Blog Post #4: Dingildai

In this piece of music I feel the beginning of the structure is signified when the aerophones sound. It gains this fast pace that sets a tone of excitement throughout the piece. Mongolian throat singing has been a pretty big interest of mine ever since our Music Cultures class took a field trip to see the Mongolian throat singing group Alash in Asheville one fine evening. This music definitely is different from what we often here in our Westernized society. But the amount of feeling and passion in this music is palpable.
It is funny that although this piece is a bit quick paced it also has a calming effect. Makes me think of the color blue. Feels smooth and velvety almost.
When the second singer comes in it all becomes more easy to fall into. Like the extra voice adds a depth to it that it previously had lacked. And this feels like it was purposeful. Everything about this piece feels very calculated and intentional.
I like how abrupt and sort of stop and go this piece is. Like there is a conductor leading who is stopping them abruptly but on purpose.
Before going to see Alash perform I never really was a big fan of Mongolian throat singing. My suite mate Madi Gilbert has been in love with the genre since I met them. They would show me videos, probably some being Alash without my knowledge, and rave about how amazing it all was. But I never listened close enough. I didn't think about it as much as I should have. So when I finally did for our class I was pleasantly surprised to see Madi was right. It is beautiful, beautiful music that is so different than the regurgitated stuff we hear parading around as "music" in our country and society. On the radio it is always some pop song that is five lines repeated, a couple of chords on a guitar being replayed and a couple of beats on a drum. Mongolian throat singing takes passion and dedication and so much concentration. It is not mindless music. And that is what I love and find so appealing about it.
I do think that for some people like myself it takes awhile to gain full appreciation because we are so accustomed to what is the norm here that we forget that there is music from all over that sounds different and beautiful and deserves to be heard and respected and appreciated.
Seeing Alash play for us was magical. In such a small venue we were graced with their brilliance. It was incredible. I was completely in awe with my mouth hanging open. I could not believe the beauty that I was witnessing. They were playing these beautiful instruments both in timbre and in sheer material gorgeousness. And they were making the most entrancing sounds in a language we didn't need to understand to know how important what we were witnessing was. It made me want to expand my horizons so much more. Become less used to the crap played on radio stations. And start spreading beautiful and dedicated work like theirs.

LEAF Schools and Streets- Casa Samba Experience

Partaking in this project of learning and teaching about Casa Samba has been an incredibly soul enriching experience. When my group and I presented in front of students aged from 9 to around 14 I was pretty nervous. It is sometimes hard to appeal to younger audiences while still maintaining a level of maturity and keeping structure. But these students were engaged and eager to learn about the group Casa Samba. What I was really impressed with and taken aback by was the students intelligent questions as well as their answers to our questions. 

I was really impressed with one of the students who seemed to know a lot about instrumentation and the sounds that certain instruments make. She even was able to pick out an instrument by its sound in one of the videos we showed during out presentation.

More than anything I loved to see Casa Samba working with the kids. There was a beautiful light in these kids eyes when they were either working with instruments or dancing. The music was loud and full and the dance was energetic and entertaining. I loved to see how wonderful this group was with kids. It seemed so effortless the way they got these kids to not only listen to them but to understand what they were explaining. 

There is a beauty in this style of music that is hard to describe. It moves you. Quite literally. You hear the music and your body sways or bops to the beat. It is music that sends chills down your spine and makes your heart pump with excitedness. 

When speaking to one of the children he looked up and me and said "this has been the most fun I've ever had in school." I think that is so important because it shows that when music is involved kids learn a lot and not only that but they enjoy that learning experience. There were students who were nervous about their performance at LEAF and other students who were too excited for nerves. But everyone was happy. Everyone felt included and felt pride in what they were doing. That was evident in the smiles on those kids faces as they played the drums or danced away. 

One thing in particular that I thought was incredible was how happy the instructors were to be doing this. You could see the enjoyment they get out of teaching about something they are extremely passionate about and that in itself is inspiring. Seeing these people so moved by their work that they never think of it as work. They were having as much fun as the kids and us onlookers were. I think that is what all people are looking for in life. A job that isn't just a job but a passion. Something that is giving back to the community and is enriching to be apart of. That is a lesson to those kids as well. That they can acquire jobs that make them happy. They can pursue whatever they want. I am sure this experience made many of those kids hope that one day they will have a job in music and performance.  

Blog Post Five: Fieldwork Proposal

I plan to do my Field work project on something I have a great passion for.

I am going to examine the music community of Music and Memory. My grandmother had Alzheimer's disease which is a form of dementia. They say that the last thing to leave you is music. And in my grandmothers case this was extremely true. Music helped soothe my grandmother in her last days and helped her to remember things because the music was linked to her memories of my Poppy. 

I will need to speak to nurses and social workers from the Black Mountain Neurological Medical Center. I have worked with them in the past and they have extensive knowledge on Music and Memory and are currently working to use music in place of some medications. I will need to ask about personal experiences they have had. I will need to ask what they would like to see in the future of Music and Memory. Ask them how it all really works how the memory of music triggers the memories of people that they have otherwise forgotten. 

I believe I would have to get permission to go to Black Mountain Neurological Medical Center and work with one of the social workers and hands on with patients. I could help develop playlists for patients and play music for them.

I would definitely be writing field notes and I would like to take photos but would need permission to do so. I would take photos of the patients engaging with the music and the playlists made for them. See how it soothes them and maybe remind them of things. My main hope is to get permission to take videos. Videos of group music sessions with the patients. Videos of patients engaging with music on their playlists. Videos of maybe some patients playing music on things like drums or shakers. 

I would love to submit video and photo along with my final report if I am indeed permitted to do so. At the end of my project I would like to come to the conclusion that we can minimize our use of pharmaceuticals for Alzheimer and dementia patients with music. As well as make things more enjoyable and easy for the remainder of their lives.  

Blog Number Three!

I believe I am starting to get a hang of blogging! It's still early on in my class but I am really enjoying it and remembering to blog is sometimes difficult but I'm starting to get it 😊

"Yundum Nko” by Jali Nyama Suso is, to start, absolutely gorgeous. This music is soft and soothing and just the sort I love to listen to. The rythem is organized and the singer is husky as well as measured. When I can't sleep at night and everything around me seems to be keeping me awake I listen to some music on my phone. When music can calm me and help me to sleep it makes me hold that music in high regard because I am a very anxious person. This song is one of the songs I would listen to on a sleepless night. It is not loud and busy and not too quiet like a simple piano piece or acoustic guitar. 

I'll Be Staring at the Moon but I'll Be Seeing You

I am still new to this blogging thing so bear with me, folks!
My music history starts with my absolute love of music from birth. Whenever my mother or grandmother would sing to me there would be a smile on my chubby little face. They would sing I love you a bustle and a peck and a hug around the neck and I will be seeing you in all the old familiar places. As I grew I would beg my big brother to play guitar for me, listen to music on my Walkman far past bedtime. I fell in love with Frank Sinatra and my grandmother was proud. There was no genre that was my favorite because I loved rock and country and rap and punk and jazz. I even dabbled in metal and scream-o.
I always tried to play music myself and it always eluded me. I tried the flute in 4th grade and it only lasted about three weeks before I was told my by teacher that I just wasn't a musical person. I tried guitar and even with my fingers scabbed and bloody after picking for hours in front of a guitar book and a YouTube tutorial I couldn't play a thing. This could have deterred me from loving music but instead this made me appreciate and love it even more. People made magic with their instruments. I could not play instruments myself, and so people who could became like gods to me. I would watch videos of people playing the harmonica, the guitar, the piano, and I would be mesmerized because I couldn't believe the beautiful sounds created by these people.
When my grandmother, the same one that sang to me as a baby, was dying she only wanted to hear I'll Be Seeing You by my friend Frank Sinatra. You see, Grammy was suffering from Alzheimer's and couldn't remember my Poppy unless that song was playing. Music was the last bit of memory she had left. Even when she was laying in bed, her lips dry, her breaths shallow, with Sinatra playing she was okay because Poppy was with her when that song was on.
Seeing my Grammy remember because of music made me fall in love with it in a whole new way. I saw it not only as magic but as a healer. If my Gram, who was dying, could feel peace in her last days, last moments, because of a song, there had to be some healing in that music. After she stopped breathing, we didn't turn that song off for a while. I walked outside to take in what was happening and around the moon was a giant silver ring. It felt like she was telling me that she was okay. It was like she had been playing that song on repeat all week not only to remember Poppy but to remind me once she was gone that I would be okay. I stared at that moon with Frank singing in my head "I'll be looking at the moon, but I'll be seeing you." Now, I can't look at the moon without seeing my Grammy's sweet face, her big puff of white hair and her crystal blue unseeing eyes. I can't look at the moon without hearing music. Without Frank's voice coming to my mind. And I am thankful for that.

Frank Sinatra- I'll Be Seeing You

Test Blog

This is my first blog for my Music Cultures of the World class. I am super psyched to be in this class and to be able to explore the world through music. Music has always been something that gets me through the day. Music soothes me to sleep at night. Calms my nerves. But I have never really gotten to know music on any level other than that, a listener. I never questioned and now not only can I but I have to! I can't wait to get started and see what this semester brings. There is so much I want to learn and so many things I haven't even imagined yet that I know I will learn!
I will see you this Sunday!