Bowed, Plucked, and Strummed Stories: The Instruments of American Roots Music
MUS1-10-Fri1
Taylor Ackley. The Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes at Brandeis and at University of Massachusetts, Boston are collaborating on this course.
In person on the former campus of Mt. Ida College in Newton, 100 Carlson Ave, Newton, Massachusetts, 02459. Ample, convenient parking will be provided. Once enrolled in this course, you will receive detailed directions.
September 6 - November 8
(No class October 4 or 11)
**Please note this class will run for 8 weeks from 10am - noon and will take place at the former campus of Mt. Ida College in Newton.** Though this class meets for 8 weeks, it will count as a 10 week course in the lottery.
The fiddle, banjo and other instruments in American folk and roots music have stories as rich and complex as the great artists who use them. Their sounds evoke powerful images and ideas that reflect the many ways they have been used to make music as well as the people and cultures they have been associated with at different points in history. In “Bowed, Plucked and Strummed Stories: The Instruments of American Roots Music,” we will learn these stories, examining the fascinating processes through which musical instruments have traveled around the world, shaping and being shaped by the people who play and hear them.
By focusing on instruments and the people who play them, we can move beyond the emphasis on the history of composers and songwriters. This allows us to understand the ways that the musical practices of poor and working-class communities have been a driving force in American music. “Bowed, Plucked and Strummed Stories: The Instruments of American Roots Music” can be taken as a continuation of the Great Artists in American Roots Music series or as a stand-alone course. Each session will involve a dynamic mix of lecture, performance and discussion. There will also be time in some class meetings for participants who play music to bring their own instruments to show the class and talk about their own music-making.
Other – A mix of lecture, discussion and musical performance.
Readings will be drawn from scholarly literature, popular press and artist biographies and will be provided in PDF format or as links to digital content. Listening will be provided in the form of a YouTube Playlist.
Approximately 20 pages of reading per week with about half an hour of assigned listening.
Taylor Ackley is first and foremost a folk musician. Born into a working-class family with a remarkable musical heritage, his work was influenced by generations of pickers, singers, songwriters and fiddlers across his family. He holds a Master’s Degree and PhD in Composition and a Master’s Degree in Ethnomusicology from Stony Brook University. Taylor is a professor at Brandeis University. His work examines American folk and popular music through analysis, composition, historical research, performance and ethnography.