Ithaca College

  Peter Silberman, an associate professor of music theory in the School of Music, recently presented research at the annual meeting of the New England Conference of Music Theorists held April 24 and 25 at Boston University.

Silberman's presentation, "Teaching Asymmetrical Meter With Eastern European Folk Music and Dance," describes a method he developed to familiarize students with unusual rhythms and meters.  He introduces students to traditional Bulgarian music, which often contains beats of unequal length in contrast to most music heard in the US.  He then leads students in a traditional Bulgarian folk dance, which enables students to become more familiar with unusual meters via bodily motion.  His talk presented an overview of current research in musical embodiment, an explanation of various types of Bulgarian dance tunes, and a brief dance lesson during which conference attendees could experience Bulgarian dance.