The Race of Sound

Listening, Timbre, and Vocality in African American Music

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Music, Theory & Criticism, Ethnomusicology, Theory, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, African-American Studies
Cover of the book The Race of Sound by Nina Sun Eidsheim, Duke University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Nina Sun Eidsheim ISBN: 9780822372646
Publisher: Duke University Press Publication: December 6, 2018
Imprint: Duke University Press Books Language: English
Author: Nina Sun Eidsheim
ISBN: 9780822372646
Publisher: Duke University Press
Publication: December 6, 2018
Imprint: Duke University Press Books
Language: English

In The Race of Sound Nina Sun Eidsheim traces the ways in which sonic attributes that might seem natural, such as the voice and its qualities, are socially produced. Eidsheim illustrates how listeners measure race through sound and locate racial subjectivities in vocal timbre—the color or tone of a voice. Eidsheim examines singers Marian Anderson, Billie Holiday, and Jimmy Scott as well as the vocal synthesis technology Vocaloid to show how listeners carry a series of assumptions about the nature of the voice and to whom it belongs. Outlining how the voice is linked to ideas of racial essentialism and authenticity, Eidsheim untangles the relationship between race, gender, vocal technique, and timbre while addressing an undertheorized space of racial and ethnic performance. In so doing, she advances our knowledge of the cultural-historical formation of the timbral politics of difference and the ways that comprehending voice remains central to understanding human experience, all the while advocating for a form of listening that would allow us to hear singers in a self-reflexive, denaturalized way.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In The Race of Sound Nina Sun Eidsheim traces the ways in which sonic attributes that might seem natural, such as the voice and its qualities, are socially produced. Eidsheim illustrates how listeners measure race through sound and locate racial subjectivities in vocal timbre—the color or tone of a voice. Eidsheim examines singers Marian Anderson, Billie Holiday, and Jimmy Scott as well as the vocal synthesis technology Vocaloid to show how listeners carry a series of assumptions about the nature of the voice and to whom it belongs. Outlining how the voice is linked to ideas of racial essentialism and authenticity, Eidsheim untangles the relationship between race, gender, vocal technique, and timbre while addressing an undertheorized space of racial and ethnic performance. In so doing, she advances our knowledge of the cultural-historical formation of the timbral politics of difference and the ways that comprehending voice remains central to understanding human experience, all the while advocating for a form of listening that would allow us to hear singers in a self-reflexive, denaturalized way.

More books from Duke University Press

Cover of the book The End of Concern by Nina Sun Eidsheim
Cover of the book Landing Zones by Nina Sun Eidsheim
Cover of the book Economies of Abandonment by Nina Sun Eidsheim
Cover of the book Performance by Nina Sun Eidsheim
Cover of the book The Lettered Mountain by Nina Sun Eidsheim
Cover of the book Called by Stories by Nina Sun Eidsheim
Cover of the book Jazz Cosmopolitanism in Accra by Nina Sun Eidsheim
Cover of the book Religious Affects by Nina Sun Eidsheim
Cover of the book Photography and the Optical Unconscious by Nina Sun Eidsheim
Cover of the book Domination and Cultural Resistance by Nina Sun Eidsheim
Cover of the book Black France / France Noire by Nina Sun Eidsheim
Cover of the book Picturing American Modernity by Nina Sun Eidsheim
Cover of the book Choosing to Lead by Nina Sun Eidsheim
Cover of the book Mobilizing Youth by Nina Sun Eidsheim
Cover of the book Imperialism and the Corruption of Democracies by Nina Sun Eidsheim
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy