Groovology

Groovology is the study of the aspect of music that brings out a physical, participatory response in its listeners. The word itself is derived from 'groove', an informal term for a rhythmic pattern in pop or jazz music, especially one that is perceived to be enjoyable. It has been characterized as 'the "make-you-dance" magic' of certain forms of music.[1] Groovology is any form of study, whether musicological, ethnographic, psychological, or otherwise, which attempts to investigate the connection between the music itself and the physical participatory experience of its listeners, or alternatively between the physical movement of the musician and the physical movement of the audience.

Charles Keil[1] writes:

The practical question is something like: what do we have to do with our bodies playing these instruments and singing in order to get their bodies moving, bobbing their heads, snapping their fingers, up from their tables and dancing? The mystery: how do people and musicking become consubstantial, a communion, communitas, a sacrament, the music inside the people and the people inside the music?

Applied Groovology[2] is the attempt to teach or use "grooving" skills for developmental or therapeutic purposes.

Groovology has also been characterized as the study of Jazz and Latin grooves.[3]

The word groovology is also used as a neologism in reference to informal or light-hearted investigations into groovy music. Examples include:

References

  1. ^ a b Groovology and the Magic of Other People’s Music, Charles Keil
  2. ^ Born to Groove A course in applied groovology
  3. ^ Groovology - The Study of Jazz and Latin Grooves