Listening (b)Log Week 7

So this is the only version I could find of this for some reason. And it's a karoke version of ring around the rosie. This was the first song that came to mind when talking about child's play. It's an English folk song that actually talks about the plague. But when you're young, and don't know it's about the plague it's fun to all fall down. Enjoy!

Listening (b)Log Week 6

This week was about the University Elementary partnership to put on a cultural show about Native Americans. So I looked for something having to do with Native Americans. Not only is this beautiful sounding, but I have definitely heard it before, not that I can remember where. Enjoy!

Thinking about Structure

What I really liked in this chapter was the discussion of improvisation versus composition. Just because and improvisation is not written down does not mean it was not thought up, or is less of a piece of music. Going back on it, it could easily be written down later on and used by other people. Improvisation truly is composition. So this led me to think of a truly great improvisation, Jimi Hendrix's start spangled banner. Taking a classic song and adding his own spin to it, and now it is extraordinarily well-known. How could this not be considered a composition?

Listening (b)Log Week 4

This weeks reading was all about accurately representing a culture in a piece of music. And not to give too much away but this musical example ties into my lesson plan. What could possibly be more representative of a culture than it's national anthem? The whole point of an anthem is that it is clearly about the country, and is meant to spark pride in the heart's of citizens upon hearing it. The article we read made me think, that taken out of context and played by musicians who didn't really know the nuances of it might take some of the pride out of the music. If we handed our National Anthem to a group of musicians who hadn't grown up listening to it, or didn't know the words (Christina Aguilera...) they would have a harder time getting it right, or in a way that the country would recognize it. It's a place where authenticity really comes into play. So for your entertainment, here is the National Anthem of Poland. (Hopefully I got you all excited for my lesson plan, cause I was really excited when I came up with the concept!)

Listening (b)Log Week 3

"It is a means of social and self definition and a bridge that connects young people to the others

in their neighborhoods, school groups, and wider world communities."

This quote from the beginning of the article immediately struck me. Music is something that absolutely united my community at home. One of my best friends dad's is a professional tromboneist. Another has been writing his own music for years. Then there are all of the parents who started a support organization in order to have funding for our various trips. And when it came to high school, my friends and I practically lived in the music room. One thing we all had in common was a love of good music, and also of creating good music. And there was nothing that brought us together more than a concert. Everyone was very good about coming out to support one another. When the music was good, it was really good. So here was a very community uniting rendition of "For the Longest Time" as sung by the Nyack High School Men's Acapella. What about a bunch of cute guys singing a great song wouldn't bring people together?

Listening (b)Log Week 2

Title: Bali Ha'i from the musical South Pacific (not the actual version, but the same singer)
Performers: Loretta Ables Sayre
Origin: Western musical... the culture is supposed to imitate that of French Polynesia
Orchestration: female vocalist and pit orchestra

Every time I see the words South Pacific on a page, I immediately think the musical. Even if I know it's going to be a discussion of the place, this song pops into the page. I was fortunate enough to be able to see the show during its run in Lincoln Center, and it was absolutely amazing. At the beginning, and after intermission, the stage pulled back so that you could see the pit, and the music was absolutely spectacular. But this is all besides the point. One of the major underlying themes of the show is racism, and learning how to accept different cultures. Some of the main characters are men and women in the army in World War II and the whole show take place in French Polynesia during that time. One of the issues that was touched upon was that of encounters and identities. In the show, people are trying to adapt to different cultures in order to be with the ones they love. It's very similar with world music. In order for people to learn from it, and learn to love it, they must first learn to accept it. The more we do to immerse our students in world music, the tolerant they will become.

And that is why I thought of this song.

Instruments

A) 1. Not sure 2. The Devil Went Down to Georgia

B) 1. Prasanna 2. Charlie Daniels Band

C) 1. India       2. United States

D) 1. Sitar and 2 small drums 2. Fiddle, 3 vocalists, back up band (bass guitar, drums, guitar)

E) With this weeks reading, I felt like it couldn't be covered by one single musical example. But most of all, it had to be something that we could see, and not just hear as the chapter we read truly addressed instruments, and about what makes them important. There are a variety of all types of instruments all over the world,  but not only is it important that we hear them, but there is a lot of effort that goes into making sure they are also visually appealing, not the instrument itself, but even the way the ensemble is positioned. First I have this link  to a sitar playing. I really liked the sound of it, but now that I've seen the visual associated with it, I find it amazing that someone can figure out how to play it, and play it so well. It's also just so interesting to look at. Next, I have a version of The Devil Went Down to Georgia. A portion of the chapter dealt with how instruments can represent something else, or can even be associated to a higher power where that noise only represents spiritual things. In this case, the fiddle plays the role of the devil, and you can clearly hear this through the way the instrument is being played. Even without the narration, you can tell that the fiddle is meant to be demonic, which shows the versatility of the instrument.