Chapter 2 Music as Culture

1. Chapter 2 Music as Culture “The function of music is to enhance in some way the quality of individual experience and human relationships.” John Blacking ethnomusicologist (1928-1990)

2. In Mesopotamia, archaeologists have uncovered rattles, flutes, and harp-like instruments dating back to almost 2000 B.C. • People from ancient time periods used music in all aspects of life: preparing for or celebrating victory in battle, expressing love for another person, ceremonies for milestones of life (birth, adulthood, marriage, death), etc. • Music from early periods was NOT written down. It was passed down orally/aurally from generation to generation.

3. There are many cultures throughout the world with unwritten musical traditions. • We know what their music sounds like through the research of ANTHROPOLOGISTS and ETHNOMUSICOLOGISTS. • Anthropologists are scholars who study the physical and cultural characteristics and social customs of a group of people. • Ethnomusicologists are scholars who study the music of different cultural groups.

4. Culture is the customs, beliefs, language, arts and institutions of a group of people that are learned and transmitted within the group. • Culture can also apply to a specific group within a society • Music culture is the performance practices, means, traditions, uses, and beliefs about music of a group of people, either from a specific time or place.

5. Regardless of cultural origin, almost all music shares several common elements: melody, rhythm, timbre, and pitch. • Rhythm is the way the beats or pulses are organized and subdivided • Timbre (sounds “TAM-bur”) is the distinct tonal quality of an instrument or voice which is clearly identifiable by the ear. • Words like: bright, dark, harsh, heavy, hoarse, husky, light, mellow, melodious, nasal, rich, rough, shrill, smooth, strained, sweet, tense, and warm.

6. Classifying Instrumental Timbres • Aerophones – instruments that produce sound by a vibrating column of air • Idiophones – simple, solid instruments that produce sound by being struck, scraped, or shaken • Membranophones – instruments that produce sound by striking or rubbing a skin or membrane stretched across a resonating air chamber • Chordophones – instruments that create sound by striking, rubbing, or plucking a taut string or chord • Electrophones – instruments that generate sound from electricity

7. Generally speaking, the larger the instrument, the lower the pitch and visa versa. Similarly, the longer the string or pipe, the lower the pitch. Stretching a membrane raises the pitch, while loosening the membrane lowers it.

8. Like the instruments used to make music, music itself can be classified by genre. • Genre is a particular type of music with a distinctive form or sound. Ex: jazz, rock, hip-hop • Musical style is a form of expression within a musical genre. Ex: smooth jazz is a style of jazz, grunge rock is a style of rock

9. When you listen to music, how do you identify if it is traditional, classical, or popular music? (performance clues) • Who uses the music? What is it used for? How and why is it created?

10. Traditional Music • Traditional music is sometimes referred to as “folk music.” It is informal music that develops within and is strongly associated with a cultural group or region. It is the oldest and most prevalent category of music. Traditional music is usually participatory and is closely tied to the customs, language, and environment of the people associated with it.

11. Popular Music • Popular music is music intended for a wide audience, often featuring prominent melodies. Audiences may be asked to sing or clap along. Popular music isn’t usually restricted to a particular performance situation. Society often identifies popular music with the commercial aspects of music.

12. Classical Music • Classical music is a style of “art” music that stands apart from traditional or popular music. These musicians usually have formal training and performances tend to be more refined and less spontaneous. At one time, only wealthy citizens and leaders were allowed access to this category of music.

13. Classical and popular music tends to be heavily influenced by traditional pieces. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zRIHqlycss • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSKJQ18ZoIA • Think about their social function. Where would you hear this music?

14. Traditional Music Cultures - Mexico • For many centuries, music has played a central part in the lives of the Mexican people. The Spaniards introduced a rich musical heritage, including a variety of music and instruments. Enslaved Africans and Caribbean immigrants also influenced Mexican music. The blending of native cultures in Mexico produces a rich MESTIZO, or mixed, culture.

15. Traditional Music Cultures - Mexico • Typically, music from the state of Veracruz is performed on 4 instruments: • 36 string arpa • 4 string guitar – requinto jarocho • Thin guitar – jarana • 6 string guitar • Traditional songs are called sones jarochos.

16. Traditional Music Culture - Bali • Bali is located in Indonesia. Indonesia stretches more than 3000 miles. 1000 of Indonesia’s 13,000 islands are home to 180 million people. Bali is 90 miles long and 60 miles wide and has a population of 3 million people.

17. Traditional Music Culture - Bali

18. Traditional Music Culture - Bali • Nearly everyone in Balinese culture is an artist – a sculptor, painter, musician, dancer. • After working the day in the rice field, men gather to practice gamelan music. Gamelan is a Balinese music ensemble or performing group. The term is generally applied to gong-chime orchestras throughout the island. • The dances and music often relate stories from religion • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11wYyDfqURY

19. Popular Music Culture - Motown • Nickname for Detroit, Michigan • Started by Barry Gordy, Jr for $800 • Signed artists like The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, The Temptations, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and the Jackson 5 • Made music by black artists popular throughout the country during the Civil Rights Movement

20. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPBkiBbO4_4 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlzY6cWpoMQ • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7eTOnNBwYU&list=TLVg3EDZ15fKs • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v78-ftcqpNw • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-aSjHnbw18

21. Hitsville, USA • Quality control meetings with producers and writers at Motown helped make decisions about which songs should be marketed. • “Let’s say you’ve got a dollar and you’re hungry. Would you buy a sandwich or would you buy this record?” • If people in the meeting said they would buy the sandwich, the song was put on the shelf and not released. 3 out of 4 songs released were hits.

22. Why was this song a hit? • “Dancing in the Street” by Martha and the Vandellas from 1965 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGpgkCE41x8 • Why would this song have been preferred over the sandwich? • What message could be read into the lyrics of the song?

23. Covers • Covers refer to one musician’s playing or recording of a song made famous by another artist. For some people this has negative connotations, but for others “imitation is the greatest form of flattery.” • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWvwP72FuVg • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7dGdrP3pms • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93S_l0qZrXA

24. Do You Love Me? • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vTEstU1MRk – written by Barry Gordy himself, first released by The Contours in 1962 (rose to #2), released in 1964 by the Dave Clark Five (#11), The Contours’ version was re-released in 1988 (#11)

25. Classical Music Culture • Many cultures have their own “classical” period in music, but the most common time and place associated with “classical music” is Europe between 1750 and 1830. This produced such composers as Franz Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

26. Classical Music Culture • Composers of the classical period depended upon patronage from kings, members of nobility, and sometimes wealthy church students. The typical dress of audiences from this time were waistcoats and powdered wigs.

27. Classical Music Culture • As the classical period advanced, more people made more money. They wanted to partake in some of the cultural entertainments of the elite class including music, theater, and literature. Composers wrote music specifically for amateur musicians. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mVW8tgGY_w • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIKKDXCP2_M

28. Chamber music is music written during the classical period for small ensembles. Many of these concerts took place in private homes for social gatherings and at parties. The music provided entertainment for nobility, clergy, and the emerging middle class. • A popular form from the classical music period was theme and variation.

29. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart • His name given at baptism was Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart • He is considered a child prodigy – composing his first symphony at 8, first opera at 11, but performing at a much earlier age • He lived in poverty and died at the age of 35 from a sudden mysterious illness. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIzhAKtEzY0