MUH 6515: Creating Music Strategies

This week I wanted to find a video that I thought would encourage my students to reach beyond their comfort zones. As I've mentioned in previous posts, the members of our newly formed jazz band are working on improvisation, but are doing so very timidly. The video I choose is of Bonnie J. Jenson on piano and Graham Jesse on tenor saxophone. They are at the Mongolia State University of Arts and Culture in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia for an international jazz festival. During one of the sessions they met a Mongolian vocalist and created an impromptu workshop of their own. The Mongolian singer performed a traditional song while Bonnie and Graham improvised behind her.

The performance starts at :40 and ends at 1:50. 

I can appreciate the way Campbell reassures us in chapter 6 that culture bearers feel it’s okay for us (and our students) to create and recreate world music for educational purposes. I think it is tough to appropriately integrate world music in the classroom, partly because of the fear of doing it wrong and accidentally producing something offensive. I also like that Campbell broke down the various levels of creating world music and included “extending what is already there.” Jenson and Graham did a great job finding a way to extend what was already there in the video with the Mongolian singer. 

MUH 6515: Koop's Models of Authenticity

For this week I choose a song that might be considered too conservative for the definition of world musics, however it is currently relevant to my students and also applies to the readings for this week. Chick Corea's Spain was recorded on his 1989 album Akoustic Band and is classified as fusion Jazz. This particular performance of the piece was taped in Barcelona and features Jorge Pardo (flute, soprano and alto sax), Carles Benavent (bass), Rubem Dantas (percussion), Hossam Ramzy (Egyptian percussion), Tom Brechtlein (drums), Auxi Fernandez (Flamenco dancer), Tomasito Moreno (Flamenco dancer), and of course Chick Corea on piano. Although our newly formed after school jazz band (grades 6th through 12th) is not performing Spain, we are currently working on broadening our repertoire beyond strictly swing (with a Latin piece) and also improvising.

Koops made several interesting points in her article about the intentions behind being “authentic.” I identify with the authenticity as continuum model the most because I can often relate to the thought of “how far on the continuum a musician can go without negating potential educational benefits of teaching music in the classroom or distorting the music in a disrespectful way.” Many of my students rarely travel beyond the school’s zip code. I think I use that, along with a lack of budget, as an excuse to justify the idea that giving them any level of culture diversity is better than nothing. While that might be true, as Koops states, teachers need to teach from the authentic end of the continuum and the extra time and effort to do so results in an improved musical experience.

The entire performance is 18:35. If you want to hear the melody most commonly identified with the song, jump to 6:34. 

MUH 6515: The Role of Context in Musical Structure

Context is extremely important to understanding and appreciating all music, but especially music that is not familiar. We know that learners are able to grasp an new concept more easily if they can relate it to something they already know and so it is safe to assume the same would be true when learning about new music. If teachers can provide context, like the examples given in Teaching Music Globally in chapters 3 and 4, students will have a much higher chance of retaining information about the song.

My choice for this week comes from Mohamed Mounir, who was known as "the voice of Egypt" during the revolution in 2011. The song is called "Ezzay", which translates to "How Come?" It was adopted by Egyptians sort of as their anthem during the tough time. Here is link to a segment from NPR's "All Things Considered" with more context about the song and the conflict.

If I had not know the context about the song prior to listening to it, I would have likely confused it for simply a pop song with little culture significance. The song uses electronic sounds including an electric guitar, keyboard, and drums. The lyrics compare the country of Egypt to a lover. You can select the CC (closed caption) icon on the video below to get the English translation.


 

MUH 6515 - In What Ways Are Classification Systems Useful?

       


To be topical with the upcoming holiday this week I selected a piece containing an Irish (or Scottish) flute. This traditional piece originates from Ireland and contains the flute as well as a fiddle. The two performers appear to be promoting their album which contains several other Irish songs with the same instrumentation.

The use of instrument classification systems are important to the creation of new instruments as well as the development of already existing instruments. For example, the Irish flute used in the above video is simple system flute that was later replaced by the Theobald Boehm modal in the mid-nineteenth century. At that time the Irish flute became primarily used in Irish, Scottish and Cuban traditional folk music. I feel that viewing the instruments as categories increases the likelihood for expansion in the form or new and redesigned instruments. 

MUH 6515 - How Enthomusicology Informs World Music Pedegogy

This video is of a community steel pan band in Trinidad performing in at a carnival. Trinidad is located on the island of Trinidad and Tobago, which is just off the coast of Venezuela. The ensemble includes many steel pans, varying in ranges, as well as some other percussion like tom toms. 

Ethnomusicologists, that is those who are interested in the way in which a society musically defines itself, play a huge role in world music pedagogy. The early ethnomusicologists can be credited with bringing an interest of world musics to the United States. The desire to learn about other cultural musical identities has brought a variety of musical interests into music education. For example, I would love to start an after school steel pan ensemble for students in my school, with no music reading prerequisites. Videos, such as this group from Trinidad, would become quite useful in introducing the music to my students. 

Sources:

Nettl, B. (2005). The study of ethnomusicology: Thirty-one issues and concepts. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. 

 

MUH 6515 - Week 1 Musical Entry