Taking Music for Diverse Cultures changed my perspective on music entirely. I’m really glad I decided to take it now, as oppose to later in my academic career. Before this class, I thought of religious music as just that, I thought of it as sometimes boring (especially if it wasn’t a spiritual, gospel, or of the western-art canon); but during our study of Native American music I found it to be much deeper than that, I admired the fact that Native America saw it as a form of communication. I also admire their belief that the spirits also communicate to each other through music. I mean, sometimes you wonder what it’s like in heaven, and if they sing all the time it sounds great to me (not that I wouldn’t want to go if there isn’t music)...just saying.

As far as having this great epiphany about my own culture...just didn’t happen. But I can say I have embraced it more, and I’m thinking about doing some genealogy research. A lot of discussions we had about the African heritage I was already aware of, but it was other cultures that most intrigued me for the simple fact that I never researched any culture outside of the cultures that make-up my own. My great-grandfather on my mother’s side was an Irish immigrant who fell for a freed slave, so of course my interest gravitated towards those cultures, but now I want to venture out and learn about other cultures outside of my American bubble. There isn’t one specific idea or culture I want to explore; I enjoyed learning about all the cultures presented because they were new to me.

I posted the first two videos because they're not using any instruments, but it sounds like they are.

I posted the third because it contains an example of the AAB form of blues I talked about during my presentation!

Muddy Waters - I Can't Be Satisfied - Acoustic Blues

(I don't know how to post all my video post in one posting so this one corresponds with the Chuck Berry post) Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry were affliated through the same record label, but it might sound as if the two entirely different genres, when they're kinda not.

Roll Over Beethoven - Chuck Berry

If you've decided to watch this video you've just witnessed the start of rock and roll! Chuck Berry's music has a bluesy foundation without the blues...it's kinda like Mr. Dr. Vaneman's James Brown example.

ריטה - הכניסיני

Rita is one of Israel's top recording Artist.

נוער שוליים - לילה / Noar Shulayim - Layla

I don't know what it means but it's hebrew and I guess modern middle eastern...well, it's not from America. I just like it.

Norah Jones Live Dont Know Why

This is my favorite Norah Jones song and it's cool simply because she is!

Mariah's reaction to '' Ken Lee '' !!! EXCLUSIVE! + ENGLISH SUBS

(This also corresponds with the previous two post)

Ken Lee or Without you,Mariah Carey-improved English(subs)

(This corresponds with my last post): In this video the audience seems to be enjoying themselves. If I was Bulgarian, might I have enjoyed it to? Are they mocking her? I'm confused, yet fascinated!

Bulgarian Music Idol 2 - Mariah Carey - Without You (Funny)

Okay...I'm not making fun of this lady...but...it's HIlArIoUs. I wonder if american's sound like this when we try to sing in other languages? Well... I was just thinking about all the examples of Bulgarian women singing in class and I wanted to see if I could find one I really really liked...I came across this! During the video they show clips of Mariah Carey and the Bulgarian lady singing in comparison...it just makes me wonder.

SRI LANKA Music Video

This video is cool because it's an example of Dr. Vaneman's fusion theory. I don't know what it's about but they do sing one verse in English, and there's a Micheal Jackson look alike. They also show natives dancing traditionally and traditional instruments with a hip-hop feel.

Music and Gender

I've experienced music in many different settings such as church, marching band, theater, and vocal ensembles...some all female and some mixed.
In churches where there was a traditional choir I didn't notice much of a gender role difference, but in the churches that had praise bands the instrumentalist were male and the soloist was normally female. When I was 14 I wanted to play the flute, but I was told I had tuba lips, "Girls don't play the Tuba..." I said; so I joined the color guard. In marching band, the brass and percussion section was predominately male, while the woodwind section was full of ladies--who didn't have tuba lips. I performed in the Suessical the Musical, of which the main character is the Cat in the Hat... well...many believe that the cat should always be male, and there was a big dispute over it; the female who auditioned for the role may have had the better voice, but the cat is a man...just saying--weird.
When it comes to choirs, I enjoy the diversity of voices; all female ensembles...um, not so much. As far as the difference in gender between voice types, it seems basses and sopranos always think they're the most important part of the ensemble (which probably explains why every man wants to be a bass and every woman wants to be a soprano(it seems)), whereas, the tenors and altos are always the "can't get rights" (I don't mean this in a negative way; the inner voices are more difficult than the melodic soprano or profound bass line, they take more time to get right and great harmonies don't exist without them).
As far as western art music goes I've noticed that in operas, mezzos almost always have the secondary or villain role ( of course there are some exceptions), sopranos the lead, and it doesn't work out the same for their male counterparts.

Wyclef Jean - Gone Till November

Why is this one of my cool stuff picks you ask?! He's singing in one key and the accompaniment is in another. The artist featured here is Wyclef Jean, he's a Haiti native who grow up with Latin American influences. I posted this to inform you: Latin America. Haiti. The streets of Brooklyn. This is what you get! (I hope you heard the sarcasm.)

Grand Master Djembe Player!

The Djembe is my favorite African Drum. This Video is extremely long but after thirty seconds I get the urge to break out into some sort of ritualistic dance. I'm sorry if my cool stuff isn't cool...I'm not cool...I'm kinda boring actually.

Mariachi

The word mestizo, denoting a mix of European and Amerindian heritage, is a perfect term to apply to mariachi music. Originally a Mexican regional style blending traditional native American sounds with European band and orchestral music (a product in part of Mexico's brief occupation by Austro-Hungarian forces in the 1860s), mariachi has gained popularity north of the border as well. Today in many parts of the U.S., especially the Southwest, students are involved in thriving mariachi programs at school. Violins are an essential component of any mariachi group, and so string teachers may find it rewarding to incorporate mariachi instruction into their normal classical curriculum.

Mark Fogelquist, a mariachi instructor at Chula Vista Middle School in Chula Vista, California, and one of the country's leading experts on the genre, points out that the differences between classical and mariachi are many. The primary purpose of the violin in mariachi music is to complement trumpet melodies, and so the most notable element of this style of playing is use of the entire bow. "I have my students use whole bows and be very aggressive with the bow from the very beginning," says Fogelquist. "Violins are trying to produce a lot of sound because they are competing with the trumpets." He adds that open strings are used freely and, in fact, are desired.

The word mestizo, denoting a mix of European and Amerindian heritage, is a perfect term to apply to mariachi music. Originally a Mexican regional style blending traditional native American sounds with European band and orchestral music (a product in part of Mexico's brief occupation by Austro-Hungarian forces in the 1860s), mariachi has gained popularity north of the border as well. Today in many parts of the U.S., especially the Southwest, students are involved in thriving mariachi programs at school. Violins are an essential component of any mariachi group, and so string teachers may find it rewarding to incorporate mariachi instruction into their normal classical curriculum.

Well...I thought this article was really cool! It's not the article in it's entirety, but I'll post the link and cite it just in case you want to read it.

I liked this article because it speaks of an art form with European, Native American, and Latin American influences.

If you click on the link to the actual article you can hear some Mariachi by clicking "listen"(it's on the right side underneath toolbar).

http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/retrieve.do?contentSet=IAC-Documents&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28KE%2CNone%2C22%29Native+American+Music+%24&sgHitCountType=None&inPS=true&sort=DateDescend&searchType=BasicSearchForm&tabID=T003&prodId=STOM&searchId=R4&currentPosition=1&userGroupName=mickel_lcc&docId=A212105373&docType=IAC

Music and Religion

I’ve been a hollering gospel singer since I was four and a proclaimed Baptist before I could even decide if it was right or wrong (Not saying that it’s right or wrong). My religion uses oral tradition and documentation to learn music. Music learned through oral tradition wasn’t hard to learn because almost 99% of it is call and response. A typical choir rehearsal would be someone singing, everyone else repeating it back, and if you could harmonize you just did. The most common harmonization within African-American Baptist churches is the interval of a fifth (I read some where that people of African heritage have trouble hearing the third, and it’s easier for us to hear the fifth, maybe that’s why it’s called the dominant).
When I learned how to read music I directed my churches youth choir and attempted to teach them everything I learned (I’m a firm believer in teaching a man how to fish as oppose to fishing for him). I mainly had to use my musical skills when we decided to learn a new hymn from our hymn books (I visited Dr. Martin Luther Kings church in Atlanta and we had the same hymn book.)
Today, some churches attract the youth by playing modern gospel that resembles today’s most popular musical genres; I’ve visited a lot of churches Black, White, Hispanic... and I found this to be true.I visited with an predominately white Baptist church for years. They didn’t have a choir, they had a Praise band with guitars and a drum set. I loved the music it was kind of rockish and they were always amazed at the amplitude that my family and I presented when we sang along joyously in harmony.
My community’s churches played a mixture of music. During revival different churches would visit with each other and a difference in musical style was apparent (they also took ideas from each other...mixing cultures). I can sing the Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Moses Hogan arrangements from memory, including all four voices and solos due to the classically oriented establishments. If I crossed the street I’d walk into a dancing, shouting, call and response singing choir, and if I walked a couple of blocks down town, I’d be two-stepping to Kirk, or rocking with the praise band. It was amazing how much the musical atmosphere varied from church to church within a small radius.

Out of Many: A Multicultural Festival of Music, Dance, and Story

This is my favorite video of all three that I've posted for "cool stuff." Every Culture in America is represent even the Native American African Americans.

Lakota Honoring Song

Fits all the requirements of Native American Music as we know it. Vocables!

"African Dance": #2: Dundunba Community African Drum and Dance party in Guinea, West Africa

Like the Native Americans African Drumming and dance goes hand and hand. The difference is: Native Americans hit one drum, while each african drummer beats his own . The african dancers seem more liberated than the Natve Americans who dance in a constricted circle...well...constricted in comparison.

Mozart Ave Verum Corpus por Leonard Bernstein

Music and My Family

Music is omnipresent in my family; it's there for the good, bad, laughter, and tears. I grew up in a very strict christian home. If we played name that hymn or spiritual, I would know them all. When I was younger I didn't enjoy going to church because it was extensive, and the preacher was communicating in a manner, which, I could not completely comprehend. So, until I was able to understand the sermon, I only went to church devotedly every Sunday--to sing (plus revival on a daily basis during festivals). My grandfather, Tiger, played the guitar in church; he couldn't read music, but he could play by ear.He is one of the reasons I learned how to read music when I was twelve. My family loves music, but I am the only one who can read it. Everything Tiger played sounded like the blues! Have you ever heard a blues arrangement of Amazing Grace?! Well, the arranger probably heard my grandfather play. During my study of music, I've learned that my grandfather's playing is the equivalent to some of his celebrity peers of his time.
Music is food to the soul. My family not only praises God through music, but we use it to grieve the lose of loved ones, to bond with the living, and welcome new ones; when my mother died we did all three. We had a house full of food and harmony . My sisters and I would put on a bootleg concert for family and friends, of my mothers favorite songs ( my mother liked secular music, as well as sacred). I would sing lead while Toni and Christina were back ground singers; and in-between songs we'd predict what hymn each Aunt was going to sing, before they pass out at the funeral.
With my grandmother my sisters and me would dance around the kitchen to Gospel while preparing Sunday dinner. Although my grandparents only listened to sacred music, I found LP's of Gladys Knight and the Pips by their fire place; maybe it was intended for firewood.
My siblings and I have different and similar musical taste. Christina, (the youngest of my mothers three children) only likes gangster rap and very explicit R&B, if it's not risky or taboo...she doesn't like it. Christina likes to "shake her groove thang", and be the club scene. Toni, listens to all the sad love songs, you can get her to listen to anything at least once, and she's very open minded about music, except hard rock.
Now, me on the other hand...I'm the musical black sheep of the family, and not to mention, performance junkie, if there was music I was there; I had principal roles in musicals and operas, I was Color Guard captain in Marching band, and section leader in my high school and collegiate chamber, jazz, and show choir ensembles.My love for western art music began with Schuberts Mass in G, Beethovens Moonlight Sonata, and Mozarts Ave Verum Corpus. My first Opera was Hansel and Gretel (I was Gretel), then The Marriage of Figaro, Porgy and Bess (Clara), and Suor Angelica (the Monitor/ La Zelatrice). My family makes fun of me for loving western art music, because it's as much apart of me as gospel, R&B, rock, etc... you should see my media player.

Non-Western Music Autobiography

When I was in my mother’s womb my father would put headphones to my mother’s belly; he’d play the hits of: Michael Jackson, The O Jays, Gladys Knight, Marvin Gay, Al Green, Heavy D, Grand Master Flash, Phyllis Hyman, Anita Baker, and soulful voice of Whitney Houston dancing with somebody. I developed a love for music through R and B classics. I grew up in a hollering, stumping, dancing, shouting—Baptist church. I love all music that gives reverence to God but there’s nothing like a good old southern Baptist church hymn. By the time I was eight, I was leading the choir on Sunday (youth and adult choir), and belting the sweet tunes of rhythm and blues Monday thru Saturday.
As I got older, I couldn’t keep my head from bopping to the contagious beat and “flow” of TuPac Shakur and other great “MCs”…As ironic as it sounds, Shakur’s music made me realize that music is more than a melody with fancy harmony, music is more than pleasant (or unpleasant) noise, music has the potential to communicate to the masses what mere words can’t.
As a teenager I was a member of several ensembles. I was in a gospel quartet, trio, and duo, and because of my Gullah heritage I was asked to enhance my knowledge of the culture and embrace my West African roots by dancing traditional African Dance accompanied by African percussionist and song. I later became comfortable with performing songs of the Gullah heritage and was the soloist for the piccolo Spoleto festival of 2008 (before the premiere of the Amistad opera during the actual festival).
During my tenure at South Carolina State University I was a member of the Jazz Ensemble, it broadened my knowledge and made the connection between: traditional African music, gospel, Jazz, the Blues, R&B, Rock and Hip-Hop more evident. Today NeoSoul has made an appearance, now distinguished as one of the soul genres with lasting power. Despite my very urban background I Love ALL music, and if there’s music somewhere that I don’t love I still appreciate it, As long as it “means” something , but then again, I also appreciate the soft hearted superficial stuff.