Anthropological Prism: A Model for Studying Human Musical Activity - Essay Sample

Introduction

It can be established that Alan Merriam developed a theoretical model referred to as anthropological prism that represented his proposition of a study of human musical activity. The developed tripartite model was to aid in the effective study of ethnomusicology: that centers in the study of music in and as a culture. In such a scenario, human musical activity needs to take into account the culture's behavior in relation to music, the sound of music, as well as conceptualization about music. Such an assertion managed to define the infamous triangulation of the three primary elements of the model as:

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

In the proposition, Merriam proposed that music sound has its structure or a system that can also not exist independent of human beings, their behavior, which in turn configures the music sound involved. For the case of behavior, there are three subtypes: verbal, physical, and social. Finally, regarding conceptualization, there is the proposition that subject fall back to their values around the music to interact with its system, while also defining what constitutes music or not. Hence, the three elements of the model: sound, conceptualization, and behavior, have been described in relation and pertaining to a musical example of a Chinese opera music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-dPC-srIbs.

First, for the case of the sound of Chinese music used at hand, various sound systems come into play to make it a complete set. It has a soprano sound that persists right from the beginning of the music till its end in such a case; the sound is rhythmic such that one can guess what the music is all about as sung by the presenter. Thus, it employs tonal variation in its sounding system where similar sounds with tones moving up and down as the music progress come about repeatedly, hence also resulting in the noted pattern and rhythm. It can also be observed that the sound pattern established is in the same line with the voice of the singer, hence binding and blending themselves seamlessly in such a way that no boredom and disturbance are resulting from the cacophony of sounds after listening to it for a considerable amount of time. There is also a bass sound from the musical instruments that persist from the start to the end of the music in a formulated pattern that also makes it enjoyable to listen to the music.

The bass sound is baritone in nature, hence adding color to the soprano sounds of some musical instruments used. The frequency in which the soprano sounds of the musical instruments are played is quite fast, resulting from the instruments played at high speed. At some point, along with the playing of the music, the musical instruments produce soprano sounds that seem irritating from the screeching nature, like that of a door hinge that has not been creased or oiled. They seem to come from the guitar, harp, and flute playing. However, they rhyme with the voice of the singer, making it captivating to continue listening to the music. At some other points, the frequency in which the sound from the musical instruments is produced is somehow slower, hence easy to follow on its movements, with its varying tones. The singer is a soloist who produces soprano sounds in such a way that they are intermittent along with the paying of the music. They come after some long silences that give room for the musical instrumentation sounds to continue playing. Also, it is worth noting that along with the playing of music, both the soprano and bass sounds alternate with one another in the form of pattern.

Regarding the behavior of music example at hand, it is performed by its artists Qiu Shengrong. It can be observed that the artist performs the song singly, where he performs the well-structured song, with rising and falling intonations, movements on stage, demonstrations along with the performance of the song, as well as the use of a well-chosen attire: a gown. The gown looks cream to white, decorated, with the artist also wearing ahead turban that has the structure of a flower. The stage in which the performance of the song is undertaken is decorated with bluish lines, with their floor counterparts being greenish. The singer of the Chinese opera music is then tasked with applying artistic devices for the success of the performance, including tonal variation, hand movements, and the use of gestures.

Finally, there is the conceptualization concerning the Chinese opera music used in the case. The music was composed by the artist to present the appealing and charming moments in which the audience can also relate. It is entitled 'Yao Qi,' which translates to 'enchanting' in English. In such a case, the music, as projected by the singer, was meant for entertainment purposes. The artist had gone through some hard and appealing moments and thus had the motivation of passing the message of merry to the audiences that they should always embrace the opportunities they have in their lives. In such a case, the audience can reflect on the message of the artist, and absorb its contents followed by their application to their lives. Following the listening to Chinese opera music, the audiences are also able to think much concerning the happenings in their respective lives. They can see both hard and enjoyable moments. Finally, they will have the capability of embracing al of them as a unit creation handed to them, and thus forge forward towards bettering their lives.

References

Chinese Opera Music Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-dPC-srIbs