Module 6

Module 6

Title: Al Citron

Performers: Children/teacher

Culture of origin: Mexico

Instrumentation: Voice

This is one of my favorite games to play in music class. This song teaches teamwork, steady beat, and is not in English. When I play this game in my classroom, after we have sung it a few times and passed the stones, we start speeding up each repetition. This can also be used to introduce or reinforce tempo terminology. Lew and Campbell (2005) articulate how play in music "assists [children] in their development of language and reasoning skills, and it fosters social competence and peer-group interaction" (p. 58). I believe all of these skills are present in this activity. Lew and Campbell (2005) also share "children play with music, and they also play through music" (p. 61). I think providing fun singing games in early childhood music classes helps students develop those skills which will be needed later, such as improvisation, which would be considered "playing with music". 

References:

Lew, J. C., & Campbell, P.S. (2005). Children's Natural and Necessary Musical Play: Global Contexts, Local Applications. Music Educators Journal, 91(5), 57-62.

Al Citron. (n.d.) Retrieved November 25, 2017, from http://www.bethsnotesplus.com/2013/11/al-citron.html.

Module 5

Title: Mambo Music

Performers: Pacific Mambo Orchestra

Culture of Origin: Latin America

Instrumentation: Vocals, piano, bass, congas, bongos, timbales, trumpets, trombones, saxes

I believe there are a few creating music strategies from Campbell present in this performance. The most notable is the groove which Campbell (2004) defines as "the way ensemble musicians interact during performance" (p. 201). Throughout the video you can see visual communication, body language, and even speaking between members of the ensemble. In terms of the music, the percussion instruments keep the musical groove propelling through the entire performance. Campbell (2004) encourages people to improvise short rhythmic patterns based on the groove and this happens several times in the piece by a variety or performers on different instruments. The piano starts the piece with the groove. This also becomes one of the motives for the piece which Campbell (2004) also defines as a "melodic or rhythmic fragment used to construct a larger musical entity" (p. 203). This qualifies as a motive because Campbell (2004) says a motive should be "shorter than a theme (typically 4-5 pitches in an interesting rhythm)" and should be played "at several pitch levels" (p. 203). There is also a secondary motive which jumps around quite a bit and is a staple in many Latin American styles. This can be heard in the piano part at around 1:09 in the recording (under the bari sax solo).

Module 4

Title of piece: Lincolnshire Posy

Performer(s):

Field recordings (video 1):various people whose music was collected by Grainger; Concert band transcription (video 2): United States Air Force Band

Culture of Origin: Australia

Instrumentation: Field recordings: various soloists;
Transcription: standard concert band

Video 1: field recordings

Video 2: Grainger's transcriptions for band

With the emphasis this week on transcribing music and authenticity, I immediately thought of Percy Grainger's Lincolnshire Posy. Grainger traveled around collecting music and the recordings, originally recorded by Grainger on wax cylinders, have been preserved digitally now and can be heard in the first video. While the complete set is present in both videos, I am going to focus on Horkstow Grange (movement 2) which starts at 00:48 in video 1 and 01:31 in video 2. 

Koops (2010) echoes Anthony Palmer's explanation of music authenticity stating it is a continuum: "on one end is absolute authenticity: the music the way it is performed in its home setting...[on the] opposite end... it is music taken out of context and changed to fit the purposes of the situation" (p. 2). One (of many) things which made Grainger unique as a composer was that his music didn't follow strict metric regulations. When listening to Horkstowe Grange being sung, you can feel the singer is omitting a beat here or there, whether intentional or not. While Grainger's transcription is quite slower than the singer's performance, Grainger maintains the uneven meter. This is present in other movements of the piece as well. Of the few scenarios of authenticity which Koops (2010) discusses, she references Keith Swanwick's definition of authentic reproduction as "trying to reproduce the music exactly as it was created" (p. 4). I believe this is an essential element to transcribing music and realizing that music from another culture may not perfectly fit into the western musical notation system should be noted. I think this definitely helps to retain the original character and authenticity of the music Grainger collected.

References:

Koops, L. H. (2010). Can't We Just Change the Words? Music Educators Journal,97(1), 23-28.

Module 3

Title of piece: Unknown

Performer(s): Luau musicians and Hula dancers

Culture of Origin: Hawaiian

Instrumentation: Ukulele, drums, uli'uli (rattle gourds), puili (dried bamboo)

This example of Hawaiian music contains several examples of the role of context in musical structures. To begin with, the luau and the hula are staples of Hawaiian culture which both center heavily on music. The luau is a celebration and requires entertainment for the guests in the form of music and dancing. In this performance, captured live in Maui, you can see how the dress of the dancers informs the music because both the dress and the music are representative of the Hawaiian culture. The instruments which are visible in this video are made from plants which grow on the Hawaiian islands. The first instrument which is used - puili - is dried bamboo. The colorful uli'uli are rattles made from gourds and ornamented with brightly colored flowers. Knowing that these instruments come from the land informs the context of the music. Using traditional western instruments would give the music a completely different personality. These rhythm instruments also guide the dance and provide constant motion which excites the listener.

I have traveled to Hawaii one time and attended a luau. I remember noticing how important a story was to the overall performance. There were several different dances which coincided with specific types of music that had been created and had evolved over the long history of Hawaii. This element is not present in this one video, but listening to several pieces of music at a luau would certainly evoke this.

Two Guitars

Title of piece: Two Guitars (Folk Song)

Performer(s): Members of "Via Romen" Nuevo Russian-Romany (Gypsy) Music and Dance ensemble

Culture of Origin: Russia; Gypsy culture

Instrumentation: two guitars and violin

This folk tune exemplifies how classification systems in music are helpful in a variety of ways. All of the instruments being played in this performance could be classified as string instruments in the Western music tradition. One could further expand that classification by considering plucked and bowed string instruments or orchestral and non-orchestral instruments. On a broader scale, these instruments could all be considered chordophones. Concerning the organization of the music, the meter is a simple duple meter. There are no changes from this prescription of meter in the performance. However, the tempo of the music does vary greatly throughout the performance because of the long, slowly growing accelerando which takes place. This adds excitement to the music, which is a welcome addition since the meter does not change. In terms of timbre, the violin is added after the guitars have been playing for a while. Not only is the sound of the violin a new addition, but the violinist plays both pizzicato and arco, providing yet another layer or timbral variety.

Title and performers unknown

(traditional Irish folk/fiddle tunes)

Culture of origin: Irish

Instrumentation: fiddles, banjos

In deciphering how the study of ethnomusicology informs world music pedagogy, it is important to first define some terminology. Wade (2013) says "music is not only a thing - a category of organized sound or compositions - but also a process" (p. 6). Ethnomusicologists have suggested that "music is not a thing at all, but an activity that people do" (Wade, p. 7). These approaches to understanding music is evidenced in the music of many cultures around the world, including Ireland. The fiddle tune in this example is very lively and the product by the performer is clearly a result of his energetic activity in the process of making this music. Wade (2013) also comments specifically on Irish musicians stating "they embellish their playing with ornaments and small melodic or rhythmic variations that make each repetition of a tune slightly different" (p. 8). Examples of this are heard at several points in the recording. The same few melodies are repeated several times in this performance but there are subtle differences between them. This approach encourages creativity from the performer which in turn results in a unique listening experience for the audience. A mix of repeated ideas with slight variations is a perfect balance of old and new, which continues to engage listeners for the duration of the piece. Examining such differences as these and contrasting them with music of other cultures which may range from music that is entirely improvised to music strictly performed according to printed notation, influences the pedagogy of music within a culture.

References:
Wade, B. C. (2013). Thinking musically (3rd ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press