Pon De Dancefloor: Jamaican Dancehall in the 21st Century
| Author(s) | Espie, Stephanie | |
| Date Accessioned | 2016-09-19T15:17:29Z | |
| Date Available | 2016-09-19T15:17:29Z | |
| Publication Date | 2016-05 | |
| Abstract | The history of Jamaican music includes Roots, Mento, Ska, Rocksteady and Reggae styles - setting the stage for the origination of the dancehall genre in the early 1980s. While a wide range of ethnographic literature has been published on these musical foundations, few publications exist on the evolution of dancehall in Jamaica. Dancehall has expanded in the past 10-15 years due to increasing effects of collaboration between American and Jamaican artists and DJs along with the ease of musical transmission through technology. In this ethnographic research, I studied the evolution of dancehall to create a portrayal of musical trends leading to the predominance of dancehall in Jamaica. I collected data over 10 days of fieldwork in Portland, Jamaica in June of 2015. The music played by four club DJs was chosen as the focus of study because of its influence on Portland’s musical culture. Data consisted of observational field notes and 10 hours of audio recordings of local DJs in club settings. Audio recordings were analyzed for traditional beats, song length, production year, language choice, and added effects. Field notes were used as a secondary source to confirm/disconfirm the emerging musical themes from across these DJs. Findings have been compared to the existing literature to create an updated trajectory of musical trends within dancehall. These results can be used in the field of Ethnomusicology to continue the study of Jamaican music within Jamaica, and on a broader global level. | en_US |
| Advisor | Suzanne L. Burton | |
| Program | Music Education | |
| URL | http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/19591 | |
| Publisher | University of Delaware | en_US |
| Keywords | jamaican dancehall | en_US |
| Keywords | music | en_US |
| Keywords | music education | en_US |
| Title | Pon De Dancefloor: Jamaican Dancehall in the 21st Century | en_US |
| Type | Thesis | en_US |