Music and Us: Our New Playlist

 It's the final blog of the semester! What a fun ride it's been. For our last blog, we're going to look outwards from our own current lives, and consider where we all might go someday. Here, my friends, is a map of the world. 

Take a long look at it--zoom in on it you need. Notice all of the places we've talked about--The US (both Native American culture and The Blues), Ecuador/Peru/Bolivia in South America, Western and Southern Africa, The Middle East (mostly Jordan) , Australia, and, soon, India and Indonesia. Then notice all of the places we haven't talked about--Brazil, Jamaica, Madagascar, Russia, Mongolia, China, Japan, and New Zealand, just to mention a few. What does some of that music sound like? Aren't you curious? For this final blog, we're going to satisfy some of that curiosity.

You're going to share four different videos of music from different cultures with us. Here are the specifics:

• Pick four different cultures. They must include at least two different continents. Indicate which continent each is from.
• At least one of your selections must be traditional music from a culture, and at least one selection must be modern music from that culture. Indicate which selections are traditional and which are modern.
• You may include up to two selections from cultures we've already studied, but they must be different from the ones we've watched in class.
• Each selection must be accompanied by a hefty paragraph (about 100 words per paragraph; more is welcome). Tell us what culture each selection is from, why you chose it, and what you think is interesting about it.
• Two repertoires are specifically off-limits: American Popular Music of all sorts (including pop, rock, country, rap, and most any other thing you might listen to--if you're not sure, it's probably off the list) and European Classical Music.
• Also include an introduction to your playlist and a conclusion--let's make our English teachers proud.
• For the Comments round of this last blog, tell your classmates which of their selections you liked the most and why.

As always, here is a sample of what your blog might look like.

I'm so excited to be able to share some of my favorite music from around the world! One of my favorite things about teaching this class is that my personal "playlist" grows every semester--I never run out of interesting and exciting things to listen to. If we had more time, this is some of the stuff we would learn about.

One of my favorite musicians on the planet is Batzorig Vaanchig. Batzorig is from Mongolia. His music includes a couple of different traditional aspects. First he's a throat singer, meaning he can actually sing two pitches at the same time. It's a tradition that is found in a few different cultures across the globe,  but is especially prevalent in Mongolia. He also plays the morin khuur, a two-stringed chordophone that's considered the national instrument of Mongolia. It usually has a horsehead carved onto the end of the neck. Oh, yes--and almost all traditional Mongolian songs are about strong, fast horses. It's a whole thing. Here he is singing and playing with his adorable daughter. (Traditional, Asia)

Next up, we're going to the other side of the world to listen to some Mariachi music. A type of traditional music from Mexico, Mariachi ensembles usually include trumpets, violins, guitar, vihuela (the immediate predecessor of the guitar), and the guitarrón (a bass member of the extended guitar family). The trumpets, violins, vihuela and guitar were all brought over from Spain; the guitarrón, though, was developed in Mexico. Members also sing. This particular group, Mariachi Flor de Toloache, breaks the mold in that they are an entirely female ensemble. Here, they perform on an NPR Tiny Desk Concert, one of the really varied music series available online. Their first song, "Let Down," is a new composition; the second song, "Dicen," is an older song but presented in a modern adaptation, and "Guadalajara" is one of the most traditional of all Mariachi tunes. (Traditional & Modern, North America)

For our third musical example, we'll travel to Hawaii. The Ukulele is one of the most important instruments in Hawaii. It is an Hawaiian adaptation of a similar instrument that came from Portugal--is was brought by Portuguese immigrants looking for work in the late 1800s. Here, Jake Shimabukuro takes the ukulele into thoroughly modern realms--he's composed a very modern song for the uke and employs a looper (much like Supaman did earlier in the semester). I hope you enjoy "Dragon"! (Modern, North America--sort of)

Finally, we head back Asia--to Siberia! OTYKEN is an indigenous Siberian rock group that combines traditional music and instruments with modern rock sounds. Their music often conveys their joy in their homeland and their struggles to maintain their traditions. They also maintain beehives in the traditional manner and sell the products (honey, beeswax, etc.) online! This song, "Belief" is my favorite of their catalogue--the surprise ending makes it worth watching until the end. Make sure you turn on the CC setting so that you can see the translations. (Modern, Asia)

I hope you've enjoyed my contributions to our playlist! I'm continually amazed at the ways that people make music around the world, and the ways that they use their music to keep their cultures alive, celebrating both their own traditions and creative adaptations that make that music new.