Papers by Etienne Safa
Étude archéologique, tracéologique, artisanale et archéomusicologique d'une série de figurine... more Étude archéologique, tracéologique, artisanale et archéomusicologique d'une série de figurines aviformes creuses en terre cuite dont la morphologie en fait des résonateurs acoutiques fonctionnels. Privées de contexte archéologique précis, elles n'en demeurent pas moins intéressantes par les questions qu'elles soulèvent, tant du point de vue artisanal que sonore et social. ||| Archaeological, traceological, archaeomusicological and technical study of a set of hollow terra-cotta bird-shaped figurines, which also are sound objects because of their morphology. Even if they lack of precise archaeological context, they still are interesting objects because of the issues they raise regarding the way they were made, used or seen in past societies.
Bone flutes make use of a naturally hollow raw-material. As nature does not produce duplicates, e... more Bone flutes make use of a naturally hollow raw-material. As nature does not produce duplicates, each bone has its own inner cavity, and thus its own sound-potential. This morphological variation implies acoustical specificities, thus making it impossible to handcraft a true and exact sound-replica in another bone. This phenomenon has been observed in a handcrafting context and has led us to conduct two series of experiments (the first-one using handcrafting process, the second-one using 3D process) in order to investigate its exact influence on acoustics as well as on sound-interpretation based on replicas. The comparison of the results has shed light upon epistemological and methodological issues that have yet to be fully understood.
Archaeological flutes, as sound artefacts, both stand in material and immaterial culture. They ar... more Archaeological flutes, as sound artefacts, both stand in material and immaterial culture. They are made of tremendous subtleties that archaeologists have a hard time to understand while these are craftsmen's everyday life. These subtleties are the link between material (rough material, tools, gestures) and immaterial (sounds, music, timber, uses) issues. They are the reason why archaeology cannot study ancient sound instruments on its own. A one-year insight experience of apprenticeship alongside a traditional-flute-maker (Jean-Daniel Talma, ElBock workshop) in 2014-2015 was a way to demonstrate that archaeomusicological research has everything to gain when merged with handcrafting. As a new way to practice archaeological studies, " crafting archaeology " is offering new epistemological and methodological questions, revealing shortcomings or weaknesses in past and actual sound interpretations, giving clues to improve studying methods, and bringing us to consider a &quo...
D’une teneur principalement méthodologique et épistémologique, cet article aspire avant tout à re... more D’une teneur principalement méthodologique et épistémologique, cet article aspire avant tout à remettre en question la démarche de l’archéomusicologie et à proposer une nouvelle approche dans laquelle la recherche se mêlerait à l’artisanat, ainsi qu’à en définir la portée dans la pratique de la recherche archéomusicale. Il aborde la question de la lecture des techniques et des savoir-faire des temps archéologiques, puis propose quelques réflexions sur les connaissances et les démarches archéomusicales. Il finit par la question de l’apport mutuel entre artisanat et archéologie.
Étude archéologique, tracéologique, artisanale et archéomusicologique d'une série de figurines av... more Étude archéologique, tracéologique, artisanale et archéomusicologique d'une série de figurines aviformes creuses en terre cuite dont la morphologie en fait des résonateurs acoutiques fonctionnels. Privées de contexte archéologique précis, elles n'en demeurent pas moins intéressantes par les questions qu'elles soulèvent, tant du point de vue artisanal que sonore et social. ||| Archaeological, traceological, archaeomusicological and technical study of a set of hollow terra-cotta bird-shaped figurines, which also are sound objects because of their morphology. Even if they lack of precise archaeological context, they still are interesting objects because of the issues they raise regarding the way they were made, used or seen in past societies.
Lectures by Etienne Safa
English title : "The Sound-archaeology : to pass on knowledge and know-how from paleolithic to me... more English title : "The Sound-archaeology : to pass on knowledge and know-how from paleolithic to medieval France".
Conférence réalisée à l'occasion des Journées de Musiques Anciennes, colloque « Musiques et transmissions » (Vanves, novembre 2014) sous la direction de Joël Dugot, François Picard, Alice Tacaille, Miguel Henry et Carine Moretton
English title : "Whistling instruments in archaeology : halfway to sounds and crafting, a meetin... more English title : "Whistling instruments in archaeology : halfway to sounds and crafting, a meeting between archaeomusicological research and a craftsman know-how".
Conférence musicale en partenariat avec Jean-Daniel Talma (facteur de flûtes de tradition pastorale) réalisée à l'occasion des Rencontres Internationales de Lutherie & de Musique Médiévales de Puivert (Puivert, juin 2014) ; président : Julian Cuvilliez (Association Dona Blanca).
Radio by Etienne Safa
English title : "Could a hen be a whistle ?"
Conference Presentations by Etienne Safa
Archaeological flutes, as sound artifacts, both stand in material and immaterial culture. They ar... more Archaeological flutes, as sound artifacts, both stand in material and immaterial culture. They are made of tremendous subtleties that archaeologists have a hard time to understand while these are craftsmen’s everyday life. These subtleties are the link between material (rough material, tools, gestures) and immaterial (sounds, music, timber, uses) issues. They are the reason why archaeology cannot study ancient sound instruments on its own. A one-year insight experience of apprenticeship alongside a traditional-flute-maker (Jean-Daniel Talma, ElBock workshop) in 2014-2015 was a way to demonstrate that archaeomusicological research has everything to gain when merged with handcrafting. As a new way to practice archaeological studies, “crafting-archaeology” is offering new epistemological and methodological questions, revealing shortcomings or weaknesses in past and actual sound interpretations, giving clues to improve studying methods, and bringing us to consider a “sound-archaeology” rather than a “music-archaeology”. When crafting sounds out of a flute becomes clear and almost natural, changes appear in our way to look, apprehend and understand those instruments. These changes result from the transformation from a quantitative to a qualitative approach.
More than raising new questions, handcrafting is also offering new perspectives in sound archaeology research: it questions our way to think, the consciousness we have of our subjects and even our scholar process. Following craftsmen’s know-how’s teachings in a new qualitative approach, we could even find a new field of application by using recent technological breakthroughs in the 3D industry through a 3D scanning-reconstructing-and-printing protocol.
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Papers by Etienne Safa
Lectures by Etienne Safa
Conférence réalisée à l'occasion des Journées de Musiques Anciennes, colloque « Musiques et transmissions » (Vanves, novembre 2014) sous la direction de Joël Dugot, François Picard, Alice Tacaille, Miguel Henry et Carine Moretton
Conférence musicale en partenariat avec Jean-Daniel Talma (facteur de flûtes de tradition pastorale) réalisée à l'occasion des Rencontres Internationales de Lutherie & de Musique Médiévales de Puivert (Puivert, juin 2014) ; président : Julian Cuvilliez (Association Dona Blanca).
Radio by Etienne Safa
Conference Presentations by Etienne Safa
More than raising new questions, handcrafting is also offering new perspectives in sound archaeology research: it questions our way to think, the consciousness we have of our subjects and even our scholar process. Following craftsmen’s know-how’s teachings in a new qualitative approach, we could even find a new field of application by using recent technological breakthroughs in the 3D industry through a 3D scanning-reconstructing-and-printing protocol.
Conférence réalisée à l'occasion des Journées de Musiques Anciennes, colloque « Musiques et transmissions » (Vanves, novembre 2014) sous la direction de Joël Dugot, François Picard, Alice Tacaille, Miguel Henry et Carine Moretton
Conférence musicale en partenariat avec Jean-Daniel Talma (facteur de flûtes de tradition pastorale) réalisée à l'occasion des Rencontres Internationales de Lutherie & de Musique Médiévales de Puivert (Puivert, juin 2014) ; président : Julian Cuvilliez (Association Dona Blanca).
More than raising new questions, handcrafting is also offering new perspectives in sound archaeology research: it questions our way to think, the consciousness we have of our subjects and even our scholar process. Following craftsmen’s know-how’s teachings in a new qualitative approach, we could even find a new field of application by using recent technological breakthroughs in the 3D industry through a 3D scanning-reconstructing-and-printing protocol.