Social Context and the Musical Analysis of Slavey Drum Dance Songs

Abstract

... may be regarded as an encapsulated expression of the shared cognitive forms and values of a society.... It is usually a named event, with a beginning and an end, varying degrees of organization of activity, audience/ performance and location (Herndon 1971:340). Thus, Herndon's definition suggests that, from the point of view of the individual composition, one aspect of its social context derives from the fact that it is part of a larger cognitive and social entity, the musical occasion, in which many compositions are performed. A second aspect of the social context of a composition pertains to the specific situation in which it is played during an occasion. To indicate this, I wish to propose the term: musical event.1 This can be defined as the perceived focus, purpose and observed behavior associated with the actual performance of a composition during a musical occasion. Like the occasion, it is usually named, has a beginning and an end, varying degrees of organization of activity and location, and also may be regarded as an encapsulated expression of cognitive forms and values. Thus, songs performed during an occasion, although sharing certain social contextual features in common, also may well differ in social context in that they are played to evoke different musical events.

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