The importance of music archiving to Ethnomusicology

The first couple of days at SENA were very much based on getting used to archiving. At first glance, some may view archiving as a pretty mundane and redundant task because all you do is collect historical musical data and place it in a computer cataloguing system right? For me, linking archiving with a young discipline such as ethnomusicology is challenging yet necessary. The reason is because ethnomusicologists use a participant-observation research method that is adopted from Anthropology. Archiving, on the other hand, is office work as opposed to the real environment in which one can participate and observe the musicians as they produce their musical works. The importance of archiving is in gathering historical music data. Although one may not be able to participate physically in the act of creating music, having access to our South African music history is so enlightening.

THANK YOU for your comment on my previous post titled “MY FIRST DAY WORKING AT SAMRO” It would be inspiring to hear from great minds such as yourself as to how you go about linking your career with your education qualifications. I would guess that it’s only a matter of doing more research, brain storming, forming strategies, working and praying really hard that your ultimate objectives become reality.

For those that aren’t familiar with the Study of ethnomusicology, it is the study of music as culture. Ethnomusicologists aim to understand, in depth, a particular culture from an insider’s point of view. The aim is to assimilate one with a particular culture. Others would call it colonization but that term has such negative connotations that I would rather refrain from using. From a more personal point of view though, ethnomusicology is a tool that can assist us as South Africans in understanding our diverse, multi-ethnic identity. At home, charity always begins therein and then flourishes abroad. The goal is to then appreciate and invest our energies into our unique identity as South Africa. Music is a way of finding that common ground where our South African culture informs, inspires, and transforms our society into one community as the International Journal of Community Music would suggest. I’m sure you would agree that as South Africans, we have read, experienced, observed and heard of some form of ethnic bias and discrimination. Xenophobic prejudices are the most worrying behavioral temperaments of South Africans that encourage this act nowadays. Is it not interesting that these attacks occur just about two weeks before AFRICA DAY? AFRICA DAY AT SAMRO was fun and interesting. It made me feel like I was part of the organisation and that our floor is not isolated from others. It is a great idea because it encourages nation building within the organisation. If indeed umuntu ungumuntu ngabantu, those that encourage ethnic prejudice are only expressing the inner turmoil and disunity within their identity. Are South Africans suffering from an advanced inferiority complex? If so, when will we heal? When will we seek to understand and manage ourselves? When will we give love to ourselves?

My concern as an ethnomusicologist does not lie in trying to define the meaning of music. I am more concerned about how South Africans can redefine and solidify their identity through an understanding and empathetic spirit.

Archiving is therefore a tool for South Africans to understand their music cultural history. It will arm us with an understanding of what our common values are as a country and then seek a way to a progressive future. I want these thoughts to become well refined as time goes on. They will become immensely richer with your input… http://www.samro.org.za