When Eskimos get into an argument, their friends and relatives break it up. The combatants retire for several hours, and then each antagonist returns to plead his case by singing a song about it; the most impressive singer is adjudged victor by the rest of the tribe. In such ways as this does music function in primitive societies--as part of legal proceedings, religion, dances, funerals. Today, the vast body of primitive music, so valuable to composers from advanced cultures and intrinsically so interesting, is being studied extensively. This book is the first in English to bring together the widely scattered information on this important branch of ethnomusicology, or comparative musicology. The author considers methods of research, primitive musical instruments, and techniques of primitive performance of music, and he gives sixty short examples of music illustrating typical styles. He discusses such things as techniques of primitive composition and the criteria used by natives to determine "good" singers and songs, and he analyzes and classifies the traits of many different primitive styles, especially those of Africa and North America. Also included is a concise survey of the development of ethnomusicology from its origin in nineteenth-century Germany, as well as a summary of the amount of research done in all parts of the world. There is also an extensive list of books and articles available on the subject.
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