Author Archives: f002w6k

Initiation Rituals of Music Groups at Dartmouth College – The Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble

Leave a reply

Title: Initiation Rituals of Music Groups at Dartmouth College – The Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble

General Information about Item:
Genre: Initiation Ritual
Language: English
Country of Origin: USA
Informant: Mike Wu, Male, 19 years old
Place Collected: Dartmouth College, Hop
Date Collected: 10-20-2018

Informant Data:
Mike Wu was born in Tallahassee, FL and raised in Bardonia, New York. He is a sophomore at Dartmouth College and has been playing the saxophone for 11 years. On campus, he was a member of the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble. Mike joined the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble his freshmen year because he wanted to keep playing the saxophone in college in a group setting.

Contextual Data:

Social Context: I collected this folklore from Mike Wu, a sophomore at Dartmouth College. He is a close friend of mine, and the only person I know who performed in DCWE. I asked him about initiation rituals in DCWE. Mike told me how he learned about the DCWE initiation ritual after experiencing it for the first time freshmen. The initiation rituals involve the conductor, upperclassmen of DCWE, and the newly accepted members. The initiation ritual helps the new members feel incorporated into the group faster.
Cultural Context: The Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble (DCWE) is an auditioned musical group of 45 members, performing a variety of music from different wind ensemble repertoire to all who welcome it. The initiation rituals of the DCWE is important because members of specific sections of the DCWE get to meet each other for the first time and build a support network for the rest of the year. New members will know who to rely on or receive advice when practicing for performances because the upperclassmen that they meet during initiation rituals play similar instruments.

Item:
Mike had to attend a standard audition where he plays a piece and the conductor judged his skills. When Mike got in, his conductor emailed him a few days later. Most freshmen did not know what “wake-up” were and were not expecting it a week after auditions. Since Mike got into the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble, upperclassmen in the Wind Ensemble made him a poster to hang on his dorm’s door and woke him up. They separated Mike and the new members from the rest of the students at Dartmouth by gathering all the new members early in the morning before others wake up and forcing them to leave their dorms. After gathering all the members, they went to get Lou’s and got to know each other. This is the transition phase of the initiation ritual. The new members remained in their PJs. After getting Lou’s, new members went back to their dorm and resumed a normal day. Mike has officially been incorporated into the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble.

Associated file:

Informant’s Comments:
According to Mike, the Initiation Ritual’s wakeup is a “wholesome experience”, where new members in the wind ensemble got to know each other and their upperclassmen.

Collector’s Comments:
Since I was living in the room next door to Mike, I was also woken up by the sounds of the members banging on Mike’s door and waking him up. It was actually pretty loud since the members were yelling Mike to get up. Although I was annoyed at first, I think the music group’s initiation ritual is a unique Dartmouth experience that is unforgettable. It brings a lot of energy to the music groups and is valuable in bringing all the members together and creating a strong team.

Comparison:

Comparison within the subgroup: Because the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble is a more professional group than the acapella group and is guided by a conductor, new members of the DCWE are notified of their acceptance a week before wake-up. Since most of the new members of all the groups within the subgroups are mostly freshmen, they are surprised by the wakeups. All of the musical groups’ initiation rituals compose of wakeups and getting a meal together with their group. The purpose of the initiation ritual is to integrate the new members into the group more easily and for the group members to bond with each other.
Comparison with the rest of the subgroups: The subgroups differ dramatically across the board. Some of the subgroups focus on various ethnic groups while others focus on groups within Dartmouth. The initiation rituals of the groups within Dartmouth usually have the purpose of welcoming new members into their community and are symbolic. Ethnic-based group rituals have the purpose of testing the new members. Additionally, ethnic groups’ initiation rituals tend to be related to religious practices. Initiation rituals of Dartmouth groups are not religious in character. What all groups have in common though is the fact that the process of initiation creates closeness with the rest of the group and makes one feel completely immersed into the group.

Vanessa Chhoa; 20 years old
Hanover, NH 03755
Dartmouth College
Russian 13: Slavic Folklore
Fall 2018

Initiation Rituals of Music Groups at Dartmouth College – Dodecaphonic

Leave a reply

Title: Initiation Rituals of Music Groups at Dartmouth College – Dodecaphonic

General Information about Item:
Genre: Initiation Ritual
Language: English
Country of Origin: UK
Informant: Maxine Perroni-Scharf, female, 19 years old
Place Collected: Dartmouth College, Byrne II
Date Collected: 10-19-2018

Informant Data:
Maxine Perroni-Scharf was born and raised in the UK. She is a sophomore at Dartmouth College and has been singing in choirs at school since she was 8 years old. On campus, she is a member of the Dodecaphonic. Maxine joined the Dodecaphonic her freshmen year because the Dodecaphonic impressed her the most with their performance at the auditions.

Contextual Data:

Social Context: I collected this folklore from Maxine Perroni-Scharf, a sophomore at Dartmouth College. She is a close friend of mine, and the only person I know who is in Dodecaphonic. I asked her about initiation rituals in Dodecaphonic. Maxine told me how she learned about the Dodecaphonic’s initiation ritual after experiencing it for the first time freshmen. During her second year, she was the upperclassman that performed the initiation rituals to the new members. The initiation rituals involve the upperclassmen of Dodecaphonic and the newly accepted members.

Cultural Context: The Dartmouth Dodecaphonic (Dodecs) is the College’s oldest and premier co-ed acapella group, singing a variety of music ranging from 80’s, rock, contemporary pop, Dartmouth traditional, and many others. The initiation rituals of the Dodecaphonic is important because all members get to meet each other for the first time and build a strong, tight-knit group, who will eventually travel and perform together across the United State.

Item:
Maxine auditioned to all girl acapella groups on Dartmouth campus. She also had to audition for one solo, where she had to sing a couple of solo songs. It was a day-long process and she didn’t find out of the results until a few days later. During the initiation ritual, older members went to Maxine’s room early in the morning around 4-6 am. They knocked on her door and sang in her room. They separated the new members from the familiar daily routine. After the Dartmouth Dodecaphonic gathered the other new members and sleepy Maxine, they transitioned to Dartmouth Hall, where they sang the Twilight Dartmouth song together. Then, the new members returned to their rooms. After Maxine went to her first rehearsal, all members of the Dodecaphonic drive out to Denny’s super late to get a meal together. The Dodecaphonic also held a party for the new members and told them that everyone would dress as “Space Cats” but, then the upperclassmen did not dress as Space Cats. During the party, older members of the Dodecaphonic passed down quest-items to younger Dodecaphonic and give them Dodecaphonic T-shirt. During the party, they also had an initiation contest, where they spent time together and competed against who can drink jam with a straw first. The last part of the Dodecaphonic’s initiation ritual is when the new members perform at their “baby show”. The show was the first time Maxine and the rest of the members sing together. All new members wore flare to show the public that they are new members of the acapella group. This baby show showed their incorporation into the group.

Associated file:

Informant’s Comments: According to Maxine, she thinks Dodecaphonic’s initiation ritual helped new members transition into the acapella group really fast. She said that new members don’t feel like new members anymore after initiation. Everyone in Dodecaphonic was really friendly and welcoming.

Collector’s Comments:
I think the Dodecaphonic’s initiation rituals sound like fun. Because there are more initiation rituals after wake-up, I think the Dodecaphonic’s initiation rituals form a more closed-knit group compared to other musical groups on campus.

Comparison:

Comparison within the subgroup: Since most of the new members of all the groups within the subgroups were mostly freshmen, they were surprised by the wakeup. All of the musical groups’ initiation rituals compose of wakeup and getting a meal together with their group. However, compared to other acapella groups, the Dodecaphonic also have other initiation rituals (e.g. party, sing at Dartmouth Hall) they do to welcome the new members. The purpose of the initiation ritual is to integrate the new members into the group more easily and for the group members to bond with each other.

Comparison with the rest of the subgroups: The subgroups differ dramatically across the board. Some of the subgroups focus on various ethnic groups while others focus on groups within Dartmouth. The initiation rituals of the groups within Dartmouth usually have the purpose of welcoming new members into their community and are symbolic. Ethnic-based group rituals have the purpose of testing the new members. Additionally, ethnic groups’ initiation rituals tend to be related to religious practices. Initiation rituals of Dartmouth groups are not religious in character. What all groups have in common though is the fact that the process of initiation creates closeness with the rest of the group and makes one feel completely immersed into the group.

Vanessa Chhoa; 20 years old
Hanover, NH 03755
Dartmouth College
Russian 13: Slavic Folklore
Fall 2018

Initiation Rituals of Music Groups at Dartmouth College – The Dartmouth Sings

Leave a reply

Title: Initiation Rituals of Music Groups at Dartmouth College – The Dartmouth Sings

General Information about Item:

Genre: Initiation Ritual
Language: English
Country of Origin: USA
Informant: Summer Cody, female, 20 years old
Place Collected: Dartmouth College, Occom Common
Date Collected: 11-01-2018

Informant Data:

Summer Cody was born and raised in New York City, New York. She is a junior at Dartmouth College and has been singing all her life. On campus, she is a member of the Dartmouth Sings. Summer joined the Dartmouth Sings her freshmen year because she was interested in a co-ed acapella group and felt like the Dartmouth Sing had a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Contextual Data:

Social Context: I collected this folklore from Summer Cody, a junior at Dartmouth College. She is a close friend of mine, and the only person I know who is in the Dartmouth Sings. I asked her about initiation rituals in Dartmouth Sings. Summer told me how she learned about the Dartmouth Sing’s initiation ritual after experiencing it for the first time freshmen. During her second and third year, she was the upperclassman that performed the initiation rituals to the new members. The initiation rituals involve the upperclassmen of the Dartmouth Sings and the newly accepted members.

Cultural Context: The Dartmouth Sings is the College’s premier co-ed acapella group, singing an eclectic repertoire ranging from contemporary pop, folk, R&B, musical theatre, and Dartmouth traditional. The initiation rituals of the Dartmouth Sings is important because all members get to meet each other for the first time and learn about its history.

Item:

The audition process consists of two parts; the standard audition and the callback. If people don’t get into the group they went to callbacks for, there is a post-callback audition called a “Pref audition” that they can go to. Generally, the Sings test for pitch matching and musical scales, as well as listen to solo songs during the auditions. Then they hear those who auditioned sing with members of the group in the callback. They decide who gets in strictly on musical ability; if people can blend their voice with others well, match pitch, and/or has an excellent solo voice. No other considerations are taken into account (e.g. looks and personality are not considered). Summer participated in “wake-up” where older members of the Dartmouth Sings knocked on new members door after determining who gets in. The new members were woken up by loud poundings on their door. This process separated the new members from other Dartmouth students. Summer and the other older members went inside the new members’ dorms to pickup their new members and drove them to the golf course. At the golf course, they told their new members the history and origin story of the Dartmouth sings. Later, Summer and the other members of the Dartmouth Sings took them out to dinner, all the while making jokes and singing songs with them. Summer thinks their initiation rituals is pretty fun because up until that point, none of the new members really know who else got into the group, so it was their first time meeting everyone.

Associated file: She did not want to be recorded.

Informant’s Comments: According to Summer, she personally really likes the Dartmouth Sings’ initiation ritual. She thinks their initiation ritual is fun, exciting, and welcoming. Because the initiation ritual also speaks to the founding of the Dartmouth Sings, she thinks the initiation ritual is a significant part of being a member of the Dartmouth Sings.

Collector’s Comments: The Dartmouth Sing has a fun and uplifting initiation ritual. From Summer’s description of the members sitting at the golf course and listening to the history of the Dartmouth Sings while the sun is rising is beautiful and memorable.

Comparison:

Comparison within the subgroup: Since most of the new members of all the groups within the subgroups were mostly freshmen, they had never heard of wakeup and were surprised to experience it during initiation. All of the musical groups’ initiation rituals compose of wakeups and getting a meal together with their group. However, compared to other acapella groups, the Dartmouth Sings went over the history of the Dartmouth Sings; therefore, it incorporates a more serious aspect to initiation. The purpose of the initiation ritual is to integrate the new members into the group more easily and for the group members to bond with each other.

Comparison with the rest of the subgroups:  The subgroups differ dramatically across the board. Some of the subgroups focus on various ethnic groups while others focus on groups within Dartmouth. The initiation rituals of the groups within Dartmouth usually have the purpose of welcoming new members into their community and are symbolic. Ethnic-based group rituals have the purpose of testing the new members. Additionally, ethnic groups’ initiation rituals tend to be related to religious practices. Initiation rituals of Dartmouth groups are not religious in character. What all groups have in common though is the fact that the process of initiation creates closeness with the rest of the group and makes one feel completely immersed into the group.

Vanessa Chhoa; 20 years old
Hanover NH, 03755
Dartmouth College
Russian 13: Slavic Folklore
Fall 2018