1. What is something you learned from other culture that surprised or intrigued you?
Through this class, I have learned many things about different cultures. I learned that many different cultures believe different things and find different things sacred. I was shocked to see that Madagascar unburied their dead, to rewrap them and bury them again. The weird part was that they danced around with their death. They also worshiped their death. I found it strange that Germany had huge celebrations all dedicated to beer. ha! In the culture wear the mother sang over her dead child at the funeral, i almost lost it. In our culture you wouldn't see that. It was very shocking to see the Chinese costume. I had seen stuff like that in cartoons but never on a real person. It was really interesting to me. I really want to do a higher level of this class it would be so enjoyable aswell.
2. What is something that you realised about your own culture through our discussions?
Through classroom discussions i have learned alot about how our cultures are similar to others. I learned that almost every culture, in some way, views music as a form of prayer. I also learned that every culture uses music as a way for entertainment at celebrations. There is usually music at every event, whether it be happy, sad, or sacred. Every culture has a certain dance style of their own as well. Lastly, every culture has music. Every culture has instruments that accompany voice in certain songs. I also learned that every culture has their own style, sound, and instrument group. :)
3. What is something that this course has inspired you to learn more about?
Though i have learned alot through this class one thing has inspired me the most. After seeing how many amazing instruments there are out there i am inspired to learn more about the flute from all over the world. Every culture has some type of flute. My life goal is to try to own and learn how to play as many different types of flutes as humanly possible. This class also inspired me to get more into my own culture. I feel like Americans "love music" but don't really respect it. We have music every where we go. There is constantly music from the car on your way to work, in the elevator on the way to the top floor, and at your desk while you work. I appreciate the cultures that use their music or sacred things, and really appreciate it. I am encouraged to respect my cultural music from now on. :) I want to learn more in general.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Final Cool Stuff!
CHINA :)
In this video, you can see the assortment of instruments as well as dancers. The song starts out with the drums. If you look closely at the red background, it appears to be bells. Someone is standing behind them all and playing them throughout the song. There is a flute and sheng. We learned about that instrument in class. I felt so cool being able to see it and recognise it. The dancers start dancing a little after the music starts. They seem very similar to the Indian style of dance. They could influence each other concidering how close they are to one another.
AUSTRALIA
This video is pretty cool. It is basically a bunch of pictures. In them it shows the people imitating the kangaroo. It shows how they would wear tribal paint all over their bodies and dance around. The music in the background is the didgeridoo. :) The person in this video is doing a much better job than Donna today :) I really would be interested about learning more about the Australian music. After going over it in class i have become very excited about learning more.
GERMAN
When i look at this picture i laugh at how much this is truely my dipiction of a german folk band. The attire is perfectly captured. From the leather overall shorts to the shoes the artist of this picture has really done his research. The instrument in this band show the instruments that would typically be used in a german folk band. I guess i used this picture because it made me laugh :)
In this video, you can see the assortment of instruments as well as dancers. The song starts out with the drums. If you look closely at the red background, it appears to be bells. Someone is standing behind them all and playing them throughout the song. There is a flute and sheng. We learned about that instrument in class. I felt so cool being able to see it and recognise it. The dancers start dancing a little after the music starts. They seem very similar to the Indian style of dance. They could influence each other concidering how close they are to one another.
AUSTRALIA
This video is pretty cool. It is basically a bunch of pictures. In them it shows the people imitating the kangaroo. It shows how they would wear tribal paint all over their bodies and dance around. The music in the background is the didgeridoo. :) The person in this video is doing a much better job than Donna today :) I really would be interested about learning more about the Australian music. After going over it in class i have become very excited about learning more.
GERMAN
When i look at this picture i laugh at how much this is truely my dipiction of a german folk band. The attire is perfectly captured. From the leather overall shorts to the shoes the artist of this picture has really done his research. The instrument in this band show the instruments that would typically be used in a german folk band. I guess i used this picture because it made me laugh :)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Cool stuff Blues & India!
Bessie Smith
This video is titled Hurricane Katrina: Backwater Blues with Bessie Smith. It was sung in 1927 about the flooding of New Orleans. The video shows pictures of the recent Hurricane Katrina. The video is very sad, yet interesting to think about what it would have been like, verses now. The resources are better now but I'm sure it is just as devastating.
This next link is Patty Griffin, a young white girl singing Backwater Blues. She's actually pretty good. Patty Griffin
Mississippi John Hurt!!
This video is so cute. The man reminds me of my grandfather and what he would always tell my brother and I. The tune is very repetitive and used just to accompany the vocals. Just hearing this I wouldn't have guessed it would fit into "the blues" category. The vocals are different that the usual blues, I don't know how to explain it, I guess it is just more simple.
Spike Driver Blues Here he explains one of his songs. He is singing and just talking sometimes. It is really awesome.
BOLLYWOOD!!! This video has Chand Sifarish. The video is pretty good. I can not really understand the language. The acting is good though so you can pretty much figure it out. I like this because i had never ever seen something like this. I like the setting of the video as well because it shows culture of the Indians.
BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM!!!
I love this movie. It shows the Indian traditions in todays day. All Jess wants to do is get on the all american girls soccer league. Her parents just keep telling her that it was ok to play when she was youner, but know she has to stop so she can train to be a traditional Indian women. Please go watch this movie. ITS AWESOME!!!
This video is titled Hurricane Katrina: Backwater Blues with Bessie Smith. It was sung in 1927 about the flooding of New Orleans. The video shows pictures of the recent Hurricane Katrina. The video is very sad, yet interesting to think about what it would have been like, verses now. The resources are better now but I'm sure it is just as devastating.
This next link is Patty Griffin, a young white girl singing Backwater Blues. She's actually pretty good. Patty Griffin
Mississippi John Hurt!!
This video is so cute. The man reminds me of my grandfather and what he would always tell my brother and I. The tune is very repetitive and used just to accompany the vocals. Just hearing this I wouldn't have guessed it would fit into "the blues" category. The vocals are different that the usual blues, I don't know how to explain it, I guess it is just more simple.
Spike Driver Blues Here he explains one of his songs. He is singing and just talking sometimes. It is really awesome.
BOLLYWOOD!!! This video has Chand Sifarish. The video is pretty good. I can not really understand the language. The acting is good though so you can pretty much figure it out. I like this because i had never ever seen something like this. I like the setting of the video as well because it shows culture of the Indians.
BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM!!!
I love this movie. It shows the Indian traditions in todays day. All Jess wants to do is get on the all american girls soccer league. Her parents just keep telling her that it was ok to play when she was youner, but know she has to stop so she can train to be a traditional Indian women. Please go watch this movie. ITS AWESOME!!!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Music and Gender
In my own experience, gender greatly affects music. I am basing this statement strictly on what i have seen due to marching band and wind ensemble members. The females tend to fall into the higher pitched instrument category, while the males tend to fall into the lower pitched instrument category. For example, when you think of a tuba player you don't exactly think about this...
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Tm6rbwLR7Es/R9dfonGU89I/AAAAAAAAEwg/hkMrQ5nvmF0/s320/philspitalnyallgrilo.jpg
I had to search for a good while before i found this picture. The picture is quite funny. In my opinion you have to have big lips to play in the big mouth piece, not to mention, you have to have the strength to carry it. This would be my depiction of a tuba player...
http://www.mypodcast.com/fmimage-4-213367.jpeg
When i think about wood winds i picture mostly females. When i think about brass players i usually picture male players. The Converse Wind Ensemble is a very good example of this. We only have 3 female trumpet players from our school. The rest of the brass section is made up of community male brass players. I wish i would of known this in middle school. I would have started learning the tuba. I would probably have gotten a huge scholarship or something for being the only girl. hahahahaahahha.
In my marching band, the flute and clarinet section was completely dominated by females. There was not one male flute or clarinet player until i was a senior. The flute player was a freshman and was so intimidated by the huge section of girls that he ended up quitting. :) The saxophone section was evenly split as well as the trumpet section. The mellophone/french horn was an all female section. The tubas were an all male section except for one female(she was pretty manly though).
In my marching band, everyone tended to listen to the same type of music. There was not really a big distinction of music between the genders. Everyone tended to like the same things. The majority of the members listened to the general (popular) radio music. Also, Every member had Carolina Crown music on their ipod, and dreamed about marching with them one day.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Tm6rbwLR7Es/R9dfonGU89I/AAAAAAAAEwg/hkMrQ5nvmF0/s320/philspitalnyallgrilo.jpg
I had to search for a good while before i found this picture. The picture is quite funny. In my opinion you have to have big lips to play in the big mouth piece, not to mention, you have to have the strength to carry it. This would be my depiction of a tuba player...
http://www.mypodcast.com/fmimage-4-213367.jpeg
When i think about wood winds i picture mostly females. When i think about brass players i usually picture male players. The Converse Wind Ensemble is a very good example of this. We only have 3 female trumpet players from our school. The rest of the brass section is made up of community male brass players. I wish i would of known this in middle school. I would have started learning the tuba. I would probably have gotten a huge scholarship or something for being the only girl. hahahahaahahha.
In my marching band, the flute and clarinet section was completely dominated by females. There was not one male flute or clarinet player until i was a senior. The flute player was a freshman and was so intimidated by the huge section of girls that he ended up quitting. :) The saxophone section was evenly split as well as the trumpet section. The mellophone/french horn was an all female section. The tubas were an all male section except for one female(she was pretty manly though).
In my marching band, everyone tended to listen to the same type of music. There was not really a big distinction of music between the genders. Everyone tended to like the same things. The majority of the members listened to the general (popular) radio music. Also, Every member had Carolina Crown music on their ipod, and dreamed about marching with them one day.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Cool Stuff Africa and Latin America
Link1 1:
The link above goes to a YouTube video about Ross Wilson playing Eagle Rock (African Style). He talks about the balophone. This balophone is sort of like a xylophone. Some members are playing thumb pianos. I also see that one man is playing a drum and a shaker tied to his shoe. He is shaking his foot to play the shaker while he's playing the drum. I really enjoyed this video. It only took two men to very carefully play all these instruments at once to recreate the song. It took a lot of multitasking to do this.
Link 2:
Wow! This video is awesome! The video shows six young adults all playing guitar. They are playing a Mexican folk song. They are divided into 3 different parts. The song is so lovely. It is a traditional tune played in Mexico. They all sound in tune and all seem to really be enjoying this experience. I would love to learn how to play guitar better and join a group like this.
Link 3:
I found it funny that I found a video that was called African Music In Latin America. This video shows Classical guitarist, Anthony Ybarra. This guy grew up playing rock and roll instead of traditional Latin American music. You would think he would definitely be playing it due to his culture. The video shows him playing a couple songs. He goes on to explain the rhythm part. This video is pretty cool. I had never thought about how many different ways there were to play the guitar. He definitely knows what he is talking about. I really enjoyed hearing him explain all the connections between the music.
The link above goes to a YouTube video about Ross Wilson playing Eagle Rock (African Style). He talks about the balophone. This balophone is sort of like a xylophone. Some members are playing thumb pianos. I also see that one man is playing a drum and a shaker tied to his shoe. He is shaking his foot to play the shaker while he's playing the drum. I really enjoyed this video. It only took two men to very carefully play all these instruments at once to recreate the song. It took a lot of multitasking to do this.
Link 2:
Wow! This video is awesome! The video shows six young adults all playing guitar. They are playing a Mexican folk song. They are divided into 3 different parts. The song is so lovely. It is a traditional tune played in Mexico. They all sound in tune and all seem to really be enjoying this experience. I would love to learn how to play guitar better and join a group like this.
Link 3:
I found it funny that I found a video that was called African Music In Latin America. This video shows Classical guitarist, Anthony Ybarra. This guy grew up playing rock and roll instead of traditional Latin American music. You would think he would definitely be playing it due to his culture. The video shows him playing a couple songs. He goes on to explain the rhythm part. This video is pretty cool. I had never thought about how many different ways there were to play the guitar. He definitely knows what he is talking about. I really enjoyed hearing him explain all the connections between the music.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Music/Religion Link
My experience with religion growing up was not very broad. I was raised as a Baptist Christian, and I have stuck with that my whole life.
In the Christian faith music is used for praise and worship. The song leader will usually stand up in front of the church and lead them in several songs or hymns. The whole congregation will sing along. This is done before the preaching occurs. I guess this is used to get you engaged before the sermon is preached. Some people in this faith believe that song is a form of talking, maybe even praying to God. In my church, we stuck to old hymns. The instrumentation was very simple. The instruments were as following: The grand piano, a couple guitars, a violin, a bass, a small organ, and a few brass players. No one is really in charge of the instruments, so there is sort of a strange assortment of them. There are not and rules to how you should perform in my experience. Sitting in my church literally drives me crazy, because we believe that it does not matter whether your good or not, because you are performing to praise God. I do agree with this concept. I also believe God gave certain people talent, so that the bad performers would not have to perform. Hahahaha:) It drives me insane to have to listen to trumpets out of tune, or the singers singing just a hair flat, etc. Thanks to Dr. Couch I now notice these things quite easily.
In my experience, Christianity somewhat influences what I find aesthetically pleasing in music. It makes the other acoustic music I have heard sound pleasing. Rock and Roll or Hardcore music is a completely different genre and sound. When I first heard music other than praise and worship I did not find it pleasing. Now that I have grown older and am experiencing more music outside of church I find it very satisfying. I love all different genres of music. I do not necessarily find them all to be my favorites but they do not sound unpleasing to me. Growing up in a strong Christian church that was full of so many people that just loved music, is the reason that I made such a connection to it. I learned at an early age that singing a praise song, if truly song from the heart, is like an experience you have never felt before. Imagine playing your favorite piece. You feel such a rush of emotions while playing it if you are truly throwing yourself into the song. Imagine singing a love song to your signigicant other. Imagine singing it with so much meaning behind every word that your emotions are stirred. I always felt such a connection to God when I would sing. I believe this happens because of the praise my religion sees in the link between Music and Religion.
In the Christian faith music is used for praise and worship. The song leader will usually stand up in front of the church and lead them in several songs or hymns. The whole congregation will sing along. This is done before the preaching occurs. I guess this is used to get you engaged before the sermon is preached. Some people in this faith believe that song is a form of talking, maybe even praying to God. In my church, we stuck to old hymns. The instrumentation was very simple. The instruments were as following: The grand piano, a couple guitars, a violin, a bass, a small organ, and a few brass players. No one is really in charge of the instruments, so there is sort of a strange assortment of them. There are not and rules to how you should perform in my experience. Sitting in my church literally drives me crazy, because we believe that it does not matter whether your good or not, because you are performing to praise God. I do agree with this concept. I also believe God gave certain people talent, so that the bad performers would not have to perform. Hahahaha:) It drives me insane to have to listen to trumpets out of tune, or the singers singing just a hair flat, etc. Thanks to Dr. Couch I now notice these things quite easily.
In my experience, Christianity somewhat influences what I find aesthetically pleasing in music. It makes the other acoustic music I have heard sound pleasing. Rock and Roll or Hardcore music is a completely different genre and sound. When I first heard music other than praise and worship I did not find it pleasing. Now that I have grown older and am experiencing more music outside of church I find it very satisfying. I love all different genres of music. I do not necessarily find them all to be my favorites but they do not sound unpleasing to me. Growing up in a strong Christian church that was full of so many people that just loved music, is the reason that I made such a connection to it. I learned at an early age that singing a praise song, if truly song from the heart, is like an experience you have never felt before. Imagine playing your favorite piece. You feel such a rush of emotions while playing it if you are truly throwing yourself into the song. Imagine singing a love song to your signigicant other. Imagine singing it with so much meaning behind every word that your emotions are stirred. I always felt such a connection to God when I would sing. I believe this happens because of the praise my religion sees in the link between Music and Religion.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Cool Stuff On Native Americans and Africans!
http://www.nativeamericanmusicawards.com/
The link above will take you to a website of THE NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS. Wow! I had no clue this award ceremony even existed. If you click the link you can actually view the winners of the many different awards. The awards range from artist of the year, to best flutist. :) There is also a music box that you can listen to, with several Native American Artists. The first artist is called Redbone. Redbone is a Native American Rock band. They were well known in the 1970's. Their most famous song was "Come and Get Your Love." They actually made it to the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. in 1974. It is ridiculous how oblivious I was to this fact.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU39XGxS9MY
The link above is from You Tube. The video shows a Fela Kuti in Concert. He is an African Music Legend. The video was taken in Nigeria. Behind Fela Kuti there are several women dressed up in the tradition wear, dancing around. The video zooms out into the audience and you can see that instead of just sitting and listening, they are all up and dancing. The song is very repetitive and the shaker is ever present in the background. There are instruments ranging from guitars to baritone saxophones. Fela Kuti also plays a keyboard from time to time. Later in the song there is a soloist trumpet player. I noticed while he is playing, his cheeks really puff out. I was told in band that your cheeks should not puff like that. This could be a different playing style. After that, there is a solo alto saxophone player. I have a feeling that the whole song is Improvisation. Many different solos occurred after this, each with there own style. This reminded me a lot of jazz band back in High School.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBWqKWuqiTE
I chose the link above because I really enjoy the Flute. I find it very interesting to study the flute in all the different cultures, because it is a completely different instrument the farther away you go. The pictures in this video are old and vintage and so beautiful. I was reading the comments on this video. One person said they could listen to this all night because it was so peaceful. I completely agree with that statement. There is guitar in the background which is playing simple beautiful chords. The flute is slow and full, it sort of reminds me of the wind. If you have ever watched Pocahontas, you have heard "Colors of the Wind". When the wind blows you hear music along with the many colors in the air. This really reminded me of that movie.
Pocahontas- Colors of the wind:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkV-of_eN2w
:)
The link above will take you to a website of THE NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS. Wow! I had no clue this award ceremony even existed. If you click the link you can actually view the winners of the many different awards. The awards range from artist of the year, to best flutist. :) There is also a music box that you can listen to, with several Native American Artists. The first artist is called Redbone. Redbone is a Native American Rock band. They were well known in the 1970's. Their most famous song was "Come and Get Your Love." They actually made it to the top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. in 1974. It is ridiculous how oblivious I was to this fact.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU39XGxS9MY
The link above is from You Tube. The video shows a Fela Kuti in Concert. He is an African Music Legend. The video was taken in Nigeria. Behind Fela Kuti there are several women dressed up in the tradition wear, dancing around. The video zooms out into the audience and you can see that instead of just sitting and listening, they are all up and dancing. The song is very repetitive and the shaker is ever present in the background. There are instruments ranging from guitars to baritone saxophones. Fela Kuti also plays a keyboard from time to time. Later in the song there is a soloist trumpet player. I noticed while he is playing, his cheeks really puff out. I was told in band that your cheeks should not puff like that. This could be a different playing style. After that, there is a solo alto saxophone player. I have a feeling that the whole song is Improvisation. Many different solos occurred after this, each with there own style. This reminded me a lot of jazz band back in High School.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBWqKWuqiTE
I chose the link above because I really enjoy the Flute. I find it very interesting to study the flute in all the different cultures, because it is a completely different instrument the farther away you go. The pictures in this video are old and vintage and so beautiful. I was reading the comments on this video. One person said they could listen to this all night because it was so peaceful. I completely agree with that statement. There is guitar in the background which is playing simple beautiful chords. The flute is slow and full, it sort of reminds me of the wind. If you have ever watched Pocahontas, you have heard "Colors of the Wind". When the wind blows you hear music along with the many colors in the air. This really reminded me of that movie.
Pocahontas- Colors of the wind:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkV-of_eN2w
:)
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Musical Affect on My Family!
I grew up in a very religious family. There was always gospel music playing in our house and in my parent’s car whenever we would travel. Church was a very important part of our life. As a child my mother would was in nursing school. She had recorded her voice on a tape recorder for me to listen to at night, while she was away at school. My dad would play this as he tucked me in and I would soon drift off to sleep. She would sing simple traditional church songs. I can not remember exactly what the songs were because I was so young but I will never forget how much that tape meant to me. I actually lost the tape at one point and had to learn to fall asleep without it. :(
Sometimes, I would have nightmares and wake up crying as a child. My brother would get his cello out and play for me until I would fall asleep. He had just learned how to play, and all he could play was “Lullaby”. This became one of my favorite songs that he played. I loved hearing him play at night, it would make me feel safe. Soon after he played I would fall asleep, and he would carry me back to my room.
At Christmas time, my family would get together and go caroling. This tradition meant a lot to us, because we were celebrating our Savior’s birth. We would travel around the neighborhood knocking on doors to sing a few simple songs to those who would listen. We also would sing Christmas songs before we opened presents at Christmas. When my brother started playing cello, he started playing along, while we sang. Once I started playing piano, I would accompany the family during the songs.
My family was not a very musical family. They all appreciated the art of music, but my bother and I were the only two that were good at it.
Sometimes, I would have nightmares and wake up crying as a child. My brother would get his cello out and play for me until I would fall asleep. He had just learned how to play, and all he could play was “Lullaby”. This became one of my favorite songs that he played. I loved hearing him play at night, it would make me feel safe. Soon after he played I would fall asleep, and he would carry me back to my room.
At Christmas time, my family would get together and go caroling. This tradition meant a lot to us, because we were celebrating our Savior’s birth. We would travel around the neighborhood knocking on doors to sing a few simple songs to those who would listen. We also would sing Christmas songs before we opened presents at Christmas. When my brother started playing cello, he started playing along, while we sang. Once I started playing piano, I would accompany the family during the songs.
My family was not a very musical family. They all appreciated the art of music, but my bother and I were the only two that were good at it.
Monday, January 4, 2010
NonWestern Music!
I grew up right here in Spartanburg, South Carolina. I have yet to leave the country, much less the East coast. I have hardly ever been far from home. I have not experienced much of any different cultures. I grew up in a very strict household. I was sheltered from a lot of things, including a good bit of music and definitely different cultures. The only non western music I have experienced was in church as a child. Our church had different missionaries come in to play music and lead worship.
One time that I really remember was when a missionary came up from Mexico. He had a family of 9. They each could play different instruments. The family was singing Christian songs, but in Spanish. There was a different style to the music. It seems like a mariachi band, but I am not completely sure since it was a while back. The Father of the family was playing a Spanish guitar which was a little bigger than a normal guitar, I did know that much. It had a different sound than a normal guitar. The music was fun and played at a fast pace usually. I really enjoyed it. Their family came back to our church several times so I was able to experience that music several times.
There was also a missionary who came into our church from India. The missionary’s family was pretty large. The family played many different strings while others sang. The style was definitely the most different style of music I had ever heard. They did a traditional dance while singing and playing. Most of the songs were slow and relaxing. They also played something that I thought as a child was a clarinet. I’m sure it was more like an oboe, thinking back on it. The “costumes” of the family were very unique and colorful. The family was really into their music. You could tell from their attitude and the way they were dancing with the music that it was something that embraced what they truly believed in.
I am very excited to learn about music from other cultures. I believe this class will help me achieve that goal. :)
One time that I really remember was when a missionary came up from Mexico. He had a family of 9. They each could play different instruments. The family was singing Christian songs, but in Spanish. There was a different style to the music. It seems like a mariachi band, but I am not completely sure since it was a while back. The Father of the family was playing a Spanish guitar which was a little bigger than a normal guitar, I did know that much. It had a different sound than a normal guitar. The music was fun and played at a fast pace usually. I really enjoyed it. Their family came back to our church several times so I was able to experience that music several times.
There was also a missionary who came into our church from India. The missionary’s family was pretty large. The family played many different strings while others sang. The style was definitely the most different style of music I had ever heard. They did a traditional dance while singing and playing. Most of the songs were slow and relaxing. They also played something that I thought as a child was a clarinet. I’m sure it was more like an oboe, thinking back on it. The “costumes” of the family were very unique and colorful. The family was really into their music. You could tell from their attitude and the way they were dancing with the music that it was something that embraced what they truly believed in.
I am very excited to learn about music from other cultures. I believe this class will help me achieve that goal. :)
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