Daughters of Tradition, Mothers of Invention: Music, Teaching, and Gender in Evolving Contexts

Abstract

Since the 1980s, I have been observing members of the Polish Górale community teaching their music and dance in Canada. Over these years I have witnessed several generations continuing or being initiated into a “so-called traditional music of a particular place” (Wolf 2009b:5), that is, the mountains of southern Poland, while otherwise participating in a local culture quite different from that being taught in Canada and the US. Both women and men have been devoting their valuable time to teaching children how to sing, dance, and play in the Górale style (po góralsku) in preparation for a variety of ensemble-based performances. Being variously involved in these activities over the years has led me to consider this transmission process. This paper builds from this experience to reflect more generally on music and dance learning in contemporary contexts and deliberately focuses on the ongoing human component in a process now greatly facilitated by new technologies. In particular, it considers music learning as it relates to paradigmatic gendered performance styles that have been recontextualized within evolving intercultural settings.

Women's Role in Sustaining the Practice of Tamburitza Instruments in Vojvodina

“…Through their dedication to tamburitza practice, they have been fundamental in its development and sustainability, as shown by their engagement in training young performers, popularizing playing tamburitza instruments, improving the music education system, expanding technical and interpretive abilities of musicians, and composing new works for tamburitza instruments. It is certainly not possible to talk about male and female teaching methods here, as is the case in some other practices in the world (Magowan 2007;Rice 1994;Wrazen 2010), but the significant role of women in cross-generational knowledge transfer is evident as well as gender-oriented collaboration within women's tamburitza orchestras.…”

Women's Leadership in Music

“…Through their dedication to tamburitza practice, they have been fundamental in its development and sustainability, as shown by their engagement in training young performers, popularizing playing tamburitza instruments, improving the music education system, expanding technical and interpretive abilities of musicians, and composing new works for tamburitza instruments. It is certainly not possible to talk about male and female teaching methods here, as is the case in some other practices in the world (Magowan 2007;Rice 1994;Wrazen 2010), but the significant role of women in cross-generational knowledge transfer is evident as well as gender-oriented collaboration within women's tamburitza orchestras.…”

The Social Conditions of Preservation of Traditional Rituals and Antiques in Rural Communities of North Udmurtia

“…Фестивали и массовые праздники формируют различные модусы национальной, этнической и персональной идентичности [Eyerman 2004;Ruane 2017]. Успешной оказывается работа с нематериальным наследием, в частности, народной музыкой и пением Wrazen 2010]. Перформативные способы представления этнической культуры также делают востребованной материальную культуру как воплощение повседневной жиз-ни людей, принадлежащих к «истинной традиции».…”