Cool Stuff #4

I was looking for a video of a didgeribone, a didgeridoo that slides like a trombone. This is what I found--a guy “hee-hawing” through a didgeribone to a couple of donkeys, who sing back--it’s quite funny. If you look carefully, you can see how the didgeribone slides. The inner tube is yellow, and the outer sliding one is red.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5MCSq8Adg4

This is a gamelan performance, marching band style. They carry their instruments, move around in formation, and do cool stuff like a marching band being goofy. You can tell that they are enjoying themselves immensely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28-5r9-BdwQ

Okay, so you never know what you’re going to find. I was looking up Hawaiian music and found the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. They do look very British. In this video they are performing a medley of various pop songs. I have finally figured out the words to one of the songs that they sing: “one smell of fajitas”--I never knew what those darn Eagles were saying in that line. Now I do, thanks to the Ukulele Orchestra of GB.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTIv8hP-UIA

Uku orchestra doing “Orange Blossom Special”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H18aK9HhNSM

Here’s a little more information about the Chinese opera mask changing. A performer is interviewed, but he gives very little of his secrets away. Interesting, nonetheless.

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

I was surprised to learn that the Native American drumming had not meter. I have heard a fair amount of Native American music, but never noticed the lack of meter. I thought it was quite powerful when several people all beat the same drum at the same time. It was interesting to learn, also, that the drum represents the heartbeat.

I noticed that in my own culture there is an extreme amount of blending of music from other cultures. Since the US is a relatively young nation, that really is not that surprising. Even music that was developed in this country is a fusion of music from other cultures.

I would like to learn more about Chinese music. I never knew that it was so meditative in nature. I am interested in learning the scales that they use, and what it is about their music that makes it meditative.

Cool Stuff #3

This video is of violinist Yehudi Menuhin interviewing and playing with Ravi Shanker. Menuhin highlights some of the features of Indian music that we learned in class, and Shanker briefly explains how music is passed down by oral tradition in India, in particular the rhythm, by giving each note a sound syllable. The Tabla player gives a demonstration of this--definitely worth watching the video for. Menuhin sits on the floor to play his violin, but holds it in the tradition western way. Very impressive playing by all musicians!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4HXvB5nxok

Yodeling music in country/western music has come a long way since Jimmie Rodgers introduced it. The Western Music Association holds an annual yodeling competition. I found this clip of Carin Marie performing in this competition in 2009. I absolutely love it! It makes me want to get up and dance. I was also impressed with how well she played the guitar while yodeling, going through many key changes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72vm2XZ88-g

Next is a clip of Mahalia Jackson singing “Summertime/Motherless” child. Mahalia Jackson, one of the most influential gospel music artists, is considered the Queen of Gospel Music, and she herself was influenced by Bessie Smith. Ms. Jackson teamed up with Thomas A. Dorsey, considered the Father of Gospel Music, the gospel blues in particular. Enjoy!

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

I had to include a song by Eva Cassidy, a blues singer/guitarist, who unfortunately died of cancer in 1996. In this clip she sings “Wade in the Water”, an African-American spiritual warning escaping slaves to take a water route in order to prevent dogs from catching their scent. It doesn't show her singing, but I thought the video was interesting and appropriate to the song. Eva Cassidy does some outstanding covers of other songs also, such as Sting’s “Fields of Gold (Barley)”, “Over the Rainbow” (which makes me cry), and “Blues in the Night.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTdD9BItBWk

Music and Gender

Growing up, there was some difference in what males and females listened to. The girls tended to listen to bands with cute guy singers--The Patridge Family, for example, with David Cassidy. He was considered “hot” in my day! Other groups or singers that I remember mostly girls listening to were Jim Croce, Barry Manilow, Andy Gibb, Bryan Adams, and Tears for Fears. The last three I saw in concert, and the audiences were about 95% female. Groups that the guys listened to tended to more on the hard rock side, like Van Halen and AC/DC. There were always exceptions, or course. Interestingly, the girls that listened to the hard rock bands were often considered part of a “rough” crowd. Many bands were listened to equally by both genders, such as America and The Eagles.

I took piano lessons during junior high and high school. Out of the 20 students that my teacher taught, one was male. The girls also predominately played the flute and violin. The males usually picked brass or percussion instruments. I also noticed that the vocal ensembles in school were mostly female.

In my son’s band at school the wind instruments were still predominately played by females. He was in the percussion ensemble which was about two-thirds male. During marching, only males played the drums, while the females played the marimba. I thought it was interesting that the best trombonist of his band was female. I was not used to seeing girls play the trombone.

Of the local symphony orchestras in the area, by which I mean western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and upstate South Carolina, the violin and viola sections are mostly female. The cellos seem to be equally divided, and bassists are about 3/4 male. The brass and winds are about equal. The community orchestra in Asheville that I played in had an all female percussion section. I thought that was cool! 40-50 years ago my former violin teacher was a member of the Cincinnati orchestra. She was the first and only female violin player at the time and felt very intimidated. She overcome her fears and eventually became the assistant concert-master.

Cool Stuff #2
I was interested in the different styles of harps in Latin America. There are quite a few of them. Each country seems to have their own version. The first video is of a man playing a Venezuelan harp. He is almost lying on his back. This harp is slightly smaller than some of the other ones I have found. I was intrigued by the intricate rhythms, which sounded strange and complicated to my ear, and by the dissonant notes in the bass. It seems like the harp has a unique tuning to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAsa7hIYQMI

The next video is an example of a Peruvian harp. It is larger and highly decorated. The strings have more colors on them. If you look close you can see a carving of a dove on top of the harp. The sound box has an octagonal shape instead of being rectangular. The bass strings sound lower to me, and I hear the dissonance in them as in the first video. The rhythm, melody, and amount of repetition make it similar to the Sanjuan pieces we heard in class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGekI78yE2s

The Paraguayan harp has a well-rounded, full, beautiful tone. Its most characteristic feature is the deep curve of the neck, called an harmonic curve. Concert harps have them, but most folk harps have a straighter neck. The strings are attached to the tuning pegs in the middle of the neck instead of on one side of the neck, creating less tension on the harp. The harp itself is very lightweight. The piece in the video has an extremely soothing and calming effect on me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-KZpSZVSJ4

Music and Religion

In my current church, which leans toward the Pentecostal side, music is used foremost for worship. People are expected the listen to the words sung by the band and sing along, if desired, but not required. People are free to raise their hands or dance, also. The words are shown on a big screen while the songs are sang. The band is free to play a song just about any way they wish, often repeating the song many times, with variations. The lead singer also improvises words as he feels led by the Spirit. The music is thought to create a closer connection with God and open up the heavens, or Spirit world. The music is played diatonically, with little dissonance.

I grew up in a Methodist church. The music consisted of an organ prelude, hymns sung by the whole congregation, hymns sung by the choir only, and organ processional at the end of the service. The music in this church was done because of tradition. The same hymns were sung year after year. They were sung to praise God and remind us of what we believe about God. To me it felt quite ritualistic to sing them. It was part of the service, and it was not to be changed. The organ music was either of the classical genre, or a variation on a hymn.

In what ways has religion influenced what is aesthetically pleasing in music? I find that to be a tough question. What comes to mind is how new ideas in popular music are sometimes thought to be offensive in the eyes of some religious people. Rock ‘n‘ roll was taboo to many people in its early days. Even dance some dance moves were considered a sin, such as Elvis Presley’s “grinding.” Many songs have been banned from the radio because of their lyrics, such as “One Toke Over the Line” by Head East, and “Only the Good Die Young” by Billy Joel. There seems to be much less censorship now, compared to 40-50 years ago. It seems to me that popular music has more influence over religious music than the other way around. New ideas seem to come first in popular music, then 10-20 years later churches start incorporating those ideas. Though religion may have had more influence as far as what was acceptable many years ago, it does not seem to have much influence any more. Those I know who find much popular music to be offensive just do not listen to it, instead of trying to keep others from listening to it.

Cool Stuff #1
This first video is of Brent Lewis performing on the only existing set of 22 melodic drums, tuned to the piano. He has done intensive studies of African tribal music, including studying under Mr. Kwasi Badu of Ghana, Africa. He combines tribal rhythms from around the world to make his own unique musical style.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l_1cVODYas

This second video is of a Native American hoop dance. It was originally a healing dance with just one hoop. I find the symbolism of the circle interesting in that it depicts a continuation of life from one generation to the next. It is also interesting to me how the circle as a symbol shows up in many cultures, the wedding ring and mandala as examples. What this fellow can do with many hoops is amazing. The music to which he is dancing is typical of the Native Americans. There is a repetitive descending vocal line of (possibly) vocables, backed by a steady drum beat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2fedpR7LSg

This is a video bio of Arvel Bird. There are many videos of him and his band on YouTube, but I thought bio was the most interesting and gave the broadest range of his music. He is of Scottish and Southern Paiute ancestry, and his music combines both, as well as Country and Rock. Because of growing up during a time of prejudice against Native Americans, his Paiute roots were suppressed. He later went back to them and are a major part of his life. He plays the fiddle and Native American flute. Though string instruments are not commonly found among the Native Americans, I did find examples of an Apache fiddle. It has one string. Both the string and the bow hair are made from horse hair. To see one of these fiddles, check out http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/AmericanIndigenous/875/ApacheFiddle875.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCXkSthGM7Q

Music and Family

The main function of music for my family is entertainment. All members of my family listened to pop music on the radio or on records, usually by themselves in their rooms, myself included. On rare occasions, such as holidays, records were played in the living room for all to hear. Music was also used as a background while doing other things. Sometimes my mother played upbeat music while doing housework, and she played Christmas music during the Christmas season while she wrapped presents.

Music also played a role in social bonding. Every summer my family got together at a “resort” in the Olympics with three other families--college friends of my parents. Every night by the campfire we all sing Kingston Trio songs. It was a time for my parents and their friends to reminisce about their younger days.

Music was used in celebrations such as weddings. Popular recorded music was played at the wedding receptions, and people often danced to it.. This was the only time music was used for dancing, with the exception of ballet lessons, which did not go well for me, though I enjoyed listening to the music.

My son and I are the only musicians in the family, out of six children and eleven grandchildren. I was on my own when I practiced piano. Music was a creative outlet for me. I enjoyed great satisfaction from learning a new piece or even improving on a scale. This experience was unique to me. No one else in my family understood this.

I consider my church to be a family also. I interact more with and am closer to many of them than I am to my relatives. Music is considered a vital part of worship. The church that I go to is Pentecostal, and the first 45 minutes of the service is devoted to worship with music. It is believed that music can open up the heavens and increase a spiritual connection with God. Songs are often repeated when they believe something spiritual is happening. Music is played in the background during corporate prayer, communion, and during intercessory prayer after the service. The music played is contemporary Christian, written by the musicians, performed with electric guitars and drums.

Another group of people that I consider a family is a close-knit group of friends of mine who are all musicians. We became friends while playing in a community orchestra. A primary reason why all of us played in the orchestra was to increase social connections. A love of music bonded us, as well as dealing with all of the shenanigans of the orchestra. We often played chamber music together outside of orchestra, for the love of the music and to just enjoy being together. Music for this family is a creative and social outlet.

My Musical Autobiography

I grew up listening to Pop music. My father, in particular, loved the Beatles. I used to sit outside my older brother’s rooms and listen while they played records of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys. When I turned twelve years old, I received my own radio and was glued to it for years, listening to the current Pop songs. My favorite groups were Kansas, Boston, Queen, Billy Joel, Tears for Fears, and Simple Minds, just to name a few.

My mother fell in love with ragtime music after watching the movie, The Sting. I heard the music Scott Joplin a whole lot during my teen years.

My family took several trips to Hawaii when I was a child. I heard native Hawaiian music at luaus, along with watching the Hawaiians dance to it.

While attending Whitworth College, I took a study tour to Israel and heard native Israeli music played on the streets.

After getting married, my (ex)husband and I ate regularly at Mexican restaurants. Many of them played current Mexican pop music. I have also heard Indian music at Indian restaurants on a regular basis.

After moving to Asheville, NC, I was exposed to New Age music. It is often played in bookstores and restaurants in that town. I took a class on meditation, and heard music composed specifically for meditation. While in Asheville I played in the Blue Ridge Orchestra, a community orchestra conducted by Ron Clearfield, a cellist and New Age composer. I have listened to all of his recordings. In the orchestra, we played American Patriotic songs, older pop songs by Leroy Anderson, and some big band swing music for July 4th concerts. We played traditional Christmas songs, from America and England, for the Christmas concerts. In another concert we played Scottish music by harpist and composer William Jackson. He and his band were the soloist. They played instruments such as the celtic harp, fiddle, tin whistle, and the cittern. Bobby Hicks, a traditional bluegrass fiddle player, also soloed with us.

After several years of studying classical violin, I decided to take lessons in bluegrass fiddle. I learned tunes in the Old-time, Bluegrass, Scottish, and Irish genres. I listen to Irish fiddle music a great deal.

I attended a workshop on playing the didgeridoo, from Australia. I also attended a concert at UNCA of native Australian music and storytelling.

My son recommended the group Rodrigo y Gabriela to me. They are now one of my favorite groups. They are a guitar duo who combines flamenco and heavy metal styles, with a bit a gypsy thrown in.