Native American Music

Finally, the principal Native American belief, harmony with nature, appears in most works of their culture. Harmony with nature appear in the song, “Hunting Song” on line 23 to line 24: “...Quarry mine, blessed am i in the luck of the chase” (Lines 23-24). This quote shows that the Navajo hunter is blessed that nature is giving him permission to capture and eat one of it’s creature and being part of nature. Also, it made him feel as one with nature once eats the deer. Another example of harmony with nature would be in the song, “Song of the Sky Looms” on the opening lines of the Tewa song. An example of harmony with nature would be, “ O mother the earth, O father the sky, your children we are…” (line 1-2). This song is more like a

This is clearly a large part of Native American history so some people might find it really odd that there was nothing specific to this tribe about their music and how they performed it. According to the Power Point that my group made on tribes from the Southeast, music was used in this area for ceremonies and Powwows (see group presentation). Our Power Point says that instruments used in the music are mainly water drums, striking sticks, rattles, and cylinder drums (see group presentation). According to the Southeast Native Americans website it says that people in this region generally have the same religious beliefs and that religion is “animism”. Along with the basket making that the Chitimacha tribe takes part in, the people in the Southeast region also enjoyed pottery (Southeast Native Americans).

Native American art is a profoundly expressive culture that has been a way of life for so many Native Americans. Native American art history has advanced over thousands of years and is composed of several idiosyncratic styles from the differentiating cultures of diverse Indian tribes. From Navajo to Hopi, each tribe has a particular history, which consists of many types of Native American arts including beadwork, jewelry, weaving, pottery, carvings, kachinas, masks, totem poles, and more. To truly understand Native American art, we will explore Native American art history, its subjects, and if Native American art has a spiritual connection to it.

For as long as mankind has walked on this earth, music has been an important part of our culture and lifestyles. Each walk of life beats to a different drum. Different cultures use music for many aspects of their lives; for religious purposes, for celebrations, for comfort, for sorrow, for relaxation, for sports, for dances, for energy, for learning, for sleeping, and for sexual experiences. Everyone uses music for something. Music connects with people and reaches them in ways that words simply cannot. Music is a representation of what feelings sound like. It expresses emotion and brings that characteristic out from within us; it tells us a story. Every generation has its’ own sound and different music styles have emerged and become

The roots of modern american rock and roll music, are firmly planted in Africa. As the native Africans were torn apart from their family’s and brought to the new world their lives were immediately and drastically changed forever. Finding themselves immersed in a completely new environment with a foreign culture, they thankfully persevered and carried on with their own traditions and most importantly to this paper, musical ones. Most American slaves originated from Western and Central Africa. The West Africans carried a musical tradition rich with long melody lines, complicated rhythms (poly rhythmics) and stringed instruments CITATION. The West Africans music was also strongly integrated into their everyday lives. Songs were preformed for religious ceremonies and dances and music was often a

Native American culture is probably best known for its agricultural ideas. The indigenous people of North America have a deep respect and knowledge for the land. They care for every living thing, and believe that everything has a purpose. Not only do they

While researching for Native American music and dance, I initially approached this essay with the idea that native americans used music and dance like we have done today. When researching I have discovered that dance is used as a form of entertainment and storytelling. But after reading multiple authors and sources on Native tribes music and dance, they are multiple tribes that not only use music and dance as a form of entertainment, but use it as mean to tell the history of their tribe and to pass on their teachings to others.

American Indian life in the present time can be characterized as one big melting pot. Some societies try to preserve their own identity, while other groups came together in some way and brought their cultures together. A lot of what is known about their music has come from the past century when technological advancements were just beginning to take place. It was also during this period of time that there was a lot of turmoil between the whites. It was obvious that each tribe had its own musical identity, whether it dealt with style, uses of, or ideas of what music was. At that time there were thousands of groups, all speaking their own language, and each had several songs to accompany ceremonies, dances, and to divide society. Anthropologists have put them into categories according to their ways of life.

The Eagle Dance is a traditional Native American dance that is widely found on the current powwow circuit. The overall rhythm is both repetitive and one with a changing pattern. The rhythm of the drum is also mostly repetitive, but at the points when the action of dance increases so too does the rhythm. The text of the Eagle Dance is a traditional chant of the Native American culture. In the beginning of this chant the voices are following a free rhythm, the voices are moving with the pulsation of the drum beating. As the chanting continues the voices move to a more bold tone with the drums at the same beat. In most traditional Native American music the texture

Having the Merasi, master musicians of Rajasthan, perform live at Colby College provided students and faculty with a cultural experience unlike any that I have attended. The Merasi, from the Thar Desert in Pakistan, have found great success through their music despite their status in the caste system. As a family group, they have been able to gain the international attention that they needed to establish both music and literacy education for their people back home. Although very few people in our audience could understand their lyrics, the emotion and physical movements of the musicians were effective in conveying the overall themes of their songs. From watching this live performance of Rajasthani music, I was able to observe how the music itself, the behaviour of the musicians and audience, and the function of the music interacted to transport a small part of Rajasthan to the Pugh Center giving the audience a glimpse into its culture.

The musical style of the Native American

Native American lives were much different before the arrival of Europeans. Due to the fact that there was a multitude of tribes, cultures differ greatly amongst different groups. Native Americans hiked over the land bridge, the Bering Strait, more than 12.000 years ago. Among this group of people, scientist divided them into 10 different culture areas: the Arctic, California, the Great Basin, the Northeast, the Northeast Coast, the Southeast, the Southwest, the Subarctic, the Plains and the Plateau.

Music has been very popular among large groups of music fans, Native American CDs sell fairly well music because it is a large part in the Native American culture. From the lyrics, dancing plus the use of instruments, and it’s also apart of many almost every culture. People all around the world listen to music everyday,but the native americans use it for specific reasons such as; ceremonies, expression and healing.They like to use their voices a lot and they don't really care about the harmony, they also incorporated dance moves, the men in the middle of the circle and the ladies usually stand in place. Most of the music is very complicated, but Eskimo style of music is the most simple type of music in the Native American culture. Most importantly the vocals are a very important

Although Native Americans are known for their voice being a vital instrument, most rituals, songs, and dances are accompanied by an assortment of instruments such as, drums, rattles, flutes. Every instrument has it is own meaning and a purpose. In this section, the significance of these instruments as well as their structure and functionality is explored.

As early emigrants headed west, they took their entertainment traditions with them mainly in the form of literature and oral stories, and as they formed homesteads and small towns into the earliest part of the 19th century, interest in the exploits of western heroes grew (Green, 1). Modern western music formed in part due to the popularity of western heros and the creation of a mythologized “west” in the minds of easterners in addition to the tunes created by travelers, miners, cowboys, and the like took old melodies and added new lyrics about their experiences in order to cope with the dangerous, and often lonely way of life in the settlement of the American west.