Have you ever watched the little mermaid? Think of the song “Under the Sea”. Now think about what instruments could create that catchy tune. One unique type of drum is able to construct such a joyful, Caribbean sound that makes people want to get up and dance. When looking at a steel drum you may be surprised by the sound it produces. Who knew something that looks so simple could be so complex. The music of the steel drum can be described by its geography, culture, history, musical analysis, and my personal experience with it. The Geography of an area completely shapes a culture. The landscape, region, and resources determine how people live and thrive in that area. The island of Trinidad and Tobago are located in the Caribbean, just off …show more content…
The drum can be played in many different settings, so in those different settings it is able to have different textures. The drummer playing on the side of a rode would have a monophonic texture, but in large bands, the music could have a polyphonic texture. Because so many different notes can be made to play on these drums, they can play on many different scales. The music these drums play tends to be metric and give off a sound unique to the Caribbean. After watching the YouTube video “Under the Sea (Little Mermaid)” posted by Steel Drum Music, I can see how the drum can play the tune perfectly by itself. Just because of that I can really see how many different sounds this drum can make. By watching this video and others like it, I have started to notice that when the drum is being played by itself or there is only one steel drummer in a band, they tend to have two drums set up next to each other and play one drum with each hand. The next YouTube video I watched called, London National Panorama Steel Band Competition 2014 – Metronomes Steel Orchestra posted by Steel Pan Trust, shows a very large band of almost only steel drummers. This is what I imagine the streel drum bands at Carnival to be like in Trinidad and Tobago. All of the performers are dancing and really having fun while playing. Some students are playing two drums at once, but most are just playing one. They most likely have this whole performance planned out rather than playing by improvisation, or call and response. My favorite example of the steel drum comes from a very modern song, that I happened to be listening to one day and noticed that it featured a steel drum. It is called “Pick Up the Phone” by Travis Scott. They most likely used a steel drum synthesizer, but I still found it really cool that the steel drum sounds are played in modern day rap songs. This is a lot different than the steel drum music that
Black Fish is a documentary film about a famous and well known corporation called SeaWorld, corporations like SeaWorld have impacts towards culture, people and business. There are few corporations like SeaWorld in the entertainment/amusement park industry that are profitable, such as Disney and Six Flags, who make millions to billions of dollars every year. People love entertainment and are willing to spend lots of money to acquire it; this is why entrepreneurs who developed these different forms of entertainment are successful. Black Fish is an evidence revealing documentary that breaks down the flaws and issues associated with SeaWorld. The work and success of the filmmakers are well acknowledged, impressive and can relate to a cultural theory stand point.
Each one of these instruments complements Merengue Tipico in a way that no other instrument would. The tambora is a two-headed drum that is more used as a background instrument in Merengue Tipico. It originated in Africa and was brought to the Caribbean by the West African slaves that came to work plantation (Larson, 2017). Moreover, the guira is a percussion instrument that is played by rasping a metal stick against the rough surface of the instrument (Solano, 2017). Also, there is the saxophone, which is one of the last instruments that was added to the Merengue Tipico, and contributes to give a better rhythm to it. The other instrument that is essential in Merengue Tipico is the accordion. This is a musical instrument that has form of a box. It is held and played by pulling the sides apart and then pushing them together while pressing buttons and keys. However, the instruments in Bachata are completely different, except that the guira is also played in Bachata. The instruments used to play bachata are the lead guitar, the segunda guitar, the bass guitar, the bongos, and the güira (Marracco, 2014). The lead guitar, the segunda guitar and the bass guitar are essential to play Bachata. These instruments are the ones that make the most improvisation. Followed by the bongos, which are a pair of single-headed drums that are played with hands and fingers (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2017). Overall, Merengue Tipico and
Latin Dance has evolved into a vivid kaleidoscope of many different cultures dancing to the beat of a single drum. These types of music which find their origin in African influence have developed into a meshwork of individual sounds and have grown to be identified with a particular culture. An example of such can be seen in the evolution and history of one of these, Merengue. This type of dance is native to the Carribean, however, it has developed and taken its precedence in the Dominican Republic. This Carribean nation has been crucial to the spread of this music on an international level.
“Fifty years of connecting and caring;” this is one of SeaWorld 's many advertisements to entice people to come to their parks. This park, along with others like it, is a large tourist attraction for people of all ages. Who doesn’t love observing sea creatures, especially killer whales, perform tricks like a circus in the water? In the documentary, Blackfish, released in 2013, Gabriela Cowperthwaite tells the story of Tilikum, a killer Orca whale held in captivity by Seaworld. This is a story of how the sea park industry hides the risks and reality of working with these intelligent and emotional mammals. This film is written to educate the general public about how little is known about these animals, and point out that the sea park industry is a multi million dollar business exploiting these sea creatures. At the beginning of the documentary, the tone is set. The beginning introduces SeaWorld and the beautiful whales in all its glory. The trainers are shown interacting with the whales. After watching the beginning clips, the audience wants to find out more. Throughout this documentary, Cowperthwaite exposes the conditions of Orca’s “behind bars” with the use of irony along with using logical and emotional appeals.
Sea World rebuttal was not considered in the documentary of “Blackfish” which clearly defines the bias views of the creator. So without choice, viewers are marked to take the side of the creator or leave the documentary feeling like a kid in a fine china shop, unable to touch or lose your balance for fear of shattering the look of the shop. Unfortunately, the problem with animal activist groups is that they force their religious views of animals on others with no other biases to consider. Hence, their real arguments are skewed and we are unable to clearly see the real poignant side without the opinions.
Author’s Primary Claim and Summary of Main Points: The documentary “Blackfish,” delivers the story of a killer whale that, at a young age, was stripped from his mother, and was then taken to perform shows and live in captivity at the highly popular SeaWorld resort. Seeing this killer whale take several lives at SeaWorld, the producers of this documentary hope to reveal the mistreatment of these animals in captivity, exploit the problems that lie within sea-park industries, and show that man has still not learned from the past problematic occurrences with killer whales.
While in Barbados, Ligon writes about cultural adaptations which are evident between the European and African inhabitants. Ligon knew a slave named “Macow”, he entered Ligon’s house only to find Ligon playing a musical instrument (called the “Theorbo”) and singing a song to it. Macow waited, watched, and listened attentively to these noises the Theorbo created. What caught Macow’s interest was the fact that the Theorbo made different pitches in sounds. All Macow knew was the drum, and how it was only capable of making a single tone. Ligon stumbled across Macow a couple days after this had happened. He noticed that Macow had a large piece of timber in which he was trying to duplicate the sound of the Theorbo. What Ligon points out in this story is the fact that some of the African slaves (or servants) actually have the potential to learn the Arts. Macow adapted to Ligon’s cultural practices and tried to duplicate them with this act.
Tragedy is defined as an event that causes suffering, destruction and death. When one is not fully aware of their knowledge, terrible events will correspond to what one has done. In the short story Mermaids by Richard Van Camp, the human suffering of Torchy resembles an Aristotle tragedy. Firstly, Torchy demonstrates hamartia when he is gambling. Additionally, the outcome of Torchy’s hamartia leads him to peripeteia which Torchy runs out of medicine. Lastly, Torchy wonders if he is a villain and this shows anagnorisis. Torchy’s actions ultimately lead his life to a downfall that is caused through accidental events, and this overall demonstrates the concept of an Aristotle tragedy.
Sea world is one of the top zoological organizations in North America, and it cares for one of the largest animal collections in North America. Their commitment to animals broadens around the world through the contribution of compelling financials and resource support for wild life conservation, wildlife rescue and education programs worldwide. Sea World also creates a unique entertainment experience that connects imagination with a passion for nature. Their theme parks and products have influenced many in celebrating, connecting with and caring for the natural world. And these we see being shared through the power of entertainment. The company owns and operates 11 U.S(Sea World, 2014). theme parks, which include the popular Sea World, Busch Gardens, and Sesame Place brands that hosted more than 23 million guests in 2013. Although Sea World has all these good motives in mind for the society; however, the whole idea of bringing the wild closer to the public has led to various casualties.
The Ottoman Empire continued its impact on civilization making strides in art and in music. Because of the Ottoman empire, the percussion instruments were added to further shape the orchestral sound. Cymbals, kettle drum, bells and the side drum were all copied from their use in Ottoman music. Even today, the baton used by drum majors in parades can
Slaveholders actually outlawed these drums at one point because they were a way of communication for the slaves. These "talking-drums" could be heard from miles around, so the slaves were forced to hide these instruments or to develop new ones.
The fifth song was hand drummer used sand rattler instead of hand drum. The drum solo in this song was very powerful and brought the exhilaration of this concert to the climax. The change of unpredictable rhythm and tempo made audience excited. Many audiences were clapping with rhythm.
In the film 'Whale Rider', by Niki Caro which follows the journey of a young girl named Paikea Apirana and her struggle for acceptance as a leader of her Māori iwi, and especially her grandfather. An important character in this film is Pai herself. This character has significant importance as she is used to portray numerous important ideas and themes throughout the film. Pai helps me to understand and appreciate that women can also be leaders that are equal to men if they have the right attributes. The director Niki Caro uses numerous different film techniques to convey this idea, such as; the camera shots and camera angles when Pai is giving her speech to Koro, the use of camera angles and props in relation to the dialogue when Pai if fixing the motorboat engine, and the use of props when Pai is teaching herself to use the Taiaha.
Senegal rappers adopted the United States method of hip hop and recreated it in order to fit their culture. Using our first samples and making it suitable to be mixed in utilizing their “local musical elements” (Appert 4) is what separates them from us. Descendants of previous griot’s Senegal rappers are the current “historians” and “social commentators” of the country (Appert 10) that use their music to tell their stories to the people of Senegal just as their predecessors did years ago except without our modern-day rap music and beats. Senegal rappers decided to hold on to their more traditional style of instruments. The kora which when played the sound resembles the harp, and the balafon is used in place of the piano allowing them to
This song is an example of Afro-Cuban that has a clave rhythmic pattern. This performance started off with the bass and drum creating the beat for the entire song, followed by the piano and then the brass instruments. Drummer Clyde Conner performed a solo showing his ability to play a soulful piece but having the Latin twist to it, which was very impressive. Ben Grier also had a solo where the sounds of Afro-Cuban jazz seemed so fluid though his performance. He also immensely impressed the crowd when he played a high note and held, which caused for a round of