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In “Valicha” by Los Destellos, the intervals seem to have remnants of the original Andean music, although they are performed on electric guitar. Shakers and drums provide a syncopated rhythmic under layer. The song “Tici, Tic, Tac” by Joven Sensacion (Young Sensation) employs much use of electric guitar, synthesized horns, drums, and flutes. In addition, the song includes rap-esque disk scratching. The lyrics are not sung; instead, they are spoken rhythmically, lending to the rap-feel of the piece.
In “Somos Estudiantes” by Los Shapis, there is a usage of pan flutes in the beginning, although they are backed by highly process, heavily synthesized downbeats. It’s interesting to note how Los Shapis uses “traditional” instruments in addition to the more modern, electric influences because the first few lyrics translate to “We are students/ We are Peru/We are teachers,” before continuing to further discuss the concept of “country.”

I thought it was very helpful to listen to Ravi Shankar’s “An Introduction to Indian Music”, and hear how he articulated what a ‘raga’ truly is; that it is neither just a scale, nor a mode, and that each raga has its “own ascending and descending movement,” and that it employs the use of “subtle touches, usage of micro tones, and stresses on particular notes.” At this point he began to “bend” the notes on the sitar, using various types of ornamentation that we had previously discussed in class. Ravi Shankar went on to say that the theme is based on ‘rhythmic framework’ with cycles of either 12 or16 beats, and that in the pieces there is a “gradual progression of first smaller patters, then longer patterns.” The lead instrument, in this case the sitar, “directs whole progress of the improvisation.” In my opinion, the most interesting thing Ravi Shankar discussed was how one should approach and listen to the music; that western listeners should “Listen with open and relaxed mind, without expecting to hear harmony, counterpoint, and other elements prominent in western music. Neither should our music be thought of as akin to jazz, despite the improvisation, and exciting rhythms present in both kinds of music.” I related to this last part, because it is easy for me to immediately connotate the word “improvisation” with “jazz.”
The beginning of the piece “Rag Bhairav” had a much slower tempo than the one Ravi Shankar performed, consisting of a flute with a cyclical tabula drone underneath. Roughly halfway into the piece, a rapid under layer of drums is introduced, creating more density. There is also increased ornamentation and “bending” of the notes in the flute’s melodic line.
In most aspects, both pieces sounded very different than “Tongue Twister.” I thought it was a very interesting concept to manipulate the rapid vocals into a complex rhythmic layer, with the man and woman converging and then diverging with different syllables and rhythms. To me, some syllables in particular were distinct in their pitch how they were sustained, sounding more like notes in a song than spoken words.

Here is a clip of Italian singer Gigliola Cinquetti singing “Il Condor” (El Condor Pasa) in 1970. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3taClBTAHTU

the second is a cover of the song by a young man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkP8-AbZlGg

and last but not least, 12 Girl Band’s cover!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVMXEnL8liM

The first track, “Lambango,” was very strange-sounding to me; I don’t mean this in a negative sense at all, but I don’t really know how else to convey the impression I got after listening to it, other than “strange.” Perhaps a more accurate description would be, “very different than what I was expecting, and what I’m used to.”The string instrument, which sounded to me vaguely like a mandolin, seemed sort of rhythmically disjointed when in conjunction with the vocals. The beat had a very different feel to it than the music used in Zimbabwean spirit possession ceremonies. In “Lambango,” the male section of the vocals sounded to me like it had the same flow as spoken word poetry that I’ve heard before, only in a different language.
The song “Saheli yeri” also threw into further relief how different the intent and organization of this type of music is in comparison to the music of other cultural formations in Africa. The audience clapping at the end of the piece signified that the song was being performed in a more formal environment, and was not as group-participatory in nature, as opposed to the music in the context of Zimbabwean spirit possession, or the music of the BaAka. In “Saheli yeri,” over a minute had elapsed in the song before the vocals came in; the introduction was comprised of a string instrument, whose tonality again sounded to me like a mandolin, coupled with a marimba-esque percussive layer. The piece had a relaxed tempo and tone to it. I’m not sure why I got this impression, perhaps because of the strumming of the stringed instrument, but the piece sounded vaguely Spanish to me; if I had heard it out of context, I honestly don’t know if I would have been able to identify it as African music.
The final song, “Pirates,” sounded much more “produced,” as in, much more “processed” and less natural than the previous pieces. There was a much heavier drum section, in addition to another percussive instrument, and the guitar in this piece was electric, showing it had more cosmopolitan influences. I was also surprised at how different the vocals were than the previous pieces we listened to; it sounded to me like rap being spoken in French, although I can’t be sure it was French, since I don’t speak the language.

In the Balinese gamelan sound clips, I was able to hear a very pronounced clashing, clanging metallic-sound; this can be attributed to the cymbals, which are one of the major differences between Javanese gamelan and Balinese gamelan. The style and emphasis of percussive layering is also distinct in Balinese gamelan; the drums are louder, and come in more frequently in a song than within the beat cycle of Javanese gamelan. This difference in musical emphasis is a stark contrast to the 16-beat song our class played in the gamelan room, where the largest, deepest-toned gong produced one beat during an entire cycle. Instead of employing a 16-beat cycle, Balinese gamelan is divided up into cycles of 8 beats. The timeframe within this 8-beat cycle is also divided up differently; in some songs, one can hear a discrete gong sounding on each beat within the cycle, lending a sense of steadiness to the piece even during its most heightened tempo. This does not provide the same sense of interlocking found within Javanese gamelan. One of the musicians, Nyoman, discusses this idea of syncopation versus interlocking in Balinese music. In Balinese gamelan, there is not as much variation in the kettle gongs, and it doesn’t seem like there is as much improvisation on the main theme; the music is cyclical, moving up and down in smaller, fixed intervals. The most improvisation involving the gongs occurs towards the end of the piece; instead of highly interlocking kettle gongs, textural layers are built up using instruments such as drums and cymbals, shifting the auditory focal point of the piece from the tonal, more towards the percussive.
 In loud-style Javanese gamelan, the kettle gongs are most prominent, while in the soft-style, the voice is the focal point, while the kettle gongs provide the underlayer; drums are mainly used as accents. In Balinese gamelan, the roles were reversed; the voices became secondary to the drums. I noted a much faster initial tempo in the Balinese sound clips. This highly energetic tempo was maintained throughout the majority of the piece; the most prominent dip in tempo speed occurred in the very first part of the song. Therefore, in Balinese gamelan, a decrease in tempo does not necessarily signify the end of the song. In fact, the song gathered momentum, increasing its tempo and textural complexity that continued until the piece’s abrupt end. This is unlike the elongated retardando characteristic of Javanese gamelan, which is used to prepare the group of performing musicians to anticipate the ending of a song.
 Another notable difference is the context in which gamelan beleganjur is played. Unlike the large, stationary gamelan set that our class encountered, the article stated that all of the gamelan beleganjur instruments are portable, including the drums and heavier gongs. The music is both processional and ceremonial, used on occasions such as cremations and temple ceremonies, while Javanese gamelan has been characterized as courtly music, also used in conjunction with community activities such as shadow puppets.

Regrettably, the previous post was completed later than I’d originally intended. The reason for this is that I was initially hesitant to post on the gamelan pieces, because I wasn’t sure I understood the pieces correctly, and thus was uncertain that I was analyzing the right things or truly observing their subtleties. However, I now feel like I’m able to understand and appreciate this style of music more; I credit much of this to not only our class demonstration of the various layers and instruments used in gamelan, not to mention the visual chart of how time is divided up in a song, but also to the gamelan practicum. Breaking down the structure of the pieces, in addition to actually playing the songs, was very useful. I can thus relate to Professor Fraser’s initial reaction to gamelan; initially not liking it, finding it strange and bordering on creepy due to a lack of understanding the music. I feel like this particular unit in CMUS 103 was a definite learning curve for me, and I was happily surprised to see the progression of my thoughts and feelings toward the music, so that I feel like at last I can sincerely say I’m starting to enjoy talempong and gamelan.

Bubaran ‘Kembang Pacar’ , a loud-style gamelan piece, begins with a steady tempo. It comprised of only instruments, with no vocals and a percussive underlayer. Nearing the end, the piece increases its tempo speed, maintaining it until it enters a prolonged ritardando, slowing down in tempo before its ultimate conclusion. The Demonstration Buburan ‘Kembang Pacar’ piece begins with a slower tempo than its predecessor, with only one musical line of kettle gongs. Because the sound is not as deeply layered as the second piece, one can hear the gongs especially clearly. A little over a minute into the song, the single line of kettle gongs are joined by deeper-pitched gongs and then understated percussion. These combine to form a softer-sounding layer underneath the original layer of gongs. Then, halfway into the piece, a line of higher-pitched, faster-playing gongs enter, closely followed by yet another line of gongs, which are the mostly highly-pitched, and playing at the fastest tempo. All of these musical lines combine to form a richly dense structure of complex, interlocking rhythms. Nearing the end of the song, all layers gather speed in tempo before starting their ultimate decrease and speed, and eventual closing, similar to the first track.
The soft-style gamelan piece, “Ladrang Wilujeng,” is opened by a stringed instrument, unlike the first piece, before the kettle gongs join in. A female singer also is; this is a stark contrast to the other two pieces at the end of the third half of the piece; it sounds like she is joined by other singers, including male voices. This adds a different texture to the sound, building up complexity and density. This is different than the texturing of the previous two pieces, where the layering of gongs was used to change the sound of the music. However, like the first two pieces, the piece increased in tempo and maintained a plateau of this tempo for a period of time, before gradually slowing down until its conclusion. Ladrang Wilujeng is also over twice as long as the loud-style gamelan pieces, reaching almost 9 minutes in length.

As shown through the writings of Dr. Fraser, both the research and publishing components of fieldwork are part of a double-edged sword. Fieldwork can simultaneously provide myriad unique opportunities of a lifetime that would be impossible to encounter elsewhere, giving in-depth insight into the cultural lives of a community, while also providing many logistical enigmas and frustrations. Fraser mentioned that she encountered a lot of political and governmental “red tape” through her travels, and described numerous occasions where a big deal was made of her sex and marital status. Fraser also noted how she felt very privileged in some situations, gaining access to certain events and places due to her status as a female foreigner, while feeling frustrated and uncomfortable in other situations because of the very same factors. It is interesting to note the differences in the way that Fraser portrayed her field experiences in her dissertation and personal letters. In her dissertation, Fraser needed to be more professional, and approach the subject of her work with a more impartial, dethatched point of view in order to analyze and report on what she encountered. In her “Tales,” however, she employed a more natural, freer dialogue style that was not inhibited by the procedures of research. Thus, her letters came across as more naturally honest, and certainly more personal; for instance, she mentioned one style of music that was, “Aside from being very loud, this music gets quite boring after awhile.” In her letters, Fraser was able to discuss the ups and downs of daily life in a way that might have detracted away from her research findings should she have published these accounts in her dissertation, in a sometimes very humorous and casually conversational style of writing. In one sentence, she even used mild swearing, describing how one acquaintance was “bitching about the weather.” Fraser was also freer to discuss the sexually and politically-awry aspects of her work, such as getting hit on by numerous men, and the crooked politicians that she came across. While she went into much greater depth exploring these issues in her letters, she discussed these issues comparatively less in her dissertation. Fraser was also freer to make personal judgments in her letters, which probably could not have been included in her official account of her research for ethical purposes. There is one phrase in particular that stuck out to me, which I feel embodies the majority of her experience not only researching, but writing about her research: “I find life is full of plenty of contradictions here.”

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The New York Times video gives off the impression of Indonesia being a country where the very conservative Islamic community is pitted against the more moderate Islamic community in a fight for governmental as well as social power. These two groups become the focal point of the pieces. What it doesn’t convey, however, is that religion in Indonesia runs on a continuum; according to Professor Fraser’s work, what is considered to be “Islam” runs the whole gamut of beliefs, and the various Islamic practices transcend “class and gender lines.” Nothing is quite as clear-cut as presented in The New York Times video. Fraser makes the case that the religious practices in Indonesia are highly individualized interpretations; one person may incorporate “black magic” into their beliefs, while another person may practice Islam in a way that is more akin to Islam sects in the Middle East. The New York Timesvideo was meant for a western audience, probably those who do not think about music and culture from an ethnomusicologist’s point of view regarding the subtleties between groups. Thus, the New York Times is falling into the trap of looking at a country through a homogeneous lens, that doesn’t represent the entire cultural dynamic and instead simplifies it into a few discrete categories.