Music Department Faculty
Jocelyn Neal
Associate Professor
Office: Hill Hall 216
Email: jneal@email.unc.edu
Phone: 919-843-8818
(Associate Professor) received a BA in music from Rice University in 1993, an MA from the Eastman School of Music in 1995, and a PhD in music theory from the Eastman School of Music in 2002. Her primary areas of research are commercial country music and American popular music, following on her dissertation (titled "Song Structure Determinants: Poetic Narrative, Phrase Structure, and Hypermeter in the Music of Jimmie Rodgers").
Dr. Neal teaches music theory, analysis, and popular music courses; her research addresses commercial country music, rhythm and meter, and dance/music interactions in popular music. She was a Fellow at the Mannes Institute for Advanced Studies in Music Theory (2005 and 2008), is the past chair of the Popular Music Group for the Society of Music Theory, and is a member of the editorial board for the academic journals Music Theory Spectrum and Southern Cultures. She regularly presents her research at national conferences on American music, popular music, music theory, and cultural studies.
Selected Publications:
The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers: A Legacy in Country Music. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2009.
"The Reincarnation of Jimmie's Songs," Waiting for a Train: Jimmie Rodgers' America. Cleveland: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (forthcoming 2009).
"When Recollection Is All We've Got: Analytical Exploration of 'Catchy' Songs." Special Issue: Analysis and Performance Across the Canon. College Music Symposium vol. 47 (2007 [copyright 2008]): 12-22.
"Dancing around the Subject: Race in Participatory Fan Culture." Special Issue: Music, Race & Identity. Musical Quarterly vol. 89 no. 4 (2006 [copyright 2008]): 555-579.
"Country-Pop Formulae and Craft: Shania Twain’s Musical Appeal," Expression in Pop-Rock Music, ed. Walter Everett. Second Edition. New York: Routledge, 2008, pp. 285-311.
"Narrative Paradigms, Musical Signifiers, and Form as Function in Country Music." Music Theory Spectrum vol. 29 no. 1 (2007): 41-72.
"Popular Music Analysis in American Music Theory." Zeitschrift Der Gesellschaft für Musiktheorie vol. 2 no. 2 (2005).
"Ernest Stoneman's 1927 Session: Hillbilly Recordings of Gospel Hymns." The Bristol Sessions: Writings About the Big Bang of Country Music, ed. Charles Wolfe and Ted Olson. Jefferson, NC: McFarland Press, 2005, pp. 187-213.
"Dancing Together: The Rhythms of Gender in the Country Dance Hall." A Boy Named Sue: Gender and Country Music, ed. Kristine M. McCusker and Diane Pecknold. Jackson: University of Mississippi Press, 2004, pp. 132-154.
"The Voice of the Song: Faith Hill, Country Music, and Reflexive Identity." The Women of Country Music: A Reader, ed. Charles K. Wolfe and James E. Akenson. (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2003), pp. 109-130.
"Songwriter's Signature, Artist's Imprint: The Metric Structure of a Country Song," Country Music Annual, Volume 1 (2000): 112-140.
"Inside the Music: Research and Theory." Imagine: Opportunities and Resources for Academically Talented Youth, vol. 6 no. 2 (Nov/Dec 1998). Johns Hopkins University, Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth.
"The Metric Makings of a Country Hit." Reading Country Music, ed. Cecilia Tichi. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1998, pp. 322-337.
Intégral, volumes 10 and 11. Edited
by Jocelyn Neal and Evan Jones.
Reviews and Encyclopedia Articles:
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Review: Grand Ole Opry at Carnegie Hall. Gaylord Entertainment Company DVD, 2006. Journal of the Society for American Music vol. 1 no. 2 (May 2007): 293-295. |
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Review: Louisiana Hayride: Radio and Roots Music along the Red River. By Tracey E.W. Laird. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005). Journal of Southern History, vol. 72 no. 3 (August 2006): 704-705. |
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"Blue Sky Boys" and "Oak Ridge Boys" in Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music, ed. William K. McNeil. (New York: Routledge, 2005). |
Recent Courses:
Undergraduate: Music Theory and Analysis, History of Country Music, History of Rock Music, Popular Music Analysis, Seminar on Music in Motion.
Graduate: Form, Structure, and Meaning in Contemporary Songwriting (Analysis); Time in Music (Theories of Rhythm and Meter); Alt Country and Commercial Country; Authenticity in Country Music; Tonal Theory and Analysis.