Week 4

Appolgies for the delay in accesing my blog. I experienced login difficulties and a conflict of gmail accounts due to blogger's association with Google. Either way, what time has past and what's done is done.

Identity and time alike, are realtive concepts. The thought that a certain style of music is ancient is neither definite nor discreet. A style of music may date back to a certain era if one must take the style for an unchanging and classified entity. I prefer to take a more dynamic approach and claim that a musical style has no beginning and certainly has no end as it is always changing and fluctuating. That being said I believe it is possible that one person's perception of "ancient" may be quite different than anothers. Furthermore, as these differing perceptions are seperate, they are comparable relative to each other. The idea that a type of music is not as ancient as it has been marketed draws upon the assumption that an "ancient" style of music is a static entity. The music is being presented as ancient, when the music may very well be modern through a relative comparison to many other neighboring styles of music. Reese argues that the music is catered to tourests an therefore by nature different from the true ancient style. The Focus on Naxi style is played out in contrast to the lack of emphasis on Han style.

The main criticism of Western scholars with regards to the modern Chinese Orchestra is that it too closely resembles a Western Orchestra. The inclusion of many distinctly Western instruments and the regimented organization in the western style detract from the authenticity of the Chinese culture. The music is no more or less pleasing or fascinating, but the style is less Chinese according to these scholars. I believe that these arguments hold some merit as there is great value in preserving the authenticity and originality of traditional style, but I am also inclined to state that the music played can be adapted and it is of no consequence whether new styles are played and grow out of the old. With respect to authenticity, I believe it is also a relative term that can differ from person to person. There is no true measure of authenticity in the field of ethnomusicology because change and adaptation must be accounted for.