A Sound Ethnography

Abstract

Congregational music and verbal utterances are germane to the liturgical practices of World Christianity. However, despite this significance, methodologies that give primacy to the visual are often privileged. This essay argues for an emphasis on sound in the data collection process, recognizing that while both the visual and the aural are critical elements in the communication exchange, an emphasis on sound can reveal data unavailable elsewhere and uncover a cauldron of ambiguities, contradictions and contentions. Using a model of music discourse (Nattiez:1990) and data drawn from an ethnographic study within the context of a neo-Pentecostal African megachurch in the United Kingdom, the function and character of congregational singing and the use of chanted confessions as a signifying practice are analysed. The findings reveal struggle and adaptation highlighting both resistance and assimilation in the sonic field. The essay concludes that paying attention to the sonic representations in congregations may prove to be a fruitful site of inquiry for scholars of World Christianity.