Why study ethnomusicology?

There is a reason to study ethnomusicology beyond a simple appreciation for history. In fact, an ethnomusicologist can use his recordings to unlock secrets about music. He can use these secrets to enhance his own playing or spread the knowledge to enhance other peoples' playing. In this article, I will be talking about an analysis of key signature and beats per measure from my West Virginia recordings. I started a recent analysis of my records by key and beats per measure. I started with Trevor Hammons' recordings because I have always admired, nay- been entranced by Trevor's playing. Though I will never be Trevor, I learned something useful by analyzing his recordings for key and bpm. Though I am sure he did not intentionally choose these keys and tempos I am about to discuss, I wager that they are underlying factors as to why his tunes are so catchy. For example, analyzing Trevor's banjo tunes I found that during one session he played some tunes in the key of approximately Gb. But, these four tunes ranged from being centered at 183 to 186 Hz. Technically, Gb is centered at 185 Hz. He probably did not intentionally tune his banjo down a half-step but rather it just settled there as he tuned it again and again by ear and it stayed in his living room. My favorite tune was "Jimmy in the Swamp" being at 184 Hz. So, it stands to reason that this just "sounded good" to his ear. There is a point here about how exact and scientific playing may not even be most appealing to the ear. Perhaps the best keys to play in are not even aligned with the 440hz system. For example, "Jimmy in the Swamp" was at 184 and not 185 Hz. Furthermore, He played a version of "Last Chance" that was in 163 Hz: E. I doubt he intentionally tuned "to E" because this is not a standard tuning in the old-time community. Rather, he tuned by ear and it sounded good. Two points are applicable hear. 1) Perhaps tuning by ear for playing fiddle and banjo, etc., is a preferable method than tuning to 440HzA. 2) Perhaps we other musicians could actually experiment playing in keys like 185Hz Gb, and 163E.

Regarding tempo, I found that Trevor plays a lot of clawhammer tunes at around in three ranges: 93 bpm; 100 bpm; 115 bpm. Are these "magical" ranges for playing? I encourage musicians to try playing at these bpms. Meahnwhile, the Bing Brothers of Pocahiontas County play often faster, with a lot of their exciting tunes at 140bpm. This is a very high-paced beat. Perhaps musicians should take note when they ask the question "how do I play fast?" Perhaps they could experiment at this range of 130-150 bpm.

The idea is that ethnomusicologists can analyze their favorite musicians' records scientifically for inspiration. Perhaps other ethnomusicologists can even think of analytical projects, in addition to tempo and key, in other dimensions.