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.
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.
I thought that it was really cool that Archy J combined both bagpipes with Indian music; I would have never have thought to associate those two things. She found her own unique sound and I think that really sets her apart from many other musicians.
ReplyDeleteHi Hayley,
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of Archy J until reading your blog. It is really cool that she was able to successfully pair Celtic music with Indian music. The bagpipes created a really unique sound. Also, I use to watch belly dancing all the time because honestly, it just fascinated me. I couldn't understand how someone could get their belly to move in such a fluid way. It must take some really strong stomcah muscles to achieve. Being a education major, I appreciated the Guru Mantra video. When I was a kid, I loved to memorize stuff by creating a song and singing it for my parents. It was a very effective method and I think music is a great resource that can be added to a classroom.
The combination of Indian music with bagpipes is very unique and I would never have expected it, but she did it beautifully and is obviously very talented. Belly dancing is my favorite type of dance because it combines elegance and sensuality, I've always wanted to learn it!
ReplyDeleteI have never heard Indian music mixed with the bagpipes, that is so cool!
ReplyDeleteThis is all really interesting, Haley--thanks for following up on these particular items. And I have a great idea for you! New life goal for you: get Archy and Patty Gurdy to do a collaboration! Wouldn't that be amazing!!!
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