THE BASHKIR POPULAR MUSIC IN THE CONTEXT OF WESTERN ETHNOMUSICOLOGY
Bashkir popular music presents an outstanding cultural achievement and as such it is worthy of research by both Russian and Western scholars. Today, nothing blocks the access of the English-speaking ethnomusologists to the rich resources of Bashkir music. In most part, the Soviet tradition of the folklore studies laid the ground for such research, since it methodology has been based upon Western concept of folklore. Soviet folklorists have developed the approaches to the study of melody, rhythm, genre and historic context of Bashkir musical tradition. Yet, the author foresees some problems down the road, related to the global difference between nomadic and sedentary cultures. A cluster of specific characteristics, such as the absence of most of the elementary theoretic terms and categories in the indigenous Bashkir musical vocabulary, the categorical difference in understanding the goals and purpose of music making, should be taken into account when studying this genuine nomadic tradition.