Cool Stuff and Wrap up

The first link that I am posting is of: Gamelan Cudamani. There are 25 players in the performances. I love this because they are all clothed to match the intricacy of the instruments. Also, for this performance the instrumentalists have coordinated arm movements during the rests to add to the rhythmic complexity. A woman comes out and performs a dance. She has some of the scariest eye expressions I have ever seen! Note the large dragon in the background.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EXzfpS6WK4

The next link is of The Princess China Music Orchestra. It consists of three beautiful women who play traditional instruments (pipa, zheng, and erhu) to contemporary sounds. I couldn't really find a lot of information about online, but all of their tracks have English titles that sound very typical of American Pop Song titles, like "no way to say," "fly high," and "boys and girls." This is a great fusion of cultures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KixDyrKND6c

Last cool thing: this site is of an aboriginal artist playing the didgeridoo. His entire body is painted in the white paint that we saw on the videos of the Australia group. I like this video because you can really see his body working hard to keep up his circular breathing. His stomach looks as if it is panting and his cheeks go in and out. At the base of his throat you can really see his neck moving to alter the sound. You can also hear a few examples of the animal noises that they discussed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g592I-p-dc

Wrap up:

1. The concept of the griot really intrigued me. I love that his job is to keep the history of the tribe and the genealogy. What makes it even better is that he keeps it in the form of song! He also plays such a significant role in the society.

2. I think that I have become more aware of how diverse my own culture is in some ways and how restricted it is in others. I believe that Americans are very interested in discovering more about foreign lands but are also too eager to add their Western influence.

3. After reading Tori's blog about people using singing bowls for music therapy and also the presentation on the didgeridoo and its healing capabilities, I would like to study more on the healing power of music. Specifically, to see how various cultures view music as a healing art.

Cool Stuff

I loved having Ravi Shankar in a picture right next to Norah Jones! They are Father and daughter but look world's apart with their music. I don't believe that there are any parts of Norah Jones' music that reflects any Indian influence. Also, it is great that Ravi is still playing in this photo. He looks very, very old.

This is a picture of an Egyptian Oud. I love the inlay work on it. The detail work on the front also reminds me of some of the artwork that Dr. Weeks brought in for us. This was a deluxe version for sale online and it stated that the shipping weight was 70 pounds! I also found out that eventually this instrument evolved into a Troubadour's lute. It is interesting to see that it also resembles the short-neck lute, called the gadulka, in Bulgarian music. However, the gadulka is played with a bow. I love the different instrumental connections that you see from one country to the next.

This is actually a painting by Ravi Varma. It sells for $60-100. He was the first Indian artist to become well known as other artists were just anonymous. He was born in 1848 into a family of princes. Even during this time, he was influenced by Europeans. He strove for realism in his paintings. It seems like verismo even affected India. You should google some more of his art. He mainly painted women and his work is beautiful.

Music and Gender

The first story that comes to mind when dealing with preconceived ideas about music and gender is a fairly recent one. In my undergraduate program we had a wonderfully talented soprano. HE, Yacis, was from Sri Lanka and about 21 years old. He could sing most of the same repertoire that I could. He could sing up to at least a high B! When listening to him you could tell that it was a man singing but his tone was that of a soprano. It was always interesting when opera auditions came around. Our director was not very comfortable with having Yacis as one of the traditional female roles and neither were most of the other singers for that matter. Love scenes would not work too well. I believe that the only role that he was ever cast in was as Cherubino. This worked perfectly!

One day, Yacis and I had lunch together and I saw it as my opportunity to find out more about his voice. Even his speaking voice was just as high as mine. I was curious if he could speak or sing any lower. Instantly, he dropped his voice into a baritone octave and spoke a few sentences. Then he went right back up into his soprano voice. I was dumbfounded!!! He could change his voice into two completely different registers but he was more comfortable with the higher one. He could easily sing baritone repertoire just as beautifully as he did soprano but he preferred the soprano pieces. His cultural influence was the reason for the preference. The voice is an amazing thing.

I have also experienced gender in a very different way here at Converse. Casting the opera can be tricky and limiting as well. Luckily, Mrs. Turner is amazing and doesn't even attempt operas that could be uncomfortable with women having to play men. (love scenes) The overall environment of the music building is very different as well. As far as the level of competition it can be greater or lower than my prior experiences. In one way it is lower because girls are not trying to impress the guys. However, I feel that it is higher because women have more competition amongst themselves. There are a lot of sopranos! But, there is a greater level of support as well. It is a strange balance. I think that I like it better.

Cool Stuff: Africa and Latin America

This picture shows the sound box of the imbabura harp.


http://www.coastonline.org/mml/topic/topicsSearch_detail.php?id=289


From this website I found some really interesting uses for the Imbabura harp other than what we talked about in class. There is a traditional festival called "Fiesta de San Juan" where the harp is played along with other instruments. The site states that the Imbarra Indians "summon each other with mournful wails on conch shells to congregate a night before the winter solstice, which is June 22 in South America, to practice a 500-year old ritual in which they bathe themselves in the icy Andean river with a bright, silvery moon above them and soaring 15,000-foot, cloud-covered volcanoes in the background. The purpose of this sacrament is to purify spirit and body against the sins committed during the last twelve months and to fortify them for the New Year." This is another instance where they mix their indigenous beliefs in with religion. It is like they are being re-baptized every year. This site is also great to give you more information on cultural blending between European influence and Indian influence especially.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of1Up3M_Y5Q

This video shows how music is incorporated into wedding ceremonies in Ghana. There are wonderful visuals of the lunas (talking drums) being played. You can also hear the lunsi reciting to the congregation. The poster of this video states that these songs are for praise. There are at least 5 or 6 different drummers playing at the same time. I assume that the people getting married are the ones underneath the umbrella being escorted to a church or just a building to gather. The music is so dominate throughout and you can really see the importance of the drum.

http://www.pygmies.org/baka/music.asp

I think that this is the best site that I have found! There are many pictures of the people making instruments and playing them. There is a picture of a woman creating a rattle out of woven plant fiber. I was particularly interested by the photo of the two boys playing water drums in a river. (I can't post the picture because of copyright) This reminded me of the water drums we talked about with the Native Americans. It looks as if these boys might have just put the drums in the water to change the timbre of the sound. The site also provides audio recordings from the area. Mauro Luis Devin Campagnoli has documented everything on this site with videos, audio, and pictures.

Music and Religion

1.Use. How is music actually used in religion in your experience? And what is the purpose of that use? What sort of performing styles are expected, and are there any rules that should be followed? And stuff like that—the practical and practicing side of music and religion.

I grew up Catholic and considered myself to be so up until I was about sixteen years old. Traditionally, in the Catholic church, music was very simple. We sang as a congregation to give "praise and glory" to God. Sometimes singing replaced speaking a prayer (The Lord's Prayer). There are specific parts of the musical service that are understood to be only sung by a soloist, other parts only sung by the Priest, and others as a congregation. Responsorial psalms were sung in call and response between the soloist and the congregation. My only experience of instrumentation used was mostly organ with an occasional flute added and very rarely a guitar. Only specific hymns could be sung at certain times of the year in accordance with the church calendar. The presentation of the music is always a soloist or choir standing in front leading the congregation. There is never any movement.
When I turned sixteen, I began to explore different denominations within the Christian religion. For me, it was music-culture shock at first. I would never have imagined a rock and roll band on a stage with an over-head projector displaying words, and members of the congregation dancing and raising their hands. =) Now that is very familiar and comfortable to me. All denominations of Christianity still have the same purpose for music: praising God. Within Protestant sects the use of varied genres is incorporated. You get to sing more than just hymns. Christian radio music is more common in contemporary services. There aren't as many rules followed when it comes to music.



2. Aesthetics. In your experience, do the prevailing religions of your surroundings influence what is found aesthetically pleasing in music? Is there any way in which the values of those religions inherent in the way music is built or experienced?

I definitely believe that I am more inclined to appreciate tonal, chordal, and simplistic harmonies in music more because of my Catholic background. That is a comfort for me. I also prefer the contemporary songs that are slower and more lyric. As far as the influence that values have on music, the Catholic church has a structural (for lack of a better word) approach to most aspects of religion. There are more rules present that are followed than my nondenominational church that I attend now. So in that sense, I do believe that the music reflects the religion. There is a great reverence for God which is reflected well in the singing of hymns. Singing praise and worship songs in a nondenominational church present just that, praise and worship. There is more freedom of the body, voice and expression. I have a great love for both of these influences in my life.

Cool stuff for Native America and Africa

I was searching for more examples of Navajo musical instruments and this Turtle Rattle came up. They really do use anything to create a shaker! I also found out that the turtle is a Native American symbol for long life that it is usually used by the medicine man. The rattle refers to the three kingdoms: the animal kingdom (the turtle shell), the mineral kingdom (the paint or rocks inside) and the plant kingdom (the wooden handle). Pretty cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvYIjFtPQEk&feature=related

This is a video of Amazing Grace in Cherokee. It is kind of cheesy. However, it incorporates electronic sounds with a shaker and drum. This is an obvious example of syncretism. It is really beautiful in this language. They also incorporate western harmonies in the second verse and the pictures are really cool.

http://www.hoasogli.com/african/ewe.htm

This site is really great! It is about the traditional dances and drumming of Ghana. It also gives you ways to incorporate the lessons in your school system. There are wonderful pictures, definitions, and terms in Ghana. The picture at the top of the page is of the drums that we talked about in class with the Gankogui (double bell) and the Axatse (rattle).

Music and My Family

For my Mother and Father music did not exist besides on the radio, TV, or in a Catholic Mass. Growing up, they made all four of us girls get in the car and attend church every Sunday. We were encouraged to sing in the children's choir for special holidays. I believe that I was the only one that got really excited about doing this. However, singing in church only consisted of standing in one place and singing with the rest of the congregation on the same melodic line to the same rhythms. Christmas Eve Mass was our favorite because we were allowed to bring bells and flashlights with us to jingle and shine during a designated hymn. =) Needless to say, my family has a very formal view of how music should be presented. My parents allowed me to take piano lessons for about 2 years until I stopped practicing. I regret that now. It wasn't until my oldest sister, Jessica, came home with a recorder that any of us really became interested in music outside of those before mentioned designated places. When it was my turn to play the recorder I became obsessive with mastering every piece in the book. Jessica began to play the clarinet in the band at school and the following year Lauren, the sister right above me, chose to play the flute. I also had to follow in their path and chose to play the clarinet. For about 5 years all of us were bringing home music from middle school or high school band to play for our parents. We would also ask to purchase Disney music books to play at home. The only collaborative music that my family has ever attempted was playing through some of our band pieces at home. Occasionally, at Christmas time we would sing a hymn (or only I would). When my youngest sister, Anna, started getting into music I had a great time teaching her to read music and helping her play simple songs on the piano. For my family, music was always played with instruments or simply listened to. There wasn't a large musical influence growing up.

My Musical Autobiography

My Father and Mother were both born and raised in Mobile, Alabama. Needless to say, growing up my Father would listen to a lot of Country music. His favorite was Garth Brooks. He was also a huge fan of Lynyrd Skynyrd and George Thorogoood. I remember taking road trips with my family and singing along to "I've got friends in low places," "Bad to the Bone," and "Sweet Home Alabama." That isn't exactly what you would imagine coming out of a seven year old.
The earliest memory I have of music of the world was a lesson that my elementary school teacher taught me in the 3rd grade. All that I can recall, is playing along to an African song with some simplistic type of percussion instrument. I believe that she passed around sand blocks and rhythm sticks. The part that I remember the most was the poster she had of Michael Jackson and children of different cultures from around the world. She had us all sing along to "Lean on Me." That was strange to me even in the 3rd grade.
In Middle school, I decided to take Spanish as my foreign language. I chose Spanish because my older sister took it as well, and I idealized her. We were exposed to Mariachi music frequently throughout my five years. We also would create our own Spanish markets in school to similate the culture by creating authentic recipes and toys to sell in pesos.
My fascination with Latin American culture helped my husband and me to pick our Honeymoon destination. We decided to go to Riviera Maya which is south of Cancun. It was awesome to be completely submersed in this environment. Music was presented in many of the same ways as they are in America. Restaurants, shops, airports, taxis, and streets would have music playing or being played. One night we went out for a nice dinner and had a Mariachi band come and play for us. The most informative moments about music of their culture were experienced when riding in a taxi or shuttle. We were able to hear what type of music was popular to the people of Mexico. It was very comical.
Still my favorite music is opera. My Grandfather would wake my Mother up every morning playing it and he would also play it for his grandkids. That is one of my favorite memories.