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Design of the Field Recordings Database

Prepared by: Mark Braun, under the supervision of Jeff Titon and Ned Quist. Date: September 1, 2002

Introduction:

The Koetting Field Recordings Collection consists of one-hundred-and-forty-six (5 and 7 inch) audio tape reels, two “Recording Log” notebooks, and one “Project Log”notebook. The tapes contain music and interview material recorded in Ghana, West Africa between October 23, 1973 and August 25, 1975 during which time James Koetting was conducting fieldwork for his Ph.D. in Musicology. During this period, he held the distinction of research affiliate and visiting faculty member at the University of Ghana in Accra. Ultimately, Koetting was conferred the Ph.D. by the Department of Music at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1980. His dissertation, "Continuity and Change in Ghanaian Kasena Flute and Drum Ensemble Music: A Comparative Study of the Homeland and Nima/Accra (ML3760 K63 C66 1983), is entirely based on this fieldwork and should be considered an essential companion to the field recordings collection.

This Data Base:

This data base is a catalog of contents for the one hundred and forty-three reels that comprise the collection. The information that appears herein has been gleaned from careful review of the audio material and examination of Koetting’s Recording Log and Project Log. Most of the data entered here comes directly from Koetting’s notes, though sometimes interpretation or discrimination was required to determine what information to include. In a few instances– usually where Koetting’s notes were incomplete – I was forced to rely on my own experience with Ghanaian music, and the expert opinion of Ghanaian associates Ahmed Gbeku and Abraham Adzenyah in making such determinations. Users should be aware that many of Koetting’s written comments and reflections are not reported in this data base. Those intending to use the Koetting Field Recordings Collection are advised to refer to Koetting’s dissertation and field notebooks for additional information.

The database that follows is a relational database. It relies on two separate data files, one that catalogs each reel in the collection, and one that catalogs each “track” on each reel. For our purposes, a “track” is an identified segment of continuous or coherent recorded material. In the course of this project, tracks were designated in order to organize the material for the digitizing process. Though tracks often correspond to single recorded segments, multiple segments are sometimes grouped together on a single track if the material is coherent. In such cases a break-down of the material contained on the track is included in the track data entry. Though fundamentally the database is an inventory of contents, it is also designed to serve various research objectives. Files can be searched and sorted according to the interests of the user.

Use of Data Fields:

Since searches of any kind rely on the use of data fields, it is important to understand the definition and usage of each field. For this reason, a brief explanation of each data field follows, and an index of all items within select fields is included below. The overall design of the files and the use of data fields aims to render this database user-friendly, though any user should be aware of some limiting factors that complicate the final product. First among these is the nature and extent of information provided by Koetting. Bear in mind that Koetting’s Project Log and Recording Log were intended only for his personal use. Though in general his notes are detailed and thorough, illegible writing, shorthand notes, and incomplete entries appear occasionally throughout. Other difficulties arise from the multitude of specialized terms for musical types and musical instruments that Koetting uses some of which appear with multiple spellings and in different languages. Still other difficulties were posed by our use in the database of common descriptive categories, such as “genre” and “composer.” Though these terms may be familiar to the Western user, their use here is complicated since we are often describing musical cultures that do not recognize or utilize these categories in quite the same way. Note that data fields left blank indicate that no information is available at this time on the subject, or that this filed is not applicable to the file entry.

All of these issues should be kept in mind when using this database. Use the information herein cautiously – it has not been verified by local music experts or authorities on Ghanaian languages. Above all, refer to Koetting’s original writings when in question.

Spelling:

African languages are generally represented in English language literature using standard roman characters and additional symbols, many of which are related to characters in the International Phonetic Alphabet. The need for additional symbols is a result of the array of linguistic sounds found throughout the continent that are foreign to European languages. There is a fair amount of variation in the orthography of languages throughout Africa, but in recent years there has been progress toward greater standardization of African orthography – due in part to the work of The Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society (CASAS) of Cape Town, South Africa. The Bureau of Ghana Language (Accra, Ghana) and the International Gbe Laboratory (Garome, Benin) have issued guides to the principle languages of Ghana, and these guides rely on a number of specialized characters. These specialized characters, however, are rarely available in Roman alphabet typeface sets in the United States and Europe. This is most likely the reason that Koetting elected to use standard roman characters only throughout his dissertation. In his notebooks, however, Koetting often utilized additional characters as a native writer would.

In this database foreign terms are generally spelled using only standard Roman alphabet characters, except in the case of proper song titles or song texts. These are written using a combination of standard roman characters and altered characters. The majority of specialized terms found in the Koetting’s notes come from the Kasim language. Proper Kasim spellings are provided in the glossary below for Kasim terms that appear in this database with standard roman character spelling. Also below, a table is provided for approximate transliteration of altered roman characters used here.

Fields Used:

Reel Number: Reel numbers used in this data base reflect those originally assigned by Koetting. Two irregularities should be noted. Four reels are numbered using the letter“D” in addition to a numeral. These reels contain material dubbed by Koetting from other reels in the collection for the purpose of analysis. The data entry for each track on these reels provides source tape information for cross-referencing. Also, seven reels are missing from the original collection of one-hundred-and-fifty-three. Missing reels are identified in the reel file of the database, and limited information on these reels is available in Koetting’s notes. Reel numbers are generally chronological.

Koetting documented the recording date for each reel in the collection. Generally, individual reels were recorded on a single date, though a few reels contain tracks recorded on different dates. Multiple reels often contain material recorded on a single date or at a single event.

Place of Recording:Koetting’s documentation of recording site is generally excellent. In many cases, information is provided on the performance venue, in addition to the town or region. Approximately 90% of the material was recorded is Nima/Accra or locations in Ghana’s Northern Kasena region.

Equipment Used:Though no confirmed information is available on Koetting’s portable reel to reel recorder, all indications are that he used a full-track, mono Nagra machine. According to his notes and occasional timecode figures, Akai and Hitachi models were used in reviewing material at the sound laboratory at Legon. Koetting’s notes often indicate the number and position of microphones. This information, when available, is presented in this data field.

Tape Specifications:This field presents the reel size, tape speed, and track selection (most tapes are recorded “full track mono”) for each reel. Occasionally portions of a single reel are recorded to different specification. In such cases, this information is presented.

Tape Recording Quality:The vast majority of reels were recorded with expertise, and remain in good shape. Consequently, most reels are described as good or excellent. Occasionally, tracks display interference from background noise, wind noise, or technical problems. The primary criterion for judging quality on ensemble recordings is the balance, or relative strength of different instrumental parts.

Persons Recorded:Koetting’s notes provide different levels of detail on this subject. Generally speaking, whatever information Koetting recorded in his notes is presented in this data field. Often, only the ensemble name is given in performance situations. Users should be aware that often times ensemble names are comprised of a place name (for example, Paga), instrument names (for example, wui), and/or music genre names (for example, jongo). In this way, group names are often descriptive. When the names of individual interviewees or performers are recorded in Koetting’s notes, those names are generally presented here.

Contents Summary:Content summary entries provide a brief description of the recorded material. Important information that has no specific field in the reel record often appears here. Descriptions sometimes incorporate Koetting’s research interests or intentions. They also indicate if the reel is one in a series that captured a single event.

Keywords:The Keyword field is intended to provide users with a quick means of finding material of interest. In reel file entries, the Key Word field may contain the names of places, people, ethnic groups, languages, musical genres, or other information.

Comments:Used only occasionally, this field provides additional information on the quality or contents of the reel and sometimes makes reference to related reels in the collection.

Additional Fields from Tracks File:

  • Track Number: Track numbers are sequential for those appearing on any reel.
  • Beginning and Ending Timecode: These fields display the beginning and ending timecode reading on the machine used for review in the course of this project. For all reels recorded at 7.5 inches-per-second, a Tascam 32 machine was used to review the material. For those recorded at 3.75 inches-per-second, the Akai 4000DS MK-II machine was used for review. Note that for both machines, timecode counters were zeroed at the first recorded sound on the reel – ie. a voice, background noise, or music (pops or noise from the recording mechanism were not disgregarded for this purpose). [NB: The Timecodes were omitted from this online presentation]
  • Track Title: Following Koetting’s example, assigned track title’s are often descriptive. When, however, proper titles are provided for composed pieces or songs performed in traditional music repertories, those titles are taken for the track title. Traditional music repertories sometimes appear in track titles when there are no other distinguishing features, or when multiple songs within the repertory are performed in succession without a break. If the same title is used in more than one case, roman numerals indicate the number of previous tracks in the collection that are similarly titled. It a track is the continuation of a previous track, a lowercase letter is used to indicate the relationship.
  • Location: This field usually contains the same information found in the “Place of Recording” field in the corresponding reel entry, though it sometimes contains additional information specific to the track.
  • Field Situation: This field describes the type of event or situation that was captured by Koetting. Some situations were initiated by Koetting, while others were attended or happened-upon. With regard to this field, note that a wide definition of the term “performance” should be understood by users. The term is used here to signal musical or dance action, and does not necessarily imply the presence of an audience. The term is often used in this field with qualifiers to provide more specific information.
  • Repertoire or Genre: This field is especially problematic. In western musicology, the term “genre” is complex, since it can be used in more or less specific way. For example, in some contexts Jazz is considered a single genre, while in others swing and bop can be considered genres of their own. In Ghana, musical types are variously identified by their performance context, required instrumentation, or ethnic associations. There is no universally recognized system of classification for traditional music in Ghana. “Traditional music” however is a generally recognized category, though traditional music elements are often integrated with highlife, church music, or Western pop. Besides these complications, Koetting’s notes provide different degrees of detail for different tracks and reels in the collection. Though I have tried to use this field in an intelligible way, the entries in this data field may occasionally seem irregular.
  • Instrumentation: This field lists the instruments that used on the track using the terminology that Koetting used in his notes and dissertation. Spellings are all in standard roman script, though equivalents with altered script are provided in the glossary below. Where Koetting has provided specific numbers of players for a given instrument, this information is provided in parentheses. Parentheses may also be used to indicate method of playing where Koetting has made note of this.
  • Composer: Though few tracks in the collection contain music of a known composer, this field provides such information when it is relevant. Note that the word “traditional” often appears in this field, indicating that there is no recognized composer for the piece or it has been part of the its repertory for a period of time. If the word “unknown” appears in this field, the recorded music is thought to be composed, though the composer is unknown at this time.
  • Related Language/Ethnic Group: This field should be approached with caution. Koetting’s notes are not consistent on the topic, so judgements were often made based on the location of the recording and the identity of the persons recorded, along with my knowledge and that of Ghanaian associates.
  • Keywords: This field generally contains key words or phrases that have no proper field of their own. It may also contain terms that appear in other data fields for the entry if they are deemed to be important markers of the track. Sometimes Koetting’s analytic interests are indicated in this field.
  • Recording Quality: This field usually contains the same information found in the Recording quality field in the corresponding Reel File entry, though it sometimes contains additional information specific to the track
  • Comments: As with the Contents Summery field on reel entries, this field usually provides a brief description of the recorded material. Descriptions sometimes incorporate Koetting’s research interests or recording techniques. They also indicate if the reel is one in a series that captured a single recording session. Quotation marks are generally used in this field to indicate verbatim remarks from Koetting’s notes or recorded narration.