Music and Culture of West Africa: The Straus Expedition (review)

Music and Culture of West Africa: The Straus Expedition, by Gloria Gibson and Daniel Reed, coproducers. 2 CD-ROM multimedia package. Distributed by Indiana UP , Bloomington, IN, 2000. ISBN 0-253-33832-8. $39.95. Purchase information: Order Dept., Indiana University Press, 601 North Morton Street, Bloomington, IN 47407-3797 (1-800-842-6796; iuporder@indiana.edu)

There are very few multimedia learning and teaching resources that focus on Africa. The specific areas of African studies that have seen some progress in the multimedia world include language and fine arts. The obstacles of cost, time, and skill, and financial support have also contributed to this lack of advancement in instructional technology and multimedia resources on Africa.

The Straus Expedition package, in this Beta version, represents an important step in the development of teaching materials that incorporate aspects of latest technology and software resources. As the subtitle suggests, the core of the package draws on field notes and audio and photographic materials from the 1934 Straus [Sarah Lavanburg] Expedition in West Africa. However, the music and cultural data center around the field materials of Laura Boulton (1899-1980), a key member of the Expedition with interests in music (there is currently an endowed Laura Boulton fellowship program at Indiana University, which also houses a significant portion of her collection).

The CD-ROM package contains two CDs: the main program, and a supplementary "Media Index," all in the Beta version used for this review. The product is cross-platform and recommends the following minimum hardware and software: Macintosh: PowerMac 7100/100 or higher; quad-speed CD-ROM drive; System 7.5 or higher; 640 x 480 resolution; 16-bit color display; 32 MB RAM; Acrobat Reader 3.0 or higher; QuickTime 3.0 or higher. For IBM-compatibles running Windows: Pentium 166 or higher; quad-speed CD-ROM drive; Windows 95, 98 or NT; 640 x 480 screen resolution; 16-bit color; 32 MB RAM; QuickTime 3.0 or higher; Acrobat Reader 3.0 or higher; Sound Blaster compatible sound card; Direct X 3.0 or higher; DirectDraw and DirectSounds drivers. The main program autoloaded and ran without any significant problems on an IBM P-233, 64 MB RAM. There were, however, frequent interruptions in the background sounds or narration during CD-ROM reads and a sufficient CD-ROM drive caching would most likely minimize the interruptions. The program also ran on a PowerMac 7100/66, 16 MB RAM without any problems, except that the supplementary Media Index CD always failed consistently on the "VR " engine during an automatic update of my Mac's QuickTime 3 to 4. A workaround was to download the latest QuickTime from Apple site and the installation was completed without a hitch.

Macromedia's multimedia production tools, which are among the most widely- used today in such projects) were employed in the development of Music and Culture of West Africa. The program presents a somewhat intuitive interface: a compass (with submenus), a clickable map, and a hypertext menu. The compass option allows search by keyword searches, and there is an "Introduction" that has a background narration, as well as brief video clips of musical performances and live scenes. The "Help" feature is important for first-time users and it takes you through some navigation routines. A "M"ain" menu presents several options, including concepts, place names, and musical instruments, with useful hypertext possibilities in the form of a mini-slide presentation. The Introduction takes you sequentially--if so desired--through "Purpose, " "Expedition Routes," and "Recording Technology," which is updated to include contemporary practices and equipment (these notes are brief). The section on musical instruments first clarifies the Hornbostel-Sachs system of classification and individual instruments are accessible here , with audiovisual illustrations (the category of "Electrophones" includes, for example, a synthesizer). Although the Boulton collection and the update from the producers and contributors do not represent the range of musical instruments available from...