part xi nonwestern music. reflects/expresses world’s diversity each culture has its music practice...
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Part XI
Nonwestern Music
Nonwestern Music• Reflects/expresses world’s diversity
• Each culture has its music practice
• Some have all 3—folk, pop, & classical
• These musics influence western music
• Especially true in the 20th Century
• French composer Claude Debussy
• British rocker George Harrison
• Jazz artist John Coltrane
Ch. 1: Music in Nonwestern Cultures
Characteristics of Nonwestern Music
• It reflects its supporting culture• Frequently linked with religion, dance and drama
• Music notation far less important than in western culture
• Often used to communicate messages & relate traditions
Oral Tradition• Frequently transmitted by oral tradition
• Many cultures do not have a music notation• When they do, it serves as a record, not for teaching or
performance
• Improvisation is frequently basic to the music
Improvisation
• Improvisation usually based on traditional melodic phrases and rhythmic patterns
Voices
• Singing usually main way of making music
• Vocal approach, timbre, and techniques vary throughout the world• Nasal sound• Strained tone
• Throat singing• Many others
• Four types based upon sound production:Instruments
• Chordophones—stretched string• Harp-type
• Aerophones—performer’s breath• Flutes, trumpets, etc.
• Idiophones—instrument’s body is sound generator• Bells, gongs, scrapers, rattles, etc.
• Style and application within culture causes particular types of instruments to dominate
• Idiophones/membranophones: rhythmic emphasis• Aerophones aid in outdoor performance
• Geography & materials availability influences
• Strings allow great flexibility of pitch
• Religion also influences instrumentation
• Membranophones—stretched skin• Primarily drums
• Most nonwestern musics are monophonic
Melody, Rhythm, and Texture
• Some cultures use heterophony
• Intervals between tones can be larger or smaller
• Much nonwestern music has very complex rhythms
• Sometimes accompanied by a drone
• Scales in nonwestern music are frequently quite different than western musical scales
• All perform same melody with different ornamentation
• Nonwestern music has been greatly impacted by western influences due to:
Interaction between Nonwestern and Western Music
• Spread of technology
• Increased urbanization
• Some governments subsidize traditional music to preserve cultural heritage
• Almost worldwide access to recorded music
Ch. 2: Music in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Africa is divided into two parts: above and below the Sahara desert
• Above: Moslem, Arabic-speaking, music closely related to that of the Middle East
• Though Sub-Saharan music is diverse, there are some similarities:• Complex rhythms and polyrhythms• Percussive sounds• Wide variety of instrumental ensembles• Vocal music usually a soloist & responding chorus
• Below: Extremely diverse, many religions, cultures, and languages (over 700)
• Music permeates African life from religion, entertainment, & magic to rites of passage
Music in Society
• Closely associated with dancing in ceremonies, rituals, & celebrations
• Dancers frequently play and sing while dancing
• It is so interwoven into life that the abstract word “music” is not used by many peoples
• Music is a social activity—everyone joins in
• No musical notation—passed by oral tradition
Rhythm and Percussion
Elements of African Music
• The body used as an instrument
• Complex rhythms & polyrhythms predominate
• Wide variety of sounds, even within a single piece
• Percussion ostinato frequently accompanies singers
• Dancers choose to follow any of the various rhythms
Vocal Music
• Call and response extremely common
• Short musical phrases repeated to different words
• Clapping, stamping, slapping thigh/chest
Texture• Often homophonic or polyphonic
• Same melody often sung at many pitch levels
• This is unlike most nonwestern musics
Idiophones
African Instruments
• Xylophones, a favorite, come in many sizes
• Most common African instrument
• Used in many ceremonial & work-pace applications
• Drums usually played in groups—multiple players
• Most are of indefinite pitch
Membranophones
• Drum manufacture often accompanied by special rites
• Variety of shapes, sizes, and forms
• “Talking drum” w/ slit in side can produce 2-4 tones
Aerophones and Chordophones• Flutes & trumpets (of wood & horn) most common
• Chordophones plucked or struck, gourd resonators
• Reed instruments less widespread
Ch. 3: Classical Music of India• Musical traditions date back over 3,000 years
• Hindustani: secular, court music from Northern India (including now-Pakistan)
• Karnatak: temple music from South India
• Absorbed many Persian elements due to Muslim Persian rulers
• Two main types of classical music
• Developed along its own lines
Performers• Music viewed as a spiritual discipline• Oral tradition—study by apprenticeshipImprovisation• Very important, sophisticated, & developed• Guided by melodic & rhythmic formula• Must study for years before allowed improv.
• Music is based upon the human voice
Elements of Indian Classical Music
• Melodies almost always accompanied by a drone instrument
• Pitch range limited to about four octaves
• Highly embellished melody, both vocal and instrumental, is characteristic
• Melody exists within a framework called a raga—a defined pattern of notes
• Rhythm is organized into blocks or cycles, each called a tala
Melodic Structure: Raga
Rhythmic Structure: Tala
• Tala range from 3-100 beats in length• 6-16 is most common
• Vocal music most important in India
Instruments
• Sitar most popular chordophone
• Many types of instruments
• Drums of many sizes
• Many instruments associated w/ specific gods
• Long necked, lute (guitar) like instrument• 7 plucked strings, 9-13 sympathetically vibrating
• Tabla and mridangam drums most common
Listening
Maru-Bihagby Ravi Shankar
Basic Set, CD 8:62 Brief Set, CD 4:69
Note:
Raga and tala organization
Heavy reliance on stringed instruments
Extensive improvisation
Nonwestern musical form
Ch. 4: Koto Music of Japan
The Koto Godan-Ginuta, by Mitsuzaki Kengyo Listening Outline: p. 596
Brief Set, CD 8:65
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