Music 190W Week 10

World Music: Beyond the Americas

Reading

Chapter 9; Hacker 15 (& 16)

Listening

CD 2, tracks 1-8

This chapter provides an overview of selected world musics from outside the Americas: main sections on India, Japan, Africa, with shorter sections on Eastern Europe, Jewish music, and Indonesian music--a tremendous variety of music for one chapter! Remember that this course is intended as an introduction to many kinds of music, each of which can be studied in greater depth.

To cope with the variety of music presented in this chapter, make the listening selections the focus of your study. Describe them with the vocabulary for the elements of music, and connect each listening example to the information about its culture contained in the chapter.

Study questions

  1. what is "world music"? (p. 173)
  2. India has two main classical music traditions: Hindustani, practiced in North India, and Karnatic, practiced in South India. This chapter concentrates on North Indian music.
  3. which social class is Indian classical music associated with?
  4. what are the three main roles in an Indian classical music group?
  5. which element of music is of primary importance in Indian music?
  6. how is Indian classical music taught and learned?
  7. which important Indian musician is pictured in the chapter?
  8. what aspect of Indian music did we also hear in jazz?
  9. which element of Western music is not important in Indian music?
  10. pay close attention to the concepts of raga and tala
  11. important Indian instruments: sitar, tabla; see photos below
  12. describe a typical performance of Indian classical music
  13. in what two formats does popular music reach the majority of Indian people?
  14. review the two important periods in Japanese history described on pp. 178-79; how did these affect music?
  15. describe the style of Japanese classical music (p. 179)
  16. important Japanese instruments: koto, shamisen, shakuhachi (see photos below)
  17. review the context of African music-making (p. 182)
  18. see photos of African instruments below
  19. describe African musical style (pp. 183-4)
  20. which element of music is most highly developed in African music?
  21. how does the style of African popular music compare with traditional music?

I will not be asking about the musics covered in the section called "Other Musics," which begins on p. 186 and lasts until p. 192, because there is not enough time in class to discuss them. I encourage you to read about them and let me know if you would like to hear examples of the music.

Listening review

All of the listening examples for this chapter are on CD 2.

"Bhimpalasi," Indian classical music performed by Ravi Shankar (two excerpts)

Some Indian ragas sound very different from the major and minor scales we are used to, while others correspond to one form or another of a familiar scale. Bhimpalasi may sound like music in minor mode to you. It uses the notes C-E flat-F-G-B flat-C in ascending form, and C-B flat, A-G-F-E flat-D-C in descending form.

The first excerpt begins with a strum along with resonating strings and continues with the alap section, in free rhythm, which means that a meter has not been established. Normally the alap is much longer, up to an hour.

The music becomes more rhythmically active when the tabla part enters. A short while later the music becomes metrical: a consistent pulse is established. Melodic improvisation on the sitar accompanied by the tabla and drone continues for about one more minute in this first excerpt. When the second excerpt picks up, we are further into the performance. The pace of melodic and rhythmic activity is much faster as the music builds toward the end (which we don't hear because the music fades out). As you listen to the entire track, be aware that a concert performance of a raga could last an hour or more, and that most of it is improvised. There are several excellent CDs of Indian classical music on the Nimbus label in the Music Library if you would like to sample a longer performance.

"Kyo No Warabeuta," Japanese classical music for koto, shamisen, and shakuhachi

This piece, which lasts 4:31, is not improvised: it is studied with the aid of notation and played according to precise traditional performance practices. There are numerous changes of tempo and mood. The scale is different from our major and minor; I'll explain in class.

Follow the description in the listening notes on pp. 194-5 as you listen to the four sections:

Now listen to the entire track, concentrating on the sound of the koto, shakuhachi, and shamisen; the sound of the scale; and the changes in melodic activity, tempo, and dynamics.

"Magonde," African mbira music from Zimbabwe

As you listen to this entire track, a 1:40 excerpt from a longer performance, listen for the distinctive timbre of the mbira and the vocal timbre. The mbira part is made up several ostinatos (repeated patterns), from which an active listener can derive many different melodic lines.

"Orisun Iye," Nigerian juju music by King Sunny Adé, track 8

This listening guide on pp. 197-199 identifies many short segments in this song. After you listen to the short segments linked to the list below, be sure to listen to the entire track so you get a sense of how easily one section flows into the other.

Listen for the way the characteristics of African traditional music, like the emphasis on percussion and the interlocking of ostinatos (repeated patterns) to create a dense texture, are also present in this popular music example.

intro, on talking drum
chorus
vamp
first melodic segment, guitar
chorus
vamp
second melodic segment, 2-part vocal
chorus
third melodic segment, keyboards
chorus
fourth melodic segment, pedal steel guitar
chorus

Listen to the entire track.

Hacker handbook exercises

This week's Hacker topic is no. 15, "revise run-on sentences." If topic 16, "common ESL problems" (ESL = English as a second language), is related to your writing, you can read that section too and visit an office hour to talk about anything that is unclear.

The comma splice is one of the top ten problems in student papers I grade. A comma splice joins two sentences that read more clearly as separate sentences:

Renaissance composers liked the sound of a cappella voices, this sound was used by Palestrina in his Missa Benedicta es.

This reads better as two sentences:

Renaissance composers liked the sound of a cappella voices. This sound was used by Palestrina in his Missa Benedicta es.

and even better if the verb in the second sentence is changed from passive to active:

Renaissance composers liked the sound of a cappella voices. Palestrina used it in his Missa Benedicta es.

Quiz

Take the week 10 quiz.

Music 190W page
This file was last modified on 16 May 2000.