technology in the field

[Alex Enkerli]

At 3:07 PM -0700 4/4/00, Katherine Hoffman wrote:
>I am left wondering how to best integrate newer and cassette
>recordings into the field experience and relations with consultants.

Good point!

>playing/duplicating tapes for the local communities has been an
>effective way of allaying fears and giving something back that
>people appreciate.

Absolutely! There's a version of this that does involve a lot of
technology (e.g. giving to the community re-mastered CDs of wax
cylinders recorded in the community) but the principle itself is very
important, regardless of technology.

>  Cassettes are best suited for this purpose because most families
>have a tape player radio or know someone who does.

In Sub-Saharan Africa,distribution patterns for cassettes are prominent.
In fact, some performers may record their performances with their own
equipment, adding an interesting possibility to the research
methodology.
(Working with musicians, I end up copying cassettes from them more
often than recording things myself. And it becomes an important part
of the research process to have someone comment over the content of
the tapes they make.)

There's certainly something to be done with advanced technology. At
the very least, it can be extremely convenient to use in a lab
situation. But most often then not, the simplest technology helps us
achieve our goals more elegantly.

Alex