Shounak Dattagupta English 106 M.

Parsons April 7, 2014 Ethnography: A Study of the Chamber Community of Northwood A large man eyed a room of quiet people. Trophies and pictures of generations gone by lined every available square inch of the wall everywhere around us. Phrases from Aristotle hung above the mans head; libraries of written music lay hidden neatly behind a very messy white board. He opened his mouth, and spoke. Ive got some good news, and bad news. The good news is, this year, Northwood has been honored with a fifth Grammy award, he paused, smiled, guess I should probably think about retiring. I mean, how much higher can you guys possibly climb? This was met with cheers, scattered applause, and laughter. The man cleared his throat. The bad news is Shounaks back. And immediately my world exploded with hugs, kisses and handshakes. Halop smiled down on me from his pedestal; I was home in my discourse community. A discourse communitys primary objective is solidarity and promotion of its chosen form; that is, the members of this highly exclusive community may individually differ in terms of background, features, and experiences, but their ambitions and intentions are aligned in a single purpose. John Swales, a renowned linguist and expert on genre analysis, developed a set of six comprehensive criteria to define a discourse community; in the following analysis, I will attempt to prove that the Chamber Choral Program community of Northwood High School is a discourse community according to the criteria of John Swales.

Swales first criteria states that a discourse community has a broadly agreed upon set of goals (Swales 471). The Chamber community of Northwood, (indeed, the choral music community as a whole), perfectly fits this description. According to Dalton Tran, current tenor section leader of the Chamber group of Northwood, the [entire] point of musical communities is to make good music (Tran, interview). That is, our goal is to cast aside our differences in race, gender, intelligence, height, attractiveness, and so on (everything unnecessary to make music, really), in order to allow solidarity in a common sensation; that is, we cast everything aside while singing so that we can, however briefly, feel each other in the music we are making. This goal is both broadly agreed upon and fervently, passionately pursued by the Chamber community of Northwood. At the same time, however, it is interesting to note that the same differences that we do not allow to limit us while making music also ensures that the music we produce is diverse; choral music in its purest form is a unique combination of different voices, voices that reflect different timbres according to the experiences and life of its owner. As a result, each voice adds a different emotion, a different interpretation of life, a different hue to the melting pot. Therefore, the goal is not only pursued broadly, but also uniquely; no two sessions of choral music is ever the same for the above reason. Swales second criteria states that the community must have mechanisms of intercommunication among its members (Swales 471). This section of the analysis will be fairly brief; in the case of the Chamber community, there is no reliance on emails, Facebook, or any other nonpersonal social media. Our intercommunication is done purely through person-to-person interaction; this is possible solely because of the unshakeable unity and closeness of the entire community. When considering this second criteria, there are two forms of intercommunication that come to mind; that of professional, tutorial intercommunication (an instructor or director teaching us something)

and that of student-to-student communication (a piece of news, or something more trivial). The former form is accomplished easily during our class time, when the Chamber community gathers together to rehearse as a group. Our director, Mr. Halop, informs us of our current agenda, rejoices in our recent accomplishments, cracks some jokes about the misery and joy of life, and then promptly urges us to get down to business. In this way, intercommunication is effectively achieved. On the other hand, if someone must contact an individual not currently in the room, he or she need simply voice their need to the community (or just a member of the community he or she trusts, if the news is of a gossipy or otherwise private nature), and the message will eventually be delivered to its intended audience. As Mr. Tran states, in this room, we arent simply colleagues, but brothers and sisters. There really isnt any need to be secretive or shy about anything; we share each others triumphs and sorrows. Thats why, when I hear Matt or Eileen singing next to me, I can feel them better since I know whats up with their lives. This is what helps us communicate and make good music (Tran). Swales third criteria states that the community uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback (Swales 471). Obviously, I and my peers are the participatory mechanisms in Chamber, since we are the ones who, collectively, carry the title of Chamber. Furthermore, we participatory mechanisms criticize and encourage each other in our music-making; for example, Dalton points out to me that I didnt properly observe the quarter rest before hitting the high C in the third bar. I profusely thanks Dalton for his sharp ear, and promise to amend the mistake. Dalton and I, therefore, are participatory mechanisms of the Chamber community who have provided information and feedback on a matter relevant to the community; as a result, the communitys solidarity has been strengthened and the pursuit of its common goal has been renewed with fresh vigor. Furthermore, although the Shounak-Dalton interaction was between only two members of the group, our exchange reinforced the performance of the group as a whole. Therefore, as long as I remember to

observe the quarter rest next time, the Chamber community as a whole is one quarter rest closer to reaching its goal of making soulful and gorgeous music. Swales fourth criteria states that the community must utilize and possess one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims (Swales 471). In the case of the Chamber community, this is our daily set of vocal warm-ups. The warm-ups are designed not just for our throats, but for our bodies as a whole; it involves a series of techniques intended to relax our abdominal and back muscles, increase our lung capacity, and lift our soft palette. In addition to these exercises, we perform some light cardio simply to get our blood flowing and adrenaline pumping, which is especially helpful when rehearsing pieces that require a somewhat harsh color. We do all this for one obvious goal; to ensure that, individually, we perform at our maximum capability and, as a community, make the best music we possibly can. Swales fifth criteria states that the community must acquire some specific lexis (Swales 471). The lexis of the Chamber community of Northwood is shared by only those who understand and appreciate the simultaneously complex and simple beauty of vocal music, and those who have been specifically accepted as part of the group. The reason; anyone who is not accustomed to the mannerisms and nuances of the Chamber community, such as the sarcastic and witty nature of its director, the jargon being thrown around constantly, the sometimes playful, sometimes dead serious nature of its members, would feel utterly bewildered by the atmosphere of the group (as I did, when I first accidentally walked into Chamber some years ago). Personally, I believe that our lexis revolves firmly around our director, Mr. Halop. This is because Halop exerts himself beyond the normal expectations of a choral director; he is equal parts intimidating teacher, passionate director, and surrogate father to some. When asked what role he plays

in the eyes of the students of Northwood, Halops grey eyes unfocused; he scratched his bald spot for just a few seconds, brow furrowed, and then quickly locked his eyes back on me. I believe Im simply a proxy for life. All Id like to do, all Id like to be to you all, is whatever you need me to be; Id just like to introduce you to your own infinite potential. He then added, with a wink, But you know all about that kind of thing, dont you, Shounak? Swales sixth and final criteria states that a community must have a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise (Swales 471). This is completely true for the Chamber community; the Chamber community is the most exclusive level of Choral music in the state, requiring a multi-stage audition and personality evaluation before acceptance. As a result, its members are highly qualified and either very skilled, very talented, or very determined; often, the members exhibit all the aforementioned qualities equally. This level of skill also implies a high standard of professionalism; often, when we rehearse a piece of music, we also analyze and research the material both individually and as a group in order to thoroughly understand the nuances and emotional weight of the music we are interpreting; according to Dalton Tran, in my experience, the line between a good performance and an amazing performance is how emotionally connected we are to the music (Tran, interview). Therefore, our communitys high level of expertise enables us to look past simple mechanical problems such as reading the music or singing the correct notes, and discuss the meaning of the piece. As a result, this enables us to reinforce our groups unity and strive towards achieving the common goal of making good music. After applying Swales six criterion to the Chamber community of Northwood High School, I have come to the conclusion that Chamber is indeed a discourse community, as it has met the requirements to be recognized as such.