Chapter 4 response

Andrew Devoy
October 16 2016

Chapter 4 focuses on the idea of migrating music: how music migrates,

why it does so, and the conditions that have caused music to remain in a
new location. It is broken into two categories: voluntary and forced
migration. Two case studies are provided for each category and give detailed
perspectives from different cultures. These contrasting case studies
demonstrate a stark comparative difference between the locations, as well
as the circumstances which caused the migration. I found that the chart
depicting the timeline of "Turning Points in US Immigration History" to be
extremely useful while reading this chapter. The significant years of
immigration are valuable to be mindful of, especially when examining a topic
like migrating music. I am certain that traditional music traveled
with migrants during these mass migrations in some form. The author further
refines this timeline into smaller segments which are specific to each of the
cultures from the case studies. This was interesting to me because it gives
an even more focused scope of the period when migration occurs; and this
migration usually happens in multiple parts, often over the span of a hundred
years or more.
One of the most significant forced migrations to ever affect the United
States, in my opinion, was the African forced migration. Not only did this
migration affect Americas economic power, but also began to create a music
tradition in America that is deeply rooted in African culture. Many traditional
African genres contributed to the development of early Jazz in the late 19th
century, a genre which America closely identifies with in certain states. The
terms New Orleans Jazz and Louisiana Blues are considered by many to
be traditional American music and this would have been impossible without
the forced migration of Africans in the 17th century. Dr. Jonathan Bakan, who
teaches the Introduction to Jazz course at Western, is convinced that
traditional American jazz is entirely attributed to the slave workers who came
from Africa and I agree with his premise.
The timeline for the Vietnamese forced migration is especially
interesting because, while the other migrations occurred over a span of a
hundred years or more, this migration was much shorter. We can compare

the mass migration of Vietnamese refugees with whats happening in the

world today in Syria. The attitudes towards refugees migrating at such a
massive rate can be paralleled as well with the attitudes of 1970s America.
The music that resulted from the Vietnamese migration were topics of
sadness and love, longing to return to the country they grew up in before the
turmoil. The ethereal sliding sounds of the Dan Bau create a sense of
nostalgia.
The author concludes that music plays a vital role for migrants as they
rebuild their lives, to provide stability within the realm of familiar and helps
adaptation to new settings and challenges. This is a profound function of
music and through many sounds we can feel at home anywhere in the world.

Questions:
1. What parallels can you draw from the text to modern day massmigrations? How might these effect their community music scene in
the future?
2. In the conclusion, the author alludes to the idea of music as a coping
mechanism for migrants. Do you agree with this?
3. What other ways can music be of practical use to migrants who have
just arrived to a brand new country?