009 African instruments Exploring Africa Module Thirteen: African Music Teacher's Edition A brief background and history of African Music The African continent is the second largest continent in the world, and its people constitute a 10th of the world’s population with about one thousand indigenous languages spoken throughout the continent (Stone, 1998, p.2). In this context, it is important that a brief history of African music cannot be conclusive and is more complex than we realize. No scholar managed to offer a perspective about African culture that has not been contested. Music and Dance Dance, music, and story-telling are among the ancient art forms that have flourished for many centuries in Africa. Honest observers are hard pressed to find single indigenous group in Africa that has a term congruent to the usual western notion of “music.” Music and dance are activities that characterize an African musical expression and play an important part in the lives of the people (Senogan-Zake, 1986). Oral traditions Religious Beliefs
Articles: Africa 100: The Indestructible Beat Note: This article was originally published in April 2005. It was created at a time when African music was on the cusp of becoming an increasingly large part of the Western pop culture landscape. Portions of it have been updated to reflect changes in the past five years-- particularly changes in the number of compilations and labels available. Unlike last week's article on contemporary sounds in West Africa, this one is largely devoted to reissue and cratedigging culture, to the great African music of the previous couple of generations. The Africa 100 section, in which author Joe Tangari creates an imagined introduction to Afrobeat, highlife, and a few other large strains of African pop music has not had its selections altered; however, we have added Lala links to many of the entries. Afropop music is a sound and a movement, music and a state of mind. From Sea to Shining Sea Music in West and East Africa (a disclaimer) Highlife Time A Bit of History Fela Music Is the Weapon
Traditional Japanese Music There are several types of traditional, Japanese music (hogaku). Some of the most important ones are listed below: Gagaku: Ancient court music from China and Korea. African Music Search Detail The music of Indonesia is as profoundly diverse and magnificent as its geography, religion, and culture. "Bhinneka Tunggal Ika" is a national motto in the old Javanese language that means, "Unity in Diversity." Diversity of styles is a trademark of Indonesian music. The role of the gamelan orchestra throughout the Indonesian archipelago is quite extensive and important. Gamelan music is associated with social events that serve as an important transitional point in a person's life or community rather than simply serving as entertainment. Throughout Indonesia, it is common to find the gamelan orchestra used for similar purposes from one island to the next. Although Indonesian vocal and instrumental music have obvious cross-regional similarities, the large disparity among music-cultures from one island to another or with various regions on one island has also become socially and culturally problematical. Gamelan in Religion
KLEZMER MUSIC Klezmer music originated in the 'shtetl' (villages) and the ghettos of Eastern Europe, where itinerant Jewish troubadours, known as 'klezmorim', performed at joyful events ('simkhes'), particularly weddings, since the early middle age till the Nazi and Stalinian prosecutions. It was inspired by secular melodies, popular dances, 'khazones' (khazanut, Jewish liturgy) as well as by the 'nigunim', the simple and often wordless melodies, intended by the 'Hasidim' (orthodox Jews) for approaching God in a kind of ecstatic communion. In (mutual) contact with Slavic, Greek, Ottoman (Turkish), Gypsy and -later- American jazz musicians, using typical scales, tempo and rhythm changes, slight dissonance and a touch of improvisation, the 'klezmorim' acquired the ability to evoke all kinds of emotions, through a very diversified music. back home "Klezmer: it's not just music - it's a way of life!" A klezmer kapelye (~1910) Attention, please: Pronounce 'kleZmer' and not 'kleTzmer'! Feidman Although
Michael Blake (composer) Michael Blake (b. 1951 in Cape Town) is a South African contemporary classical music composer. The composer studied at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and lectured at Goldsmiths College, University of London. He returned to South Africa in 1998 and settled in Grahamstown where he teaches composition and is director of the annual contemporary music festival, New Music Indaba. At the 1999 meeting of the International Society for Contemporary Music held in Bucharest, Blake made a successful bid for South Africa’s re-entry into the ISCM after an absence of nearly four decades. His music, based on 20th-century music, is also influenced by African music.[1] Kwela (1992) First version: string orchestra, Second version: elastic scoringOut of the Darkness (1993-94) for piano and small orchestraRemix (1998) for two solo violins and string orchestra
Colin McPhee | Biography Born in Montreal, Canada, Colin McPhee was a distinctive and imaginative composer, ethnomusicologist, pianist, and writer, most noted for absorbing the sounds of Balinese music into his own compositions. He came to the U.S. to study at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, where his composition teacher was Gustav Strube (1867-1953). He returned to Canada to study piano with Arthur Friedheim in Toronto. The Toronto Symphony gave his First Piano Concerto a world premiere in 1924. He left Toronto for Paris to study piano with Isidore Philipp, and composition with Paul Le Flem. Even McPhee's early music has a marked tendency to use layers of ostinati. He worked for the rest of his life on a serious study, Music in Bali, which was published posthumously in 1966. McPhee and his wife sold their house, left Bali, and divorced in 1939. In the later 1940s, McPhee, lonely for his beloved Bali, slipped into an alcohol-deepened depression, and his output drastically declined.
Michael Alpert Michael Alpert (born 1955) is a klezmer singer and multi-instrumentalist and has been called a key figure [1] in the klezmer revival of the 1970s and 1980s.[2] He has played in a number of groups since that time, including Brave Old World, the New York Bandura Ensemble, Khevrisa, Kapelye, and also with clarinetist David Krakauer and bandurist Julian Kytasty. He is also a noted teacher of Yiddish folkdance and has worked to see dance retake its traditional place in klezmer music.[3] Alpert has travelled in Eastern Europe and the Americas to find older musicians, and wrote an article in American Klezmer : its roots and offshoots about an elderly klezmer drummer called Ben Bazyler. (readable here on Google Books.) He can also partially be credited for reviving the use of rhythm "sekund" fiddling in klezmer music, an important aspect of traditional klezmer string bands which had fallen out of use in the revival.[4] External links[edit] Sources[edit] Fiddler on the Move by Mark Slobin. p. 30.
A Brief History of Music and Popular Culture in America Since the growth of mass media, our heroes have changed. Before, we had heroes of deed – real people who made a contribution. Examples might be George Washington, Daniel Boone, Susan B. Anthony, Sacagawea, Charles Lindbergh, Neil Armstrong, Martin Luther King. In the time of big and influential mass media, we've adopted for our heroes famous media-created characters from the entertainment and sports industries, even cartoon figures. Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, James Bond, Ellen Ripley, Superman, Batman, Dirty Harry, Nancy Drew, Capt. We display little interest in people that affect society through real deeds – for instance scientific heroes who discover new things that affect the well-being of millions of people and medical heroes who create new processes that affect the health of millions. Many people have argued it is a waste of money to go to the Moon or have a space station. What should we make of Gregory Peck's "Atticus Finch" in the film of Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird?