You are each required to locate and interview an NYC-based musician who is/was involved in the New York City musical scene. YOU MUST OBTAIN THIS PERSON’S WRITTEN PERMISSION TO PUBLISH THE INTERVIEW ON OUR COURSE WEBSITE, THOUGH THEY MAY REQUEST ANONYMITY. Here is a consent form you can use: Oral History Consent Form.doc.
The focus of your interview should be on how the New York City environment — its population, its culture, its physical spaces — has shaped the musical scene(s) in which the musician is a participant. If the musician has been involved in musical scenes (or is familiar with them) in other locales, ask her/him how and why these scenes differ from the New York scene. For some sample questions, see this document.
Who “counts”?
It should be someone who “plays out” on a regular basis. Whether they make money from their music or not, they should have active experience playing with and to other people, not just playing at home. See also Ruby’s question and Prof. B’s response.
Deadlines
CITI certification due 2/19;
oral history due 3/12.
As to format:
The most straightforward would be a transcription of your questions and the musician’s answers; you might also want to weave their responses into a narrative (including direct quotations) that you reconstruct from your conversation. You should also try to record at least a little snippet of a performance… and hold open the possibility of a multimedia piece. For some examples of what this might sound like, as well as tips on how to produce them, (1) check out these resources from Brooklyn ITF Maggie Galvan and (2) talk to Ben!
Tips for recording
You can use your Macs to record audio, either through the built-in GarageBand or through a more powerful downloaded program, such as Audacity (which is also free); there are also apps for most smartphones, and even some “non-smart” phones also have recording devices. If you want to take it to the next level, Macaulay Central has some high-qual recorders that you can check out.
Do a test run before you have the whole conversation! In fact, it’s probably a good idea to make sure your device works before you even get into the interview space.
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