Week 10 Question

The most amazing thing about music is America is the amount of diversity that is present. As a result, many music historians have found it difficult to identify a distinct national music for America. Dvorak attempted to create a symphony that was distinctly American by drawing upon many musical aspects of American-Indians. In this 9th Symphony, Dvorak even quotes a "Hiawatha" theme which was prevalent in American Indian music.
Like most other music historians, I too will find it difficult to describe music that is distinctly American because American music is defined by its diversity. Despite this diversity, however, there is still a strong case for jazz as a representation of American music. Jazz is specifically unique to America because it emerged and started in America in New Orleans with styles such Dixieland. Jazz, however, uses many rhythms and stylistic characteristics that are common in African music, so to say that it is distinctly American is not the complete truth. In fact almost all, if not all, American music has been heavily influenced from outside sources to become what it is today. Hip-hop music in America demonstrates this same quality in that many of the rhythms that are used in the background tracks are extremely influenced by African rhythms and African lyricism. For example, rap, which is apart of the hip-hop culture in America, has been heavily influenced by griots, who were West African poets and musicians who passed on their repertoire of music through oral tradition. In addition many rap songs also use many percussive aspects that are typically heard in traditional African music.
From looking at these three styles of music which exist in America today, it seems that American music has indeed been heavily influenced by African music. Because of the diversity of music within the United States there are numerous other influences of musical cultures that have embedded themselves into American music. However, African music seems to be one of the most, if not the most influential styles that has established American music as it is today.

Week 8 Questions

One band that I have listened to recently has been Maroon 5. Most of this band's music usually fits into the category of pop, which is characterized by simple melodies which are repeated over and over again. The use of repetition is very common in pop and it is not different with some songs from Maroon 5, such as their recent single "Makes Me Wonder." In this piece, repetition can be heard in the lyrics that the lead singer is saying. The two main lyrical stanzas , which consist about out 4 lines each, are repeated over and over again with small changes throughout. Along with the lyrics, the bass line is also repeated throughout the song which strongly resembles an ostinado. The band also consists of drums and guitar which are both using repetition as well. The drums repeat the same rhythmic pattern throughout most of the song and the guitar repeats the same harmonic progression over and over again.
Along with repetition, there is a certain hierarchy of instruments that is also typical in most pop music. For example, the drums and the bass usually set the foundational rhythm and harmonic structure to the piece with the guitar playing some melodic lines in harmony with the main singer. This hierarchy is structured so that all of the instruments are all supporting the lead singer in bringing out his main melodic line. The lead singer's melodic line is the most important component of this style of music and it is important that the other instrument not simply drown out the lead vocalist. Also, in pop music, there is a clear distinction between the musicians and the audience with the musicians usually playing the music on a set stage. However, despite this distinction, dance is still closely tied to pop music as often the audience is expected to dance to the music that they hear on stage.

Week 7 Questions

In the movie Latcho Drome, there are two main scenes which are focused on in the second half, which we watched on Monday. The first scene that was focused on was the scene in Romania. In this clip of the movie, the town villagers all begin to come out of their houses to participate in music and dances which seem to be driven by the musicians themselves. The instruments which are played in this scene consist of a violin, which is not being played as it is in Western music but instead plays a lot of melodic lines over and over again. Another instruments that emerges from one of the village houses is a type of aerophone, which looks a lot like the instrument that was presented to us last week ( can't remember the name). Another instrument that was presented in this scene was accordion which helped give the music more thickness. As the scene continues the villagers start to circle around each other and start to dance and listen to the virtuosity of the musicians. When the villagers are in a circle, another percussive instrument emerges which looks a lot like the instrument that we saw in a video last week.
Another scene in the movie which was focused on in the second half of the video was the scene with the train. Similar to the scene with the villagers this scene also contained violins which were not being played as it is in Western music. In addition, the musicians in this scene were using there hands to clap certain rhythms. The physically percussive quality of this scene distinguishes it however from the previous where most of the rhythm was carried by the percussive instruments.

Week 6 Questions

After watching the video "Latcho Drom," it was evident that there were similar instruments used throughout the movie in a various scenes in the Middle East. One instrument that was in most of the musical scenes was something that looked like an erhu. It looked like it had two strings and a bow similar to an erhu. However the way it was played was quite different in that many of the melodic phrases that were played on it were more syncopated than what an erhu normally sounds like when played by an East Asian musician. Other instruments that seemed to be predominant in most of the musical scenes were various drums. These drums looked a lot like the tabla however they were also played a little differently. The rhythms that were being played on the drums weren't necessarily more complex but they were just different from what is normally heard on drums such as a tabla. In a lot of the musical scenes, it seemed like the women also had a lot of little percussive instruments on their hands and feet to give the song a little bit more of an edgy sound. In one scene in particular, the one under the moon, one man is playing an instrument that looks a lot like the pipa in East Asian music. However, this pipa-looking instrument sounded nothing like the pipa. The melodic lines that were being played on it were much smoother and more legato than the articulate lines in East Asian pipa music.
Throughout the movie the director demonstrated how the "gypsies" absorbed various musical cultures into their own music. However, I myself was a little confused about how he went about doing this. I guess I wasn't really sure who the "gypsies" were in the film and I didn't really see how they adapted to the music around them. It seemed to me that the musical scenes that were presented seemed to demonstrate the music of the "gypsies" but didn't really show how this music was influenced.
For me personally, the film was interesting because it gave me a glimpse of what life is like in the Middle East. The scene in the tea house with the takht ensemble is something that I could not have imagined. I thought it was interesting how the takht ensemble was the center of attention in the room. In America, normally music that is played in a tea house of coffee house would probably be background music.

Week 3 Questions

Week 3 Questions:

After watching both performances, I noticed that there were a good amount of similarities and differences between each despite the fact that they are playing the same style of music. For example, the first performance had female dancers in the center of the performance area with the musicians surrounding them. It was clear that throughout the Ratna Ayu performance that the dancers were meant to be focused on throughout. This is different, however, in the Gamelan Bali Nyepi performance, the musicians themselves are meant to be the center of the performance as they are oriented in a circular fashion without any dancers in the center. Along with this difference, the way that the music sounded also differed from performance to performance. For example, in the Ratna Ayu, the music almost seemed like it had more sectinos that constrasted each other. In the beginning of the performance, most of the musicians are playing and as a result the rhythms are faster. This changes in the middle of the dancer's performance in that the music becomes much more toned down from the beginning. All the musicians are continually playing however they are playing in unison in this section. At the end of this Ratna Ayu performance, the musicians once again start to play more complex lines. This contrast is not heard in the Gamelan Bali Nyepi performance in which the musicians who are surrounding each other seem to be maintaining the driving rhythm throughout. Also in the Gamelan Bali Nyepi performance, some of the musicians seemed to have some sort of shakers which created a distinct sound that was not heard in the Ratna Ayu performance.

Week 2 Questions

Week 2

Question #1: One instance in my life in which I was an insider but an outsider at the same time would probably have to be whenever I see my extended Irish family. Having grown up in California, I don't really relate to most of my relatives who are from Ireland. However, I am still an insider because they are my family and I am Irish like they are.
One way in which I accentuate my identity is probably in the fact that I read the Bible frequently. This accentuates my identity as a Christian. Another way that I accentuate my identity is through where I choose to be on a daily basis. For example, I choose to go to class and to sometimes go to Bible studies. The fact that I choose to go to class accentuates the fact that I am a student while the latter demonstrates my identity as a Christian. My identity is also reflected through the music of Irish people, which consists of jigs and various dance music. These are sometimes played and listened to in my family.

Question #2: Music is only part of many events such as being in a club or going to church. The music that is heard in a club is usally dance music which contains driving rhythms and beats which seem to propel people to move around and dance. In this case, the music is determining a certain state of mind that the listener should be in when they listen. This is contrasted, however, in a religious setting such as church. Normally in church, music is set up to organize the congregation to sing together. As a result, the music does not contain the driving beats is found in dance music at clubs but rather simple choral music which every one can sing. In each of these cases music is being used to bring people together whether by dancing or by choral singing.