Overview

"An exploration of ethical dynamism in vocal life Ways of Voice is the first ethnomusicological monograph to delve deeply into the diverse, variegated techniques of voice production in North India. It explicitly thematizes the dynamic movement between vocal dispositions—singers who consciously retrain themselves in order to acquire a different voice, focusing on the ways in which singers not only ""have"" voice, but actively acquire, cultivate and contest particular vocal dispositions. The book deals extensively with the formation and contestation of particular, historically grounded ways of voice, from Bollywood film singers to modern raga vocality to pop Sufi song. Working from dozens of concrete examples, it fills an important gap both in South Asian ethnomusicology and in the emerging field of voice studies. Audio and video examples are provided on the online companion site."

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9780819579393

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Reviews

Ways of Voice offers an expansive look at vocal cultures that is deeply ethnographic, yet stylistically comparative. With an emphasis on the fundamental relationality of vocal practice and vocal being, this book offers an important model for future scholars and it offers readers rich insight into vocal practices across a range of styles. --Anaar Desai-Stephens, Professor of Ethnomusicology, University of Rochester The topic of voice expands to new terrain in Rahaim's book! This text is meticulously researched and prepared--a model for scholarly research and an important contribution to several fields and areas of study. --Tomie Hahn, Professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Magisterial in scope and content, Ways of Voice explores North Indian vocal performance from a seemingly endless variety, yet completely coherent and integrated set of perspectives. Voice here is embodied and enabled through the individual but invariably socially connected, politically positioned, and morally contested. Ways of Voice encompasses a universe of being and becoming that illuminates its immediate subject and very much beyond. This is an astonishingly original work; a study of homo ludensas manifest through voice in all the myriad ways that make us human. --Daniel M. Neuman, Professor emeritus, Mohindar Brar Sambhi Chair of Indian Music emeritus, UCLA Rahaim's brilliant book offers bold, original perspectives on the North Indian vocal ecumene. In this unprecedented work that listens attentively across genres and sonic registers, we encounter a range of ontologies of voice, and fresh ways of thinking about the ethical and affective resonances of vocal selfhood. --Davesh Soneji, Associate professor of south Asian studies, University of Pennsylvania

Ways of Voice offers an expansive look at vocal cultures that is deeply ethnographic, yet stylistically comparative. With an emphasis on the fundamental relationality of vocal practice and vocal being, this book offers an important model for future scholars and it offers readers rich insight into vocal practices across a range of styles.--Anaar Desai-Stephens, Professor of Ethnomusicology, University of Rochester The topic of voice expands to new terrain in Rahaim's book! This text is meticulously researched and prepared--a model for scholarly research and an important contribution to several fields and areas of study.--Tomie Hahn, Professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Magisterial in scope and content, Ways of Voice explores North Indian vocal performance from a seemingly endless variety, yet completely coherent and integrated set of perspectives. Voice here is embodied and enabled through the individual but invariably socially connected, politically positioned, and morally contested. Ways of Voice encompasses a universe of being and becoming that illuminates its immediate subject and very much beyond. This is an astonishingly original work; a study of homo ludensas manifest through voice in all the myriad ways that make us human.--Daniel M. Neuman, Professor emeritus, Mohindar Brar Sambhi Chair of Indian Music emeritus, UCLA Rahaim's brilliant book offers bold, original perspectives on the North Indian vocal ecumene. In this unprecedented work that listens attentively across genres and sonic registers, we encounter a range of ontologies of voice, and fresh ways of thinking about the ethical and affective resonances of vocal selfhood.--Davesh Soneji, Associate professor of south Asian studies, University of Pennsylvania

Author Information

Matthew Rahaim (Minneapolis, MN) is associate professor of musicology and ethnomusicology at the University of Minnesota, author of Musicking Bodies, and a practicing Hindustani vocalist in the Gwalior tradition.

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