Blog Post 7 (now due Friday, March 5th at 11:59pm) and Blog Post 8 (due Tuesday, March 9th at 8am)

Blog entries 7 and 8 will be based on your musical ethnography research. (Note: This does NOT replace your blog post OF your musical ethnography due on March 11th.)

Blog Post 7

Introduce this music culture to your blog followers by giving a general overview with links to any online resources available.

Blog Post 8

Comment on the difficulties in analyzing this music culture. Are you having any difficulties obtaining information? Are events postponed or canceled? Is it difficult to conduct an interview? Keep your readership in mind as it is possible some members of this music culture might read your blog.

Supplement to Chapter 9: India

Tuesday, February 16, 2010: Indian Classical Music

Ali Akbar Khan

Opening audio clip from NPR regarding Ali Akbar Khan can be found below.



Instrument Museum
The Virtual Instrument Museum of Wesleyan University.

Instrument Demonstrations:
Sitar, Sarod, Bin (Vina), Sarangi, Tambura, Bansuri, Harmonium, Nagasvaram (Shahnai), Mrdangam, Tabla.

Thursday, February 18, 2010: Hindi Film Music

Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam

"Nimbooda"

"Chanda Chupa"

"Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam"

Slumdog Millionaire (NOT a Hindi Film)

Why isn't this film considered a Hindi film? There are a variety of articles and opinion reports on this topic with a number of arguments, but consider the music of this film. Much of the ornamentation we heard in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam is missing in "Jai Ho." The female timbre is also quite different from the "thin, reedy" timbre we discussed in class.

If we had more time in class to discuss this topic and watch/listen to examples, it would be easy to notice additional missing elements, such as the lack of dancing in much of the remaining songs.

An interview with film's composer, A.R. Rahman, on NPR:

Post 6 – Due February 23, 2010 at 8am

Preparation:
Find one YouTube video of Japanese Noh. Using your textbook reading, the YouTube video, and possibly one website, develop a list of elements of Japanese Noh.

Purpose of This Post:
Explain this list of elements to any blog followers and use your YouTube video (embedded or linked) as an example. Be sure to use hyperlinks (use the "Insert Link" feature) of any websites you use to give credit.

WARNING: Avoid the tendency to evaluate. Focus on objective description.

Chinese Artists (from the Chinese student troupe discussion)

As promised, I have posted a series of links and video below from our discussion with the student art troupe from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China.

Liu Huan
Video of his live performance of "You and Me" with Sarah Brightman at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing:

The televised video for this song:

His performance of "One World, One Dream" for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing:


Jay Chou
There is an interesting article about his upcoming performance in Hollywood here.
Here is a music video of his song "Qi Li Xiang" (Orange Jasmine):

An a music video of "Qing Hua Ci"


Song Zuying
A video performance of "The Bright Moon above the Miao Mountain"

This performance of "Dragon Boat Tune" is appropriate in light of the recent Lunar New Year:


Cui Jian
("The Father of Chinese Rock")
An interesting note: Cui Jian is Korean-Chinese (ethnically Korean/living in China)
"无所有(Nothing to my name)"
This particular song is quite famous since it was the anthem for the Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989

A Popular New Remix

"Fake Monk"

Post 5 – Due February 16, 2010 at 8am

Find one YouTube video featuring one Hindustani (North Indian Classical Music) NOT featuring Ravi Shankar performances and write a blog post commenting on the musical elements in this song. Use your textbook reading to give you ideas and assistance. WARNING: Avoid the tendency to evaluate the performance as you would a concert review. Focus on objective description.

Battle of the Bands (Announcement for Comet Conservatory Fundraiser)

Interested in Comet Conservatory?

Comet Conservatory is a student organization at UT-Dallas open to all students with prior music experience of any type. They have meetings every other week (Wednesdays at 7:30pm) to organize events, including an upcoming Battle of the Bands fundraiser, and brainstorm goals for the organization.

Facebook Group

Student Organization Email - Best Method of Contact and Source of Information (via mailing list)

Their next meeting is Wednesday, February 3rd at 7:30pm in AH1.

Blog Post Tips and Music Ethnography Event Reminder

Blog Post Tips

After reviewing many of your blog posts over the past few weeks, I have noticed a few patterns in several posts on which I'd like to comment:

• Be sure to read the post directions carefully. Many blog post #3 entries include commentary on more than one song. Others, include only comments about the music itself. This is only one aspect of the music performance. What did you notice in the performers? How did the time and space change the performance? (Keep in mind that I wouldn't ask you to attend if the experience wasn't different than watching a YouTube video.) In many cases, students who have failed to read the directions have had difficulty keeping to the length restrictions, thus, making this more difficult than needed.
  
  
• Use line breaks to separate paragraphs. This isn't a paper. Blogs often read in short paragraphs with heading if needed. Feel free to adjust the formatting and your paragraph length so that your post reads well. (The one-paragraph blog post is often just harder to read.)
  
  
• Add posts with your own music interests or in preparation for/reaction to class discussions. Remember that you can use your extra blog posts to help your participation grade.
  
  
• Submit blog posts on time, both on your blog and in Turnitin.com. Although your blog will receive a bulk grade, it is important to submit each blog on time. If you have not already submitted Blog #2 with your proposal, please do so ASAP. Some students were absent during the in-class proposal response.

Music Ethnography Proposals

Nearly all proposals are accepted. I will review concerns regarding your proposals this week and make comments directly to your blog if needed. Please keep in mind that the Music Ethnography Guidelines are provided on here as well as on the right column of this blog. Read these guidelines BEFORE you attend the event you wish to use.

Follow-up on Senegalese Popular Music

Recap from African Traditional Music (with emphasis on Ewe drumming):

• Know Elements of Traditional African Music
• The Atsia Suit (CD 1, Track 1) will appear on your Listening Identification for the next exam. Review the Listening Guide.
• Video Examples of Ewe drumming: Example 1 & Example 2

Senegalese Popular Music: Youssou N'Dour & Didier Awadi

Youssou N'Dour

Here are the questions we discussed pre-1989 N'Dour, including the JSTOR article, "Key to N'Dour: Roots of the Senegalese Star."

• Why is Youssou N’Dour popular in Senegal?
• What were the general complaints of some Senegambians about Youssou N’Dour?
• What values does N’Dour uphold?
• What role does bootlegging (selling of illegal copies) play in this music-culture?
• What are the similarities between N’Dour’s music and that of the Ewe people (from your guest lecture and assigned reading)? (Note: avoid obvious answers, such as “the same continent”)

Vocabulary to Know:

• Kora
• Tama
• Wolof
• Gewel

I Bring What I Love and the controversy over N'Dour's Egypt album.
(Note: As asked in class, you can rent or buy the documentary through Amazon Video on Demand.)

Senegalese Rap: Didier Awadi

Vocabulary

• Rap

Relevant Videos

• Positive Black Soul (Didier Awadi through Senegalese Hip Hop)
• African-American Rap/Hip Hop Influences: Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash

Post 4 – Due February 9, 2010 at 8am

Find one YouTube video featuring one of Googoosh's performances and write a blog post commenting on the musical elements in this song. Use your textbook reading and the electronic article to give you ideas and assistance. If musical elements do not appear in your textbook and sound foreign to Iranian culture, make an educated guess as to the style of music which might influence this song. WARNING: Avoid the tendency to evaluate the performance as you would a concert review. Focus on objective description.