Wrap Up

It is finally the end of January. I had a lot of fun in this class and can't wait to discover more music from around the world.

1. Tell me about something you learned about another culture this term that really surprised or intrigued you.

The most interesting thing we learned in class to me was the Indonesian instruments and theatre. The instruments were definitely cool looking and it was great how the gamelan instruments all matched. The theatre was particularly unique. It was a different flavor and very exotic.

2. Tell me about something that you realized about your own culture through our discussions.

I never noticed how related everything is. The African and Native American music was so similar. Then the blues leaked into a lot of different genres. And many instruments in Asia and throughout the Middle East were very similar.

3. Tell me about a couple of things you really liked about this class, and a couple of things you wish could have been different.

I really enjoyed Dr. Week's presentations. I thought the blogs were annoying at first but I grew to enjoy them. The book was good. I liked the pieces they had us listen too. I didn't really hat anything about the class. I thought it was all very good.

4. Tell me about something that this course has inspired you to learn more about.

I never really had an interest in European or Middle Eastern music. But after hearing Fairuz, the Azan, and seeing the presentation of Greece, I would like to do some more digging and learn more about music from that part of the world.

Cool Stuff from Southeastern and Far Eastern Asia

Asia is a huge continent with many wonderful cultures. I often listen to music from this part of the world, so I wanted to find something new. One country I did want to look into was Laos. Music from Laos I find quite uplifting. Traditional Lao music is used as an accompaniment for theatre and folk dances as well as for courtship.

Along with the cool music they have the cutest little instrument. It's a flute-like instrument called a TooT. And yes, the second "T" is supposed to be capitalized. The TooT is just so cute! It can also come in different colors like blue and green. Aside from that a lot of their instruments share similarities to those of Indonesia.

I don't really know if Nepal is considered Southeastern but Asia is a huge continent and I wanted to do it. Since Nepal is a slam dunk right between India and China, a lot of their music and instruments are similar. I did know that they are known for their Buddist monks. So I did some digging on the Buddhist temples in Nepal and found a woman who did a "day in the life" video of a Buddhist monastery in Nepal.

It wasn't as boring as I thought it would be for the children. They got to play with legos and color. I couldn't tell if there were any girls at the temple because they all had their heads shaved. My favorite part was after their opening prayer (which sounded like a song) a little boy smiled into the camera. 😊 It was just super cute.

Lastly, I wanted to do a dance. And what better country to discover a new dance then Vietnam! What struck me though was their Imperial Court Dances. They all revolve around some sort of objects such as the lotus dance and the incense dance. There is even a platter dance. A platter! Anyway, they are really cool dances. I would love to go see one of them live one day.

Music and Family

For this blog, I decided to interview my mom on her views of music. She told me many interesting things not just about her taste in music but about her life too.

Hayley: What sort of music culture did you grow up in?

Mom: In the 1960s with acid rock and Casey Kasem top 40.

Hayley: How has your relationship with music changed over the course of your life?

Mom: It expanded to other genres as I grew up and went through my college year. Then I listened to my kids' music and now I am back to my roots. I love everything back when I was a child. It's gone full cycle.

Hayley: Are you listening to the top ten stuff again?

Mom: I'm back to listening to the sixties and the top forties from when I was a kid.

Hayley: Do you have a favorite artist from the sixties?

Mom: Jimi Hendrix.

Hayley: How did you listen to music when you were growing up? What technology did you have?

Mom: We had record players. I used to go and buy the top forty records and that's what I have started collecting again.

Hayley: Was the kind of music you listened to popular at the time? Or at least popular in your friend group.

Mom: Yes, so music and friends went hand and hand because what we used to do is we would talk about music a lot. We also played music when we hung out. Kids today I have noticed don't do it a lot now but we used to play music and records. We did a lot of that as friends.

Hayley: Is the sixties music nostalgic for you?

Mom: The nostalgia for the sixties is, well, I was young in the sixties. I would listen to music because my sister Colleen would have all her friends over when she was in high school. She would listen to Simon and Garfunkel, Joan Baez, and Carole King, and all of the sixties music. I would sit on the stairs and watch her and her friends play pool and listen to music and kind of hang out and have fun. That music is nostalgic for me because I was only seven at the time. But I remember my sister listening to it with all her friends.

Hayley: Did you go to concerts?

Mom: The first concert I went to was Styx's Paradise Theater in the early 1980s. It was a rock concert. Everybody was stoned, throwing frisbees and balloons and beach balls.

Hayley: Are they like concerts now?

Mom: Concerts are the same now as they were then. But now I prefer more theater and local bands than I do large rock concerts.

Hayley: I think I know it, but do you have a least favorite genre?

Mom: Bluegrass! I hate twangy sounds so I can't stand anything with a banjo.

Hayley: Has any musician inspired you?

Mom: II like piano music and for singers, I really high ranged voices like Maria Carie and Celine Dion. But I really love sad songs. Sad Songs inspire me which is ironic cause I don't like sad things. What I love about it is that people think those thoughts but to me, I can't comprehend being able to formulate them to write it down. I can't fathom how artistic that is. You just can't be sad listening to music, even sad music. You just can't be unhappy listening to music, unless it's banjo music. I think music can change the world if people lived music.

Hayley: What was your first memory of music?

Mom: Listening to Lawrence Welk with my grandmother. Oh, he was so cheesy!

Hayley: Have you ever met any famous musicians?

Mom: well you and I met Mac Powell and Marc Martel. I hung out with Hootie and the Blowfish before they were popular down in Columbia. They bought me that little duck remember?

Hayley: Aww I remember it.

Mom: I also got to hang out with R.E.M. and the B-52's before they were popular in Athens Georgia. They were local college bands. Aside from them, I haven't really met anyone. Although, I saw Elton John at a restaurant one time in Atlanta. And I saw John Denver die.

Hayley: I'm sorry, what?

Mom: John Denver? He was in a plane flying over Monterey, California. I was running that night and I saw the plane go down. Only after I watched the news did I know that it was John Denver's plane.

Hayley: Ok then. Did you ever want to be a musician growing up or play an instrument?

Mom: I wanted to learn to play the piano but that didn't happen until my later years. My fantasy growing up was to be a solid gold dancer.

Hayley: You wanted to be a dancer? How come you don't play just dance with me?

Mom: Get back to the questions!

Hayley: Do you like popular music today?

Mom: I love popular music today. I don't like gangster rap where they talk about murder and drugs and all that crap but the rest of the pop music is so funny and ironic. They make fun of themselves. There's no good classic rock bands. They don't have rock bands like they used to back in my day but I like pop music today. I like the youth of it.

Hayley: When you've traveled did you hear any interesting music along the way?

Mom: When I went to Europe I heard all sorts of different music. But one of my favorite things about traveling was years ago on airplanes they had radio stations. But they weren't your typical car radio. These stations were focused and it'd be like they showcase an artist every week. And I used to travel a lot so every week I'd listen to songs from one particular artist that the planes showcased. At the end of the week, I'd go out and get their album and I exposed myself to artists like Anita Baker, Van Morrison, and so many different artists because I listened to them on the airplane. They don't do that now, unfortunately.

Hayley: Did you have a piece of favorite cultural music when you went to Europe? Like, did you prefer Italian music?

Mom: Italian music was too dramatic for my taste. Pop music is the same all around but cultural music I'd have to say Switzerland because it was very hearted in strings. I love string instruments even though I don't like the banjo.

Hayley: Is there a special piece of music in your life?

Mom: Hark the Harald angel Sing. I wanted to learn the piano just so I could play that song.

Hayley: Last question. If you had to explain your life in one song what would it be?

Mom: Good question. It'd have to be either I Get Up by the Teskey Brothers, Invincible by Kelly Clarkson, or I Am by Nichole Nordeman.

Cool Stuff from Arabic and Indian Cultures

I found both the music form Arabic and Indian cultures quite unique and very different from music in the states. Both cultures are full of fascinating things to write about. The first one is actually someone who I've known for a while although I don't listen to much of her music.

Meet India's first female bagpiper. Archy J, a.k.a. The Snake Charmer on YouTube is a bagpiper and singer from New Delhi, India. I actually discovered her because I was in a science class one year and for class, we were paired into teams. Each team had to research a different reptile and of course, my team got snakes. So I went onto YouTube that night and liked up "snake charmer" and Archy's channel popped up. She spent years learning the bagpipe and now considers herself a professional. And what's interesting is Archy combines Indian music with Celtic music in a really cool way.

This next thing I almost didn't put in because I kind of forgot its existence. But I rediscovered it when looking for cool Arabic music. What I rediscovered was belly dancing! After watching a few videos I noticed that the girls would swing their hips to the drums (or what other instruments happen to be keeping the beat). There is even an Asia Belly Dance Competition and a World Belly Dance Competition. Although the dance originated in Egypt, it has spread to many other countries throughout Asia and the rest of the world.

Finally, in class, we spoke about Hinduism. While not Hindu myself I was intrigued by the idea of different avatars for one G(g)od. I wanted to learn more about the religion. I found some worship songs (Mantras) that are for children. Similar to "Jesus loves me this I know, For the Bible tells me so", these songs help children learn the religion as well as they are fun and easy to sing along to.

My favorite one, "Guru Mantra" was easy on the ears to a westerner but consisted of all the microtones that would normally be sung. A guru means a spiritual teacher, especially one who imparts initiation. The song sings about the three different avatars of Brahman: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Although quite repetitive it is also interesting to hear.

Cool Stuff from Black America and South America

The past week has been quite informative. We got to learn about the blues and music from Ecuador. Now I get to find some cool and interesting things from South America and Black African music. I started with a huge area of South America and found dances from both Venezuela and Uruguay.

In Uruguay, there is a heavy tango tradition. However, the most typical dance in Uruguay is candombe, which has tango origins. Normally the music is melancholic and depressing. This is because it was brought over by African slaves. The sad music was a way to relieve their homesickness. Nowadays it is time to dance and have some fun like the people in the video below.

The second dance I found, from Venezuela, is joropo. Much like how candombe is from tango, joropo gets its start from flamenco. It is used as a way for farmers to celebrate their life and have fun. The most popular joropo song, Alma Llanera, is also regarded as Venezuela's second national anthem.

Switching gears here and going to Black America, I decided to look more in jazz. We studied the blues and talked a tad about jazz but I wanted to know more. Like we discussed in class jazz is more focused on improvisation and dynamics than blues. Much more than that jazz is the jelly (or jam if you prefer) and blues are peanut butter. I know that's a weird metaphor but bear with me.

Blues were originally very sad, homophonic music. Now while it has livened up over the years it still holds al lot of its roots from the very first blues song. And you can tell it's blues just like you can tell that peanut butter is peanut butter. Blues are also in everything just like how peanut butter can go with anything... mostly. But jazz surprises ya. It's smooth while full of flavor and comes in all kinds; apricot, strawberry, grape, you name it.

Yeah, that's the best I got for jazz. Enjoy this live video!

Music and Gender

As a flute player growing up in the 21st century, gender didn't pose a problem for me. Even in my middle school when there was only one male flutist everyone was super supportive of him and even excited that there were more than just females on the flute. And all my instructors since high school have been male flutist. Although I don't know anyone personally who struggled with gender in the music business, I do know it has always been a challenge for many others.

In many parts of the world women just aren't allowed to play instruments. The one example that comes to mind is the didgeridoo. I had the privilege of going to Australia with a group of kids and spending a day or so with an Aboriginal family. They let us try to through spear and paint but they only let the boys in the group play the didgeridoo.

All of us, including the boys who were close friends to many of the girls, was a little bit offended at first but we came to understand that that's just what they did. Later in our trip, a group of girls, including myself, came across a shop where they made and sold. Out of respect for the Aboriginal culture, we had learned about a few days prior, only one of us bought a didgeridoo and it was a gift for her dad's birthday which she had to miss. It was a life lesson I will never forget.

Another example of how gender can affect music if percussion. While I see women play percussion instruments all the time now it was a rarity even back in the early 1970s and 1980s. When Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was first getting her band started her father put her brother on guitar and had her sister play the drums. I remember that being an awkward time for the sister having to play a "man's instrument."  And then having Selena being a female just gave the family even more obstacles to avoid. But, they did it and they are still greatly remembered to this day.

Women aren't the only ones who have struggled with gender in music. Back in old Japan in the days of no electricity and bad medicine, there was a way for blind women to make a living. These women were called Goze and they would travel around and play the shamisen for a living.

Well, there is a legend of a young man named Nitaroh who later changed it to Nitaboh born in like 1857. Nitaboh went blind at a young age from an illness. His dream was to play the shakuhachi. But after he went blind, he met a goze and with hesitation taught Nitaboh how to play the shamisen. The goze needed convincing because shamisen was mostly something played by either the goze or temple monks. It wasn't for a boy off the street. Nitaboh later came to be a great shamisen player and would even be famed for creating the Tsugaru shamisen.

Both men and women suffer from gender discrimination in music. But those who overcome that struggle are some of the best musicians in the world.

Cool Stuff from Native America and Sub-Saharan Africa

This past week we discovered a lot about Native American and African music culture. Even with all that we have learned, there is still much more to explore. I took this weekend to go onto YouTube and look up different kinds of Native American dances. And one of the things I found not only has Native American music and dancing but it also combines one of my favorite flow arts... Hoop Dancing!

The men dance to modernized Native American music with decorated hoops. I felt the hoops in this sense were symbolic. In Native American culture, everything is a circle. The sun, earth, and the life cycle all go round. This idea is also brought out with their use of the drum. The hoops are not only pleasing to watch but also tie in a big message for the audience.

While we touched a little bit of South African music we never got is to the popular genres. In fact, we haven't yet identified any genres. I wanted to know what kind of music kids today were listening to in Africa. So I went online and discovered these ten genres that are popular in Africa:

Highlife - West Africa

Coupe De Cale - West and Central Africa

African Hip Hop - Africa

Bongo Flava - East Africa

Taarab - East and North Africa

Kizomba - Southern Africa

Ndombolo - Central and East Africa

Makossa - Central Africa

Kwaito - Southern Africa

Afrobeat - West Africa

These genres are much more westernized than the traditional style I've listened to before. One thing that I noticed that both have in common is the fun complex beat of the genres. The video below gives examples and a little bit of detail to each of these genres.

The final thing I found just so happens to be an instrument. Practically all the instruments we have covered have been percussion instruments, voices, and like one or two string instruments. Well, I found a wind instrument called an algaita. It is an instrument that is very similar to the oboe.

Like many Native American and other African instruments, the algaita is made of wood and easy to carry around. And like the oboe or the shawm, the algaita is double reeded and is narrow at the top while widening towards the end. Although the oboe does sound less duck-ish than the algaita in my opinion.