Awards

• Winner of Winner, 2009 Alan Merriam Prize (Society for Ethnomusicology)Winner, Nketia Book Prize, Society for Ethnomusicology.
• Winner of Winner, 2009 Alan Merriam Prize (Society for Ethnomusicology)Winner, Nketia Book Prize, Society for Ethnomusicology.

Overview

Fiddling has had a lengthy history in Africa which has long been ignored. Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje corrects this oversight with an expansive study on fiddling in the Fulbe, Hausa, and Dagbamba cultures of West Africa. DjeDje not only explains the history of the instrument itself, but also discusses the processes of stylistic transference and adaptation, suggesting how these may have contributed to differing performance practices. Additionally, DjeDje delves into the music, the performance context, the musicians behind the fiddle, the meaning of the instrument, and its use in these three cultures. This detailed work helps the reader understand and appreciate three little-known musical cultures in West Africa and the fiddle's influence upon them.

Full Product Details

9780253219299

Table of Contents

Reviews

This broad comparative approach synthesizing several decades of research is groundbreaking in both ethnomusicology and African studies, and the author has the expertise and authority to accomplish such a difficult project. Eric Charry, Wesleyan University If you've always associated west African music with drumming, think again: this enjoyable and immensely readable book explains the vital importance of the dynamic and highly developed traditions of the fiddle in this part of the world, which reach back at least 300 years and possible much further. Jacqueline Cogdell Djedje, professor and chair of ethnomusicology at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), draws on her own field studies conducted between 1973 and 2003 to provide a comprehensive survey of the instrument in the three main musical cultures of west Africa: Fulbe, Hausa and Dagbamba. The scope of this fascinating and painstakingly researched study is broad, but it is also methodically focussed... She examines aspects of the fiddle tradition as the history of the instrument , contexts for performance, social status of its players, ensemble organisation, the music's stylistic features and the profiles of players from each culture. - Catherine Nelson, The Strand, October 2009

This broad comparative approach synthesizing several decades of research is groundbreaking in both ethnomusicology and African studies, and the author has the expertise and authority to accomplish such a difficult project. Eric Charry, Wesleyan University If you've always associated west African music with drumming, think again: this enjoyable and immensely readable book explains the vital importance of the dynamic and highly developed traditions of the fiddle in this part of the world, which reach back at least 300 years and possible much further. Jacqueline Cogdell Djedje, professor and chair of ethnomusicology at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), draws on her own field studies conducted between 1973 and 2003 to provide a comprehensive survey of the instrument in the three main musical cultures of west Africa: Fulbe, Hausa and Dagbamba. The scope of this fascinating and painstakingly researched study is broad, but it is also methodically focussed... She examines aspects of the fiddle tradition as the history of the instrument , contexts for performance, social status of its players, ensemble organisation, the music's stylistic features and the profiles of players from each culture. - Catherine Nelson, The Strand, October 2009 Fiddling in West Africa furnishes substantive and intelligent answers to various questions about the nature and purpose of fiddling in Fulbe, Hausa, and Dagbamba. Djedje makes a significant contribution to ethnomusicology with far-reaching impact across disciplinary boundaries. Fiddling in West Africa is an invaluable resource for students and scholars, as well as the general public. oAmerican Ethnologist, Volume 36, No. 3, August 2009 Fiddling in West Africa ... Is a phenomenal addition to critical literature on African music in particular and ethnomusicology in general. This seminal publication represents an excellent consummation of a sustained scholarship on a West African music tradition that spans three decades. oIntl. Journal of African Historical Studies, May 2008

""This broad comparative approach synthesizing several decades of research is groundbreaking in both ethnomusicology and African studies, and the author has the expertise and authority to accomplish such a difficult project."" Eric Charry, Wesleyan University ""If you've always associated west African music with drumming, think again: this enjoyable and immensely readable book explains the vital importance of the dynamic and highly developed traditions of the fiddle in this part of the world, which reach back at least 300 years and possible much further. Jacqueline Cogdell Djedje, professor and chair of ethnomusicology at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), draws on her own field studies conducted between 1973 and 2003 to provide a comprehensive survey of the instrument in the three main musical cultures of west Africa: Fulbe, Hausa and Dagbamba. The scope of this fascinating and painstakingly researched study is broad, but it is also methodically focussed... She examines aspects of the fiddle tradition as the history of the instrument , contexts for performance, social status of its players, ensemble organisation, the music's stylistic features and the profiles of players from each culture. "" - Catherine Nelson, The Strand, October 2009 ""Fiddling in West Africa furnishes substantive and intelligent answers to various questions about the nature and purpose of fiddling in Fulbe, Hausa, and Dagbamba. Djedje makes a significant contribution to ethnomusicology with far-reaching impact across disciplinary boundaries. Fiddling in West Africa is an invaluable resource for students and scholars, as well as the general public."" oAmerican Ethnologist, Volume 36, No. 3, August 2009 ""Fiddling in West Africa ... Is a phenomenal addition to critical literature on African music in particular and ethnomusicology in general. This seminal publication represents an excellent consummation of a sustained scholarship on a West African music tradition that spans three decades."" oIntl. Journal of African Historical Studies, May 2008

Author Information

Jacqueline Cogdell DjeDje is Professor and Chair of Ethnomusicology and former Director of the Ethnomusicology Archive at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available