Final Blog

Question 1: What is something you learned about another culture this term that surprised or intrigued you?
Well, many things intrigued me. One particular thing was the fact that some things we would consider music in our culture is not considered music in their culture. I want to learn how many places this is actually true.

Question 2: What is something you realized about your own culture through our discussions?
I really was fascinated by the fact that so much of our music is just borrowed from other cultures. I also plan to look up more on this!

Question 3: What is something this course has inspired you to learn more about?
I really want to look up instruments from other cultures! They were absolutely interesting to learn about!

Cool Stuff #3 (The Middle East and Asia)

I really enjoyed John Cage in class the other day so I decided to find some more of his music! Enjoy!

I also enjoyed the 12 Girls Band and decided to find some more by them! I came across Clocks and absolutely fell in love with song all over again!

The Sheng really intrigued me today! I decided to explore! Here ya go!

For my blog, I decided to interview my grandma, my mom's mom to be exact. I recorded the interview as well as a small conversation in email. The words in italics are mine! Enjoy!

Q: What kind of music did you listen to as a child?

A: Today it would be considered "easy listening". 

Q:  How did you listen to music, i.e. what technology did you use?

A: Radio-the kind that plugged into the wall. On Saturday Mom would watch "American Bandstand" with Dick Clark on TV.  We would watch "The Tom Jones Show"  and Englebert Humperdink.  She really liked them so we got to watch them.  We watched "The Ed Sullivan Show" on Sunday evening.  My parents did not watch it the night the Beatles were on. Mom absolutely loved the Donny and Marie Show and Sonny and Cher. 

Q:  Was there any dancing involved? Why or why not?

A: No dancing.  The only dance I learned was "The Twist" by Chubby Checker.  I was very self conscious.

Q:  What sort of environment did you listen to music in?

A:  Mostly at home with my parents. In high school I was exposed to modern music because of chorus class.  I was a band groupie so I got to hear modern music on the bus trips to and from competitions. I learned about the Beatles in Chorus class.

Q:  How did your parents or teachers feel about your music of choice? 

A: I was only permitted to listen to what they approved of. I know for sure they did not like the Beatles( Wow! Her parents really didn't like The Beatles!). We were only allowed to listen to one radio station-KDKA.  It originated in Pittsbugh, PA.  I guess what ever was on the radio station was okay music.

Q:  What happened once you became the parent or teacher? 

A: I was really strict with my children as to their music choice.  At one point, I discarded all our recordings and only listened to Christian music or classical music. That changed.  The girls Dad listened to artists popular at the time, Billy Joel, Madonna, Bruce Springstein.  The girls had their favorites-Michael Jackson and David Cassidy and Bon Jovi to name a few.  

Q:  Did you play an instrument or sing yourself? How was that for you?

A: I tried the piano for a very short while(I never knew this!).  I enjoyed it.  I was in chorus from 6th grade on.  I remember in sixth grade I was in the running for District Chorus. Only two were picked and I was third. I was really disappointed.  

Q:  What was your musical environment like?

 A: I remember my Mom loved to sing hymms. Her favorite was "In the Garden".   And of course Negro Spiritual.  I got my love of hymns and especially Negro Spiritual from her.  We were so so poor growing up and I often wondered how she could always seem so happy.  As I grew up and would think of her I realized that she not only took delight in the hymns but what they meant.  Because she knew the Lord, she knew the promises in the hymns were real.  She always had a peace about her.

Q:  Why did you listen to music? Were there any situations that caused you to turn to certain kinds of music?

A: In my younger years my exposure was through my parents and church.  After I married and left home, I had a greater exposure to music.  My husband was in the service and music is a very big part of down time. That is when I learned to dance-the bump, the hustle, slow dancing.  Lol!  Grandma had some moves. Also, when we took the girls bowling or anywhere, we were surrounded by music-just as it is now.  Music is everywhere we go and I really enjoy that. 

10. Were you ever exposed to music outside of your own culture? How so, and what was it like?

We spent two years in Sicily(I didn't know this before the interview!).  We were exposed to Sicilian music, but also popular music of the 70's. The Sicilians had their popular artists but also listened to American artists and the classics.  I was surprised to see they liked our music just as we like theirs.  I also took German for 4 years and we learned German songs-ballads, beer hall songs, Christmas carols.  I really liked learning the songs.  Music helps to understand a culture.  Much like the songs that were written during a war portrays the feelings and struggles of a culture during the war.  Tony Orlando wrote "Tie a Yellow Ribbon" during Vietnam War.  Today we see yellow ribbons tied around trees when a loved one has gone to serve his country. Music connects us to the past, present and future.   If you mean music other than popular artists yes-most recently I have been exposed to opera by my most gifted and beautiful granddaughter Rebekah. I relish listening to her sing.  Most of the time I do not know what the words mean, but I can get the feelings portrayed in the piece.  Just knowing how much she loves music gives me incredible joy! (I almost cried when she said this to me. It meant so much.) I am so pleased that my grandchildren have a musical talent whether it be an instrument or singing. I love hymns and Negro Spirituals. I also really really enjoy Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, and Manheim Steamroller. I will tap along with the beat of a tune on the radio and I do embarass myself and sing at home to a song on TV.  I cannot imagine a movie without a musical score or a tv show without the music in the background that gives hints as to what is going to happen. I really enjoy music.

Cool Stuff # 2 (Africa, Latin America, The Blues)

I was really intrigued by the Venezuelan Orchestra you had mentioned in class so I decided to go look them up. And, they are playing Beethoven's 5th! Here's just one video.

When Katie mentioned this in class, it made me smile. I actually haven't listened to the song in a while and listening to the lyrics was interesting for me since I haven't in a while. Enjoy!



I really like panpipes and decided to find more music involving them. Here's one of many I found!

Music and Gender

My whole life I’ve been exposed to music, thus I’ve been exposed to an idea that different instruments and different types of music were based on what gender you were. I always saw that girls typically played lighter instruments, such as the flute or the clarinet, while boys played the louder, more robust instruments, such as the trumpet or drums. I particularly remember being in marching band and there was only one girl in the percussion section. There was also only one girl in the trumpet section. Our woodwind section was made up of mostly girls and our brass section was made up of mostly guys. I never understood why, but it seemed to be the case wherever I went.

I was also in chorus from the time I was in third grade. There were always more girls and I think the biggest factor was that other guys would pick on the boys that were in chorus (mostly during the middle school years). Some of these bullies decided that singing should be left for the girls and anyone that thought differently was thought to be less “masculine” than the ones that weren’t in chorus. I always thought the boys thought the boys that were in chorus were better anyway! I don’t remember what any of the boys listened to, but I do remember that they would never be caught dead talking about the pop princesses that so many of the girls seemed to be obsessed with. It was just “gross” to them!

With my church experience, I have always had a live band playing the music in service. The male more often than not sings the lead vocals accompanied by the acoustic guitar. There are typically two bass guitarists, a keyboardist, a drummer, and some background vocals. Every person, with the exception of the background vocals, is a male. I don’t really know why this is the case either, but I always find it interesting!

Now, on with how I experience music here at Converse! It is completely different than anything I’ve experienced before. I deal with the fact that I am automatically put in a choir that is all women my freshman year and most likely my sophomore year. I have not sung with just women since I was in eighth grade. It’s taking a good bit to get used to. I also love listening to different singers and realizing what I like and what I don’t like. It is great to have so many different voice types and different teaching styles to observe. I really enjoy that aspect. I always wish there were a few more male voices on campus though!

Cool Stuff! (Native America and Africa)

I absolutely loved listening to Toumani Diabaté in class today and I decided to look and find more videos of him as well as others playing the Kora. I really enjoyed the following video. I loved watching the traditional style of playing the Kora, yet they made it into a modern jazz trio. There are several videos of things like this, but I really loved this one.

I also really enjoyed the thumb piano today. It's such a unique instrument. I got on youtube and just tried to find some type of playing. I came across this video of an African harp and thumb piano ensemble. It makes me happy.

I liked the African drumming in class yesterday so I decided to look at the video of the music we attempted as well as find other videos. I came across a lot of the same song as I was looking through different videos. What really surprised me was the number of people playing though. It ranged from 5 or 6 to around 30. This is actually a video of a Ghanian war dance with Agbekor drumming.

Music and Religion

I have been raised in a home that relies strongly on the beliefs of Christianity. We attend church every Sunday and Wednesday and are also there whenever extra things need done.

The biggest way that music is used in the church I know attend is in the style of Contemporary Christian music, making use of modern day praise and worship songs as well as traditional hymns.

The music is used as one of the biggest ways to worship in my church. We sing about three or four songs before the sermon and we sing the same amount or more after the sermon. We believe that song is a means of communication with God and a big part of glorifying God as the Bible commands us to make a joyful noise. The church feels it is important for anyone that is able to be a part of the worship team, whether it is singing or playing an instrument. I have the privilege of seeing different people worship every week and it amazes me that some of the ways they worship are almost identical. This includes raising hands and closing eyes as if praying to God. The church also believes that every song should have a connection to the Bible so the PowerPoint showing the words also shows the corresponding verses.

Because of my background, I find deep joy in listening to sacred music and finding the deeper meaning of the pieces. I believe that for me, my faith plays a big part in what I feel is aesthetically pleasing. I also believe that in the Protestant religion, songs are built around certain chords to make the singer and listener feel a certain way. Many praise and worship pieces are written to bring certain moods of reverence. Hymns are the same way. I believe that songs in the Protestant religion also have a tendency to have long introductions for people to get in the right mindset.

Other than attending my own church, I also sing at a Presbyterian church one Sunday a month or more depending on the month. Although my church service is not the same, there are several similarities within the services. One big difference is that the only instrument that is really used at the Presbyterian church is the organ. I enjoy this aspect. I love how the hymns are used with the original instrument they were written for. It has sentimental meaning to me and I plan to learn more about this tradition!