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Computational Phonogram Archiving pp 109–119Cite as

John Blacking Revisited—Comparative Analysis of Venda Tshikone Dance (1958 and 2009)

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Part of the book series: Current Research in Systematic Musicology ((CRSM,volume 5))

Abstract

One of the first research topics of interest for folk music researchers was the stability/instability of folk tunes. Particularly the question which parts and elements in folk tunes are sensitive to change and what are the stable elements of the melodies. Researchers had data collected over several decades, which gave a great opportunity to systematically explore stability of melodies over the years and decades.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In addition to the author of this article the following researchers attended in the field trip: prof. Jane Davidson (University of Western Australia), Dr. Edward Lebaka (University of Pretoria) and Dr. Pekka Toivanen (University of Jyväskylä). Thivhafuni Daniel Tshishonge (University of Tohoyando) was the guide during the visit.

  2. 2.

    It has not been possible to check the details of the audio recordings by Blacking. The model of tape recorder is not known by the author of this paper. Thus, it is possible that tempo changes are due the equipment. Because the pitches of pipes are very similar, it is probable that Blacking’s audio recordings give quite reliable picture of tempos of dances and frequencies of pipes.

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Acknowledgements

I want to thank Dr. Morakeng Edward Kenneth Lebaka of his very valuable help in organizing the fieldwork in Venda. His experience in field work and knowledge about African culture and music had a great value for the success of this project. Also I want to thank Thivhafuni Daniel Tshishonge who guided us during the field trip. His deep knowledge about Venda culture and connections to Venda people make it possible to get connections to Venda people and visit the villages.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Jukka Louhivuori

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  1. Jukka Louhivuori
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Correspondence to Jukka Louhivuori .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Systematic Musicology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Rolf Bader

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

Transcription of the Tshikona dance in the Gokolo village in 2009 by Olli Moilanen.

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Louhivuori, J. (2019). John Blacking Revisited—Comparative Analysis of Venda Tshikone Dance (1958 and 2009). In: Bader, R. (eds) Computational Phonogram Archiving. Current Research in Systematic Musicology, vol 5. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02695-0_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02695-0_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-02694-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-02695-0

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