An Ethnographic Experience of Maples Music Area

In Aesthetic Analysis, the effectiveness of the music area in Maple Hall was
examined. As concluded, the objects such as the lighting, noise, glass window, and
angle, which the piano is placed, all contributed, theoretically, in enhancing the
function of the music area, which is to help students to relax and provide a platform
for them to enjoy the beauty of music, and to share their interest in music.
Nevertheless, a further examination was needed to actually prove the practical use of
the area. Hence, a more in-depth investigation was conducted by inspecting more
detailed observations of the area and a survey in which the users of the area were
interviewed.
The location of the music area is very important in many aspects. It is located in
the southwestern corner of Maple Halls lobby, and as mentioned before, there is a big
glass window in the area, and it is facing west. Due to the glass windows position,
when the sun rises in the morning from east, the strong blinding sunlight will not
affect the students who are passing through the area; if the window is facing east,
allowing the sunlight to pass through, then it might have a negative psychological
effect on the students, making them less willing to go through the area due to the
strong, illuminating, and uncomfortable sunlight. The location is also protective for
the instrument in the area, because it is ideal to not expose a piano under strong
sunlight, and if the glass window is placed facing east, the sunlight would easily
damage the piano in a very short period of time. The sunlight also contributes to the
lighting of the area. Since the sunlight is strong in the morning, even though it doesnt
directly pass through the area, the reflected light is just enough for students who are in
the mood to play the piano, yet not too much that makes people feel uncomfortable.
During afternoons, the sunlight becomes less aggressive. So, instead of blinding

peoples eyes, the afternoon sunlight improves the lighting in the area, making the
details of this artistic area bright, amazingly colorful, and pleasing to look at.
Furthermore, students in the area can enjoy the sunset through the glass window, the
view is so beautiful that it can sooth the stresses of students from a busy day of
studying. As mentioned in Aesthetic Analysis, during the night when everything goes
dark, the music area is a great place to enjoy the moonlight and it would be the perfect
place for pianists to play Beethovens Moonlight Sonata.
Since the area is in Maple Hall, the people who enjoy the area are usually
students. During early mornings, the area is not used too much since everyone is
going to their classes. But during other time you can always see students using the
space for many purposes. During the noon, some students like to study in the music
area, or in the resting area which is next to the music area. And if you live in Maple,
you would notice an interesting phenomenon, that more students would be studying in
the resting area when there was someone playing piano in the music area. The
students would applause after each piece of music, it demonstrated listeners
appreciations to the pianist for performing beautiful music that makes them feel
relieving, which is the purpose of the music. During afternoons and nights, after
classes end, more students would play piano in the music area to relax, and more
students would be there just to listen to pianists playing music. Even when there is no
one playing piano, many students enjoy sitting on the armchairs in the music area for
its beautiful views. And the exquisite brown Steinway & Sons parlor grand piano is
surely part of the view.
A survey was conducted to objectively examine the utility of the area. The first
interviewee was a girl who plays piano. She was asked about how she feels about the
setting in the area as a pianist. She replied that she loves to come to Maple Hall just to

play the piano in the lobby instead of going to the practice room in Weaver Hall. She
said that the practice room in Weaver Hall is constrained, it is small and the color in
the room is plain, making her feel the lack of passion when playing piano. But the
music area in Maple is different. Sitting on the stool, she can see such colorful views
and different people passing by which give her the inspirations when adding emotions
into her music. However, she also mentioned that the sound when people close or
open lobbys door affect her playing. The second interviewee was a random student
who lives in Maple. According to him, he likes to see people playing music and
interacting in the music area, it makes him feel as if the students in Maple is an entity
rather than just a bystander of each other. But he doesnt usually stay in the music area
to listen to the music because he doesnt know many classical pieces people play. The
third interviewee was an RA, she said that its fun when people play the piano, she
enjoyed a lot but she also dislikes when people practice exercises on the piano
because it could be a little bit boring after hearing a person makes mistakes over and
over again or play the same exercise repeatedly.
To conclusion of the survey, the music area in Maple does provide a very
entertaining and relieving environment for students not just who live in Maple but
also who live in other halls where there is no music area. However, the location of the
music area is too close to the entrance of the hall, the cacophony the doors make
would affect the fluency of the music. And based on the responses of some
interviewees, the types of music that are being played are important and will arouse
different feelings on each person. This conclusion is similar to the one in Aesthetic
Analysis, but further supports that the standard for art varies from person to person.
The music area in Maple is valuable for students who like playing music;
enjoyable for students who appreciate music; relieving for students who want to have

a moment of escape from studying. Its components, such as its location and lighting
during different time periods of a day, all reinforce to its utility and beautify a part of
Mines which makes Mines not just a mere academia, but also a place of joy.

Non-text components: Three recordings of piano pieces played to explore the

influence of different types of music on different people. Uploaded as comments.