Critical Review #3 Miller 2007 and Berger 2008

I thought it was interesting when Prof. Miller was discussing the types of music used in the GTA game and how realistic it was- that there wasn’t any non-diegetic soundtrack music, but only where you would logically hear it in stores, cars radio stations, etc. That’s clever and innovative of the game to make it realistic, and also points to an instance where the 24-hour music log exercise becomes very useful to realize a usual soundscape and the typical places you might hear music.

I also find the concept of video games as performance interesting. Many of my friends are theater majors and take classes on performance theories so I’ve been subjected to a lot of experimental performance ideas. This now makes me wish that I had maybe listened a little closer to the endless mealtime discussions of their readings and class discussions rather than roll my eyes along with my non theater-concentrating friends. I hadn’t previously considered this particular medium of video games as an example of performance, but now thinking about it I find that notion to be very credible and an interesting perspective. The control the player has over music selection there also then plays a crucial element in being a performer.

I find the study of phenomenology to be logically thought provoking and perhaps unexpectedly a stimulating topic for academic discussion. Many people may dismiss it as arbitrary or unfit for formal analysis, yet it is some of the subject matter that proves most relevant to our daily lives. Because so many people are more familiar with popular games like Grand Theft Auto or music genres like rock and pop than the native folk music of other cultures, there is actually a wealth of ideas and themes to discuss. Perhaps this is also why it might be more important to study other cultures and try and understand them, and why this is the focus of much of ethnomusicology.

Wherein then lies the objective of ethnomusicological study? Is it just as worthwhile to study phenomenology and how it interacts with the cultures of our own and other societies, or to simply try and understand and preserve the more traditional and folk music that may be more overlooked? Are they of equal importance? I think so. Do they both fall under the same umbrella of ethnomusicological study or should there be more of a separation and distinction in the field between types of music making studied? Does it even matter to classify these elements of ethnomusicology or is music all just music and should it all be treated the same?