnotationaltogether.Similarly, analysesof specificperform-

ances contrastwithgeneralizationsabout practicebased on the authors'
knowledgeof - and interviews with- musiciansor on writtensources.
One could wish forsome dialogue among the authorsand fora more
penetratingcomparativeanalysisof improvisation. Nonetheless,Nettlis
to be congratulatedforbringingtogethersuch a variedgroupofauthors
whose diverseinterestsand approaches to vastlydifferent musicalprac-
ticesserveto illustratejust howvariedthe of
phenomenon improvisation
is on local and global stages.
BEN BRINNER

Theberge,Paul. AnySound YouCan Imagine:MakingMusic/Consuming

Technology.Hanover:WesleyanUniversity Press(University
Pressof
New England), 1997. x, 293 pp., illustrations,
notes,background
index.
sources,bibliography,
Paul Theberge'sbook takesas itsfocalpointa nexus of musicalprac-
tice,musicconsumerism, and theuse ofmusictechnologiesin contempo-
raryNorthAmericaand westernEurope. Concernedespeciallywiththe
role of electronicand digitaltechnologiesin the productionof popular
music,thisbook viewsmusical instrumentand recordingtechnologies
withina dynamicculturalspherewhereissuesof technologicaland musi-
cal innovation,musicaltechniqueand expression,and authenticity and
power come into play.Moreover, throughout thebook Thebergeexplores
the routesin whichmusicianshave become "consumersof technology,"
aligning". . . musicalpracticeswitha kind of behaviorakin to a type
ofconsumerpractice"thatdiffers "fromearlierrelationships betweenmu-
siciansand instruments as a means of production"(p. 6). Coming out of
the wide theoreticaltraditionof RaymondWilliams'"sociologyof cul-
ture,"Theberge groundshis argumentswithcontributions froman even
widerrangeofauthors,includingMax Weber,RobertWalser,CurtSachs,
ChristopherSmall,Simon Frith,StevenFeld,John Blacking,and Pierre
Bourdieu.
The book dividesinto threesections,each withseveralchapters.The
firstsection,"Design/Production," tacklesthe problemof technicalinno-
vationin instrument design and itsrelationshipsto music-makers and a
musicindustry. It does thisfirstthrougha case studyof piano develop-
ment,manufacturing, and marketing.Next, the book addressesinven-
tionand innovationwithincontemporary capitalistmarkets,whichhave
produced such electronicinstruments as the vacuum-tubeTheremin,the
Hammond organ,and the Moog analog synthesizer. Finally,thissection
of the book examines the adaptation of microprocessortechnologyto
keyboardinstruments coupled withthe adoption of MIDI as an industry
standard.
This lastsegmentbringsto theforetwoconceptsofinnovationvitalto
Theberge- "continuousinnovation"and "transectorial innovation."The

This content downloaded from 193.137.168.32 on Fri, 04 Dec 2015 10:37:10 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions