Well, hello again! Realizing that I'm not really keeping up with this blogging business, I thought I'd just mention where I am in the dissertation-writing process and note that I expect entries here to continue to be scarce, at least for the time being.
As you know, I'm writing a dissertation on the subject of taksim ('improvisaton') in classical Turkish music. Or more precisely, I'm comparing makam ('modal') theory of the 20th century with taksim (as the praxis of makam theory) as performed between 1910 and 2010, both in early 20th c. recordings and from videos I took of performers during my recent 42 week research trip to Istanbul. My hypothesis is that - whatever the theorists have been saying - there's an organic, performance-oriented makam theory manifest in the way taksim-s are played and understood by experienced performers; if so, my job is to delineate at least some of its principles.
The work is going quickly. I moved here to Evanston, Illinois about a month ago and I'm just heading into Chapter IV. It's broadly structured to have 3 sections: historical, ethnographic, and musicological, and the new chapter will begin the ethnography. My hope is that the winter... the dread Chicago winter - Leaf-Scourge, Freezer of Great Lakes, Bringer of Excess Weight to Squirrel and Man - will help me concentrate even more, get this thing moving toward Those Who are Interested.
Meanwhile, I'm playing music irregularly (mostly that lâvta, finally), some with the Bulbul Ensemble, and some with Lamajamal, and hoping to get something going with music I've constructed myself. And there are interesting talks on the Northwestern University campus, especially at the Roberta Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies, which houses the Keyman Family Program in Modern Turkish Studies, and who are making me an 'affiliate,' which sounds right friendly.
As always, I'm grateful that you came by to check up on me, and I hope you're doing well. I have no idea when next I'll write here, but you can always drop me an e-mail to say hi and tell me what you're up to.
(Thanks to Bahadir Turan for sharing the above image via this website about Neyzen Sencer Derya.
