mango

An analysis on Randai videos reveal that they ahve three distinctive features. Circle dance, dramatic narrative, and a song for accomapaniment. This is a perfomance art and all videos have men moving in a circle drumming their pants,clapping hands and stamping their feet to create music. They are wearing costumes during the perfomance and from this we can decipher,its performed during ceremonies. There are dramatic parts of the song enchanted within a circle. They are interesting videos to watch.

The songs from India have very many similarities.They all a have a drone probably from the sound of an organ or sometimes a drum set, and a wind instrument,a pipe or flute that ornaments the melody making these pieces have a diphonic texture.They are also all cyclical however,there is a variation in the tempo. India mp3 has a slower tempo,Joy mp3 has a fast tempo and with a man singing a song in English. This song has an imitation of the western kind of rock ,and I could say it is a man’s voice and definitely sang by a professional. Actually all the instruments here are played by professionals. The prayer in passion has a somber mood that could create the serenity necessary in a religious place. Living magic is more of a western style kind of song,to me it sounded like country music in the middle of the song….

The songs in this piece are generally similar the only difference is exhibited in their tempos.For instance the siku lento siku ligero,pitu,siku chicolo and siku illimani sound similar,only that siku lento has a much slower tempo than the rest. They all have a wind instrument,sounds like it has two holes as the sound is not one distinctive clear sound but two,and there are drum beats that produce a drone like sound.The texture is biphonic as there is a drone like sound produced by the drums whereas the wind instruments produce a more elaborate sound.The ending is quite an anti-climax. The general structure is cyclical.In the pinkillo,sounds like there is an additional instrument,still a wind instrument with a shrill like sound, like a whistle. I would say the music is played by professionals,probably men playing and sounds processional because of the way the drums are played.Generally,all the songs for the Aymara(this specific pieces I have listened to) are similar.

All the five songs are quite similar in that the main melody except the deep forest are similar.They are different versions of the same song.For instance the first song,Hindewhu has a vocalist and a single instrument singing the song,as you progress to the next song watermelon,the melody can still be heard only that there is an addition of two or more instruments but the main melody is pronounced.The addition of these instruments make it sound a little bit westernized the song also gets to a climax.

As you go to the third version,Babanzele,the song is sang at a faster tempo than the others.In these song there are more vocalists singing in the background , harmonizing each other.Also there are more instruments added to it unlike the first song which has only one instrument,there are also attempts to make the song more interactive and lively.The main melody is still pronounced.The ending is quite concrete too.They harmonize the song,sing it at a much slower tempo and end with a statement that is totally different to what we were hearing initially.

In Sanctuary ,the main melody is still distinctively heard but not so pronounced as compared to the others as it is not consistent,the song is in English,westernized and sounds more of R&B,Gospel like..Deep forest sounds like a different song and the sanctuary combines the song Hindewhu and Deepforest,I can almost conclude that sanctuary is a rendition of these two songs.

In conclusion,Hindewhu is perhaps the authentic version of the song while all the rest borrow its melody and modify it to fit their own context.

The Gamelan Belaganjur,Talempong and Javanese Gamelan appear similar because of the similarity in the kind of instruments used.(Gongs)Nevertheless,they have their differences.For instance,The Talempong is an ensemble for the minangkabau,the Javanese Gamelan for the Javanese and the Gamelan Belaganjur for the Balinese people.

Talempong,is played by a muslim community and is gender-specific in that there is talempong Duduak, a rare type of ensemble, for women and played while seated and the Talempong Pacik for men ,a processional kind of ensemble and is the dominant kind of ensemble.However,women may be included but only as vocalists!It is played during weddings,communal harvests and first ritual births.It is iconic to the identity of the minangkabau and their musicians are not necessarily professionals.

The Javanese on the other hand are a mixture of a muslim and hindu community.Great emphasis is placed on the percussion instruments and uses two scales.5tone slendro and 7tone pelong.Their music is either loud or soft .The end of phrases is marked by two largest hanging gongs which also punctuate the music.Their musicians are professionals and their music and way of life is influenced by their court system.Their instruments and music is considered sacred such that,it is a taboo to step on the instruments and shoes must be removed while playing the instruments or when entering a room full of instruments.Their music is played during circumcision rituals,national events and puppetry-shadowy performances.

The differences between the above kind of ensembles and the Gamelan Belaganjur are;

1.) The Gamelan is featured in temple anniversaries and cremations

2.) All of their instruments are portable thus,it is always a processional kind of ensemble.

3.) There is an additional instrument,cymbals which the other ensembles do not have.

4.) Each kettle gong is carried and played by one musician and all the parts are oriented around a cycle based on 8 beats.

5.) The female gong marks the beginning of the cycle on the 8th beat while the male gong marks the 4th beat.

6.)This ensemble is inclusive of all genders.

7.) Finally,the Balinese are a Hindu community.

      Topics that deal with religion tend to be personal,sensitive  as well  explosive.Therefore,everything is exclusively my opinion.According to me,Music is a combination of sound and pauses that contains two or more of the following qualities;organization,harmony,repetition,rhythm and melody.Note,the sound may not be necessarily pleasant or interesting to some people but it still considered music.I don’t have to like a song for it to be considered music .

     Thus,  all the three examples exhibit the above qualities and considered music regardless  of the intention of the performer/singer/musician you name it!

    In the first example,the song is  considered monophonic as the Adhan ,probably in a mosque ,calls people for prayer.He sings alone and in a drone voice whilst in the second example there are quite a number of singers and the background sound is indicative of the outside environment,probably in a place full of trees  and wind blowing,shaking leaves from the trees.This song has many pauses too as if giving people a chance to meditate.These two songs have a sacred feel to it,due to the location, intentions(call for prayer) and the grave mood created as opposed to the third song which is a ring tone.Anybody can have it!(non-Muslims)It is  offensive to Muslims as it is a prayer song not to be used anyhow and by anybody!Secondly,it has additives that are not really part of the Muslim culture as such.i.e the organ and piano,which if you asked me complement each other very well.It is polyphonic and fulfills the criteria that I use to identify music with.The third song was my most interesting piece of music,I enjoyed listening to it,mainly due to the organ and piano,The ending is not clear and it creates a lot of suspense;am still left yearning for more……………..More…….I want more………..