Judith Becker facts for kids

Judith O. Becker (born September 3, 1932) is an American professor and teacher. She is an expert in the music and religious traditions of places like South and Southeast Asia. This includes countries such as Indonesia and Myanmar.

Her work looks at music from different angles. She combines ideas from language, culture, and science. As an ethnomusicologist, she studies music from around the world. She is known for her research on music in Indonesia. This includes Javanese gamelan, which is a group of musical instruments. She also studies the Burmese harp.

Professor Becker explores how music affects our brains and feelings. She also looks at how music relates to trance, which is a deep, dream-like state. She teaches at the University of Michigan. In 2000, she became a special professor of music. She retired in 2008 as a professor emerita.

Judith Becker's Studies and Work

Judith Becker first earned a music degree from the University of Michigan. She then completed her doctorate there in 1972. Her early studies involved living in places like Myanmar and Indonesia. She did deep research on the Burmese harp and Javanese gamelan. Gamelan is a traditional musical group from Java and Bali.

Later, her work changed. She started to explore how ancient spiritual writings connect with musical ideas. She also looked at how brain science, music, and feelings are linked. These studies helped her write two important books. They are Gamelan Stories (1993) and Deep Listeners (2004).

From 1968 to 2002, Professor Becker led the University of Michigan's Javanese gamelan group. It was called Kyai Telaga Madu. With Alton L. Becker, she helped put on many performances. These included traditional Indonesian puppet shows called wayang.

Professor Becker's most recent work connects brain science with music. She tries to build bridges between these different fields. Her goal is to better understand how people experience music.

She has given many important talks about ethnomusicology. In 2003, she gave a special lecture called "Trancers and Deep Listeners." In 2005, she won the Alan Merriam Prize for her book, Deep Listeners: Music, Emotion, and Trancing. This award is from the Society for Ethnomusicology. In 2010, she was made an Honorary Member of the Society for Ethnomusicology.

See also

• Women in musicology