In this blog I want to share some of my thoughts about various topics. Since my background is in music, its practice and theory, as well as thinking about it, my posts here are going to take music as a point of entrance to any particular topic at hand – or at least have a connection to music.
My musical life began when I picked up the guitar at the age of seven. Later I moved on to electric bass and finally double bass, which became my main instrument. After finishing my jazz double bass studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam I took on musicology at the University of Amsterdam in which I earned the Master’s degree specialising in Black music (or African American music, if you prefer). I continued this specialisation in my Art Studies Research Master’s studies. The latter also included research trips to Rome and New Orleans and especially from the latter I have a lot of material I’m going to make use of here.
As my academic career so far has led to only one publication, many of my posts here will be of topics I wrote about during my studies. Additionally, I’ll write here about music I’ve heard – live and recorded – and the thoughts such performances have brought up.
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Chagall – The Fiddler
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My interest in music is most importantly cultural and social; how music “works” and is used in different cultural and social settings by performers, audiences/listeners, promoters, authorities and various other agents. So rather than music theoretical analysis of performances I’ve witnessed or music criticism in the traditional sense, I’m more inclined to produce contemplative texts about the philosophical, phenomenological and perhaps ethical dimensions of music.
I’ll try to post something whenever I get around to do so. There’s a comment link on top of every post. Please, feel free to use it! I’d like to hear your thoughts and engage in discussion. As the topics I discuss here are mostly not tied to specific time, such as the performance discussed or the time of posting, feel free to comment also on some older posts should you feel like you have something to say.
Looking forward to some lively discussions!
Cheers, Mikko