Music

School of Music

Ethnomusicology

  • Research into music outside the European tradition and of specific locales or regions is focused on:
    • Asian Music
    • Music of the Himalayas (Bhutan, Tibet, Sikkim, Nepal)
    • Music Communities and Asian Music in Christchurch
    • Balinese Gamelan performance

    Elaine Dobson’s research into Himalayan music, particularly that of the dranyen or Himalayan lute, has led to field work in Tibet, Bhutan and Nepal since 1991 including visits to the remote areas of the eastern borders of Bhutan and the Humla region of north-west Nepal.  In 2005, she undertook a preliminary, field study of the music of the Lepchas, the indigenous people of Sikkim (north India).  In April-June 2006, she was invited to Bhutan to be on the jury and present workshops for the Bhutan Motion Picture Association Film Festival.  At that time, she also researched the Bhutanese work of Tangtong Gyalpo, the founder of Tibetan opera.  Her major publications include Dobson, E. (2005) “Music for the Black-necked Cranes of Bhutan” Asian Futures, Asian Traditions (2005) and “From Mount Tsari to the Tsechu: Bhutan’s Sacred Song and Lute Dance.” Journal of Bhutan Studies, 25 (Winter), 59-81.


    Other current and recent ethnomusicology research includes PhDs on The Philippine Rondalla: A Contemporary Resurgence in Australasia, Goat-headed Bagpipes and Dog-Headed Folk: Expressions of the bagpipe's identity in the Chod region of Bohemia, Sri Lankan Low-Country Ritual Drumming: The Raigama Tradition, and The Korean, traditional, vocal form ‘Kagok’, and MAs on Music of the Thaipusum Festival in Malaysia, and “An investigative and Documentary Study of Music and Change within a Buddhist Community in Christchurch, New Zealand.