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.