Analysis Of Worlds Of Music By David Locke

When it comes to being put under the public’s eyes and ears, a performer will want to make sure they have a representative who, without fail, will depict them in a way that aligns with the performer’s morals and beliefs, their culture. By doing this the performer should be pushed in the direction of achieving future aspirations. As a musician from a culture as rich as Africa, and Ewe within that, I would want to make sure that happens. David Locke would represent me as a sophisticated Ewe musician better than Richard Wallaschek could because of his intimate understanding of the Ewe music and how that relates to my culture. If I were a musician about to embark on a world tour then I would not hesitate to pick Locke to represent me. In chapter three of Worlds of Music, Locke says, “People of African descent, wherever they are in the world, may regard Africa as the ancestral homeland, the place of empowerment and belonging.” (page 100-101) I believe that accurate representation would start with someone who understands my culture and the kind of music I’d be playing. Locke has a vast background and knowledge base in the basics of Ewe music. He knows not only how it works and how it’s formed, but also why and how came to be the way it is.
Conversely, Wallaschek’s approach to African music feels by far more clinical.
Where as Locke can make his research feel more like a story or an uncovering of a treasure, Wallaschek’s work reads like a lab report. To prove that, one of the last points Wallaschek makes on Africa is stated, “The general character of African music, then, is the preference for rhythm over melody…” which comes across more like a scientist with a conclusion where as Locke’s thirst for knowledge does not yet seem quenched. (Primitive Music, page 15) For me, it seems to impersonal to trust him to represent me correctly in a way I’d
appreciate. Why does that matter though, if his knowledge is no more lacking than one could suspect Locke’s to be? It comes down to the reasoning that a musician puts themselves through the trouble of being a musician in the first place. We have something we are trying to let out and let ring clear. We are trying to get people who may not know us feel what we feel. We want our culture to be embraced in the slightest by strangers. Culture, whether that culture be of oneself or of a group of people, is the depiction of our essence as people. It’s how we react in times of intense emotion, how we celebrate, or how we mourn. As human beings I think we strive to share that with others. Locke’s passion for his work makes him the perfect representative for someone who will be traveling the world sharing their art and their culture. As a performer, I would aim to choose someone to represent me who aids me in fulfilling my goals to do so. This is a large reason as to why I would choose Locke, whose personal approach to research makes it enchanting and fun to learn, over Wallaschek.