Week 8

In African society one of the defining characteristics of dance and music are their interconnectedness, dance and music are thought as one, and not as two seperate identities. These qualities reflect on the nature of this music, which is generally composed of interlocking parts at the same time, with a buzzy timbre sound. These aesthetics qualities focus on the unity of the music which reflects on the mesh between dance and music as a whole.
In this same way it seems that the aesthetic and core qualities of a kind of music are based on what that music is trying to project. One music genre that comes to my mind is gospel music. In gospel music the ultimate point is to sing the glories of God. Often the melody is sung with one person with a group of singers supporting in the background, or a group of people singing the same melody. This creates unity, and allows one to focus on the message of the music rather than the performance of the music. Even if one person is singing, the way it is sung clearly gives focus to something beyond, rather than focusing on the singer. Also the audience at times sings along and moves along with the music. The music is very inspiring, and upbeat, and is designed to lose yourself to God. This makes sense as the very aesthetic qualities of the music reflects and achieves the purpose, identity of the music, which in this case is fostering a sense of community in the spirit of giving reverence to God.

Week 6

In the movie Latcho Drom, we saw how the gypsies incorporated music from the cultures they encountered into their own culture. In the first scene the instruments and music style seems to be similar to Indian Hindustani music; the expression and sound of the dance and music resembled to some degree the music we heard from the Bengali musician master Babukishan. The instruments being used were something similar to a dhol (drum), a pot, which was also used as a drum, small hand cymbals, a sitar, and voice. The second scene of the dancing between the Egyptian couple showed Islamic and Middle East musical influence. Here there is a drum, clapping, and a musical instrument called the rebab. Even though some of the instruments and dancing were similar to the first scene, the musical celebration was Middle Eastern. The last scene shows the music of a takht ensemble in a teahouse in Turkey. Here the instruments present were those found in typical takht ensemble; the ud, qanun, nay, riqq, and a violin. One thing that was common to all these musical pieces was the vibrance of the music. The vibrance and euphoria of the music captured in the celebration under the full moon, was the same transferred to other musical contexts in the other two performances. I think the thing that I liked the most was this point, of how even though the actual music and instruments changed depending on where the gypsies went, the love and integrity of the music was constant and unchanging. I think the director wanted to make this point, by showing how gypsies incorporated different music and culture into their lives, that all music are ultimately based on other music, and at its core, music is simply awe-inspiring. This can be seen from what we have studied so far, as while there are differences in the music of different culture, there are tremendous similarities and adaptations.

Week 5

In today’s world, media plays a big part in shaping society. With tv, theater, and the internet playing a bigger and bigger part of everyday life, things that have played out in the media are being duplicated in real life. One example of this can be seen in how the culture of rap music is influencing the American and world landscape. It seems rap music began as a way for the African American population to unify, be able to take pride in their culture, and show to the world the problems they face (poverty, racism, inequality) and how they overcome them. This culture was a stark contrast to what was acceptable in mainstream American culture at the time. As time passed on it seems that the music became more recognized, and elements of drug use, violence, sex, and profanities became more gratuitious. Now it seems rap music atleast popular rap, focuses simply on sex, drugs, violence, and money. These ideas are now popular in American society, and their influences are seen in every facet of American life. This is similar to the Kabuki theater example, as Kabuki theater initially gained popularity as it portrayed life that was different then the standard at the time. However as more people started watching Kabuki theater, they pressed for pushing the envelope(more sex, violence, and so on) and once it gained enough popularity, these new concepts gained acceptance and integration in normal Japanese life.