Nigerian clapping game: Module 6

1. Title: Unknown

2. Performers: Small Children

3. Origin: Nigeria

4. Orchestration: Hands and Vocals







For my final blog for our class, I have decided to post a short video of Nigerian children having fun in playing a clapping game.  These kind of games can teach children skills such as coordination, teamwork as well as organization.  These kind of game also develops music skills such as rhythmic beats and timing.  In watching this video, it reminds me of being a young child in grade school and playing similar games on the playground during recess.  These kind of games help teach socialization with working together to coordinate moves for a successful game!



As teachers, we can learn about other cultures in observing children’s interactions and musical play with these kind of games. It can be used as a vehicle to teach our students about the music and other values of different cultures. Perhaps in class we could have a heritage day in which students’ research, demonstrate and teach other students the game of their particular culture. This kind of activity could serve as an excellent venue to tie in socialization!

Mariachi Los Camperos- Popurri: Module 5

Origin: Mexico

Title: Popurri

Performers: Mariachi Los Comperos

Instrumentation: Strings, Trumpets, Vocals,  Guitars

Mariachi is a form of folk music from Mexico. Mariachi began as a regional folk style called “Son Jaliscience” in the center west of Mexico. It was originally played only with string instruments. Modifications of the music included influences from polkas and waltzes. Starting with the addition of trumpets and the use of charro outfits, the musical style began to take on national prominence in the first half of the 20th century with its promotion at Mexico presidential inaugurations and on the radio in the 1920s.

I really enjoyed watching this video. I loved the interaction with the audience as well as how much it appeared that the musicians on stage were enjoying what they were doing. The band was full of energy! On the topic of Authenticity, I believe that this video shows authentic Mariachi music. As an educator, I would show this to my class.

The music of the mariachi band is an excellent genre of music to employ different creating strategies. Students can learn that it is a mixture of local musical elements as well as European and African elements as well. From Europe, it borrowed many of the dance forms such as the waltz and the fandango. Students may be asked to create their own waltz in a similar style to what they heard and discussed in class. A teacher could designate a single player in groups to create a principal melody in the  Waltz/Mariachi style. Other members of the group could create counter melodies as well.  From Africa, it borrowed dance rhythms and  other melodic ideas. Students can be asked to create their own rhythmic patterns on their instrument that are similar to this style listened to and discussed as well. Mariachi song forms (such as the bolero, canción ranchera, son, huapango, joropo, and danzón) are dictated by the rhythmic patterns that are performed usually by the guitar section of the group. 

With the knowledge of the style and rhythms of Mariachi music, students can have fun and enjoy creating music from this wonderful culture! 

Module 4 Blog-"A Sheinem Cholem" (Yiddish)

Title of Song: A Sheinem Cholem

Performers: The Meshorerim Choir

Culture of Origin: Jewish Religion/Israel

Instrumentation: Vocal, Piano, Percussion


Reflection:

This week I’ve chosen to share a video of a performance by The Meshorerim Choir. This performance took place in Spring Valley, NY which is right over the border from where I live in New Jersey. The lead vocalist in this video was a child who was singing in Yiddish. He was backed up by five adult singers who were also accompanied by a Piano and Percussion. It was not clear on the video if the instrumental music was live or was played off of a cd.

Jewish music stems from ancient prayer chants of the Levant some 3000 years ago. The musical notation that developed and that we find in the bible today is one of the most ancient forms of notated music. Jewish music has been constantly adapting to new conditions and yet retaining its identity in many widely differing ethnic, social and religious environments.

 The study of Jewish music encompasses many genres of religious and folk music used in using Jewish texts and themes. The study of Jewish music combines the elements of musicology, ethnomusicology and culture. Jewish music today encompasses a wide diversity of musical traditions.

Yiddish is the historical language of the Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the pre-existing language of the nascent Ashkenazi community with an extensive Germanic based vocabulary. Yiddish is written with a fully vocalized alphabet based on the Hebrew script.

In my reflection of the authenticity of this video, a few things came to mind. For starters, the dress of the children and adults seem authentic from what I have seen growing up in Northern New Jersey/Rockland County in New York which has a large Hasidic Jewish population.  It also appears to me that this child has been involved in his Jewish Education at his Temple since he was a young child. He seems to be near the age when he will be preparing for his Bat Mitzvah. I hope that this child performer is not just concerned with the performance but the cultural meaning and significance of what he is singing.

Reading the Koops article made me think more about music being “culturally informed”. Koops stresses the importance of correctly representing the time, place and value system of the people who created it in the first place. I believe that the performers in this video were culturally informed of all the correct aspects as stated before by Koops. As I move forward in both this class and my teaching of music in the future, I will try to keep Koops four models of authenticity presented in that article in mind.

Module 3 Bog: Anoushka Shankar - Indian Classical Raga

a.      Classical Raga   b.     Anoushka Shankar   c.      India  

 d.     Sitar, Violin, Shehnai, Tabla, Mayuri Vina 

This video is an amazing performance by Anoushka Shankar. This video is based largely on improvisation by these talented musicians. The only theme that was formally composed was the main theme and the rhythmic structures. These are usually based on an eight beat model called the afaik. You can see in the video that each member of the group takes turns in the improvisation during the performance. Shankar starts off the song on the Sitar. During the course of the song, the other instruments in the ensemble take over the main melody and take things in a different direction. The feel and mood of the performance changes when each instrument solos as well.

Indian Classical music is believed to have originated from the Vedas, the oldest of scriptures of Hinduism. It evolved as an aid to self realization and its original principals were expounded in the Samaveda which is one of the four Vedas. 

It is often difficult to understand the cultural context of the Non-Western musical and rhythmic systems. Many of us in the Western hemisphere have grown up with the musical forms of classical music, jazz and rock and roll.  

The musical structure is different than ours in Western music. The two major differences between the two are tuning and scales. The music of India does not emphasize harmony and does not feature counterpoint. Most Indian music features a solo voice or instrument on the melody. The melody is usually accompanied by percussion or a drone. Indian music does not contain any chord progressions as well. Instead, the complexity of this music lies in its melodies and rhythms. 


The term raga, for which Indian music is based, was first discussed  in the Brhaddesi which is a work from the 10th century. In the 13th century, the theorist Sarngadeva listed 264 ragas. At this time, the Islamic presence was beginning to be felt in India. Muslim rulers extended their patronage to music. In the courts of the emperors, music flourished. 

The Hindi word “rag” is derived from the Sanskrit “raga” which means “color” It is linked to the Sanskrit word “ranj” which means “to color”. Raga may be thought of as an acoustic method of coloring the mind of the listener with an emotion. It is not a tune, melody, scale or mode from the English language. It is a combination of different characteristics.

The notes of the rags are called “swar”. “Jati” are the number of notes that are used in raga. The raga also has an ascending and descending structure as well. All notes do not have the same level of significance. The important notes are called “valdi” and “samavadi”.

In addition to the main characteristics of raga, there are some others as well. For instance, rags have traditionally been attributed to particular times in history. They have also been characterized into families of male and female rags as well.

French Music- Module 2

For this week’s blog post for module 2 in our class Music of the World, I decided to share with you this video of music from France. This video does not have a selected title for performer listed. The instrumentation for this song is an Accordion, and percussion instruments such as a drum set and tambourine. The song is a waltz in ¾ time with a fast tempo. I could imagine that this song would be played at a party for people to dance on the dance floor.

In tying into the readings about music cultures and traditions handed down from generation to generation, French Music is played in the streets of villages and cities of France. The French people love to gather around the different performers and their instruments to sing and dance into the night often while enjoying a cool glass of the local white wine or red wine. I had this experience myself when I visited France on a performance trip two years ago.

The classification of instruments in France is the same as many other European countries as well as in the United States. Examples of these classifications are Woodwind, Brass, Strings and Percussion. Some examples of instruments in French music are the Harp, Accordion, French Horn, Bass, and Piano just to name a few. There are specific similarities between particular instruments that lead to classification in a particular instrument family. For example, an instrument like the accordion may fall into its own classification system. Accordion is a free reed aerophone instrument, along with the harmonica, harmonium (Indian), reed organ (which operates with a vacuum), harmonium (which operates under air pressure) and a few others.