Gomez

It was very interesting to hear Ravi Shankar’s An Introduction to Indian Music as part of the listening homework. This sample greatly helped me to better understand the reading and what we have been discussing in class. It helped me to better be able to hear the ascending and descending movements of the raga as well as point out the stresses on the particular notes that make the ragas unique and have such emotion. I also found this clip to be helpful when listening to the other samples for this day to notice the different parts that come together to create each raga. My favorite characteristic of this Indian Music, clear in the clip of Rag Bhairav, is the way that it starts out very slow and then slowly builds, increasing in both speed and intricacy until it reaches the end where it gets extremely fast and complex. To me, it seems that the unbelievable speed at which the musicians can play all of the instruments- especially the strong rapid pulse kept with the tabla- sounds extremely impressive. This made me wonder if the ability to play with such speed is something that is revered in Indian culture or if it just sounds this way to my untrained ears. In the reading Bakan describes that this progress of growth is meant to take the raga to marvelous heights, so that it reaches the ideal of Nada Brahma or “the Sound of God,” which he explains as “the divine source of all sound and all ragas.” Bakan goes on to state that “playing a raga is more than mere music making; it is a spiritual practice.” I liked this explanation for this quality of the music, and with this idea in mind when listening to these samples, the music really did feel to me to achieve a level of amazing divinity. At the end of clip of An Introduction to Indian Music Shankar states, “the Western listener will appreciate and enjoy our music more if they listen with an open and relaxed mind.” I thought this was a very interesting comment for him to make at the end of the recording and a perfect way to end my last listening journal for this class. Thinking about this quotation is a good way to reflect on the idea of listening to not only the Indian music that Shankar is discussing, but also the music we have been studying from all over the world. This act of listening with an open and relaxed mind is exactly what we need to do when we listen to anything, and although sometimes it is more difficult than it sounds, it is something I think this class has taught me to be better at. 

After listening to these three examples I found that I felt most strongly that I would consider Example 1 music. I felt that I could hear a definite pattern, and I got a sense of human intention in making that pattern. I got a feel of organized beat as well as a purposeful change in sound intensity that is important in my definition of music. Although I of course couldn’t see the people making this music, I felt like I could tell that there was movement as they were creating. I felt I could consider this example music because the noise sounded controlled and purposeful.

I also think that I would consider Example 2 to be music. Similar to my feelings towards Example 1, I feel as if this example had a definite and purposeful pattern of sound and noise as well. I could hear a distinct repetition. This one almost felt like a march to me. One component that made me feel comfortable in calling Example 1 music was just plainly that it motivated me to dance. A reason I had more trouble deeming Example 2 music was that it inspired me to dance far less than the first one. In some aspects it reminds me of the clip of the postal workers in Ghana because of the way that this example sounds like it is a product of people doing something else. The voices and laughter in the background make it sound more informal. Another reason I had more trouble deciding if this was music was because, for me, there was less emotion behind the organized sound than in Example 1. However, because I do feel the sound was purposefully organized I do consider this example to be music.

Example 3 gave me the most trouble but ultimately I felt that because it was definitely made with human intention and has human creativity in it that I would consider this to be music. When I listen I notice what seems to be a decided control of loudness and softness, but I realize people also do that when speaking. In it I hear organized sound however my (untrained) ear cannot hear any repeated patterns or rhythms, but perhaps because its sound is so unfamiliar. I feel this example is music because, according to the Titon reading, “there is more to music than the structure of sounds.” Although I cannot understand what is being said in the music (and am not even sure if it is words or noise) these people do sound as if they are attempting to express themselves or an idea in organized noise, and an attempt of that is something that I believe to be music. 

Sample three, Saheli yeri, starts out with a string-sounding instrument, which I think is the kora. As the melody starts building and forming the balo/ balofon joins in and both instruments are work together to play a cyclical repetitive melody. This circular nature mixed with the soft sound of the instruments being used makes the music sound very pleasant and happy, with an almost playful childlike feel. As the song continues, singers join in, first a man and then a woman. The way the two vocalists switch back and forth, similar to the way the singers do in Lambango, makes the song sound like a dialogue, or maybe as if it is telling a story. Although usually the voices sing separately, occasionally they overlap. Both singers sound very trained and professional. Sometimes I feel like the singers voices are slightly harsh because the higher pitches are unfamiliar to my ears, but I like the way the breaks in the singing allows the listener to hear the calming and pleasing instrumentation. I also feel like the change in loudness of both the voices and the instruments, especially in the middle of the song, gives the song more depth. I also did not realize that this was a performance in front of an audience until the end of the song when you can hear clapping. This makes me wonder about the formality of the performance.

The elements and musical style of gamelan belenganjur is in many ways both similar to and different from the other Indonesian gong ensembles that we have studied. When considering the religious significance of gamelan beleganjur and its use during temple anniversaries and at cremations as well as its use in competitions, it appears similar to the use of other Indonesian gong ensembles that we have studied during religious rites and ceremonies, as well as during more informal situations like work parties and communal harvests.

Like these other forms of gong ensembles, gamelan belegnajur relies on the cyclical interlocking of different percussion instruments. In gamelan beleganjur, as in all of the other Indonesian gong ensembles, each percussion instrument’s melody is repeated in a cyclical pattern- each beat and melody working into some one else’s; the different instruments involved in the ensemble work together to create a core beat and an elaborating melody. As one can hear from many of the sound clips and videos on the website (especially in the clip on page 12) “tempo and volume often change suddenly and dramatically,” an aspect that I believe is often heard in and very important to the emotion and power found in the other gong ensembles we have studied. In many of the clips on the site you can hear, as you can in many of the clips that we have listened to while studying other gong ensembles, chatter in the background, helping us to understand all ensembles as serving a social function.

However, unlike the Javanese gamelan that we have been studying in class that uses a 16 beat cycle, the gamelan beleganjur uses an 8 beat cycle. Also, while these ensembles are similar in their use of percussion instruments and gongs, the gamelan beleganjur also makes use of pairs of cymbals called ceng-ceng, which give it a very different sound. Although these ceng-ceng are used in a similar way to the other percussion instruments in these gong ensembles with interlocking cyclical rhythmic patterns, the frequent crashing of the pitchless instrument makes the cymbals very overpowering and you often hear them over the other instruments. “As you listen to this competition piece sometimes you mainly hear the cymbals; at other times the gong cycle, the simple melody, or the kettle gongs of the reyong are clearer. During the slower sections you even hear a bamboo flute.” In the other gong ensembles that we studied I don’t remember hearing such an emphasis of one instrument over the others. Nyoman also describes and shows us in video clips these cymbals not only interlocking with other instruments but also interlocking melodies with one another. Although this same instrument interlocking is sometimes used to elaborate melody in other gong ensembles, it seemed to me that this device is used more often in gamelan belganjur.

Despite all of these differences, in all of the Indoesian gong ensembles that we have studied, when listening to all types “you realize that the musicians must practice a lot in order to play their interdependent parts with such precision.”

Sample 1, Styles of Yodeling, is comprised of only voices and no instruments. As the song begins the first woman (?) yodeler begins making a melody by sort of sliding her voice up and down and then pausing, creating repeated patterns. She comes in softly and slowly, getting louder until she stops and then two women come in making different yodeling patterns at different times. In this part of the song one singer’s voice is much higher, and because I am not used to this type of music it sounds somewhat harsh and unsettling to me, it almost hurts to listen to. These voices then stop and more voices join in, and in this third part the repeated patterns that the different voices are making seem to be working together. After this part dies out and comes to a stop, even more voices enter creating a collection of different voices yodeling in different patterns. It is interesting how the singers don’t naturally continue to the next part of the song but rather the singing just pauses and then picks up again as more people come in. To me because it sounds like there are more parts working together after each pause, the song becomes more and more powerful as it continues.

Although I didn’t notice this the first time I listened to the song, at the end of the second part when the two voices are quieting down it almost sounds as if the woman singing the higher part laughs. This made me think about the formality of the situation this music was created in. It makes me think that this was a communal event, meant to bring people together. I wonder if this is an organized, planned out song or if people are just joining in? Is it part of fun, playful cultural activity? 

Ladrang ‘Wilujeng’,Ladrang Asmaradana, and Music for Wayang

At first, while listening to Example 2, Ladrang ‘Wilujeng’, the singer’s voice sounded very unique to me, unlike anything that I had heard before- but as I continued listening more voices joined in that had the same exact sound to them. These voices had an interesting quality to them because they all sounded very trained but different from the kind of trained voice that I am used to hearing in Western music. Before the singers came in this example began with just music, the light bell/percussion melody that, although different in each one, is present in each of these samples. Created with the layering of the bell and percussiony-sounding instruments, this melody repeats itself many times throughout the song, changing intensity throughout. Although the melody is somewhat repetitive, I think the way the music gradually speeds up and then slows down in each example creates intricacy and depth. I believe that this aspect is really exemplified in Music for Wayang, especially in the dramatic way that the music becomes slower and slower as the song nears its end until finally, both the instruments and the singer’s voice dies out.

The man singing in Adhan (call to prayer) sounds, to me, as if he places great concentration on each note and tone that he creates with his voice. This concentration makes the singer’s voice sound so powerful to me. The intensity created by his change from soft to loud as well as the long pauses between each long segment of singing add to the powerful feeling of this sample. This clip relies solely on the abilities the singer’s voice and the melody created is so smooth as the singer seems to effortlessly move from note to note. Although I can’t understand what the singer is saying as he prays, the emotion behind it is very clear. Listening to this call to prayer reminded me of going to temple as a little kid and listening to the cantor sing in a very strong voice a melody that had little meaning to me but that I could sense strong emotion and feeling behind.

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