Essay On Mbira Music

Until about 20 years ago the Latin genre of music known as bachata was undesirable in its country of origin. Bachata is known as guitar music that originated in the Dominican Republic during the 1920s around the time when dictator, Rafael Trujillo, took over. The Dominican Republic is right next to Haiti and close neighbors with Cuba. The capital is Santo Domingo and also the largest city in the country. Like many other styles of Latin music bachata came from the poorest social class in the country, it was considered too rude, vulgar, and musically rustic, and was not accepted by the wealthy people in the country. It wasn’t 1961 until after Trujillo’s death that the artists were able to go to the capital and record their music because Trujillo’s family had monopolized music in the country when he was still alive.

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

Everyday music engulfs us whether we are watching a show, listening to the radio, or shopping at a grocery store. Music gives humans the ability to express oneself when there is no other way. Music sparks more creativity, emotions and brain function than any other activity.

f. The music in South Africa reflects the country, and the history through the Mbube music. Either male vocalists, and or female vocalists sing such. When the lead singer is singing his or her part, they are said to be telling their stories. Mbube music is said to be traceable to furthest back the 1920’s. It was created in Africa when migrant workers begun holding singing competitions in a form of entertainment after long work days. This carried plenty of history about the country because of how old this form of music was. Dating back to the 1920’s, it was able to help preserve lots of memories, facts, and even stories about what has happened. This was mostly popular in the time that Africa was living in

The lesson is to be carried out over 2 parts. I is an Arts class, Music Year 3 – 4.

study about it's Roots. It was a life changing experience for me to study about the music

Learning the American music usually takes place through education because most of the music is noted. However, the majority of African music is transmitted through an oral transition by the process of enculturation. The African society thinks of music as a fundamental part of their lives. Therefore, a gradual acquisition of the music is popular since a young age. Because of that, raising children through enculturation contributes in knowing how to participate effectively.

Stylistically, the West African dance style is similar but very different to the modern dance style. Comparatively, I have noticed similarities in their emphasis of lines, musicality, and certain dance moves, however, their execution of these movements is very different. One of the first elements I noticed starting from the very first piece was their reliance on the drums for music. There are no soundtracks with a clear-cut start and end, but instead live drummers and musicians that were responsible for setting the pace and tone of the entire performance.

The special thing about these rhythms is that there are many unique ways to approach the dancing and the playing of the rhythm. Professor Parker explained to me that “ You can go so many places to learn these songs, dances, and rhythms and other instructors will teach them different. It’s the people’s movement and that's what so unique about West-African movement it’s interpreted differently. Yes you may see similarities but I guarantee you it won’t be the same Tendu or Plie´that you can identify immediately in other dance genres.” (Parker)

He has traveled around the globe seeking inspiration, knowledge, and the truth behind the linguistic value of African sounds. The fruits of his labor and the progression that he has made as an artist is manifested throughout his work with the M-Base Collective. During the concert, it was amazing how in sync these musicians were with each other. The music was speaking. It had meaning. It was not linguistic sounds, but it carried meaning and emotion. Each of the musicians went back and forth over and over again which is a key element of jazz music. The call and response between instruments is a culturally identifiable characteristic of west African culture. This musical technique was brought to America through the African

It is no doubt that music has played a vital role in our society. Everything from loud, head-banging concerts to religious ceremonies have utilized the medium of music because of its awe-inspiring qualities. Music is basically the control of sound. We can control this sound by varying the pitch, tempo, octaves, dynamics and so on. There are thousands of ways that we can use music and to shape it to how we want to hear it. But how much has music influenced the way we think today? Why is it so popular?

In this course we have learned about all of the different cultures and their musical traditions. My favorite so far has had to be the west African music culture. They have a variety of different music, instruments, and dances to contribute to the reasons I liked this music culture so much. So, I have taken it upon myself to further my research on this particular musical group. I will compare and contrast a variety of different videos from the west African music culture and I will analyze how they connect to this culture.

Scholars have attempted to define music, and to be quite honest, it will be a huge challenge to try to weave a definition around the art that is music, because it is beyond definition. However, for the purposes of this work, we shall adopt the definition by Aluede & Eregare (2009), not because the definition is, in itself, complete, but because it captures the very essence of what we look for in the definition of music. Music, according to Aluede & Aregare (2009), is not only an organization of sound but also a symbolic expression of a social and cultural organization, which reflects the values, past and present ways of life of human beings. Also, Jones (1975), cited in Amana and Onogu (2015), defines music as “a language which encodes emotions, aspirations and people’s goals in autonomous and self-expressive arts forms.” These definitions are important in understanding music, because they highlight the fact that music does not only appeal to the feel-good emotion, it is not only used for entertainment; it is a valid form of social expression and this underscores the centrality of music in African socio-cultural life.

rest of the world are not used to hearing. This is because we are used

The music of India is one of the oldest unspoken musical traditions in the world. The basis of for Indian music is “sangeet.” Sangeet is a combination of three art forms: vocal music, instrumental music (Indian music). Indian music is base upon seven modes (scales). It is probably no coincidence that Greek music is also base upon seven modes. Furthermore, the Indian scales follow the same process of modulation (murchana) that was found in ancient Greek music. Since Greece is also Indo-European, this is another piece of evidence for the Indo-European connection (Dance and music of India).