Storytelling is a crucial, if not essential, element of ethnography. Without storytelling, the strivings for authenticity and objective representations of people and cultures through the practice of ethnography would be unattainable. Although the relationship between ethnography and storytelling is an intricate and even a potentially hazardous one if not properly carried out, it has the ability and potential to act as a link between understanding the proper practices of ethnography and the proper acceptance of others and music. By comparing and contrasting both the authenticity, single story, and listening practices of ethnography the music found in Steven Feld’s Jazz Cosmopolitanism in Accra case study, one will find that authentic understanding
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Instead of there being a sense of authenticity, there is a sense of prejudice. This is due to the common mentality held by many individuals that a certain kind of music either is or is not authentic. In Feld’s novel, the African influences found in the jazz were described as eliciting countless emotions and debates. Both African and American musicians professed strong sentiments toward their own jazz and the jazz of others, desperately trying to prove that their styles and interpretations of jazz were valued and deemed worthy both internally and externally. Sadly, many of these beliefs surrounding the debate over authentic jazz are not simply due to concerns over musical incompetence, but are present because they are tainted with issues of race, politics, and the illusions of superiority. The numerous quotes, experiences, and conversations in Feld’s novel describe such passionate disagreements and beliefs as arising due to the exclusionary focus of American jazz music. Because of the singular prejudices held by both groups, the authenticity and even power of music is devalued, overshadowed, and …show more content…
Feld himself struggled with how hard it was for him to imagine that an “African musician could be as deeply in the same sonic way of knowing and being” as him (Vamp In, Head 16). Consequently, we must challenge ourselves. We must challenge our perceptions by giving room for multiple stories and for multiple interpretations to celebrate both ethnography and music as reflections of humankind. Therefore, debates over the authenticity of ethnography and music should not be the focus for they cannot possibly act alone. Without authentic understanding, any attempt to finding authentic ethnography and music is fruitless. But when authentic understanding is combined with such elements of ethnography and music, a better, more clear picture of each other 's emotions, culture, and place in this world can be explored and
Instead of there being a sense of authenticity, there is a sense of prejudice. This is due to the common mentality held by many individuals that a certain kind of music either is or is not authentic. In Feld’s novel, the African influences found in the jazz were described as eliciting countless emotions and debates. Both African and American musicians professed strong sentiments toward their own jazz and the jazz of others, desperately trying to prove that their styles and interpretations of jazz were valued and deemed worthy both internally and externally. Sadly, many of these beliefs surrounding the debate over authentic jazz are not simply due to concerns over musical incompetence, but are present because they are tainted with issues of race, politics, and the illusions of superiority. The numerous quotes, experiences, and conversations in Feld’s novel describe such passionate disagreements and beliefs as arising due to the exclusionary focus of American jazz music. Because of the singular prejudices held by both groups, the authenticity and even power of music is devalued, overshadowed, and …show more content…
Feld himself struggled with how hard it was for him to imagine that an “African musician could be as deeply in the same sonic way of knowing and being” as him (Vamp In, Head 16). Consequently, we must challenge ourselves. We must challenge our perceptions by giving room for multiple stories and for multiple interpretations to celebrate both ethnography and music as reflections of humankind. Therefore, debates over the authenticity of ethnography and music should not be the focus for they cannot possibly act alone. Without authentic understanding, any attempt to finding authentic ethnography and music is fruitless. But when authentic understanding is combined with such elements of ethnography and music, a better, more clear picture of each other 's emotions, culture, and place in this world can be explored and