Music of the First Nations: Tradition and Innovation in Native North America

by Tara Browner (Contributor), T. Christopher Aplin (Contributor), Paula Conlon (Contributor)

This unique anthology presents a wide variety of approaches to an ethnomusicology of Inuit and Native North American musical expression. Contributors include Native and non-Native scholars who provide erudite and illuminating perspectives on aboriginal culture, incorporating both traditional practices and contemporary musical influences. Gathering scholarship on a realm of intense interest but little previous publication, this collection promises to revitalize the study of Native music in North America, an area of ethnomusicology that stands to benefit greatly from these scholars' cooperative, community-oriented methods. Contributors are T. Christopher Aplin, Tara Browner, Paula Conlon, David E. Draper, Elaine Keillor, Lucy Lafferty, Franziska von Rosen, David Samuels, Laurel Sercombe, and Judith Vander.

Genres: Music, History, Indigenous, Nonfiction

184 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2009

Reviews

[Francesca Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a textbook for a class I just finished. It is made up of essays on different types of Native American music. Some essays talk about musical form, and some don’t. We didn’t read the whole book for my class, but I forced myself to finish just for the sake of having closure.

First of all, it’s hard to write about music. Second, it’s hard to read about music. It would be easier to feel like I learned something if the book had included a link to audio files. I had to go to youtube to track down some of the music it discussed.

The book is more of a 3+/4- but I feel like giving a book a 3 is judgmental.