Final Blog!

1. I leaned a lot from every culture we explored through Jan Term. One thing that really shocked me more than anything was how the people of Madagascar dug up the dead to celebrate their deaths. i guess growing up in that country you become accustomed to your culture, but I find it really weird to do that! The last video of the people dancing while lifting up the bodies was wild to watch. In America you would never see that here but every cutlure is different and unique in their own way. I found this to be such a great example that many countries whether it was in Africa or the Middle East that the elders came above all else. In America I have noticed that instead of the elders mostly being looked up to as wise human beings they have kind of lost their meaning, but in foreign countries it is different. Elderly people are respected and cherished rather than being taken for granite. I think this is quite awesome!
2. I learned that even in America we have such a unique culture. Native Americans all over America still exist and still carry on their culture and traditions. Also, that every culture feeds off of each other from sharing similar instruments to adopting other traditions from other countries. Every culture is connected in some way and I learned more about my culture than I ever thought I would. Music is used in churches and religious ceremonies through using prayer, dance and worship. Each religious ceremony was different whether the people were worshipping Buddha or God and it was so neat to actually see videos of how they gave thanks to their creator. Entertainment was a huge part of every culture from the Native Americans to the Middle Easterns through group dances to celebrations of one's birthday or even a wedding. To conclude, every culture is unique in its own way from the type of styles they use, the instruments that originated in their country, to the music they dance and sing to. My culture in America is more modern than perhaps cutlures in Africa or with Native Americans, but it still offers the musical world a wide variety of instruments, music, and dances.
3. Through this course I have been inspired to learn more about the African and Middle East culture. I was intrigued through Dr. Week’s presentation/slide show and all the information I gathered from class discussions. The African/Middle Eastern people are such a unique and different group of people. The instruments provide sounds I have never experienced before. I really hope I can travel to some of these countries one day to see all of these things first hand we learned about. This course has inspired me to explore more into my own culture through learning about new instruments to listening to music that I personally would not have listened to before. I have always wanted to learn how to play the drums. Honestly, I do not care what kind of drum it is perhaps the African drum called the Djembe which I find to be so cool, but maybe one day I will take up lessons or something. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY4_75Tmoc4
Even though this video is long I thought it was pretty neat to watch how in sync this group was. You can clearly hear in the background the drum being played. In my culture we have traditional dances, but it is interesting to see different cultures like Japans and see how different their traditional dances really are from the American culture.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v200/enricodee/masskara2005/villamonte-winner.jpg
I absolutely love how colorful the Japanense people are when it comes to creating customes for cleebrations, dances, and religious ceremonies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuKSvkqGwmM
Man, these kids can break it down...in Japan! When I think of Japan and I don't mean to stereotype them, but I do not see this! I see the more traditional dances you see on tv, but definitely not this. I am so intriged with the Japanese culture from the colorful customes the people wear for various occasions to the various styles of music that they present to the world and other cultures.
I have gained so much from this course and I now have a better understanding of music in so many different cultures. Music is everywhere, whether it is played on the radio, playing in the mall, or created on stage at a concert. I realized that I never branched out to listent to various groups from different cultures like Ravi Shankar to famous African choral groups, but now I will definitely add some of it to my Ipod. I really enjoyed taking this course again, thank you Dr. Vaneman!

Cool Stuff #3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nphCXNr_k_8
Even though I cannot understand what this women is singing on this video, I still thought it was pretty neat. You could see from the start of the video, the shakers she had on her ankles. Although it is Egyptian music it still resembles me a lot of what our music videos look and sound like here in America. Yal Rmosh is a very popular pop artist in Egypt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YphM0WysOX0
I thought I would share this video to show everyone how different Arab weddings are from standard American ones. Usually at an American wedding reception people dance like in this video, but it is such a different way of dancing. You can really tell the people in this video are having fun by the way they all dance with one another to the smiles on their faces. In the background you can hear all sorts of instruments I believe some include some sort of flute, drums, some sort of strings, and a guitar. Typical for Middle Eastern music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BuWxGfHc_U
As Dr. Weeks took us through Middle Eastern countries on Thursday, it was so neat seeing so many pictures that you would never see in America. It is such a different world in India, Asia, the Milddle East. Through this video you see how serious Budda worshippers take their religion although I do not agree with worshipping Buddha, it is what they choose to do. This video gives a good depiction of what it is truly like every day when the time comes to stop what you are doing to worship and honor Buddha.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Buddha_worshippers,_Shwedagon_Pagoda,_Yangon,_Myanmar.jpg
This picture is such a great shot of Buddha worshippers. I am not sure who the women are, even though I am assuming they belong to some sort of group because of their dress, but you can tell they take this time so seriously. Look at each women in this picture mainly at the expression on their faces.
I really enjoyed learning about the Middle East and India. In class there was something mentioned about Dr. Weeks taking a group to Egypt next Jan Term and I would love to go there! :)

Music and Gender

Gender has always played a major role in music, even now a days where women can play any instrument and it not be abnormal to society. In high school I was the biggest band nerd in the area. I was in marching band for six years and loved every moment of it. When I first started band, the band director let me try and play several instruments to see which one I could play better. I originally wanted to play the flute, but I was made to play the French Horn. As my musical abilities grew throghout grade school, I started competing in Region/All-State bands and other compeititions. My instrument is played by men and women. I think it is split pretty much in half, unlike instruments like the flute or clarinet. We always had more female french horn players than males, but that was not the case in Region and All-State band. Every group I played with nearly almost all girls with a few exceptions. In marching band, it was very standard. Mostly all females played the flute/clarinet except for my best friend Jarrod Mabrey who is an AMAZING clarinet player. With the saxophones it was split in half, surprisingly like the trumpets. You would think the trumpet is a male based instrument, but in my marching and concert band it was half and half. With the trombones and tubas it was mostly all males with a few females. I never really paid attention to the gender in each section, it is just so normal to see a female clarinet player and odd to see a male flute player. I find it funny that the males that played woodwind instruments known for females to play are the best at it like my best friend Jarrod who beat out any girl in high and still to this day. Now, playing in the wind ensemble and orchestra it is kind of weird that mostly everyone in the room is female, but then again, it is an all girls school. :) But I enjoy the sight of a male (perhaps a cute one) in wind ensemble like the tuba player. (zach..haha) Anyway, I enjoy hearing a musician play an instrument out of the norm. What is the norm? Like an amazing female tuba player. Yes, I am sure there is some out there, but mostly male tuba players. As a women, it is awesome when a female can go beyond a male and out do them at whatever it may be whether it is the olympics or as musicians. We came from having no rights to going above and beyond males in certain jobs, sports and many other things. In other countries still today, I have noticed that women are forbidden to play certain instruments because they are only for males, but I am so glad in America it is not this way. Anyone, no matter what the gender is should be able to play the drums to a harp. Who cares if a male wants to play the flute? I mean if he excells in it and that is his passion, it should not matter what his gender is. I like to watch Dr. Vaneman play the flute. He is amazing at it and he is a MALE FLUTE PLAYER! How awesome is that!? For so long I have a always wanted to play the bariton and the base drum and one day I will! so what I am a female, no one said it was wrong to play these instruments and if so, who cares. I feel inspired when I abnormal musicians like I said with the female tuba players. It is an inspiration to see that and then go out and try and be the best at my instrument. The truth of the matter is that people should look past gender and to whether or not it may look weird.

Cool Stuff #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8q7_-IEMeE
I found this video interesting becuase not only is it a traditional Ecuadorian dance, it reminded me so much of my trip in 2005. I remember going into the city of Quito and watching Ecuadorians dance for us. Everything in this video reminded me of my experience from like the customes the people have on in this video which looks identical to the pictures I took on my trip. Dance is an important aspect of the Ecuadorian culture. When I was in the moutains working with Ecuadorian children and remodeling their school, the kids would always grab us by the hands to go dance with them in their school yard. This video helped bring back all those sweet memories I had spending a week in Ecuador back in 2005.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cATZe_jlc9g
I thought this video was interesting because it is so different from the way Americans sing. There is really no right or wrong way to sing, as long as you are enjoying singing, it should not matter to anyone. I took several things from this video. I could tell the Baka women truly love their music from the way they were singing and not holding anything back, even if it was not always in tune :). As we noticed with mostly all the African music, the steady beat whether it was with a drum or another instrument, it is very important to the culture to have that beat their to keep timing. You can clearly hear that in this music. I would absolutely LOVE to hear some of this music first hand and if I go on a mission trip to Africa this summer, I cannot wait to experiece this!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdAVfaOSPYg
Wow, I think the winner of Latin Idol really has a great voice. It is cool how American Idol has spread all throughout the world to parts where I never thought it would reach. Clearly there are great singers all over the world, but I have never branched out besides watching Susan Boyle onto Youtube to see explore into other Idols such as this one, the Latin American Idol. I am not a big fan of American Idol, never really have been, but I find it so interesting to watch other Idols and hear about the winners on the news and how popular they have become in their countries through their show.

Music and Religion

Music and Religion is a huge part in my life, whether I am at a church service or simply riding down the road listening to Christian music. I am a Christian/Southern Baptist. Music is a powerful thing concerning my religion. At church we are always singing various songs and listenin to the choir sing as well. I think the purpose of using music in religion is to create a connection between our higher being and believers, no matter who you believe in. Music is used in all religions, all over the world. Between the two aspects, there is no seperation of sacred, secular music, vocals, or instruments. All of the things add up to being something powerful concerning music and religion. It makes the whole experience even more powerful with perhaps instruments or singers, or maybe even just believer's voices. My church has adapted very modern views of music which has honestly made church more interesting. Our church choir elected to not wear choir robes anymore mainly because we are an informal church where we can where casual to dressy clothes. Yes, as the saying goes, "You should wear your Sunday best for God", but my church feels like God loves us no matter what we wear or how we praise him, as long as we are praising him. We are a contemporary praise and worship church and I absolutely love it. Every aspect of worship that we do makes the whole experience worth it. Since we are very laid back in our worship style, if someone raises their hands in the air praising God they are not look down upon, or if someone goes down to the alter to pray we look at that as a powerful form of worship with God. Contemporary styles influence the experience that makes the music pleasing. Contemporary styles also have comforting aspects that brings us into a spiritual being. The music does a lot for me, not only pleasing my soul, but being soothing, spiritual, and giving me a sense of pleasure. It makes the music so much more powerful with all this emotions one can feel through music. The way the music is built creates a certain power that helps me really take in everything going on around me. Music is everywhere, whether it is in church or not, everyone has been truly moved by it one time or another. It is just that powerful in its way that it creates a sense of belonging for everyone, no matter what the style may be. Like I have mentioned before, growing up I was always in church. I have never had a desire to branch out into other religions because of the comfort I feel within my religion. Don't get me wrong, I like learning about different religions, but I do not see myself adopting a new one. I am beyond content with my Southern Baptist Church and do not see a need to ever change to anything else. I love where I am and the feeling I get everytime I walk through the doors of my church knowing God and I are going to have our time today and it is going to be special. Without my religion I have no idea where I would be in life. That is just how important it is to me and my family.

cool stuff

example 1
The link has a small band playing simple African songs. They band is dressed in what looks like traditional wear. They have a lead singer. This looks like it would be a lot of fun.


example 2
This video has ancient chanting which was a way of praying to the Native Americans. There is a guitar playing simple chords in the background while the flute ornaments the song. It has such a beautiful and peaceful sound.

example 3
This whole video is African drumming. I find this so fascinating. Last year at the music conference I took the African drumming class it was so much fun. In this video they are wearing traditional wear. It looks like they are playing random things that will make noise along with drums as well. I would love to get a group together at school and do this.

Family and Music

Music has always been a very important part of my family. Recently, my grandmother found an old tape of my grandfather and my sister singing Christmas songs. My grandfather and mom had taught my sister every word to every verse from songs including Jingle Bells to We Wish You A Merry Christmas. She was no older than about a year and a half to two years old when my grandfather recorded her on the tape. As a child, my mom sang to me and my siblings while teaching us all sorts of music. I can remember riding in the car with my family singing random songs that came on the radio. After my grandmother let my mom and sister hear the tape Christmas morning, my mom said through the rough patches in her first marriage, she would sing and teach us songs as an escape. Music carried her throughout all the bad things that happened during her first marriage. It is so powerful how music can save a person from the world and its wrong doings.
At a young age I was introduced to musical instruments. My grandfather played the French Horn, my mom played percussion instruments in high school/the piano, and my sister plays the clarinet. I became amazed at the sounds of all these instruments wanting to always play my sister's clarinet, but she would never let me play it. :( My mom tried to teach me the piano, but at the time I was not too interested in learning the piano.
Growing up in a very religious home, my parents always played Christian music in the house and in the car. Whenever I get in the car with my parents, they always have 89.3 playing on the radio, which is a Christian Station. It is wonderful sharing the passion of Christ with my parents through listening to music on the radio.
In many ways, my family played a huge part in introducing me to music in so many forms from singing to simply listening to my sister play her clarinet.