Chapter 2 How Music Lives: A Musicultural Approach

Chapter 2—How Music Lives: A Musicultural Approach

Audiovisual Resources

Video content available as Video on Demand (VOD) istypically delivered to users on computers as downloadable or streaming video. Video sharing sites such as YouTube ( are popular around the world, making a wide range of video events available. Other VOD sites also provide access to video at no cost to the viewer; others request a one-time fee or a subscription fee. The following sites provide online access to documentary video material with musical content that you may want to explore relative to this chapter and other chapters.

Asia Pacific Films.com. Available:

Streams films from Asian and the Pacific directors, especially from China, Korea, India, Iran, and Southeast Asia, including documentaries and experimental films. For example:

  • And The Moon Dances (Indonesian music and dance) by Garin Nugroho, 1995.

Annenberg Media. Available:

A multimedia site for teachers that include films for professional development and classroom teaching. Streaming videos of full programs available, video downloads and DVDs can be purchased. For example:

  • Exploring the World of Music. Twelve 30-minute videosproduced by Pacific Street Films and the Educational Film Center, 1999.

Culture Unplugged. Available:

A production and distribution company providing streaming documentary films and other media from around the world. Partnerships with international organizations provide access to films from Link TV, IRIN, NDTV, UNDP India, MTV EXIT, USAID and other organizations. For example:

  • Tengir-Too: Mountain Music of Kyrgyzstan by Aga Khan Trust for Culture, 2007 (Link TV)
  • Siberia at the Centre of the World:Part 1: Music, Dance and Ritual in Sakha-Yakutia, documentary by Misha Maltsev and Keith Howard, 2008 (SOAS DVD Series)
  • Héroes. No Hacen Falta Alas Para Volar (Heroes. Wings Are Not Necessary to Fly)by Ángel Loza, 2007

Documentary Educational Resource (DER). In addition to video sales, this organization provides“download to own” or “download to rent” through Amazon VOD service for selected titles and download services through the Tribeca Film Institute Reframe Collection ( Examples:

  • A Sigh And A Wish: Helen Creighton's Maritimes by Donna Davies, 2001
  • Asiklar: Those Who Are In Love by David Grabias, 1996

Ethnographic Video Online.Available:

This online resource for the visual study of human culture and behavior was developed in collaboration with Documentary Educational Resources. Includes footage from around the world from key filmmakers along with field notes and study guides. For example:

  • Balinese Requiem by Yasuhiro Omori, 1992.

The Films Media Group. Available:

Provides access to Films for the Humanities and Sciences videos. There is streaming access to previews; full titles are licensed to stream for a fee for three years.

  • Listening to the Silence: African Cross Rhythms, 1996
  • El Corrido Mexicano Música y Cuernos de Chivo (Spanish with English subtitles), 2007

NFB. Available:

Documentary films produced by the National Film Board of Canada. Free access. For example:

  • Celtic Spirits (Cape Breton musicians visit Ireland and Scotland) by James Littleton, 1978

PBS Video. Available:

Provides online access to popular PBS programs using on-demand streaming. Full-length videos along with video previews, clips and outtakes of performances and interviews are available. Free access. For example:

  • Latin Music USA. 4 part series in English or Spanish (each episode c. 55 min.)
  • Sound Tracks: Music Without Borders (episodes and performance clips)
  • American Masters series (performance and interview clips)

Snag Films. Available:

Hosts about 850 documentary films that are freely available to watch. The films cover numerous topics, from arts and music, to war and women's studies. For example,

  • African Underground: Hip Hop in Senegal, by Magee McIlvaine, Ben Herson, Chris Moore, 2008 (excerpt)
  • Bali: Masterpiece of the Gods, National Geographic Society, 1990
  • Heavy Metal in Baghdad by Suroosh Alvi and Eddy Moretti, 2007.
  • Music Rising by Don Young (New Orleans), 2009.

***For additional resources, go to Michael Bakan’s personally maintained website at

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