World Music-Field Essays

Field Essays are personal field notes of a musical happening, between 1000-1500 words. A Field Essay should include descriptions of the event, reactions to the event, and any follow- ups on the part of the researcher to better understand the event in its cultural context. An event could include a concert on campus or in greater Los Angeles (or anywhere in the world), a rehearsal, jam session, dance party or any other live happening involving music. Ordinarily, the researcher should share temporal space with the event (be there), or justify the mediated nature of the event (explain why you are reporting on an online composing collaboration, an international synchronized iPod event, an online concert). With our online Covid format, any form of performance (live, recorded, mediated, etc.) is acceptable. An ideal essay would include a writeup of the researchers plans and previous knowledge of the music or musicians; a detailed description of the event including time, place, people, crowd, reactions, collective responses, and surprises; further research into what happened and why it happened, which could include interviews with musicians and audience members or further readings. Using first person narrative is fine. Citations are encouraged if you are quoting things or referencing sources. No style sheet (i.e. MLA, Chicago, etc.) is necessary, but I encourage you to use the style sheet from your own field.