Japanese Noh Theater

I don't know why but I found this actually kind of scary. Maybe it is that Japanese idea of ma that was getting to me. This video I believe is the illustration of the textbook. You can see four musicians (can't really tell what that random guy off to the side is doing). The flute is the first Nohkan is the first sound heard upon pressing play. Just by watching you can see the main drummer doing most of the chanting that ties closely to Shomyo. I could help but to think of that loser Solja Boi's superman song "YOU!!!!!". Maybe it was more intellect it, maybe he took some style from the Buddhist monks(or not...) I watched the drummers play their overlapping uneven rhythms that seemed to make all the sense in the world in this Noh performance. It was fun (and scary) to watch the characteristic masked dancer. I'd go a performance if I could. Its so different it seems almost irresistible to me.

Hindustani

Hopefully this is the correct Hindustani we are discussing. I wish I knew what he was singing about. The people in the video did seem light-hearted, and this may be a bit ethnocentric but the music sounded upbeat as well. I didn't hear anything that can across as sorrow represented by minor scales. There was the typical violin orchestra featured in the song that was possibly synthesized. Hindustani did include a few malismas and heavy vibrato in his voice. The membranophones were still gave a sense of time but it was definitely not a sound particular to western music. There were also several aerophones, more than likely synthesized, featured in small solos throughout.

googoosh

Aside from the language there is very little here that echos middle eastern music. Middle eastern music tends to be used for purposes of prayer, this "medley" has no such characteristic chanting. Hamseda Medley actually doesn't sound very far off from a 80's James Bond tune. I know Googoosh was known to perform in the the states but I didn't take it to be a performance that was slightly conformed to American themes. The areophone heard in may be a flute, but I can't pick out really any pf the typical sounds of instruments used in the middle east.

Extra Credit Blog

I found it really interesting to see how the Chinese group was not much different from us. It was nice to see them open up as the conversations grew. This class is showing me the function of music in different cultures. The way the young man and the young woman smiled while they sang struck me as nothing short of passion for music. Also, I don't think I have ever run into someone foreign who wanted to know more about jazz. The typical interests expressed by people of different backgrounds that I have met here and in other various place usually leans toward more of our wilder music styles....like emo and screamo. At first I'm sure I wasn't the only one who felt kind of embarrassed because of our lack of understanding of our own music culture. But as the time progressed I found that a lack of understanding does not mean we didn't pay enough attention it’s because it is void all students work to fill. I also found it astounding that a member of our crew had something to say about everything said, whether it was justified or not. Thank you…..

Faculty Concert

I’d have to say that I found the music pretty unique. I would have never included the sounds I heard that night in “Latin” Music. When you hear the term Latin Music I like to believe that a lot of us think about something along the lines of Shakira or maybe even something with more drums and trumpets. Now that I think about it, I feel like I was the one who missed the memo. I went in looking for a large group comprised of school staff members, not a performing group referred to as “The Faculty”. I wonder if the majority of the audience felt the way I did or were they up to speed. Coming upon this realization in this manner also kind of closed my mind off to the performance. I don’t think I have ever witnessed a violin and a clarinet trading off and coming together in such ways. Granted that some of these sounds were very interesting and pleasing to listen too, at times I could not wrap my mind around anything near “appreciation”. I did appreciate the dedication and the willingness to share of the performers. When the violinist started to have fun with the music and with the audience, it was easy to tell that this was a group who got together to do just that, even if this had not happened the expressions on the faces of the performers at times as the performed portrayed their passion for music just as plainly. Also, if I had trouble finding the main statements in the piece looking for the appearance of the mood on their faces also helped.
Friday night was filled with a bunch of different sounds. I found “How So Insensitive” (if I remember correctly :/ ) my favorite piece. There were no urgent emails and no apparent need to hurry. The doors remained open and the dressed didn’t seem over dressed and the people who came casual were excellent as well. I think everyone was looking for something refreshing that night (or just to get a blog out of the way) and sitting in the conference center we found something close to what we were looking for.