Uploaded January 2018 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
"Can Music be Too Fast? Tempo Perception and Carnival Music in the Postcolonial Caribbean"
University of Chicago
October 21, 2017
Jessica Baker, Assistant Professor in the Department of Music.
How does history shape our perception of tempo? What does it mean for music to be too fast? Considering the colonial history of the small islands of the Eastern Caribbean, this presentation interrogates the notion that someone or something may sound or be “too fast,” and highlights the connections between the legacy of colonization, carnival celebrations, and how we talk about what we hear.
If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to humanities@uchicago.edu.
"Can Music be Too Fast? Tempo Perception and Carnival Music in the Postcolonial Caribbean"
University of Chicago
October 21, 2017
Jessica Baker, Assistant Professor in the Department of Music.
How does history shape our perception of tempo? What does it mean for music to be too fast? Considering the colonial history of the small islands of the Eastern Caribbean, this presentation interrogates the notion that someone or something may sound or be “too fast,” and highlights the connections between the legacy of colonization, carnival celebrations, and how we talk about what we hear.
If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to humanities@uchicago.edu.










