Chapter 1—What, in the World, Is Music?

Audiovisual Resources

Digital video content available as Video on Demand (VOD) is typically delivered to users on computers as downloadable or streaming video. Video sharing sites such as YouTube (www.youtube.com) are popular around the world, making a wide range of video events available. Other VOD sites also provide access to video at no cost to the viewer; others request a one-time fee or a subscription fee. Please see the Chapter 2 “Audiovisual Resources” section of this Online Learning Center for an extensive list of VOD providers.

The following audiovisual items are of particular relevance to this chapter. Portions or complete versions of some of these productions may be available via VOD providers as well as in their conventional DVD or VHS formats:

“Azan (Islamic call to worship—Turkey).” 1990. JVC Video Anthology of World Music and Dance: Middle East & Africa I. Distributed by Rounder Records. Vol 16-1. VHS.

This brief video clip offers an opportunity to see and hear the Azan (Islamic call to prayer) in cultural context.  Accompanying guide provides contextual information.

Sound, Music, and the Environment. 1999. Produced by Pacific Street Films and Educational Film Center. Annenberg Media. VHS and DVD. Available as streaming video from the Annenberg/CPB website: http://www.learner.org/resources/series105.html. 30 mins.

Explores different musical traditions with examples from Bosnia, Tuva, Ireland, West Africa, Trinidad, Japan, and Western art music, jazz, and rock. This is part one of the Exploring the World of Music series of twelve 30-minute programs.

Sound??. 1994. Directed by Dick Fontaine. Rhapsody Film. 27 mins.

A film from 1967 in which jazz saxophonist Rahsaan Roland Kirk and composer John Cage each explore sound and performance experimentally. While they represent different musical genres, they share belief in the boundless possibilities of music.