So we've reached the end of the term. It's been a blast to learn about so many different cultures, but at least we get to learn more from each other! So in case you didn't read the title, we are going to be traveling to the beautiful country of Scotland! Scotland is located in the northern part of the United Kingdom. It's got a pretty simple flag, too. Scotland is home to many things including the bagpipes, kilts, and Highland cows (which are the cutest in my opinion).
Just like every other country we have studied, Scotland has different regions with different cultures and landscapes. These include the highlands, the lowlands, and the islands. The highlands are often said to be the romantic part of Scotland. Before the 1700s, highland culture was an incredibly important aspect of the lives of its inhabitants. In 1745, the rebels against King William (they were in support of King James), started rising against British rule. They were defeated on Culloden Moor in April of 1746. This marked the end of the Highland way of life. People moved towards the coasts and to other countries like America, Canada, and Australia. However, aspects of highland culture are still present today, like the wearing of tartans. Each clan had a specific pattern of plaid; the men wore kilts (the shorter skirt-like garments) and women wore tartan skirts (these were longer, to cover the legs). Kilts are worn for a variety of rituals, most common at weddings and national/international events.
Scotland is known for its traditional/folk music. Back before the Rising of the '45, musicians often were sponsored by a patron, typically a monarch or someone of high standing. The patron would pay them and often have songs written about him. The musicians were called bards and were also known to be poets and storytellers. Like musicians now, they sometimes played more than one instrument and sang. Some of the more popular instruments were fiddles/violins, harps, accordions, and bagpipes. There were two general styles of music, Big Music and Little Music. Big music was slower and had more classical aspects. Little Music is the typical jigs and reels you know when you think of Scotland.
Here's something that would be classified as Big Music. This is a very common folk song called Londonberry Air, though some versions have different lyrics and are titled Oh, Danny Boy.
Now here is what would be Little Music, which often involves dancing because it's so upbeat. This is a group of Scottish dancers in semi-traditional clothing.
Let's talk about some more modern artists in Scotland. As we saw in some of the other cultures we studied, musicians in Scotland kept a lot of aspects from traditional music because they loved and cherished it so much. So you get really cool combinations of bagpipes and drums and guitars. I've got a few different artists that I want to show you guys. First off is Manran, with their song Alpha. This song combines the quick, jig-like style with both traditional and modern instruments. You can see in the video that there is a guitar, bass, accordion, fiddle, drum set, and set of bagpipes.
Next is Highlands of Bamffshire by a group called Blazin' Fiddles. This group consists of 5 fiddle players and they are really amazing!
There are a lot of folk songs that come from Scotland, such as My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean, Auld Lang Syne, and Loch Lomond. There are countless versions of these songs because they are passed down orally and weren't written down until recently. My personal favorite is Loch Lomond, sung by Mackenzie Tolk.
The great part about music is there is often dancing! One traditional Highland dance is sword dancing. Two swords are laid perpendicular to each other on the ground and the dancer does a dance over them. The dance was used to see if someone was ready to learn to weild a broadsword, as it requires lots of dexterity and balance. This video is from the Highland Games in Scotland, where athletes, dancers, musicians, and all sorts of other competitors come to participate in competitions and remember Highland traditions and culture.
That's all I have for you guys! Thanks so much for reading!
References:
“The Scottish Highlands.” Scotland Info Guide, https://www.scotlandinfo.eu/scottish-highlands/.
“Scottish Music and Festivals.” Scotland, https://www.scotland.org/about-scotland/culture/music/traditional-music.
I know, it's so generic that I chose to interview my mother for this blog post, but I know she would have some cool things to talk about. So it starts with her. My mom, Lori, was born in 1971 in Columbia, SC. She became an older sister a few years later, but that's not what we talked about I promise. I thought I would just give some background info. My mom can be pretty cool sometimes, and our motto is "it's always an adventure." We travel, go kayaking, and lay around on the couch telling bad jokes and showing each other memes.
I knew my mom would agree to do this project with me because I'm the baby of the family and her only daughter, so how could she say no? I introduced the project to her a few days ago so she could have time to think of some things she wanted to talk about. Once we were able to call, I started by asking her about her earliest memories of music, any kind, in any form. She talked about how when she was young, she took tap lessons and did gymnastics and the routines were set to music. Once she got old enough to go to school, she started listening to the radio, usually the Top 40, so whatever was popular at the time, well that's what she listened to. Typically it was American Pop or Rock. Since there was no Spotify or Apple Music, kids (and probably people of all ages) would listen for their favorite songs on the radio, and when they finally came on, they'd record them so the music was able to be played later. I really liked hearing about some of the technology she used during her childhood too. She talked about boomboxes, walkmans, and record players. She told me she didn't have a ton of records, but she had this stereo set with a record player built in. I have a really cool record player that I'll attach a picture of. It plays CDs, records, cassettes, has a radio tuner, and an aux port, so it does it all!
As with lots of people in middle school, it becomes a time for finding out likes, dislikes, and forming an identity. My mom started her journey on the path of rock and metal music while she was in middle school, starting with Duran Duran. Throughout high school, she continued in her love for heavy metal and went to a few concerts. But there was also another side of music in her life. Starting in 6th or 7th grade, my mom started playing the clarinet in her school. Encouraged by her mom, she continued playing through high school, participating in both the jazz band (spoiler alert: it wasn't her favorite) and marching band. She also became Assistant Drum Major, though she only got to conduct the band once, which she says was an embarrassing moment because she had set the tempo too slow. She also said that she really didn't like her band teacher cause he was a bit weird, which is understandable. While her mother encouraged her to play, her love for band grew from her bandmates. This picture is of my mom and uncle in their band uniforms, which I think is pretty cool. The second picture is her senior picture.
Okay, so all of us are music majors. I know that my mom really likes a lot of instruments, especially the cello, but I wanted to know if she ever wanted to learn an instrument herself. So I asked her. I found out that while she took piano lessons for a time, and played clarinet, she really wanted to learn flute and/or oboe (isn't that cool, Dr. Vaneman?). She also wanted to learn drums, so her bandmates taught her some things. She did mention that she regrets stopping piano lessons and playing the clarinet. Mostly the piano, because we have a piano at home and she would like to be able to sit and play to relieve stress and just have some fun. I'll include a story or two about me at the end, but this post is focusing on her right now :). In the meantime, enjoy these pictures of my mom and her children!
My mom is superhuman. When I was in high school, she went back to school and pursued a degree in radiology. Five years later, through all of the prerequisites, clinicals, and late nights studying physics and anatomy, she graduated and earned her degree. She then went on to earn her certificate in mammography (yay!) and now she works at Lexington Medical Center. She also runs. Like a lot. And very long distances. She has run multiple half-marathons and is training for a full. In runner terms, she is currently half-crazy, but soon she'll be full-crazy!! Enjoy some of these pictures of her at some races!
Anyways, it's really annoying to have to run without music unless you're in a group, so I obviously was going to ask about her running music. Her running playlist, aptly named Run, has many artists like Glasslands, Five Finger Death Punch, and Skillet. Her favorite song, she told me, is called Lazarus, by a band called Bellarive. It's honestly a bop. Have a listen!
While my mom still likes a lot of the music she used to listen to, she's grown to like more artists and genres than when she was younger. One instance is Christian music. She was never involved with music in church before she had me and my brother, but now she listens to it regularly. Since I grew up in the church, I was constantly around my church orchestra and praise band and started participating when I got to high school. My mom has been such a huge supporter because of her love for church music (and me, but that's not the point here). She loves going to orchestra concerts and listening to string orchestras play. She doesn't really like piano and that's because it can be a bit harder to get as deep of emotions from an instrument with keys rather than, say, a cello with strings and a bow.
Another genre she really likes still is rock. Over the past years, once she picked up running as a hobby, she started exploring Christian Rock. This is a really cool genre because she gets to experience music that has a message in line with her beliefs and values. I know she likes when my brother and I give her music recommendations. Here's another song from her playlist, which is also a bop.
My mom doesn't quite listen to such a variety of genres like I do. I listen to pretty much everything, and my mom has the few genres she likes, which is totes fine! I asked her what she thought about my music and how music has changed from her childhood to today. She told me that she liked some of the "older" music I play (the rock music), but she wasn't the biggest fan of my country music and screaming metal. I laughed, because this was the exact answer I was expecting. In response to how music has changed, she believes it has become more phony and mechanical with the use of electric things. She doesn't like that there is more chanting/rapping and lip-syncing in performances. She likes her music because the artist sings more than they talk or rap, and she likes the use of instruments. She also has a soft spot for a capella, like I do. Here's a song that we both love.
Okay, well that's all I really have because I don't want to have a whole book for y'all to read...
I do have a cool story though! It pertains to my mom, and music, and me, but it's not really about my mom. It's about me. So imagine, 5th grade, elementary school auditorium. The band, orchestra, choir, and drama teachers from the middle school two doors down the road are on stage. The entire 5th grade is there. Sitting next to my friends, we heard little recruitment speeches and saw small demonstrations from each teacher. Immediately I knew that I wanted to play violin. Part of the reason was because my best friend at the time wanted to play violin, part of it was because the teacher seemed really nice. we signed up and a few weeks before the next school year started, we got to go in and try out the instruments to see which one we would play. I had put in my interest letter that I wanted to play violin. The orchestra teacher, Ms. Martin (a saint of a person) let me hold one and told me that it wouldn't be a good fit. Music teachers have a second sense ya know? So my mom mentions from the back that the cello is a really cool instrument. I was apprehensive because that was a huge instrument for little ol' me. Plus, my friend was gonna be playing the violin. I wanted to stick with her! But I sat down and tried it, pulling the bow across the strings just as Ms. Martin told me. It did NOT sound good. Think of a pterodactyl and a yodeler having a scream off. I couldn't even keep the bow on one string at a time. Long story short, I wasn't really sure if I wanted to take on the commitment of playing such a large instrument, but my mom encouraged me, so I said I would. A few days after we started playing, I fell in love and I haven't looked back. This is a big part of who I am now, and it's all because of my mom.
Okay, so this may be a bit different than some of the other Asian music we've been looking at, but I couldn't pass up this opportunity to look at Russian Music. First off, I think it's only fair that I include the most popular Russian song in our generation. And please feel free to get up and dance!
If you didn't get up and dance to this amazing song, I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed. Nah, I'm just joking... or am I?
Let's talk about instruments. I was really curious to see what kind of instruments the Russian culture has created and their most popular ones. Every culture we have talked about has special instruments, so let's see what Russia has. There's this really cool percussion instrument that Hello Music Theory talks about, called a treshchotka, which translates to "rattle." Unlike the shakers and rattles of the Native American world, a treshchotka makes a clapping sound. Different versions/sizes have different sizes and numbers, but the overall idea is that there are small, thin wooden slats that are connected at the top with string, sometimes with beads between them. This video shows different sounds you can make with a treshchotka. Fair warning, it's in Russian and the translation kind of sucks.
Fun fact: it is a Russian tradition to play the treshchotka at a wedding to ward off evil spirits from the happy couple.
Next, we have a zhaleika or a Russian folk clarinet. This is one of the most popular wind instruments in Russia. It's a wooden aerophone with holes that are used to produce different pitches. Its single reed is typically made of cane or a goose feather. Some zhaleikas use a cow horn for the bell. As you'll hear in this next piece, there is a drone that stays in the background. Enjoy!
We're gonna move on to modern Russian music. Russian singers like to follow global trends, and often fall into certain genres, like pop, rock, and rap. Such artists also make very high-quality music videos. The first artist is named Монеточка, or Monetochka, for us English speakers. It translates to Little Coin. She's a pop artist that's only a few years older than us. To me, she looks like Kristen Stewart. This is her song Нимфоманка, which translates roughly to Nymphomaniac. It's honestly a bop.
Another artist is Хлеб, which means Bread, who collabed with Cream Soda and released a song in April of 2020 titled Crying Under Techno. The nation ate it up and it went viral virtually instantly. Here, have a listen.
Since this song became so popular so quickly and everyone was stuck inside because of the pandemic, there was a challenge that became popular on social media. Named the balcony dance challenge, people videoed themselves dancing on their balcony like in the music video. This kept spirits high and kept away the spicy sadness.
The last thing I want to talk about is the folk dance of Russia. As with many cultures, the costumes for dancing were very special. In Russia, clothing was based on specific events. Many of the costumes incorporated the color red because it is seen as the color of beauty in Russian culture. There are tons of traditional dances, but I am going to focus on one called Khorovod, which is a dance coming from the Slavs. It involves both singing and dancing, and it's performed at folk festivals and pagan rituals.
The dance usually starts with a few young girls and marriageable girls from the neighborhood standing in the middle of the street. They start singing and acting out the lyrics. Eventually, other girls joined, then the young men (often playing accordions, violins, or tambourines). The people dancing are in a circle, and often, a girl and a guy would go to the center of the circle and dance together. The dance symbolizes unity and friendship. Dancers typically hold hands or link pinkies.
Welp, that's all I have for you this time! Hope you learned something and enjoyed the music!
Yeah, I know, get your grumbles out now. I realize this genre of music is the most popular among this generation, but I have always loved country music and now I get to explore its history and elements. To start, I should preface that I am going to cover how country music began, way back when. Then I'm going to jump in time to more modern times, specifically country music after the turn of the century.
Okay, intro out the way, let's dive in!
It's probably not such a shocker that country music comes from the blues. The early 1900s brought on the first buds of the garden of country music. It was most popular in the Appalachian Mountain region. This is where the blues married Celtic and Irish fiddle songs. Along came country, a genre of music that used the string instruments like fiddle and banjo to sing ballads about tragic things that happen. Just to clarify, a ballad is a song that tells a story.
So... the farmers up in the mountains started singing about their troubles. The travelers who heard this music were probably baffled and thought that this was some redneck, yee-hawing music. They decided to call it "hillbilly music," which is kind of an apt name for some of the songs you'll hear if you listen to early country music. Here's a fun song from 1975 that fits the description, at least in my brain.
Artists eventually spread out and soon, "hillbilly music" was appreciated by lots of people. Like lots of other music genres, country music needed a leader. That person was Jimmie Rodgers, known as the Father of Country Music. He wrote and recorded the first song to have a million units sold. Said song was titled Blue Yodel #1, and I've graciously attached it here.
As you listen, you will notice that there isn't really any percussion. This is because when country music came into creation, early artists didn't like the sound of percussion with string instruments. They liked having guitars, banjos, and autoharps. What's an autoharp, you may ask? I'll tell you because I absolutely love them! I learned about them a few months ago when I was helping Dr. Lalama inventory the Music Ed instruments. This is kind of like a guitar that you hold in your lap. The white buttons you see in the picture below are chord buttons. They are labeled with the chords they create. It works kind of like a piano, with dampeners to mute certain strings depending on which chord you want to play. For example, if you hold down the C-major button, all the strings except C, E, and G are dampened. You can then strum and voila! A C-major chord!
One of the groups that used the autoharp was the Carter Family. They started recording their songs and became the first family of country music. They were, along with many other country artists, featured on the Grand Ole Opry radio station when it began in Nashville in 1925. Over the next few years, more and more radio stations started playing country music. Enjoy this lovely video of the Carter Family playing Wildwood Flower.
Time Jump!
Okay, so decades have passed, and thankfully, country music still exists! A lot has changed, but also a lot has stayed the same. Let's start with what stayed the same. There are 5 main characteristics of country music.
Folk Harmonies:
Country music uses traditional chord progressions; there is very little use of non-diatonic chords or anything funky
String Instruments:
The instrumentation is based on string instruments like guitar, bass, banjo, fiddle, and pedal or lap steels.
Twangy Vocals:
The twang is the best part! Almost every country artist has some sort of twang or accent, making their music distinctly country.
Confessional Lyrics:
Many songs tell stories of love, heartache, hard work, and personal pride.
Frequent Duets:
Country music really emphasizes singing in groups and many artists team up to write and perform songs.
Just before the turn of the century, country artists start to gain international fame as the music spreads across the globe. Artists also start to adopt aspects of different genres, like the use of electric guitars and basses. Drums also become popular in music to give it a stronger percussive side. Here is a song that I really like that embodies these characteristics.
So we talked about the similarities, let's talk differences. For one, times have changed in the last 100 years since country music was born. For one, medical and technological advances are like nothing the early artists could have ever imagined. Crazy light shows at concerts, cellphones, parking lots, commercial planes, modern-day Nashville. All these things have influenced country music in some sort of way. This next song is one of my personal favorites. It has the twang, the guitar, the ballad of love, all the general characteristics of country music. But there's Walmart, parking lots, and security cops. These things are central to the song, allowing for the telling of the story and the feelings to be accurately expressed. The rhythms and use of electronics are very modern ideas. Enjoy!
Another piece I really like is As She's Walking Away. This song is honestly such a bop, but it also has a good message. Sure, on the surface it's about a guy falling in love with a girl as she leaves, but I always hear a message about missed opportunities. There are tons of things that can bring you joy in life, but they don't wait for you to get involved. Opportunities can be missed. In my head, Alan Jackson and the Zac Brown Band encourage people to take the opportunity to be happy and enjoy life. Fall in love. Go fishing. Buy that car. Whatever it is, life is short and happiness is obtainable. Okay, rant aside, have a listen.
Okay, well that's all I have for you! I hope you have a bit more of an appreciation for country music, and if not, that's okay too! This was such a blast to research!
Works Cited:
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "country music". Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Oct. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/art/country-music. Accessed 19 January 2022.
Dooley, Sean. “The History of Country Music.” LiveAbout, LiveAbout, 23 May 2019, https://www.liveabout.com/the-history-of-country-music-934030.
Egge, Sara. “The Origins of Country Music.” Centre College's Norton Center For The Arts, 1 June 2017, https://nortoncenter.com/2017/03/19/the-origins-of-country-music/.
MasterClass. “Country Music Guide: History and Sounds of Country Music.” MasterClass, MasterClass, 6 May 2021, https://www.masterclass.com/articles/country-music-guide#5-characteristics-of-country-music.
This part of the world isn't talked about much in American schools, which is a real tragedy because Africa, specifically western and southern Africa, has such a rich history. Many countries are proud of their heritage and history. Africa is no exception. Sub-Saharan Africa has kept many aspects of its history alive for decades, even centuries. Today instruments like the kora and mbira can be heard today in traditional and modern musical settings.
While the traditional aspect of African music is fascinating, I wanted to see how it morphed with the western idea of an orchestra with cellos, clarinets, and timpani sets. I did a general search on Google (and by general I mean I entered South African Symphony in the search bar). One of the first things to come up was the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Based in Johannesburg, obviously, this group started in 2000 after the National Symphony Orchestra disbanded. They present four seasons each year at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. They have, like many professional symphonies, performed concerts that aren't you're typical symphony-like concerts. These include Queen: the Concert, La Boheme, and The Joburg Pops. Of course, they do perform traditional orchestral selections from famous composers such as Beethoven, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky. It was really cool to see how they have overcome financial struggles and are working through a pandemic as all us musicians have been trying to do. I found a video of them playing the overture from Hansel and Gretel, the very opera we are doing at Converse in a few weeks! Enjoy!!
Okay, so I really wanted to know more about the instruments that originated in Southern Africa. We already know about the talking drum, djembe, and mbira, but there could be tons more that we don't know about! So let me tell you about one! It's called a bowl lyre, or sometimes called an endongo. Yeah, we know what a lyre is, but how does it involve a bowl you ask? Great question! So just like a kora, the body of a bowl lyre is... wait for it... a bowl! Unlike the kora, instead of a calabash gourd, creators of this cool instrument used a tortoiseshell. My guess is that it might be a bit sturdier and more durable than a dried gourd, but it could have just been that a tortoise had died recently when it was created. the face of the instrument is made of animal skin that is stretched over the edges of the shell. The 6-8 strings are held by a triangular frame by leather rings. It can be decorated with beads, feathers, paintings, you name it!
Lastly, since I recently talked about music and some of the rites and rituals we use them for, I wanted to see what a South African wedding looked like. According to southafrica.co.za, there's a lot of various traditions! Like almost every culture in the world, weddings are big celebrations with lots of food. In the more rural areas of South Africa, beer is home-brewed and consumed in large amounts. The women sometimes spend days preparing rice dishes, salads, and other foods for the wedding. Some brides will carry a small knife with the blade pointed upwards to symbolize their virtue and virginity. Some more traditional weddings involve the slaughter of an ox, where the gallbladder is removed and pinned to the bride's head. This is believed to ensure the future cooperation of the ancestors of the bride and groom. The list goes on and on, with lots of traditions that are common on lots of weddings, such as the giving of gifts, both sacred and practical. Overall, it's a joyous occasion. However, after seeing some videos and pictures that had was more of the bride's body than I ever wanted to see, I have decided that if/when I ever am planning on getting married, I will stick to Southern American traditions.
So we all know that music is an integral part of human life, especially with us music majors. For me personally, I listen to music for about 14 hours a day. But music isn't just there for entertainment while walking back to your dorm room after class. There are so many instances where music provides a purpose. So many rituals that just wouldn't be the same. So, let me introduce you to some of mine.
Let's start with a day almost everyone looks forward to their wedding day! Now I don't know about y'all, but I know if/when I ever get married, the music will be the most memorable part of the night (you know, apart from the joining of two individuals for life). Being a cellist, I have been asked to play in a number of weddings. It's a really cool experience to be able to make music on someone's big day. It's also a really nice atmosphere for me because I don't like performing by myself or as the only cellist in a small group, but at someone's wedding, I'm not the focus.
I guess I have to include Pachabel because I'm a cellist talking about weddings...
Respectfully, I wish I never had to Pachabel's Canon in D ever again. This was the first piece I learned to play in middle school that had different parts for each section. The cello part is incredibly boring (hint: it's a bunch of whole and half notes) and if/when we do have the melody, it is very high. Almost every cellist I know doesn't like this song because it is overplayed. Every woman wants this song to be played during her wedding. I played a version of this song at a wedding last year and the theme was The Princess Bride. It was a beautiful wedding, truly, but this was the song that was supposed to play while the bride walked down the aisle. Once the processional came down and took their places, the bride didn't come. We all waited. Nothing happened. A friend of mine was playing piano with me and we just kept playing so they weren't sitting in silence. Turns out, the bride had a panic attack due to the fact that there were a bunch of people that would be staring at her and her soon-to-be husband for close to an hour. I don't blame her, I don't like being the center of attention either. Anyways, I was stuck playing Pachabel's Canon in D for a lot longer than I would have. If you so choose, you can listen to it below.
Music actually wasn't the biggest part of my school career. I loved music, don't get me wrong, but I put more time into my science and medical studies. However, one of my most favorite times of the year was our orchestra's end-of-the-year concert. Instead of wearing our typical concert black, we got to dress up in colorful dresses and suits. One year, one of the seniors came in a hot pink suit! We always played lots of fun music like medleys from different movies and rock music. My junior year, we had a few students come in and play drums (I'm pretty sure it was Josh Wood) and electric guitar and bass. We played Kashmir and a few other rock songs. We also played a medley from Moana and one of the 2nd violinists was given the very special and sacred role of the class percussionist. Ashlyn, her name was, took this role very seriously and performed amazingly. For this medley of songs from Moana, the arranger had incorporated small percussion bits, and Ashlyn ordered a rubber chicken that looked like Hei Hei. In the middle of this song on stage at the concert, Ashlyn stands in her dark green dress and, with a very professional face, squeaks this quite large rubber Hei Hei. The crows went wild with laughter! I haven't been able to find a video of any of the really fun songs that I've mentioned so far, but I did find a video from when we did the Avenger's Theme song so enjoy!
The end-of-the-year concert at my high school was a really bittersweet experience. On one hand, we got to wear fun and colorful clothes. On the other, it was the last concert of the year and we had to wait until the next year to see each other again and play together. The music was always fun to play and kept everyone engaged and motivated. A lot of us would go out for ice cream afterward and remember the fun times we had during the year.
Lastly, one of my favorite experiences I have ever had was a concert my church orchestra did. Our orchestra director got in contact with his friend, a composer/arranger named Phillip E. Allen. All but one of the songs we played were composed or arranged by him. His style is very majestic and movie-score-esque. Phillip Allen has become one of my favorite church music composers since I first came in contact with one of his pieces. He takes hymns and popular sacred music and combines it with secular music in these very complex and quite hard to perform masterpieces. One of my favorite pieces is a piece called L'Orchestra Cantano! The cello part is 5 pages long! Our orchestra director made a habit of inviting religious music composers to write for us and come participate in a concert featuring their music and direction. When my orchestra director moved churches, I moved with him and he continued to bring in new music and composers to perform for the congregation with them. It's really awesome to be able to meet these composers from around the country and play under them.
This same orchestra director also carries a tradition with our orchestra of doing concerts in the park in July. Every July, we go out to the local park and play patriotic music for anyone and everyone to hear. It's a nice tradition that's in the middle of summer. I love playing in large groups and when I'm not in school, it's amazing to have a chance to play for my community with my church friends and musicians. This picture is from a few years ago, but this is my friend and fellow cellist Hope! She started playing cello about 5 years after I started, but she's a quick study and an all-around amazing musician.
I love that music is such an integral part of our lives. Every ritual we have can be made more enjoyable or easier to get through when we bring music into it. Weddings, funerals, workdays. All of these things would be really awkward or very tough to endure without the music that we like to hear. I can't wait to see what new rituals we all develop and how we bring in music.
This is a really cool topic to learn about because even though it is an ancient form of music, you can still see it today. Because there is so much history in topics such as this one, I had to learn more. We talked about a lot of things in class, but now we actually have a chance to learn more about the things we found interesting! There were a lot of things that I really liked, but there were a specific set of things that I wanted to do some more research into.
The first is Native American drums. I found it really fascinating that all the different tribes and the general culture of Native Americans viewed the drum as a sacred object that connected them to the earth and the universe around them. I was curious to see exactly how they are made and what else they are valued for. The general concept is pretty obvious, a pelt of some sort is stretched over a frame. However, I wanted to dive further than that. The frame is most commonly made of wood. To achieve this, someone would carve out a log to create a ring that would serve as a frame. The next step would be to find some sort of membrane, a pelt. Now, depending on which tribe and where the drum is being made, the pelt could be from any number of animals. The plain tribe probably would have made their drums from the pelts of horses or buffalo. Coastal and mountain tribes would probably make their drum heads out of deer or elk, maybe even moose pelts. Now you may be asking, "how do they keep the membrane on the frame?" Good question! I'll tell you! They couldn't use any nails, screws, or glue (mostly because it's ancient times and such things don't exist). To hold the membrane, sinew thongs, a fancy word for leg tendons, were threaded through the membrane then tied under to secure the head of the drum nice and taught. Drums came in different sizes, as well. Some here handheld, while others stayed on the ground, usually played by a group of people surrounding it and singing. (source)
Now, that's a pretty boring drum, so it makes sense that lots of drums had some sort of art on it. This could come in the form of fringe, painted designs, colored tendons, beads, or any combination of these. Here's a pretty cool drum...
The drum is used in almost every aspect of Native American life. One of those aspects is Peyote music. I decided to look on Britannica to learn some more about peyote music. Peyote is a type of syncretic music, meaning it combines ideas from both Native American music and European Christian music. The Native American Church was born from the forming of these two ideas and the music they played was named peyote, after a plant used in ceremonies. The plant, the peyote cactus, would be smoked and (being a slight hallucinogenic) would create a different type of experience for the members of the NAC. Peyote music is generally accompanied by shakers and drums. It combines the use of vocables and English lyrics. Songs can be sung in unison or with harmony. And although peyote songs are based on a duple rhythm, they don't typically follow or conform to a regular meter. Peyote music became really popular in the mid-20th century, as well. Just like in Christian culture, there are songs for children to sing.
The Halluci Nation!!
So I know a few of us in the class really enjoyed listening to the music of Supaman, the modern Native American musician. I was really struck by the style of music and decided to see who else I could discover. I stumbled upon The Halluci Nation, a Native American band from Canada. This particular artist creates reggae, instrumental hip-hop, and dubstep-inspired dance music. BUT! They combine their sick modern beats with drumming and vocals from Powwows. This particular song, titled "Electric Pow Wow Drum" is a really cool example of this band. Take a listen!
So if you noticed, and if you didn't I'm still going to tell you, the video says the artist is A Tribe Called Red. The Halluci Nation have rebranded themselves and now are The Halluci Nation.
That's all I have for you guys! It was really cool to research these topics and learn even more about the music of Indigenous Americans!
Hey guys! My name is Madeline Greene and I am a Junior Music Ed major. My primary is cello, but I can also play piano and a bit of guitar. Blah blah blah... *very general college introduction things here*. I was born and raised in Lexington, South Carolina (right next to Columbia if you aren't well versed in SC town structure). I have an older brother named Devin who is 24 and is in the United States Coast Guard. Currently, he is stationed in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is a Marine Science Technician, and his job is to basically fine boats in the gulf for spilling oil.
Anyone that knows me knows that I have quite a passion for animals and their conservation. During the summers, I work as a camp counselor at Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens. I also have had quite an assortment of pets in my life. I used to have 28 birds (Yes, 28. Yes, they had names. Yes, they slept at night and were loud during the day.) Today I have four dogs, a cat, and a fish. Diesel, my brindle greyhound, and Mookie, my obese black cat, live with my mom in Lexington. My dad has Coastie, a Maltese mix, Sandy, a Golden Retriever mix, and Roscoe, an Anatolian Shepherd/Great Pyrenees mix. I keep my veil tail betta Bowzer with me at Converse.
I love working with animals and being outdoors, but I also love curling up with a good book and a hot cup of tea. But most of all, I love listening to and creating music. Hence the music major and all :). I started playing cello in 6th grade, and never stopped! Now on to the more musical topics!
I'll start with my current go-to. As we entered December last year, all of us with Spotify were blessed with our Spotify Wrapped. Going through all the fun little tidbits given, it was revealed to me that I was in the top 0.7% of people who listened to Our Last Night. Now, if you haven't heard of them, I'm not surprised, I only found them at the end of 2020. This NC-based band does a lot of rock covers of different kinds of songs while also creating their own originals. My favorite song at the moment is one of theirs, called "when we were broken." This song talks about meeting someone while going through a tough time and everything becoming clear. Have a listen...
This song has been a real beacon to me as I have been through some bad times. It reminds me of the people I have in my life that want to help me overcome obstacles and stand by my side as I achieve my dreams.
So, for all musicians, it's a given that music holds a special place in our hearts. For some, it's that one Rachmaninoff piece. For others, it's the first song in a Kanye West album. For me, it's Working For You by Jake Scott. This piece was released in 2018 and it's not exactly the happiest song. I found it when I was listening to my *sad noodle* playlist on Spotify. You know, we all have that one playlist with all the depressing music we need to hear when we are blue.......
Well, this song came on, and every word struck my heart like a crystal dagger. For the majority of my life, I have struggled with anxiety and depression, and they have progressively gotten worse since I started high school in 2015. The chorus of this song begs to know what coping mechanisms help and how can I feel like myself again? It is a really powerful song and I don't think it will leave my life any time soon.
This part should be interesting. Music that I don't really connect to. Here's the problem. I listen to almost every kind of music. Country, Rock, Classical, Showtunes. However, I have never really been able to connect with every single song by every artist that I listen to. For instance, Pharrell William's Happy is not one that I particularly like a lot. I can't really explain it. Maybe I've heard it too much. I'm not sure. I just don't feel very happy when I hear it.
Now comes the fun one!
I have been anxiously awaiting the sixth season of Outlander and the second season of The Witcher to be released. Well, one of those has happened. The soundtrack of The Witcher is beautiful. I love the power behind some of the songs that our lovely bard Jaskier sings. my current favorite is Burn, Butcher Burn. This song has had me so giddy since the new season premiered. Written in anger, Jaskier creates his most famous and most heart-tearing song. Have a listen!
That's pretty much it! I'm a little all over the place, I know, but I appreciate all music.
