Japanese Noh Theater

The following is a list of elements that characterize Japanese Noh Theater.
· It is comprised of 3 sections, the actors, orchestra (hayashi) and chorus.
· The music is nonpulsatile and has its origins in Buddhist chant.
· There are only two types of instruments: an aerophone called a Nohkan and three distinct membranophones called the taiko (cylindrical drum), the o-tsuzumi (drum played on the lap), and the ko-tsuzumi (played resting on the shoulder).
· Each of the drums has a different timbre and each are used to (somewhat) simulate words.
· The most important drum is the ko-tsuzumi, which has a hollow timbre, but it can be varied by how tightly the drummer holds the strings on the side.
· The Nohkan has a reedy timbre and is played by overblowing.
· Since there is no rehearsal or beat to keep, each of the musicians must hear what the other is doing in order to keep the music going.
· Each of the drums plays a different pattern, but they are not played polyrhythmically.
· Noh music and acting is very stylized and minimalistic, what is commonly called Zen.
· Noh Choruses are always all male, with a soloist who begins a song with a cry and then extends it over the performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch#playnext=1&playnext_from=TL&videos=oIqt_Rf9YuM&v=zUhtCLKFMx0

Classical Hindustani Music: Priya Purushothaman

Thankfully, I was able to find a short video of a Hindustani concert where the instruments are clearly displayed. In keeping with the vocally based nature of Hindustani music, there are only three instruments in the ensemble. Most visible were the tabla, a pair of drums played with the hands. In the background, we see a large chordophone that is called a tanpura in Northern India and a tambura in Southern India. The instrument that played the most melodiously was the harmonium, an aerophone that could be compared to a western accordion. According to our textbook, it is a descendent of organ imported into India from Europe.

The song begins with a drone, as does most classical Hindustani music. What differs in this song is that the drone is played by both the harmonium and the tanpura at the same time. The tanpura is strummed but its sound is regular. The harmonium acts somewhat like a back-up singer as how it is mostly in the background, but occasionally comes to the forefront to add an ornament to the vocalist’s song. The vocals begin with a series of long and exaggerated notes. The beating of the tabla is the last element to arise, yet it begins the main part of the song. The vocals might be classified as repetitive, but I did perceive some deviations through out the song that might have been improvisations of raga. Towards the end of the song, there are small variations before a refrain of the main phrase of the melody. This brings the song to a close.

http://www.youtube.com/watch#v=tz1WUBYgL0g&feature=related

Guess Who? It's Googoosh!

Googoosh’s music is very musically similar to western popular music. Instead of the complex heterophonic melodies found in classical Middle Eastern music, there is western style homophony. The song that I listened to is called Shab Shishey.

The song begins with a short glissando with an instrument I assume is a guitar and some instruments that I believe to be violins based on their respective timbres. These are the main instruments in the composition. The violins play the main melody and are accompanied by a lower toned chordophone that sounds like a cello or a base. The melody has conjunct motion and often wavers in between pitches, but not in trill like manor. An aerophone that could be a flute also accompanies the violins by closely following their melody. The guitar plays a rhythmic role and can be heard in the back ground keeping the beat with steady jangly strumming. Along with the guitar there is some sort of idiophone that makes a clacking sound that is reminiscent of a castanet.

But all other music aside, Googoosh is best known for her singing. From the tone of the vocals, I figured that this was a love song. It is not similar to religious Middle Eastern music because the vocals are not chanted. Her vocals are, in contrast to the instrumental melody, in conjunct motion. They also feature the signature melismas of Middle Eastern singing styles. I assume that many of the aspects that I found familiar from this music come from the fact that Iran has many cultural differences from the rest of the Middle East.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZKtelBD534

American Music? Qu'est-que-ce?

Allow me to begin with a question: what is American Culture? This was the question that I was attempting to answer last Friday. Today’s America does not have the traditional and ethnic cultures that can be found in China. Although we are a “Melting Pot”, in America assimilation is inevitable. So what could I say to these students who came half way around the world to find the essence of American Culture?

We broke the ice by talking about schools, as most students do when they first meet. Apparently they are at college studying economics and business type stuff, yet they all do some sort of fine art thing. And that was the first difference between Chinese and American culture. American respect art, but we are inclined to cut it out of eternally stretched budgets. I guess in Western cultures, there is a grater divide in between the “Fine Arts” and “the Sciences”. I did find it strange that they studied business and Classical Peeking Opera. For some reason, in my mind they are incompatible.

It was a shame that we could not play traditional American music. If we only had a few spare steel guitars handy. Our best approximations about what American music was were centered in the popular music of today and its roots in jazz and rhythm and blues. But here is a thought—what else could we talk about? America is a land of immigrants, thus any ethnic music can be considered American, as long as that ethnicity lives in America. So, popular music is definitely American, as it bound us all, despite our ancestry and thus gave us a common language from which to speak.

On Romancero Gitano by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco

The Romancero Gitano was crated in 1951 by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco to commemorate the poet Garcia Lorca. Since this was written as an opera, l will assume that this was intended to be a Classical or Art piece of music.
This was the only part of the program to utilize vocals, and in that way was the centerpiece of the concert. While most of the compositions of the night were instrumental ensemble, the Romancero Gitano was four singers accompanied only by a single guitarist.
Overall, the songs were polyphonic in nature, with the female vocals playing the primary melody and the male the second. Often the two melodies would intersect, creating short harmonies (homophony) and then diverge. Typically, female vocals would begin, at an up tempo, slow down, and then be overtaken by male vocals. A cycle of voices would ensue. The Guitar would interweave in between the vocals and create melodies of its own. It can be said that the vocals are punctuations in the Guitar’s harmony, the guitar being the main component and focus of the music.
The house was full on that night, a surprising fact given the unfriendliness of the weather. I remember seeing ice on the grass when I left around ten PM. The majority of the audience was composed of UTD students, most there for a class requirement. If they had not come on their own volition, then they appeared to have enjoyed themselves, based on the levels of applause. Particularly popular was the third portion of the program, the jazz ensemble.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjdFQG6gmQs

Musical Ethnography

So, after much searching and agonized consideration, I chose Polka Music for my Musical Ethnography.Although polka is not a major genre in the Dallas, Ft. Worth area, there is still a small and dedicated fan base. KNON, a small independent radio station, plays polka music on Sunday afternoons. Personally, I have heard Polka music being played live at two area restaurants. I will form the min body of my paper from these two examples of polka culture in the area. I know that many people will choose music that they have grown up with or are otherwise familiar with. I wished to research a music that I know virtually nothing about because it would give me the opportunity to do explore a different culture and not feel weird about "intruding" into an others culture.Polka music is much more common in cities with larger German and Eastern European populations such as Austin and San Antonio. However, the few German and Eastern Europeans in the area have held on to some vestige of their traditional music. Although I am unfamiliar with polka, the instrumentation and the musical structure are very similar to traditional Mexican Music. The use of the accordion is prominent in both. As well are the rhythms and beats. So polka, although new to me, will still be cognizant for me. Polka, in other words wont be totally alien, and thus won’t be as easy to ride off as a curiosity.

Music Cultures: New York No Wave Movement

To be frank, most of the music that I listen to does not fit into any musical culture. Mostly, I listen to “post-bands” that are although influential, self contained in terms of music culture.
To mind I do believe that one music culture that has influenced me was the short lived mid-1970’s “No Wave” movement of New York City.
The fundamentals of No Wave are not strictly defined because it is very difficult to find two artists who are similar in terms of sound. Many would describe the music as “atonal”, but I assert that this is not a fair criticism of the music. By stating that No Wave atonal, critics assume that No Wave was supposed to be another form of Rock and Roll, however nothing can be farther from the truth. No Wave is in fact a repudiation of Rock and Roll. By crating jarring and chaotic soundscapes and using trance-inducing rhythms, the No Wave artists were in attempt to subvert both the self-indulgent epics of Progressive Rock and the sped-up bubblegum of Punk. Some notable No Wave artists include Lydia Lunch, James White and the Blacks, Glen Branca, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, DNA, The Contortions and Sonic Youth.
The No Wave movement was not confined to music. Often artisans of one medium would try their chances with other forms of expression.
More than anything, perhaps No Wave was an attitude. Aggressive, dysfunctional, possibly nihilistic, possibly sociopathic, it was art and not art. Art, as in established art, was blasphemy to No Wave, who saw the destruction of art as an institution as a noble cause. For all these reasons it was meaningful to me because through it I realized that I’m just not that good at being a well-adjusted, likable person. But, hey, I’ll always have NY 1977.