Nettl Critical Review #6

Nettl sets up an interesting ethnomusicology at home study, generalizing his experience at the music departments of several midwestern universities into "Heartland U" and then describing it as an ethnomusicologist, an informant, and a total outsider. This unique setup eschews some ethical issues, but at the same time leaves the line between opinion and conclusions drawn from observation very vague.

He depicts Western art music study as set up similarly to a polytheistic religion, with various deities (great composers), each with their own personality and belonging to a certain tier. This seems a relatively accurate description of the attitudes within the Music Department, and this analogy helps flesh out some other important value connections between the music and the corresponding culture (hierarchy, specialization, individual achievement, doing the difficult, complexity, conformity, tension between hard work and natural talent). At a certain point, however, it seems like Nettl is just seeing and highlighting the parallels he wants to see, and the lack of specific informants backing up his assertions does not help his cause.

Discussion Question: What other styles/genres/cultures of music have a similar "deity" setup as Western art music? To what extent do the attitudes that musicians/participants have towards the deities mirror those 0f Western art music?