Virtual music communities: The Folk-Music Internet discussion group as a cultural system Export

@phdthesis{citeulike:3319187, abstract = {The Internet, a vast complex of computer networks, fosters myriad virtual communities (discussion lists and bulletin boards), some based on particular cultural elements. This study focuses on one virtual community, Folk-Music, based on the music of contemporary American singer/songwriters. Using Geertz's theoretical model of music as a cultural system, and drawing on works of ethnomusicologists Mark Slobin, Henry Kingsbury, and Daniel Neuman, Folk-Music is examined as a microcosm of a larger musical subculture, contemporary American folk music. Discussions among community members elucidate five cultural elements comprising a cultural system: role sets, language, the possibility of multiple and contested definitions, relations of power, and ritual enactment. The social structure of Folk-Music appears to be a two-tiered hierarchy, with the list owner as most powerful and highest ranked, and all other subscribers ranked equally below him. The list owner's power, rarely displayed overtly, is negotiated through his maintenance of the computer software which runs the list. List subscribers do not vie for social rank among themselves, but may attempt to enhance their social prestige through displays of musical authority. Sociomusical roles on Folk-Music are mediated by social identities and roles from the real world singer/songwriter community. Analysis of Folk-Music communications reveals a web of aesthetic paradoxes, and a close link between aesthetics and ethics, illustrated through discussion of topics like performance venues, music and economics, performance practices, and cultural and social activism. Traditional taxonomic techniques did not prove useful in this community because of reluctance on the part of community members to use labels when discussing their music. Rather than using labels of traditional musical genres, they use "referenced relationships," describing the music in terms of other musicians in the tradition. The musical content of Folk-Music is established in large part by the music-network of the community's creator and list owner, who decides which music and musicians are discussed on the list. Folk-Music functions as an affinity group, providing camaraderie with others who share similar interests. This virtual community, as a ritual enactment site, reflects a search for community in contemporary society.}, author = {Bryant, Wanda}, citeulike-article-id = {3319187}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=7&did=742875051&SrchMode=2&sid=1&Fmt=2&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1222131851&clientId=1564}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=742875051&sid=1&Fmt=2&cli entId=79356&RQT=309&VName=PQD}, comment = {Mais informa\c{c}\~{o}es dispon\'{\i}veis em http://tinyurl.com/wandabryant .}, keywords = {ethnocybermusicology, folk\_music, music, projeto\_tese, sandwich\_portugal, tese, virtual\_communities}, posted-at = {2008-09-23 02:41:48}, priority = {2}, school = {University of California, Los Angeles}, title = {Virtual music communities: The Folk-Music Internet discussion group as a cultural system}, url = {http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=7&did=742875051&SrchMode=2&sid=1&Fmt=2&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1222131851&clientId=1564}, year = {1995} }

TY - THES ID - citeulike:3319187 L3 - citeulike-article-id:3319187 N2 - The Internet, a vast complex of computer networks, fosters myriad virtual communities (discussion lists and bulletin boards), some based on particular cultural elements. This study focuses on one virtual community, Folk-Music, based on the music of contemporary American singer/songwriters. Using Geertz's theoretical model of music as a cultural system, and drawing on works of ethnomusicologists Mark Slobin, Henry Kingsbury, and Daniel Neuman, Folk-Music is examined as a microcosm of a larger musical subculture, contemporary American folk music. Discussions among community members elucidate five cultural elements comprising a cultural system: role sets, language, the possibility of multiple and contested definitions, relations of power, and ritual enactment. The social structure of Folk-Music appears to be a two-tiered hierarchy, with the list owner as most powerful and highest ranked, and all other subscribers ranked equally below him. The list owner's power, rarely displayed overtly, is negotiated through his maintenance of the computer software which runs the list. List subscribers do not vie for social rank among themselves, but may attempt to enhance their social prestige through displays of musical authority. Sociomusical roles on Folk-Music are mediated by social identities and roles from the real world singer/songwriter community. Analysis of Folk-Music communications reveals a web of aesthetic paradoxes, and a close link between aesthetics and ethics, illustrated through discussion of topics like performance venues, music and economics, performance practices, and cultural and social activism. Traditional taxonomic techniques did not prove useful in this community because of reluctance on the part of community members to use labels when discussing their music. Rather than using labels of traditional musical genres, they use "referenced relationships," describing the music in terms of other musicians in the tradition. The musical content of Folk-Music is established in large part by the music-network of the community's creator and list owner, who decides which music and musicians are discussed on the list. Folk-Music functions as an affinity group, providing camaraderie with others who share similar interests. This virtual community, as a ritual enactment site, reflects a search for community in contemporary society. TI - Virtual music communities: The Folk-Music Internet discussion group as a cultural system PB - University of California, Los Angeles KW - ethnocybermusicology KW - folk_music KW - music KW - projeto_tese KW - sandwich_portugal KW - tese KW - virtual_communities N1 - Mais informações disponíveis em http://tinyurl.com/wandabryant . AU - Bryant, Wanda PY - 1995/// UR - http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=7&did=742875051&SrchMode=2&sid=1&Fmt=2&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1222131851&clientId=1564 ER -