Localisation and local song repertoire

This paper examines two allied processes of musical development, localisation and local origination, with particular regard to small island cultures, and Norfolk Island as the focal study. Localisation is a familiar global practice. It involves either the modification of material adopted from external sources and/or the creation of specific local contexts and significance(s) for its performance. The local origination of material is more straightforward and exists in various relations to the former. It can be induced by localisation of prior material, can occur side by side with localisation, or else can happen in reaction to patterns of localisation. The precise nature of these processes and their interaction varies from community to community.