Digital access in a pandemic: Integrating and utilising AM’s Ethnomusicology: Global Field Recordings at UCLA

By Maureen Russell, Archivist, UCLA Enthnomusicology Archive and Supeena Insee Adler, Adjunct Associate Professor, Enthnomusicology at UCLA.

UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive materials have always been used in academic coursework and in performance ensemble classes, so digital access to the materials during the campus closures of 2020 and 2021 was vital for students, faculty, and international researchers. 

To support the continuing use of the collections during the closures, the Archive created and implemented a new programme of promotion and training on the use of AM’s digital resource, Ethnomusicology: Global Field Recordings, which draws on fieldwork held by the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive. The training and promotion programme was aimed at both faculty and students to raise awareness of the available access to archival collections while the physical archive was closed.

Use in class and ensembles

There were roughly 1,000 students who used the Ethnomusicology: Global Field Recordings database for their coursework and assignments in 2020 and 2021, across five quarters.

Most classes and ensembles are synchronous but with the campus closures, the ensembles, lectures, and seminars moved online and digital access to the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive recordings through the AM resource was more important than ever. The digital collection was used in two ways: firstly, by teachers preparing materials for the classroom; and secondly, by students independently accessing the material in class.

Shifting to digital resources can take time and adjustment, which is why the knowledge sharing and training sessions created and implemented by UCLA’s Ethnomusicology Archive and the World Musical Instrument Collection were so important. As a result of this collaborative and innovative programme, online classes could be planned in advance of teaching and had greater support across the School of Music and other University departments and schools. The feedback from course instructors in particular was a feeling of being more organised in their class preparation during a changeable time. Having had the opportunity to identify recordings of interest, they were then able to return for further research after the knowledge sharing sessions. It became easy and effective to access the digital recordings that were pertinent to the class. Two examples are given below.

World Music Ensembles

Ensembles involve a group of performers in a wide range of musical traditions. Under the direction of world class performance faculty, students also premiere extraordinary new works, including those by established composers, students, faculty and alumni. 

For six World Music Ensembles, the Music of Bali, the Music of Bulgaria, the Music of Ghana, the Music of Java, the Music of Mexico, and the Music of Thailand, the Graduate Student Researchers gave short presentations in class about the AM resource Ethnomusicology: Global Field Recordings.

Before the pandemic closure, the instructors asked students to use at least one recording from the Ethnomusicology Archive in their final assignment. With the campus closed for the pandemic, starting in March 2020, the instructors required their students to instead choose a recording from the Ethnomusicology: Global Field Recordings database. In this instance, the digital collection was able to cover for the loss of the physical archival experience and the students were still able to access and use the recordings in their final assignments.

Discovery of World Music class

A new undergraduate course called “Discovery of World Music,” was carefully designed for Music Department students to discover music and cultures from around the globe. This class provided a unique opportunity to Western Classical Music students and instructors to expand their sonic experiences. Using the digital collection enhanced understanding and musical appreciation when performance opportunity was limited, and it proved effective in an online teaching environment.

Integration and training

To achieve such impressive levels of engagement with the digital resource, the Ethnomusicology Archive, led by Archivist, Professor Maureen Russell, and the World Musical Instrument Collection, led by Professor Supeena Insee Adler, organised formal training on AM’s digital resource, beginning with ladder faculty, ensemble directors, and Graduate Student Researchers¹ (GSRs) in the World Music Center including the Ethnomusicology Archive and the World Musical Instrument Collection. 

With this training, these instructors could better support undergraduate students and fellow graduate students on how to access and use the database. The Graduate Student Researchers were especially able to assist the Ensemble Directors to deliver training and knowledge sharing sessions using the digitised archival materials, creating an important link between Ethnomusicology faculty and students, and increasing awareness of what is digitally available at UCLA. And of course, Professor Russell was always available for individualised training and research assistance.

In addition, almost every week throughout the summer quarter, faculty and instructors from all departments in the School of Music, including Ensemble Directors, met for knowledge sharing sessions to share resources and ideas for classes and assignments. As a result, more classes across these different departments made use of the digitised materials.

Impact and outcome

During a global pandemic, AM’s Ethnomusicology: Global Field Recordings allowed students to access the resources they needed, inside and outside of the classroom, synchronously and asynchronously, to complete primary source assignments. Some were part of the course when students were able to access the physical archive, and some were new course assignments to take advantage of the newly available online resources. 

As a result of successful knowledge sharing, training and outreach, more classes, both in the Ethnomusicology Department and across the campus, used Ethnomusicology Archive recordings. This broad engagement had a positive impact on students’ experience of the ensembles. Integrating the digital collection also resulted in more collaboration between faculty and students, with students gaining a greater understanding of non-Western musics and cultures.

Judith McCulloh Public Sector Award

In Fall 2022, the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive was awarded the Judith McCulloh Public Sector Award by the Society of Ethnomusicology. 

The purpose of the Award is “To recognize the valuable impact of many types of ethnomusicological work that benefits the broader public and typically engages organizations outside academic institutions.”² The Award recognized the significant contributions of the Ethnomusicology Archive to the broader public, and its reach beyond the ivory tower. Said the McCulloh Award Committee:

About the authors

Maureen Russell is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Ethnomusicology, specializing in audiovisual archiving, oral history, and information literacy and research skills. In addition, Russell is the Archivist at the UCLA Ethnomusicology Archive, one of the largest and oldest ethnographic audiovisual archives in North America.

Supeena Insee Adler is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Ethnomusicology, where she directs the Music of Thailand ensemble. She is the Curator and Conservator of the World Musical Instrument Collection at UCLA. She is also active as a performer, teacher, and instrument technician among the Thai community of Southern California. She has produced major concert events in conjunction with the Royal Thai Consulate General, has consulted with the U.S. Library of Congress as well as the British Library concerning their collections in Thai instruments and audio recordings. Her publications and research interests lie in ritual, classical, and folk musics of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.

About Ethnomusicology: Global Field Recordings

Presenting content from across the globe, AM’s Ethnomusicology: Global Field Recordings is a diverse and comprehensive resource that features thousands of audio field recordings and interviews, educational recordings, film footage, field notebooks, slides, correspondence, and ephemera from over 60 fields of study, including sites in West Africa, North America, Southeast Asia, and more. Produced in collaboration with the University of Washington and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Ethnomusicology Archive — a world centre for the study of Ethnomusicology — the content within this collection gives access to the cultural and social lives of the source communities represented within the recordings, allowing users a unique insight into the musical traditions of these communities.

Endnotes

1. The Graduate Student Researcher at UCLA is an academic apprentice appointment, providing students with an opportunity to learn valuable academic skills.

2. SEM Newsletter 57: 1 (Winter 2023), pp. 29-30.

This article was first published in Against the Grain, September 2023.