Part two of my conversation with Dr. Owen Belcher (University of Missouri Kansas City), Dr. Catrina Kim, and Dr. Alan Reese (University of Massachusetts Amherst), where we discuss music entrepreneurship, the "usefulness" of music theory, and their recent MTO article, "Public Music Theory's Neoliberal Learning Outcomes." Public Music Theory's Neoliberal Learning Outcomes Andrea Moore's "Neoliberalism and the Musical Entrepreneur" Note Doctors podcast My episode with Dr. Malia Jade Roberson abou...
Nov 13, 2023•54 min
In part one of this episode, I chat with Dr. Owen Belcher (University of Missouri Kansas City), Dr. Catrina Kim, and Dr. Alan Reese (University of Massachusetts Amherst) about their musical upbringings, their time together in grad school at Eastman, and their advice to current music grad students. Stay tuned for part two of our conversation when we chat about their recent MTO article, "Public Music Theory's Neoliberal Learning Outcomes." Public Music Theory's Neoliberal Learning Outcomes Get in ...
Nov 06, 2023•45 min
In episode four of our fall season, I chat with Chris Jenkins (Oberlin College) about his musical upbringing in New York, his career as a violist, his current work as the Associate Dean of Academic Support at Oberlin Conservatory, and our shared experiences as Black musicians. We also discuss his new book Assimilation vs. Integration in Music Education: Leading Change Toward Greater Equity . The upcoming Theorizing African American Music Conference Assimilation vs. Integration in Music Education...
Oct 30, 2023•1 hr 15 min
In episode three of our fall season, I chat with Dr. Patrick Nickleson (University of Alberta) about his musical upbringing in Canada, his background as a guitarist, and his path to musicology. We also discuss his 2023 book The Names of Minimalism: Authorship, Art Music, and Historiography in Dispute , available now through the University of Michigan Press. The Names of Minimalism Philip Ewell's On Music Theory Patrick's upcoming paper at AMS Patrick's radio show Patrick's co-authored essay in T...
Oct 23, 2023•1 hr 19 min
In the second episode of this season, I chat with Dr. Michael Buchler (Florida State University) about his musical upbringing, his time in grad school at Michigan (go blue!) and Eastman, his research on musical theatre, and his current tenure as the President of the Society for Music Theory. We also discuss his current union work and how that led to his research on the intersection of music and labor movements. Here for the Hearing Michael's upcoming plenary session at the College Music Society ...
Oct 16, 2023•1 hr 12 min
In our first episode of our new season, I chat with YouTuber Cory Arnold (12Tone) all about their musical upbringing, their experiences as a singer, and their journey to making YouTube videos about music theory. Come see Cory and I speak on the Public Music Theory plenary session panel at the Society for Music Theory's annual meeting in November! This episode was edited by Jair G with ExpMediaProductions. 12Tone on Youtube 12Tone's Carly Rae Jepsen video 12Tone on Patreon Ghost Notes Podcast M...
Oct 09, 2023•1 hr 12 min
In this recap episode, I chat all about everything I did this summer, from traveling to Italy to sing opera for a month (!!!), to seeing Beyoncé on the Renaissance World Tour in London (!!!!), to the grad student strike at Michigan officially ending (!!!!!). I also discuss what I've been doing for fun this summer (including some book, music, and podcast recommendations) and give an update on what's to come for HMA. Check back for new episodes of the show every Monday starting October 9th! Wishin...
Aug 28, 2023•1 hr 36 min
In this episode, I chat with Dr. Teresa Reed (University of Louisville) about her early experiences with music in the Black church, her path to studying music theory at Indiana University, and her time as the dean of music at the University of Louisville. We also chat about her published scholarship, diving into her first book The Holy Profane: Religion in Black Popular Music as well as her latest book You're Likely Not A Racist: Answers for Curious White People . The Holy Profane The Jazz Life ...
Jul 17, 2023•1 hr 16 min
In this episode, I chat with Dr. Daniel Barolsky (Beloit College) about his early experiences as a double bassist, coming to musicology through listening to recordings, and the current music curriculum at his college. We also discuss his work with Open Access Musicology and Daniel Leech-Wilkinson's book Challenging Performance: Classical Music Performance Norms and How to Escape Them . Daniel's MTO article Challenging Performance Open Access Musicology This episode was edited by Jair G with Exp...
Jul 10, 2023•1 hr 26 min
In part two of our conversation, YouTuber and musician Tayo Omisore (COLORMIND.mp4 on YouTube) and I continue our conversation about "rap covers" and how rap is developing into a canon. We also discuss Tayo's songwriting and production process for his musical interlude segments in his YouTube videos. Tayo's YouTube channel Tayo's Male Friendship video Tayo's Himbo video Tayo's Inflation video Adam Neely's video Tayo's Spotify This episode was edited by Jair G with ExpMediaProductions. Get in t...
Jul 03, 2023•1 hr 3 min
In this episode, I chat with YouTuber and musician Tayo Omisore (COLORMIND.mp4 on YouTube) all about his musical upbringing with rap, his experiences learning to write music, and the development of his career as a Black musical content creator. We also discuss his video response to music theory YouTuber Adam Neely, who made a video about the absence of "rap covers." Tayo and I offer our perspective as Black musicians and ponder what music theory offers us when studying and discussing rap. Stay t...
Jun 26, 2023•58 min
In this episode, I chat with Dr. Ben Cornelius-Bates (Duquesne University) about his musical upbringing in Alaska, his path to composition, and his experiences studying the organ. We also discuss how to write music for the organ, particularly within the context of secular music, and talk about timbre in Maan Varjot by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho for organ and orchestra. Rest in peace to Saariaho, who passed away on June 2, 2023. Ben's IMSLP Ben's recorded organ improvisations The second move...
Jun 05, 2023•1 hr 11 min
In this solo episode, I chat all about how my winter semester at the University of Michigan went. I give an update on the grad student strike, my classes, and my teaching. I also explore my yearly theme of simplicity, set new goals for Summer 2023, and discuss the podcast's progress! THANK GAWD this episode was edited by Jair G with ExpMediaProductions! Hire him for all of your video/audio editing needs! Donate to the strike fund GEO's Twitter GEO's Instagram My Staging Blackness term paper Tres...
May 15, 2023•1 hr 38 min
In this episode, I invite Anna Rose Nelson (University of Michigan) on the show to give us an update on finishing her dissertation (hire her!). We also (in great detail!) break down the ongoing strike at the University of Michigan. Beginning with the very recent history of U-M graduate student workers and lecturers striking in 2020, Anna Rose shares about her experiences organizing with the Graduate Employees Organization on behalf of the School of Music, Theater, and Dance. We discuss how the b...
Apr 10, 2023•1 hr 47 min
Our last episode for Women's History Month! Today on the show I welcome another Michigan alum Dr. Vivian Luong (University of Oklahoma) to chat about her background as a clarinetist and a pianist, her time studying music theory at Michigan, and her current approaches to theory pedagogy. We also discuss her research centered around feminist music theory and what it means to love music, her MTO article titled "Rethinking Music Loving," and her Engaged Music Theory blog post titled "Feeling Like a ...
Mar 29, 2023•1 hr 14 min
TW: brief mentions of sexual assault For our second episode of Women's History Month, I chat with Dr. Susan McClary (Case Western Reserve University) about her path to musicology, as well as her experiences as an educator and researcher. We also discuss her incredibly influential scholarship centered around gender and sexuality in music by diving into her 1991 book Feminine Endings . Finally, she shares her current teaching philosophies as well as the music she is enjoying. Feminine Endings My S...
Mar 22, 2023•55 min
Our first episode for Women's History Month! Today I chat with Dr. Kyra Gaunt (University at Albany, State University of New York) all about her experiences as a singer, her time studying voice and ethnomusicology at Michigan, and her first book The Games Black Girls Play: Learning The Ropes From Double Dutch To Hip-Hop . We also discuss her forthcoming book PLAYED , featuring her research centered around Black girls dancing on YouTube. Thanks to Natalie Krafft for editing the written transcript...
Mar 08, 2023•1 hr 17 min
We are finishing off Black History Month with a conversation about Beyoncé! My sister Ismatu Gwendolyn Bangura and I chat all about our personal relationships to her music, the public perception of Beyoncé, and the aesthetics and politics in her latest album, Renaissance . I also feature the voices of some of the Black women and femmes in my community to get their thoughts on the album. In order of appearance, you heard the voices of Erykah Benson, Gaby Kubi, Dylan Keese-Forster, and Ijeoma Opar...
Feb 28, 2023•1 hr 23 min
In this episode, we are wrapping up Black History Month with some familial history! My younger sister Ismatu Gwendolyn Bangura joins me on the show to discuss our shared musical upbringing, their experiences leading a gospel choir at Northwestern University, and how their relationship to music changed after they became a sex worker. We also chat about their blossoming Tik Tok career and the ways in which they are using art, writing, dance, and poetry in their activism. Finally, Ismatu shares abo...
Feb 27, 2023•1 hr 16 min
Continuing our series of conversations with Black musicians for Black History Month, today Dr. Phil Ewell (Hunter College of City University of New York) joins me on the show to discuss his background as a cellist, his time studying music theory at Yale University, and our shared investment in public music theory. We also examine the whiteness and maleness of music theory through the lens of other scholarship throughout the humanities, in order to explore what anti-racist work in music theory co...
Feb 20, 2023•1 hr
This week we are continuing our conversations with Black musicians for Black History Month! In this episode, I chat with Darrian Dorrough (@94Drow) about his experiences in hip hop, the status of rap research in the academy, and his songwriting and production process. We also discuss his experience hosting a live show on Instagram called the Dope or Nope Show, where he and his collaborators review the music of unsigned artists and producers. Check out 94Drow's album MissFit and his singles where...
Feb 13, 2023•1 hr 15 min
Happy Black History Month! In this episode, I chat with Jordan Brown (Harvard University) about her experiences as a singer and arranger, her path to ethnomusicology, and her positionality as a queer Black woman in music academia. We also discuss E. Patrick Johnson's 2001 article titled "Quare Studies, or Almost Everything I Know About Queer Studies I Learned From My Grandmother," which is utilized in Jordan's research about the music of queer Black femmes. Jordan's Linktree Jordan's single "Spa...
Feb 06, 2023•54 min
In this episode, I chat with Dr. John Michael Cooper (Southwestern University) about his path to musicology, his experiences in music publishing, and the lives and music of Margaret Bonds and Florence Price. We also listen to and discuss Margaret Bonds' piece Tangamerican , performed by pianist Lara Downes. Special thanks to Lara and to Candace Johnson for their appearances in this episode! Dr. Cooper's blog Lara's recording of Tangamerican Schirmer's editions of Price's music Hildegard Publishi...
Jan 30, 2023•1 hr 2 min
In this episode, I chat with Majel Connery all about her experiences as a singer, her choice to leave the field of musicology, and our shared experiences as women in music. We also discuss her new podcast from CapRadio, "A Music of Their Own," which explores the ways women in music navigate the industry and the ways the music itself is gendered. Make sure to stream her show wherever you get your podcasts! A Music of Their Own Yuja Wang article Get in touch with me at: hermusicacademia@gmail.com...
Jan 23, 2023•1 hr 9 min
In this solo episode, I chat all about how my fall semester turned out, from taking classes to teaching for the first time to quitting my barista job. I also discuss my experience presenting at the American Studies Association conference and at the big #musiccon (AMS/SEM/SMT 2022) in New Orleans. Finally, I reflect on achieving some of my goals of the past year and set a new yearly theme for 2023. Singing Like Germans by Kira Thurman Carefree Black Girls by Zeba Blay Black Opera by Naomi Andre A...
Dec 26, 2022•1 hr 18 min
In this episode, I chat with my friend Natalie Krafft all about her career as a music teacher, her experience doing music streams on Twitch, and our favorite recordings of the Goldberg Variations by Bach. Follow Natalie on Twitch! @nitnatkat Study Together Discord server MTO article by Peter Martens Get in touch with me at: hermusicacademia@gmail.com...
Oct 21, 2022•55 min
In part two of my conversation with Dr. Megan Lavengood (George Mason University) and Dr. Cara Stroud (Michigan State University), we chat all about timbre, the role of "world music" instruments, and Megan's MTO article "The Cultural Significance of Timbre Analysis: A Case Study in 1980s Pop Music, Texture, and Narrative." A special thanks for Cara and her class for their thoughts on Megan's piece and for making an appearance on this episode (in order of appearance: (Zephie Hillard, ShihPing Wan...
Sep 23, 2022•38 min
In part one of my conversation with Dr. Megan Lavengood (George Mason University) and Dr. Cara Stroud (Michigan State University), we chat about their experiences in music theory, their approaches to reading and writing, and their thoughts on teaching theory during the pandemic. Stay tuned for part two of our conversation! The SMT Committee on the Status of Women writing groups Get in touch with me at: hermusicacademia@gmail.com...
Sep 15, 2022•1 hr 1 min
In this episode, I chat with Dr. Dan DiPiero (Ithaca College) about his background as a jazz drummer, his experiences studying comparative studies, and his new book Contingent Encounters: Improvisation in Music and Everyday Life (out now and available open access through the University of Michigan Press!). Dan's book Dan's lecture on YouTube Get in touch with me at: hermusicacademia@gmail.com...
Sep 06, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Lydia pops in to give a special announcement about her new podcast, Her Music Academia! This is the pilot episode during which she reflects on her first year at the University of Michigan. Get in touch with Lydia at on her website, hermusicacademia.com , or send her an email at hermusicacademia@gmail.com.
Aug 28, 2022•55 min
