Introduction to Musics of the World

http://languages.oberlin.edu/cmus103/finalproject/2008/12/16/jesus-rocks/

http://languages.oberlin.edu/cmus103/concert/2008/12/12/obama-obama-obama/

 cyclical steady beat winds instruments and percussion. sometimes off-key winds (not totally together) harmonizing?

seems like participation based (not performance). i envision a group of people joining in if they want to at a gathering. much like shona rituals.

Out of all of the different African music-cultures we have studies, the example of Mande music is the most lyrical.  Whereas the “Pygmies” and Shona peoples mostly used vocal instruments without symbology (in the semiotic sense) and as a rhythmic/textural tool.  In Mande music it seems that the pieces are entirely structured around the words as the main element.  The chordophones are prominent, but they just seem like background noise for the vocals (possibly due to their cyclical, repetitive nature in contrast with the non-repetitive nature of the vocals).  This is more accessible to my extra-special-euro-american aesthetic, because this is how much modern popular music is structured.  I wonder if  this music comes from a more cosmopolitan social climate than that of the Shona and “Pygmy” peoples.

Another interesting aspect of the vocal instrumentation is the gender of the singers – they seem to be mostly female.  Maybe this says something about the perception of women in Mande society and how they function.  I am wondering what the class thinks – does the inclusion of women in music suggest a more empowered status?  Or does it just suggest an aesthetic preference? Or does the presence of a preference for the female vocal aesthetic suggest social empowerment? Hmmm…

On a completely different note, I also noticed how I began to associate the music I was listening to  with middle eastern music that I have heard in the past.  I know that this is from Africa, but with out doing the reading I guessed that it might be from Northern Africa (where there is a heavy islamic influence).  I will have to find out!

I had heard Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man” many times before (my brother being a HUGE fan of Head Hunters) and have often wondered where he found his inspiration.  The song is so danceable, so “ethnic” sounding in a really non-specific and still poppy/accessible kind of way.  I had no idea that it was actually appropriated from the Babenzele song titled “Hindewhu”.  In fact, the influence is so great that the intro to “Watermelon Man” sounds exactly like the entirety of “Hindewhu” (you would never be able to discern the two, until, of course, all of the layers of funky western instruments start up).

I cheated and did the reading (whoops!) and found that the Hindewhu actually refers to the whistle-type instrument made out of a papaya stem used to created the Babenzele song.  This brings up an interesting layer to “Watermelon Man” – amidst all of this electronic cacophany is an incredibly simple music-making device that people have been using for centuries.  It’s almost like the song gives a little snippet of the history and evolution of music-making.  Cool, huh?

The coolness though, became debatable once I began to question whether he was doing the original musicians justice.  In a way, I believe that he did.  He brought their culture into mainstream american music by way of Head Hunters, which, I might also add, has been very influential in the development of hip hop and other contemporary music-cultures.   The “Hindewhu” component of “Watermelon Man” is the most prominent, memorable, and focused-on layer of the piece.  Everything else he adds in over the course of the piece is just an elaboration/highlight for “Hindewhu”.  Yet, although I’m sure that he mentioned it in the liner notes, the average listener would probably be surprised that the prominent melody in “Watermelon Man” is originally from the Forest People of central Africa.  Does Hancock give enough credit to the Babenzele people? Does he really need to give credit?  and Why?

Another aspect of this cultural exchange that intrigues me is that instead of globalization working the way I discussed in my previous post titled “I wonder…” (the Western culture “polluting” the idyllic, pure culture of various peoples of the world) it has worked in the opposite way, with the non-western culture “polluting” western culture.  But wait – who would think of this as pollution? It’s such a great song!  It’s interesting that it’s thought of as pollution when the western culture permeates the non-western but not the other way around. Hmmmm…

Although gamelan beleganjur differs greatly from all of the various indonesian gong ensembles, I found the difference between it and Javanese gamelan the most interesting to compare.  I had to dig deeper and investigate further in order to illuminate the subtle differences.

On a first impression, without listening closely, one might mistake Javanese Gamelan and Gamelan Beleganjur (Balinese) as being fundamentally similar.  The only obvious difference is that while Javanese Gamelan is traditionally sedentary (the musicians go to the structure that houses the set of instruments), Gamelan Beleganjur is Processional and the instruments are portable.

Upon a closer listen though, I started to hear very distinctive differences between the two types.  First of all, in the Javanese variety, there seems to be much more layering of instruments than in Beleganjur.  Beleganjur is therefore less atmospheric/ambient than Javanese gamelan. It has a much harsher, separate main melody.  Also, it seems to have much louder, abrasive drumming, whereas the presence of drums in Javanese gamelan is much less apparent (though still very influential).

An interesting difference between the Javanese and Balinese people are their religions.  The majority of the people of Java practice Islam, while the majority of the people of Bali practice Hinduism.    Both groups use gamelan in religious ceremonies, but these ceremonies are markedly different.  For example, gamelan can commonly be heard during the circumcision of a pre-pubescent boy, an incredibly painful ceremony.  The more somber, dreamy tones of Javanese gamelan are more appropriate for that (as is the sedentary aspect of the performance).  Think if the harsh, fast drumbeats were playing during a circumcision!  That might make the experience more painful than it would have to be.  In contrast, Beleganjur is used to celebrate the anniversary of temples, which is a very celebratory event complete with lush, exciting costumes and props.  This is probably seen as a good fit for the previously discussed qualities of Beleganjur.  The differences in religious life surely contribute to the formation of these specific differences and vice versa.

Seeing Turli Tava so close up on friday was an incredible experience. The band members were approachable, insightful, and knowledgeable and the music was SO interesting and SO danceable (hence the hilariously funny title). The two things I found most fascinating were the organology involved in their presentation and the backgrounds of the musicians and how that played in to the way they interacted with each other and the class. Every instrument they played seemed to have a story even beyond their explanations of where the instrument came from. Maybe it’s just because I they were so alien looking and sounding to me. But i honestly felt that the connection that the musicians had with their instruments was more than just an appreciation for the visual and auditory beauty. My favorites were the little flutes that could only be played together. AH so great. Such an amazing relationship between two inanimate objects. As for the musicians, I found it most fascinating that the ones that seemed to have to most intimate connection were the drummer/ud player and the accordion player. They seemed to play off of eachother during the whole performance. On a side note, it seems that I’ve been using the word play alot in this post – maybe something to do with the “jam-session”, playful and improvisational style of playing the Turli Tava employed. So anyways, I would have expected the two band members with Macedonian heritage (who also have known eachother for so long) to be the closest. It seems that in this case, the fact that the first two that I mentioned were immigrants transcends the shared Macedonian heritage between the second two because of the different ways that they must have grown up. I’m obviously jumping to conclusions about their personal lives, but it was just the thing that stood out most to me. I’m very interested in learning more about identity – whether the accordion player for instance identifies as a macedonian immigrant or an immigrant macedonian (if that makes any sense) and how his identity developed. So I guess that this post has little to do with music, but I think that dialogue and connection between musicians playing together can greatly impact a performance/recording.

Reading Turino’s “Why Music Matters” was my first official introduction to the lovely world of semiotics.  My first reaction was that Peirce’s philosophy was overcomplicating a simple concept like cognitive association – obviously a sign is something that stands for something else to someone.  Then I read further and realized that in my study of association (briefly, in an intro. psych. class), I oversimplified my understanding.  This philosophy illuminates the importance of categorizing said association through icons, indices, and symbols.  (Continued)