Native American Music

Have you ever wonder how the world was created from another culture’s perspective? Native Americans used creation myths to explained to their people how the world was developed overtime. Creation myths are a big part of the Native American culture. they have been passed down from generation to generation. In the creation myths, harmony with nature, rituals, and strong social values are shown in each myths. The purpose of having strong social value in these myths is to teach younger Native Americans valuable lesson if they ever do something bad. These myths reveals how the rituals were created and their intentions for doing it. Creation myths has harmony with nature in it to show a very close kinship between them

“An introduction to Samoan music is an introduction to the Samoan people as a whole (Moyle, p1).” Music had a strong, complimentary presence in traditional Samoan life, and is still a powerful presence today. Although, now, the traditional means for Samoan music has evolved along with it. Traditionally, music was the medium used to tell stories, depict lifestyles, emit warning signals, and to transmit many other things for tribes inhabiting the island. Without the need for a powerful method to transfer signals with the aid of technology; modern day Samoan music has modernized and changed to focus more on the storytelling during a performance. Traditional music in Samoa was a product derived from how they lived their everyday life while blending their voices into song,

In the Iroquois Quiver Dance the first thing to strike the ear is what is often known as a “call and response” form. One singer announces a phrase of “lexical text,” known as the call, the other singer answers him in a vocal pattern. This continues throughout the song. In illustrating many of the musical styles among Native American music, this has another name known as the “Warrior’s Stomp Dance.” The voices in the Iroquois Quiver Dance are relatively relaxed compared with that of the Plains singing.

The most interesting part that I found was the dancing part. The Native Indian are always good at express their emotion through the dancing. Every tribe has they own way to express the reverence for natural, the delight of hunting and the desire of victory. These wonderful conversations between the Manitou and people, has formed the special art in the Native American. Certainly, there are music accompany with dances, and the instrument are contain spiritual symbol as well. For instance, drum plays an important role in the Powwow. The article “Without the drum, there would be no Powwow” mention that “ Our drum has character, we have that powwow spirit, and people dance.” Drum is not only represent the core of Native people faith, but also is the heartbeat of the creator. Powwow drum are often make by circle, because circle stands for lifecycle. People surrounding and beat the drum, like the life turning and returning.

Around the world, there are many Indigenous groups having practiced their own traditional cultures. Through the history and following globalisation, traditional cultures have gradually disappeared. For example, in Japan, there are Ainu people had established their own culture, but they were assimilated to Japanese culture because of the annexation to Japan in the mid-1800s. Therefore, until recently, they have used the Japanese language and been educated and lived as Japanese. However, there are many traditional cultures which have still practiced over the time. Those existing cultures may be more significant than those cultures that have disappeared. Particularly, Indigenous performing arts tend to be survived over the time and actively protected to preserve. This essay will argue that Indigenous dance and chant have had significant roles to Indigenous people in many aspects. Firstly, this essay will examine hula’s several roles among the Hawaiian culture and society in the past and current. Secondly, it will focus on the relationship between haka and the Maori’s mentality and spirituality over the time. Finally, it will investigate Ainu chant, yukar, and its particular changes of importance to the Ainu.

How does the history of the Native American in the U.S. compare with the values that stand at the foundation of the U.S. (freedom, liberty, equality)?

Throughout the many years of time, music has been associated with the lives of humans. Ranging from the oldest recorded music in 1888, The Lost Chord, to Motherese, or the way that mothers “sing” to their babies to communicate to them, to our modern music of radio stations blaring our favourite song while we drive from place to place. Music has found its place within human lives, intertwining its existence with ours. Incredibly enough, humans have found a way to harness music with our very hands and create elegant melodies from tools. Beginning with instruments that look like a guitar, instruments that look like a flute and instruments that look like a drum, we began making controlled music with rhythms and harmonies. As years passed and civilization began to grow, musicians came to be. These ancient musicians played music for others on the instruments that they would make and performed for many.

In Africa, music isn’t just something they see as having fun, it has become something greater. Africans use music in their everyday lives. It has become a social event, where African community’s come together and accompany songs with cultural beliefs, traditions, rituals, festivals and “recreation after a day’s hard work”(Bame, 7). For instance, in some communities it is believed farmers are able to heal people while dancing. Other’s dance to honor the death of a person, and find their soulmates.

In chapter ten, author Bruno Nettle takes the reader to the town of Browning, Montana, where he is about to witness a modern Native American ceremony. As he observes, he notices that only one-half of the people there are actual Native Americans. The rest are are white tourists and innocent observers just like himself. Eventually, somewhere around eighteen singing groups appear from different tribes and reservations. They will be summoning the dancers into what is known as the grand entry. Nettle notices that the overall style of the music remains the same among all of the different groups, or `drums.' People are able to interact by taking pictures, video and tape recording what goes on. In that

(Native American Music). The big part of the Music comprises of “life of Native American” as it’s played with most of their experiences.

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

The musical style of the Native American

Native American Culture needs to be portrayed authentically. In order to respect Native American traditions and practices the media needs to provide a sense of teaching through humor and a circular perception of time. In order to do so instead of the classic scene of a Native American dancing around a fire speaking “tanto”, allow for the mocking by an elder of a child who was misbehaving around the fire instead. In many tribes this is how the children are taught what behaviors are acceptable. The problem is as a viewer that kind of reinforcement has never been represented on screen. As Rod Rondeaux said from Reel Injun “we are starting to not recognize ourselves.” The protection of authentic native american traditions through film is not only

At the beginning of the Sioux Grass Dance you can here the drums being played and keeping a strong pulse and what I believe is a duple meter. I can hear suspension rattles, container rattles and drums. The male and female voices are in unison with some call and response. The use of vocables is very present, their voice are high and falsetto is defenitily used. Almost each phase of their chant is in high pitch when they begin and it starts descending by small intervals, and then jumps to the next "phrase" loud again.

It can be observed that dance is an expressive language itself, that often goes beyond most expectations of a non-verbal language. No less can be said of the Prairie Band Potawatomie 2017 Pow Wow. It was a beautiful, sunny day and I was lucky enough to be accompanied by my husband, our son and his girlfriend, and my baby brother. As we arrived and exited our car we could already hear the sounds of Native American drums filtering through the air from the campgrounds. Even the entrance is a sight to see with its four-pillar metal arch that is decorated with a carved out rendering of the Prairie Band Potawatomie Nation Flag, complete with the four hanging feathers. After entering the camp grounds, one can see an array of