ALL ABOUT CULTURE - Ethnomusicology

Ethnomusicology at PWU is an integrative music program of instruction, creative performance and research with emphasis on musics in the Philippines. Its thrust is to harness the full range of Philippine music as a valuable source of materials for teaching and performance thereby developing educational strategies relevant to the Philippine situation.

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

B.M. in Philippine Music

This four-year undergraduate program in music has a course sequence that develops basic musicianship and music literacy initially through the use of cipher notation and hands-on performance of Philippine music genres. Subsequently, the student progresses into conventional staff notation and the study of western music cultures and other world musics. Importance is given to music performance and creativity as the

program reaches out to students with interest and inclination towards popular music as well as indigenous music traditions.


M.A. in Ethnomusicology As an interdisciplinary program that is directed to college degree holders of diverse backgrounds, the Master of Arts program provides further academic growth for music teachers and cultural workers including those who may lack the formal training in music. The curriculum centers on both basic and new approaches in music research and performance and the direct application in the understanding of Philippine musical practices. The courses are generally directed to preparing the student for the thesis which is the
principal undertaking under this music program. The required 36 units of course work may be completed through a combination of regular week days or Saturday classes, summer sessions, and individual online tutorials. These flexible arrangements enable teachers and active music practitioners to pursue graduate studies.

The performing group of the Ethnomusicology Program was organized to encourage its students and faculty to be active performers of Philippine music in both traditional and new styles. The Gongs of PWU aptly takes its name from the kulintang, agung and gangsa which comprise perhaps the largest and most significant Philippine gong collection in the country.

Short term music workshops are regularly conducted in April and May. A hands-on approach to understanding music and musical instruments provides participants with an enjoyable and effective way of learning music. A workshop kit consisting of a manual and compilations in compact discs and/or video is specially prepared to meet the needs of beginners with no musical background as well as those in the advanced level. Workshop participants are mostly teachers and students coming from different parts of the country. Varied topics on Philippine music, Asian music and our new additions on world music are explored each summer.

The Asian Musical Instruments Collection represents the initial collection of the School of Music (formerly the College of Music and Fine Arts) and largely expanded by National Artist and Dean Emeritus Lucrecia R. Kasilag. In year 2000, Dr. Kasilag donated to PWU her personal collection of musical instruments, Filipiniana music materials and memorabilia. The cataloguing and documentation of this vast and varied collection is presently undertaken by the Ethnomusicology staff. The most significant part of the collection are the kulintang gongs (approximately 50 sets) collected from Mindanao and Sulu since the 1950s.

The Philippine Music Heritage Collection is central to the Ethnomusicology Program as the depository of research materials and, in turn, the main music resource for basic research and teaching. The music collection continues to grow with recent deposits from Filipino music researchers notably Dr. Felicidad A. Prudente’s field recordings from northern Luzon and Dr. Kristina Benitez’ kulintang and agung field recordings from Mindanao. The ethnomusicology students likewise contribute to the collection as part of the program’s cooperative effort to share materials among its depositors for research and educational purposes.

The Ethnomusicology staff welcomes requests of group visits to its exhibit of musical instruments from different parts of the Philippines and Asia. Lecture-demonstrations may likewise be arranged upon request.

Dr. Kristina Benitez, Ethnomusicology Program Director
      Asian Instruments Room, School of Music
      Philippine Women’s University, Taft Avenue, Manila
      Telephone no: (02) 3392582
      E-mail: kasbenitez@gmail.com