The aim of this course is to familiarize the student with the objectives and methods of inquiry used in ethnomusicology. We will seek to answer some very fundamental questions about the meaning of music, and the nearly universal need for individuals and groups to create and practice it. By closely examining traditional musics in Persia, Mande West Africa, Japan, and modern Brazil, we will investigate laws of physics which govern tone production, as well as methods of pedagogy (transmission), performance practices, instrument construction, and most importantly, how social, cultural, and personal identity is expressed through the activity of music making. C21:GE,HU,NW.