Papers by Dilara Turan
Open Book Publishers, Jun 28, 2024
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Musicologist, 2023
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Thesis & Dissertation by Dilara Turan
ISTANBUL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY - GRADUATE SCHOOL, Department of Music Music Programme, 2024
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Istanbul Technical University, Institute of Social Sciences, Center for Advanced Studies in Music. , 2017
The term altered states of consciousness is used to express the deviated states of normal awake c... more The term altered states of consciousness is used to express the deviated states of normal awake consciousness, being altered by various causes. Musical trance, as a subcategory of altered states of consciousness, is a cultural and biological based phenomenon observed mostly, but not necessarily, in religious music rituals. As a result of the examination of the previous works on this area, it has been seen that the function of music in trance rituals has been predominantly associated with the cultural, sociological and contextual features, rather than in association with the sensory and psychoacoustic effects of sounds. In this study, besides the specific cultural contexts of traditional trance rituals, sonic qualities of musics accompanying trance experiences and their biological, psychological and perceptual foundations and effects have been examined in terms of their relations with the altered states phenomenon. In the first chapter, the nature of the altered states of consciousness as a general phenomenon has been investigated through studies concerning neural alterations in brain regions and their cognitive and perceptual effects. Additionally, in this chapter, the ideas put forward about the psychological and cognitive mechanisms of the musical trance in specific, have been brought together in order to provide the theoretical landscape of the subject topic. In the following chapters of the present study, set of examples in which the musical trance has traditionally been performed, have been studied in terms of their cultural and sonic qualities in relation to the theoretical ground presented.Within the scope of this survey around the world, 125 different recorded examples of traditional musical trance, which were studied by ethnomusicologists, have been brought together for a systematic examination. In the second chapter of the study, cultural, sociological and contextual features of these samples have been presented in the context of seven geographical regions, and the broad cultural frames, such as the belief systems, intentions and motivations behind the ritual activity and the formal characteristics of ritual settings have been provided. In the last chapter, collected samples have been systematically analyzed via manual ear analysis and music analysis program Sonic Visualizer, in terms of the basic parameters of musical sounds e.g., melody, tempo, have been presented categorically. It has been observed that the cognitive and psychological effects of these sonic attributes relate to the perceptual effects of altered states of consciousness presented before. Among these sound-specific characteristics, the statistical regularity in the musical flow (musical repetition and continuity) has been found to be the most determinant parameter and it has been examined in terms of its effects on time perception. The repetitive, short and clear structure of melodies, the predominant use of percussive instruments and temporal elements, multi- layered and interlocked musical texture and vertical time organization have been observed among the other common means of sonic signification in ASC context. Besides these sonic qualities, tempo variants and their correlates on the types of musical trance, and the psychoacoustic effects of communal chanting have been proposed as the diverging means of sonic signification.
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Conference Presentations by Dilara Turan
8th International Conference of the IMS-Rasmb, Thessaloniki, Greece, 31 August- 2 September, 2023
Turkish-American composer Kamran İnce (b.1960) is among the few internally known diaspora compose... more Turkish-American composer Kamran İnce (b.1960) is among the few internally known diaspora composers who bridge the contemporary music of Türkiye with international scenes. The Montana-born composer has been living in the United States, where he went for his undergraduate study in 1978 after receiving his early music education at the state conservatories in Ankara and Izmir during the 70s. Since he composed Infrared Only (1985), which is an early period orchestral piece that brought him great success as the youngest winner of the Prix de Rome in 1987, his initial compositional style developed through various musical crossovers, gradually incorporating more elements from Turkish and Balkan music into his uniquely American sound. While his post-minimalist style remains in his economy of musical materials, embracement of consonant sonorities and modality and accessibilities in musical flow with raw qualities, two of his later works Concerto for Orchestra, Turkish Instruments and Voices (2002-2009) and Asumani (2012) distinguish from the rest of his repertoire in taking a bold step in his expression of Turkish cultural identity. The present study takes a closer look at these two works, in which the composer reflects on his Turkish background not only through pitch relations, gestures, and textures from the makam tradition but also by employing traditional Turkish musical instruments such as kemençe, zurna, and ney. Both using a score analytical approach as well as drawing from the composer's discourse and receptions, this study discusses İnce's representation of cultural identity with respect to aesthetics of excess and reflects on his poietic stand on issues such as exoticism, post-modernism, and trans-traditionalism.
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8th International Conference of the IMS-Rasmb, Thessaloniki, Greece, 31 August- 2 September, 2023
Since the early 20th century, contemporary music composition has not only preserved its historica... more Since the early 20th century, contemporary music composition has not only preserved its historical and cultural ties with the Western Art Music tradition, but increasingly, it has also become an international practice that has gained several momentums with the processes of Westernization, globalization, and lately with digitalization. Hence, it has been discussed in the musicological literature regarding both its role in the construction of cultural identities of nation-states as well as its claims of trans-traditionality, although the parallel histories of this debate in distant cultures are rarely addressed. The present paper sets out from a similar axis, and yet, it examines the manifestations of contemporary music -especially in modernist tendencies- in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkan region through the case of the Mediterranean Contemporary Music Days held in Istanbul between 2003 and 2008. Drawing from the discourses and discussions of the representative composers of the participating countries, namely Turkey, Greece, Spain, Italy, Albania, and Croatia, as well as the musical tendencies in the concert programs of the festival, the 21st-century situation of new music practices in the region is aimed to be discussed in terms of local processes of institutionalization, representation of cultural identity and aesthetic orientations. Through the case of the Mediterranean Contemporary Music Days, questions such as how expressions of cultural identity are constructed through relational positions, how the notions of center and periphery function in this construction, and how these relationalities shape a cumulative representation of Mediterranean contemporary music will be discussed.
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Music and Spiritual Realities International Workshop. University of St Andrews. 21 June , 2023
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Transformations of Musical Creativity in the 21st Century A Conference of the Transtraditional Istanbul (TTI) Project. 24 June, 2021
Since the music reforms of the early Republic period, Eurocentrism has been subject to serious cr... more Since the music reforms of the early Republic period, Eurocentrism has been subject to serious criticism, as an exclusive exercise of power in music institutions in Turkey (Erol, 2012; Ayas, 2014; Kutluk, 2016). Justifiably, the focus of the criticism lies in the exclusion of traditional music practices – yet along with Turkish Art Music, an enormous variety of regional oral traditions- outside of the public sphere for ideological reasons (O’Connell, 2000; Balkılıç, 2009; Greve, 2017), while imposing Eurogenetic art music practices such as the use of equal temperament and notation as the hegemonic standards in formal music education (And, 1984; Tekelioğlu, 2001). This initial subordination of art to ideology created polarized narratives of music between the "superior, yet foreign Western" and its "suppressed, yet local Other(s)", leading to misconceptualizations of both as pure, homogeneous, and static musical cultures. Whereas, in confrontation with various types of hegemonies, each has been undergone several transformations that resulted in alternative discourses. The present study offers a critical view on the legacy of Eurocentrism in Turkey from the perspective of musicians in the current New Music (Yeni Müzik) scene, which is often considered as part of the Eurocentric institutionalization, despite their rejection of ideological and musical hegemonies rooted in the music reforms. Drawing from my ongoing field research, I will discuss how Yeni Müzik discourse emerged as a challenging alternative to previously established "contemporary Turkish music" notion, how do current musicians approach the compositional resourcing of local and global music cultures, what are some novelties as well as limitations in music curricula of relevant departments, and musicians' reflections on identity issues in negotiating with Eurocentrism.
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IPCC 2021- INTERDISCIPLINARY PhD COMMUNICATION CONFERENCE. Istanbul Bilgi University. 7 May, 2021
The present study discusses some of the theoretical assumptions and practical means of collaborat... more The present study discusses some of the theoretical assumptions and practical means of collaborative ethnography in the context of music scholarship of living traditions, in contrast to conventional musicological understanding. The theoretical framework of the study explores the parallels between Lassiter’s (2005) understanding of collaborative ethnography and Dewey’s notions of collective inquiry and moral democracy in producing knowledge (Gale, 2010). It also reflects on Becker’s (1982/2008) account of collective action in artistic production and the significance of the labor constituting the art worlds, as opposed to the artist and the artwork orientation. Drawing from an ongoing ethnography on yeni müzik community in Turkey, it offers a look into how collaborative approach in ethnography transforms fieldwork interactions, processes of documentation, and knowledge production in research, as well as how it aims to enable further collaborations among the members of the musical community.
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Field Notes by Dilara Turan
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Book Chapters by Dilara Turan
Open Book Publishers, 2024
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Papers by Dilara Turan
Thesis & Dissertation by Dilara Turan
Conference Presentations by Dilara Turan
Field Notes by Dilara Turan
Book Chapters by Dilara Turan