I've started noting some ideas for my research proposal which is due on November 24th. I still want to focus on the accessibility of the madrigal today. My aims are yet to be properly decided but I'm thinking along the lines of: to discuss or investigate the accessibility of the madrigal today. One of my objectives is to define the meaning of accessibility. To help with this I've been looking at "The Accessibility of Music: Participation, Reception, and Contact" by Jochen Eisentraut. He defines accessibility in three ways: personal, which means things like "do you like it? can you listen to it?," physical accessibility (can you get to a concert or can you afford to buy a piece of music or score?), and participatory accessibility, meaning can people join in? There was also a reference to Adorno which is about the familiarity of music and how we like things that we've heard or seen before. For example, I like the madrigal so much because they form the pattern of pop songs today! They have harmony, melody, chord structures, and most importantly, a verse and a chorus -- or they're strophic, meaning that they repeat over and over. I've also been listening to some links and stations on the radio relevant to the madrigal, including artists such as the King's Singers, Ensemble Amarillis, the New York Madrigal Singers, and the Hillyard Ensemble. The main radio station I've been listening to regarding madrigals is Abacus Renaissance Lute.
These are very much rough ideas and I need to pull them together into the proposal document. I really hope I get it done before the 24th.
These are very much rough ideas and I need to pull them together into the proposal document. I really hope I get it done before the 24th.