Links Between Culture
And Music Around The
World
Therapy
Research has shown that in many parts of Africa during male and female circumcision,
bone setting, or traditional surgery and bloodletting, lyrical music related to endurance
has been used to reduce anticipated pain, therapeutically.
Wind chimes are chimes constructed from suspended tubes, rods, bells or other objects
and are often made of metal or wood. Wind chimes are usually hung outside of a
building or residence, as a visual and aural garden ornament, and are to be played by
the wind.
Roman bronze wind chimes called Tintinnabulum were hung up in gardens and porticoes
where they would make a tinkling sound as the wind passed through them.
Two common approaches are used when conducting music therapy with children: either as
a one-on-one session or in a group setting. When a therapist meets with a child for the first
time, customarily the therapist and child develop goals to be met during the duration of
their sessionsMusic therapy can help children with communication, attention, motivation,
and behavioral problems. Therapy rooms should have a wide range of different instruments
from different places. They should also be colorful, and have different textures. The
therapist should either play a piano or guitar to keep everything grounded and in rhythm.
The most important thing, though, is to have high quality and well-maintained instruments.
As some children will be able to handle an instrument while others cannot, the child should
be given an instrument adapted to them.All these elements help the experience and
outcome of the music therapy go better and have more successes for the child. In fact
according to Daniel Levitin, it started inside the womb, surrounded by amniotic fluid, the
fetus hears sounds. It hears the mother’s heartbeat, at times speed up, at other times slow
down, that but other music, conversations, and environmental noises. Alexandra Lamont of
Keele University in the UK discovered the fetus hears music. She found that, a year after
they are born, children recognize and prefer music they were exposed to in the womb. The
auditory system of the fetus is fully functional about twenty weeks after conception.
Torture
One of the most startling aspects of musical culture in the post-Cold War United States
is the systematic use of music as a weapon of war. First coming to mainstream attention
in 1989, when US troops blared loud music in an effort to induce Panamanian president
Manuel Norriega’s surrender, the use of “acoustic bombardment” has become standard
practice on the battlefields of Iraq, and specifically musical bombardment has joined
sensory deprivation and sexual humiliation as among the non-lethal means by which
prisoners from Abu Ghraib to Guantanamo may be coerced to yield their secrets without
violating US law. The very idea that music could be an instrument of torture confronts
us with a novel—and disturbing—perspective on contemporary musicality in the United
States. What is it that we in the United States might know about ourselves by
contemplating this perspective? What does our government’s use of music in the “war
on terror” tell us (and our antagonists) about ourselves?
This paper is a first attempt
to understand the military and cultural logics on which the contemporary use of music as
a weapon in torture and war is based. After briefly tracing the development of acoustic
weapons in the late 20th century, and their deployment at the second battle of Fallujah in
November, 2004, I summarize what can be known about the theory and practice of using
music to torture detainees in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo. I contemplate some
aspects of late 20th-century musical culture in the civilian US that resonate with the US
security community’s conception of music as a weapon, and survey the way musical
torture is discussed in the virtual world known as the blogosphere. Finally, I sketch some
questions for further research and analysis.
Passing on history
Nursery rhymes are sometimes used to remember past events as they are simple to
remember, and almost every nursery rhyme has a story behind it. Humpty Dumpty was
actually King Richard III, and the famous farmer’s wife from the Three Blind Mice was
supposedly Queen Mary I. Baa Baa Black Sheep was about taxation, and The Old Woman
Who Lived In a Shoe was referring to the British Empire trying to control its colonies. A Few
others are…
Rub-a-dub-dub,
Three men in a tub;
And who do you think they be?
The butcher, the baker,
The candlestick-maker;
Turn ‘em out, knaves all three!
Why would these three men be sharing a bath? Latent homosexuality, maybe? Not enough
water for three individual baths? No, this is a case of not hearing the whole joke, just the
punch-line. The part of the story we aren’t getting was the setting. A fair side-show, where
three young, beautiful women were sitting in a bath-tub, entertaining a mostly male
audience, when three of the men jumped up and climbed in with the girls, to be promptly
thrown out again by the fair manager. Just three, horny, working folk.
Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater,
Had a wife and couldn’t keep her,
Put her in a pumpkin shell,
And there he kept her, very well.
Peter was a poor man who had an unfaithful wife. She kept cheating on him (couldn’t keep
her), so he had to find a way to stop her running around. His solution, fairly common in the
middle ages, was a chastity belt (pumpkin shell). For those who don’t know, a chastity belt
is roughly a pair of metal underwear with lock and key, so that no one could enter the
private region of the woman except whoever held the key, usually her husband. And as the
rhyme goes, once he put her in that belt, he kept her very well.
Songs used to document past events.
The fields of athenry is a song about the potato famine in Ireland, where the british took the
corn and left the irish with nothing even through it was grown on irish land by irish people.
It has many examples of the peoples stories they would have been going through at the
time. E.g
By a lonely prison wall
I heard a young man calling
Nothing matter Mary when your free,
Against the Famine and the Crown
I rebelled they ran me down
Now you must raise our child with dignity.
Identity
Personal identity influenced by musicHippy’s: Frank Zappa - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmVvgo1wxh4
Tie dye, poncho’s, flares, sandals, peace promoting clothing.
Punks: Sex pistols - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbmWs6Jf5dc
Leather jackets, studs, Mohawks, boots, non conformist
Reggae: Bob Marley – no woman no cry
Yellow red and green, Rastafarians, Dreads, Cannabis leaf,
dread caps, peace
Pop: Britney spears and Micheal Jackson
Wide audience – most susceptible to modern fashion
Hip Hop: cypress hill - insane in the brain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RijB8wnJCN0&ob=av2n
Men: Baggy clothes, hoodies, caps, gold/big jewellery (bling)
Women: Sex objects, bikini’s, skimpy clothing
Dhrupad: Pakistan music http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0nBoAiJEEA
Traditional wear – gowns, orange and red bright bold colours.
Samba: Brazilian
tassels
Feathers, head dresses, bikinis, glitter, paint, costumes, nipple
Salsa: Latin American
Women: Red and black dresses, heels, sexy,
Men: Three-piece suits, black and white
Civil Rights Movement:
African Americans had very few rights and in 1963 Martin Luther King famously
lead a march in Washington.
Songs written about and in support of this civil rights movement became known and
sung by white and black people. Harry Belafonte was a famous singer known by
many different cultures and so when he sang his songs many people became aware
of the movement and sang together to support it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5zqWmkOmU8
Joan Baez a white singer donated the proceeds of many of her concerts to the civil
rights movement, which rose awareness, and as people sang her songs they were
supporting the movement. Bob Dylan and Baez worked together to promote
awareness to many different causes.
“We shall overcome” was the most famous song of the movement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkNsEH1GD7Q
Apartheid in South Africa:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3XhzmNxR8w
Let’s unite, let’s unite Let’s unite, fellow Africans Down with interfighting Up with
Peace (Pollard 122)
These lyrics directly address and simultaneously resist the chasm that the apartheid
government was trying to create between Black people of different origins in order
to prevent a united opposition front.
Why they sang:
South African born musician Dave Matthews states, ‘Singing is something that is
hard to ban’
Alton Pollard III – ‘For it was song, along with news and information, that best
helped to convey the objectives of the struggle’
Music Notes
Music festivals in different countries
Africa – Drum and bass came to Africa in 2000. Festivals such as home grown in
Cape Town launched a platform for international and local artists.
All foreign music festivals are similar in the sense that music is the main focus of the
event. Colourful arts and crafts are seen within African cultures. Within Western
culture, alcohol plays a big part.
In Mexico they celebrate life, on the ‘day of dead’ where rituals take place including
dances where music is present. "We play their favourite music” Guerrero said
Set in Borneo’s hidden paradise – an exotic rainforest the size of Austria and home
to the world’s most diverse eco-system – this 12-year-old festival unites performers
and 18,000 visitors from each and every continent. The three evening performances
bring together on one stage indigenous musicians from Borneo and world musicians
from the Amazon Basin, Equatorial Africa, Asia, Morocco, Hungary, France, Korea
and further afield, to play at this genre-crossing festival of folk, gypsy, bluegrass,
jazz and Celtic fusion. During the afternoons there are workshops and musical
lectures and there’s an arts and crafts area too. It’s run by the tourist board – even
Malaysia’s prime minister has attended.
Theweek-long festival kicks off with a beach party. More than 30,000 people from
around the world gather for Sumfest, which showcases traditional reggae music and
the ever-more-popular dancehall. Expect to see some top R&B and hip-hop
performers as well, fusing genres in their collaborations with reggae and dancehall
artists. Last year T-Pain, Lil Wayne and Akon were some of the stars playing.
Jamaican cuisine and arts and crafts from all over the island are another attraction.
Norway, like all of Scandinavia, may be hideously expensive, but its greenest festival
has a solution for cash-strapped festivalgoers, while doing their bit to conserve the
environment: audience members collect beer glasses and other rubbish in exchange
for cash. And all the food on sale is organic. Oya also boasts a beautiful setting – it is
held at the Medieval Park in Oslo, surrounded by sandy beaches, the fjords and the
Ekeberg Hill – not to mention the city’s skyline. Rock, indie and a splash of
electronica is the flavour, with festival headliners ArcticMonkeys and home-grown
talent Röyksopp, showcasing their new album Junior. Bon Iver, and the hotlytipped
Chairlift, over from America, are other highlights.
Plan ahead for this five-year-old festival which takes place in the heart of Africa on
the shores of its third largest lake, Lake Malawi, named “lake of stars” by explorer
David Livingstone in the mid-19th century. Set up by Brit, Will Jameson, who spent
his gap year in Malawi, the bill across the two stages combines local and European
acts and the diverse music policy of this growing festival incorporates Afropop,
reggae, folk, beat boxers as well as internationally renowned DJs. Along with
camping spots, dorm beds and private rooms are available at tiny prices.
Situated two hours from Timbuktu in the Sahara, this is one of the world’s most
remote festivals. Created in 2001, the festival stems from the traditional Tuareg
festivities in which dance, poetry, camel rides and games represented a place for
decision making and exchanging information among the communities. Today the
festival attracts some of the biggest names in Malian music, along with nomadic
tribesmen and a sprinkling of western bands that bridge the gap between the
cultural tradition and modernity – and blend together seamlessly.
Afrikaners historically considered themselves the only true South Africans and,
while granting full citizenship to all residents of European descent, denied that
status to people of colour until the democratic transition of 1994. British South
Africans retain a sense of cultural and social connection to Great Britain without
weakening their identity as South Africans. A similar concept of primary local and
secondary ancestral identity is prevalent among people of Indian descent. The
Bantu-speaking black peoples have long regarded themselves as South African
despite the attempts of the white authorities to classify them as less than full
citizens or as citizens of ethnic homelands ("Bantustans") between 1959 and 1991.
Strong cultural loyalties to African languages and local political structures such as
the kingdom and the chieftaincy remain an important component of identity.
National identity comes first for all black people, but belonging to an ethnic,
linguistic, and regional grouping and even to an ancestral clan has an important
secondary status. People once officially and now culturally classified as Coloured
regard themselves as South African, as they are a residual social category and their
heritage is a blend of all the other cultural backgrounds. Overall, national identity
has been forged through a struggle among peoples who have become compatriots.
Since 1994, the democratic majority government has avoided imposing a unified
national identity from above instead of encouraging social integration through
commitment to a common national future.
Social
-
North Africa –
Indigenous African musical and dance expressions that are maintained by oral
tradition and that are stylistically distinct from the music and dance of both the
Arabic cultures of North Africa and the Western settler populations of southern
Africa. African music and dance, therefore, are cultivated largely by societies in subSaharan Africa
All sub-Saharan traditions emphasize singing, because song is used as an avenue of
communication. Because many African languages are "tone languages," in which
pitch level determines meaning, the melodies and rhythms of songs generally follow
the intonation contour and rhythms of the song texts. Melodies are usually
organized within a scale of four, five, six, or seven tones. In group singing, some
societies habitually sing in unison or in parallel octaves with sporadic fourths or
fifths; others sing in two or three parts, using parallel thirds or fourths. Songs
generally are in call-and-response form.
Modern Trends
With urbanization and the impact of Western culture, traditional music and dance,
although still practiced, have decreased. New idioms have emerged, however, that
combine African and Western elements; they include West African highlife (showing
certain Caribbean traits), Congolese popular music (reflecting Latin American
influence), and in southern Africa, sabasaba and kwella (both akin to U.S. swing and
jive music). Evidence suggests that the needs of the church and other transplanted
institutions may stimulate a new art music. Traditional music and dance face serious
threat of decline. Because of their political and cultural importance, however, their
preservation is given special attention in many countries
South America
- Belize The music of Belize has a mix of Kriol, Mestizo, Garifuna, and Maya influences. After
many centuries of Maya habitation, Spanish and then British colonizers arrived in
the area, the latter keeping Belize as its only colony in Spanish-dominated Central
America. Far more influential than either European power's arrival, however, was
the importation of African slaves. Europeans brought polkas, waltzes, schottisches
and quadrilles, while Africans brought numerous instruments and percussion-based
musics, including marimba. African culture resulted in the creation of brukdown
music in interior logging camps, played using banjo, guitar, drums, dingaling bell,
accordion and an ass's jawbone played by running a stick up and down the teeth.
Among the most popular styles created by Kriol musicians is brukdown. Brukdown
evolved out of the music and dance of loggers, especially a form called buru. Punta
and Punta rock jazz hip-hop are the most popular dance in Garifuna culture. It is
performed around holidays and at parties, and other social events. Punta lyrics are
usually composed by the women. Chumba and hunguhungu are a circular dance in a
three beat rhythm, which is often combined with punta.
Music’s power to motivate
Many people like to listen to music while they work. According to a report in the
journal Neuroscience of behaviour and physiology, a person’s ability to recognise
visual images, including letters and numbers, is faster when either rock or classical
music is played in the background.
It has been thought that listening to classical music, particularly Mozart enhances
performance on cognitive tests. However, recent findings show that listening to any
music that is personally enjoyable has positive effects on cognition.
Most people intuitively know that listening to music when they are feeling down or
depressed can bolster their spirits. However recent research studies have shown
that music, especially certain tones can clinically reduce stress. Music can alter
brainwave patterns, as can yoga, deep breathing, and meditation – and bring on
what is known as the Alpha State. Alpha is described as a state of deep relaxation,
where the mind is totally stress-free and more open to problem solving.
Music has also been shown to increase the level of neurotransmitters such as
serotonin, which are linked to mood. In this way music has been shown not only to
make you feel good – but also, to be a great motivator. For example, during exercise,
listening to music can keep you going, or get you to exercise more by helping you to
ignore negative feelings of fatigue and focus on the pleasurable feelings you get from
being absorbed in the music.
Music transcends through languages, cultures and even age. Scientists believe that
music is one of the first things that develops in the brain and one of the last things to
fade as we get older. Music has immense power on so many different levels of the
human psyche. It can affect our emotion in ways that we cannot fully comprehend.
Music has the power to enrich our lives. Its been used effectively to treat anything
from mental illness to serious physical diseases like cancer.
Music’s affect on human emotion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN0LY65KmAM&feature=related
This video is a great example of emotion in music and its effect on people, this can
differ in the song itself, for instance, uses a specific chord structure and progression
with the right lyrical content to match t give it the right effect.
The tremendous ability that music has to affect and manipulate emotions and the
brain is undeniable, and yet largely inexplicable. Very little serious research had
gone into the mechanism behind music's ability to physically influence the brain
until relatively recently, and even now very little is known about the neurological
effects of music. The fields of music and biology are generally seen as mutually
exclusive, and to find a Neurobiologist also proficient in music is not very common.
However, some do exist, and partly as a result of their research some questions
about the biology of music have been answered. I will attempt to summarize some
of the research that has been done on music and the brain in recent years. I will
focus in particular on music's ability to produce emotional responses in the brain.
One great problem that arises in trying to study music's emotional power is that the
emotional content of music is very subjective. A piece of music may be undeniably
emotionally powerful, and at the same time be experienced in very different ways
by each person who hears it. The emotion created by a piece of music may be
affected by memories associated with the piece, by the environment it is being
played in, by the mood of the person listening and their personality, by the culture
they were brought up in: by any number of factors both impossible to control and
impossible to quantify. Under such circumstances, it is extremely difficult to deduce
what intrinsic quality of the music, if any, created a specific emotional response in
the listener. Even when such seemingly intrinsic qualities are found, they are often
found to be at least partially culturally dependent.
Several characteristics have been suggested that might influence the emotion of
music. For example, according to one study, major keys and rapid tempos cause
happiness, whereas minor keys and slow tempos cause sadness, and rapid tempos
together with dissonance cause fear. There is also a theory that dissonance sounds
unpleasant to listeners across all cultures. Dissonance is to a certain degree culturedependent, but also appears to be partly intrinsic to the music. Studies have shown
that infants as young as 4 months old show negative reactions to dissonance.
It is possible to both see and measure the emotional responses created by music in
the brain by using imagery techniques such as PET scans. However, as these
emotional responses would generally be caused by factors out of the experimenter's
control, the data collected would be very difficult to interpret.
Another quantifiable aspect of emotional responses to music is its effect on
hormone levels in the body. There is evidence that music can lower levels of cortisol
in the body (associated with arousal and stress), and raise levels of melatonin
(which can induce sleep). This is outwardly visible in terms of music's ability to
relax, to calm, and to give peace. Music is often used in the background hospitals to
relax the patients, or in mental hospitals to calm potentially belligerent patients. It
also can cause the release of endorphins, and can therefore help relieve pain.
Love for and appreciation of music is a universal feature of human culture. It has
been theorized that music even predates language. There is no question that music
has grown to be an important part of human life, but we can only guess why. It has
been theorized that music is important evolutionarily, but all such theories are at
this point conjecture. No concrete evidence has been found that music is
evolutionarily beneficial. There are many questions one could ask about the
powerful link between music and the brain, but very few answers exist. How does
music succeed in prompting emotions within us? And why are these emotions often
so powerful? The simple answer is that no one knows. We are able to quantify the
emotional responses caused by music, but we cannot explain them.
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro04/web2/gvaidya.html
Music and its effect on behaviour
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJkMrl4AG8w
This example represents a lot of anger as its satanic metal, it has a lot of evil in it
relating to religion, which makes people react in certain ways such as violence, and
hatred.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Music-And-Its-Influence-On-Behavior&id=733185
Mozart –
http://www.parenting-baby.com/Parenting-Baby-Music-Research/MusicResearch.html
http://www.howtolearn.com/products/mozart-effect
Body and mind –
http://stress.about.com/od/tensiontamers/a/music_therapy.htm
http://music-and-the-mind-body-connection.blogspot.com/
SOCIAL –
http://www.africaguide.com/culture/music.htm
http://www.uv.es/EBRIT/macro/macro_5001_91_93.html
Sporting Music
The revival of the Olympic games March 25th 1896 the philharmonic
orchestra played the national anthem and the first Olympic Hymn.
In modern basketball and Baseball a repetitive organ is played at key
points of the game this is called ‘Charge’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb19d08Lnec (Accessed
27/9/2011)
Many American college football teams have marching bands that play
during the game and march on the field during halftime.
In new Zealand their rugby teams use a War chant which is called ‘Haka’
it is characterised by loud chanting, much aggressive flailing of the arms,
stomping of the feet, fierce looks and in the end an angry sticking out of
tongues.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdMCAV6Yd0Y (Accessed
27/9/2011)
Religious Music
Africa
African – Siauliai Church: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMb_ybjqv8
America
South America is a remarkably musical and religious continent. All of its countries show
vigorous popular and indigenous traditions, which have music and dance as its core.
Catholicism is the predominant official religion in all of South America, but the
continental religious scenarios are diverse and constantly changing, especially with the
recent growth of evangelic churches and with the development of many alternative
religions, most of them derived from local and syncretic practices. One common trait in
the majority of these South American religious practices is the role of music in religiosity
in communicating with spiritual beings.
The other religion based in South America is the Peruvian culture, which is mainly rooted in
American Indian and Spanish conditions. In America you find this religion on the east of
Brazil mostly bordered on Ecuador and Colombia like peru.
The national instrument called the charango dominates Peruvian music.
This influences Spanish music with instruments such as guitars mainly acoustic, Spanish
lutes and a wind instrument called the zampona.
Peruvian religion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUA0L9wvcmg
Primordial religion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1A6_BnBM_4
Joel Davies
The Role of Music in Entertainment
Music can have a diverse role in entertainment, especially in different cultures and
countries around the world.
There are two main forms of music used in entertainment:
Pure forms of Music
Live performances are a form of pure music because they are only related to music
and not mixed. These roles include:
- Live events/Festivals.
- Personal listening.
- Learning an instrument.
Mixed forms of Music
Mixed forms of music used in entertainment are combined with different medias in
the entertainment industry, such as:
- Film
- Radio
- Theatre
- Opera
- Poetry
Roshni Poddar, a music freelancer and blogger believes that music,” …Each
country and tribe has their own kind of music that expresses their way of enjoying
life. Some have lilting and ethereal music while the others the wild beat of drums
with which they convey themselves. Music of any kind is enjoyable but it depends
on the individual’s state of mind and background for them to enjoy and
appreciate it.”
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1367854
Author: Roshni Poddar
Accessed: 5/10/11
Musical entertainment in Afghanistan, and the West
In the West, we use music for entertainment such as live gigs, personal listening, TV
and Film. However, in Afghanistan the government has banned all live music in the
country unless it is used for worship and religion. The Taliban ruling in Afghanistan
exiled some Afghan people in 2005 to Peshawar, in Pakistan where musicians took it
upon themselves to set up music academies there to preserve the tradition and
culture of their Afghani music.
In 1998, Mr Naim Majrouh made a speech at the Free Muse World conference to say
that due to war, political and social instability, disorder and lawlessness the culture
of Afghanistan has been devastated. This included music because the Communists
corrupted the styles of music being played, mostly Soviet. There were a number of
musicians who would not play/sing the Communist slogans who were arrested,
forced to leave the county, or executed. For example, the great Afghani composer
Nainawas was executed and famous Afghani singer Ahmed Zahir was arrested, and
stories of him being “killed” in came out soon after he was arrested in 1979.
http://www.freemuse.org/sw26767.asp
During the 1990s, the post-Soviet and Taliban governments banned instrumental
music and much public music making. In spite of arrests and destruction of musical
instruments, musicians have continued to play their trade into the present. The
multi-ethnic city of Kabul has long been the regional cultural capital, but outsiders
have tended to focus on the city of Herat, which is home to traditions more closely
related to Iranian music than in the rest of the country. Lyrics throughout most of
Afghanistan are typically in Dari, Persia.
Musical Entertainment in Africa
In Africa, musicians use events to bring people together in song and dance. It is the
same in our country, however some traditional artists use African drums and
vocalists use techniques like call and response, or a roll call to get the audience
participating in the performance. Baaba Maal is a successful traditional African
artist.
Article Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XjupmHcFdw
Accessed: 5/10/11
Article Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4628089.stm
Last Updated: Friday, 1 July 2005, 07:45 GMT 08:45 UK
Accessed: 5/10/11
Musical entertainment in Russia
Russia is a large and culturally diverse country, with many ethnic groups; each with
their own locally developed music. Russian music also includes significant
contributions from ethnic minorities (such as the Jewish, Ukrainians, Gypsies and
others) who populated the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and modern day
Russia.
Russian music includes a variety of styles: from ritual folk song, to the sacred music
of the Russian orthodox church, and also included the legacy of several prominent
19th century classical and romantic composers. Traditional bard songs from early
Soviet Russia were also popular and brought over 140,000 people to festivals such
as Grushinsky Festival, near Samara, Russia. Major contributions by 20th century
Soviet composers as well as various forms of popular music are also part of the
make-up of Russian music.
Grushinsky Festival is an annual Russian bard song festival that has been
established in 1968. It takes place near the city of Samara, on the Mastryukovo
lakes. The festival takes its name from Valeri Grushin, a singer-songwriter who died
during a backcountry camping trip trying to save his drowning friends.
During Soviet times, the formal oversight of the festival was performed by VLKSM.
Usual participants included Yuri Vizbor, Tatyana and Sergey Nikitins, Bulat
Okudzhava, Alexander Dolsky, Oleg Mitayev, among others. Singer Alexander
Gorodnitsky was festival's long-term director.
The major landmark of the festival is the stage built on the raft, in the shape of a
guitar, with its fingerboard serving as a bridge to the shore. The Grushin Mountain
ridge serves as natural stands for thousands of visitors. The number of visitors, as
well as of participants, increased every year, starting from only 600 in 1968 to 2,500
next year, and the peak of Soviet era Grushinsky was reached in 1979 - 100,000
spectators. This record was broken in modern times: 1997 festival attracted
140,000 spectators. Similarly, the number of artists in 1969 was 20, and in 1976 it
grew up to 143.
In 1980 the fest was cancelled, and would be reinstalled only on 1986. From then on
it is annual contiguously.
In the late 1990s, the festival became commercialized, and broadened its format
larger than only bard songs. Some Russian rockers, such as Yuri Shevchuk of DDT,
now perform there as well.
Since 2007 Grushinsky split to two rival festivals of the same name. The main
promoter of the fest, the Grushin Club, has moved to a venue near Tolyatti. The
festival at Mastryukovo lakes is still held without their promotion.
Gamelan Music and Entertainment
Gamelan is a popular form of entertainment in the Indonesian culture. In Javanese
mythology it was said that the gamelan was created by Sang Hyang Guru, in the Saka
Era 167 (c. AD 230). He was said to be the god who ruled as king of all Java from a
palace on the Maendra mountains in Medangkamulan (now Mount Lawu). Sang
needed a signal to summon the gods and thus invented the gong. For more complex
messages, he invented two other Gongs, thus forming the original gamelan set.
From solo to large ensembles accompanied by Gamelan orchestra (or recorded
music) Balinese dance can best apply as guest-welcomers or feature acts to enhance
a theme.
Enjoy the evocative and hypnotic tones of the Gamelan orchestra featuring such
traditional instruments as the richly carved ankleong and gambang (bamboo and
metallic xylophones of Indonesia)
The Gamelan orchestra also includes various pitched gongs and flutes that combine
to create sounds so particularly unique to Indonesia.
In Indonesia, gamelan usually accompanies dance wayang puppet performances, or
rituals or ceremonies. Typically players in the gamelan will be familiar with dance
moves and poetry, while dancers are able to play in the ensemble. In wayang, the
dhalang (puppeteer) must have a thorough knowledge of gamelan, as he gives the
cues for the music. Gamelan can be performed by itself – in "klenengan" style, or for
radio broadcasts – but concerts in the Western style are not traditional.
Gamelan's role in rituals is so important that there is a Javanese saying, "It is not
official until the gong is hung”. Some performances are associated with royalty, such
as visits by the sultan of Yogyakarta. Certain gamelans are associated with specific
rituals, such as the Gamelan Sekaten, which is used in celebration of Mawlid an-Nabi
(Muhammad's birthday). In Bali, almost all religious rituals include gamelan
performance. Gamelan is also used in the ceremonies of the Catholic church in
Indonesia.[ Certain pieces are designated for starting and ending performances or
ceremonies. When a "leaving" piece (such as "Udan Mas") is begun, the audience will
know that the event is nearly finished and will begin to leave. Certain pieces are also
believed to possess magic powers, and can be used to ward off evil spirits.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamelan
How/Why does music in entertainment affect us?
Music surrounds our lives at different moments of lives, whether we hear it on the
radio, on television, from our car and home stereos. Different kinds of music are
appropriate for different occasions. We come across it in the mellifluous tunes of a
classical concert or in the devotional strains of a bhajan, the wedding band, or the
reaper in the fields breaking into song to express the joys of life. Even warbling in the
bathroom gives us a happy start to the day. Music has a very powerful therapeutic
effect on the human psyche. It has always been part of our association with specific
emotions, and those emotions themselves have given rise to great music.
Dance critic Ashish Khokar cites an experiment as proof: "Music is produced from sound,
and sound affects our sense perception in many ways. Even fish in an aquarium were
once made to listen to different kinds of music and it was found that their movements
corresponded with the beat of the music. Mind you, fish do not hear, they only felt the
vibrations of the sound through water. So you can imagine what a profound effect sound
and music might have on the human mind."
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3235603
http://ezinearticles.com/?Role-of-Music-in-Human-Life&id=3235603
Author: Prabjhit Singh
Accessed: 5/10/11
Other useful information for assignment
Music Therapy
In the modern world, Music has gained an honorable designation of 'HEALING
WITHOUT MEDICINE'. Doctors feel that music therapy has been helping them in
treating many people with problems like dementia, dyslexia depression and
trauma." Many children with learning disability and poor co-ordination have been
able to learn, and respond to set pieces of music. Many people with genetic disability
have found a new light in the form of music.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3235603
Accessed: 5/10/11
Luke Targett
Role of Music in Media
Western Music In Film:
Ennio Morricone is a key western composer of film music:
http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/window/media/page/0,,15568535086717,00.html
Bollywood film music is often referred to as filmi music. Bollywood has a strong
tradition of having ‘Playback’ singers to record songs for actors in a film. Playback
singers are professional singers who will record vocals to a track, which are then
lip-synced by actors in films.
In older films, dance music was a very popular asset and was modelled over Indian
dance music and featured classical dance styles and some fold dance.
Bollywood films have always used ‘Item Number’. Where a physically attractive
female (often un-related to the plot & film) will step into the film to sing a song.
The songs in Bollywood films are sometimes more popular than the film itself,
which would incline the audience to go and watch it, even if the film doesn’t look
good!
Ben Kelly
Music in Education
Are people typically geniuses? Statistically, people probably are not. In fact, most
people probably aren't even intellectually gifted at all. Most people are likely to be
pretty much average, maybe a little bit above average, or a little below, but very
average nonetheless. It is universally understood that people strive to learn to
become wiser and more informed about the world around them. The more people
learn, the more powerful they can become. It is the speed at which people learn that
separates the geniuses from the average people from the learning disabled.
Geniuses don't run into problems while learning, because they learn so fast. It is
everyone else that could really use help. One solid way to increase the speed at
which people learn is with music. People learn through music and their minds grow
faster because of it. Some music, when implemented properly, can have positive
effects on learning and attitude. Music is a powerful thing, and when we understand
its significance, it can bring dramatic changes both positive and negative into our
lives.
Why music education is important
Music education is important because when a child learns music it opens up all
other areas of education. Studies have revealed that taking classes in music also
helps children deal better with their studies. Children exposed to music have better
performance in other subjects such as math and science. Aside from exercising the
brain, taking classes in music also helps develop a child’s confidence. This is very
important in the future. When children become confident, they will have better
adjustment in the professional field. Since a child’s potential is maximized, their
future is somewhat better with music. In 2006, SAT takers with
coursework/experience in music performance scored 57 points higher on the verbal
portion of the test and 43 points higher on the math portion than students with no
coursework or experience in the arts.
Scores for those with coursework in music appreciation were 62 points higher on
the verbal and 41 points higher on the math portion.
– The Student Descriptive Questionnaire, a self-reported component of the SAT that
gathers information about students’ academic preparation, gathered data for these
reports. Source: The College Board, Profile of College-Bound Seniors National
Report for 2006.
Here are some facts and figures:
1. Students in high-quality school music programs score higher on standardized
tests compared to students in schools with deficient music education programs,
regardless of the socioeconomic level of the school or school district.
2. Students in top-quality music programs scored 22% better in English and 20%
better in math than students in deficient music programs.
3. Students in top-quality instrumental programs scored 19% higher in English than
students in schools without a music program.
4. Students in top quality instrumental programs scored 17% higher in Math than
children in schools without a music program.
5. Students at schools with excellent music programs had higher English and Math
test scores across the country than students in schools with low-quality music
programs.
6. Students in all regions with lower-quality instrumental programs scored higher in
English and Math than students who had no music at all.
Why are the arts important?
1.They are languages that all people speak - that cut across racial, cultural, social,
educational, and economic barriers and enhance cultural appreciation and
awareness.
2. They are symbol systems as important as letters and numbers.
3. They integrate mind, body, and spirit.
4. They provide opportunities for self-expression, bringing the inner world into the
outer world of concrete reality.
5. They offer the avenue to "flow states" and peak experiences.
6. They create a seamless connection between motivation, instruction, assessment,
and practical application - leading to "deep understanding."
7. They make it possible to experience processes from beginning to end.
8. They develop both independence and collaboration.
9. They provide immediate feedback and opportunities for reflection.
10. They make it possible to use personal strengths in meaningful ways and to
bridge into understanding sometimes-difficult abstractions through these strengths.
11. They merge the learning of process and content.
12. They improve academic achievement - enhancing test scores, attitudes, social
skills, critical and creative thinking.
13. They exercise and develop higher order thinking skills including analysis,
synthesis, evaluation, and "problem-finding."
14. They are essential components of any alternative assessment program.
15. They provide the means for every student to learn.
The Mozart Effect
In 1993 Rauscher et al.1 made the surprising claim that, after listening to Mozart's
sonata for two pianos (K448) for 10 minutes, normal subjects showed significantly
better spatial reasoning skills than after periods of listening to relaxation
instructions designed to lower blood pressure or silence. The mean spatial IQ scores
were 8 and 9 points higher after listening to the music than in the other two
conditions. The enhancing effect did not extend beyond 10-15 minutes. These
results proved controversial. Some investigators were unable to reproduce the
findings2,3,4 but others confirmed that listening to Mozart's sonata K448 produced
a small increase in spatial-temporal performance, as measured by various tests
derived from the Stanford—Binet scale such as paper-cutting and folding
procedures5,6,7 or pencil-and-paper maze tasks8. However, Rauscher has stressed
that the Mozart effect is limited to spatial temporal reasoning and that there is no
enhancement of general intelligence; some of the negative results, she thinks, may
have been due to inappropriate test procedures9.
So, does the Mozart effect exist? The generality of the original positive findings has
been criticized on the grounds that any Mozart effect is due to `enjoyment arousal'
occasioned by this particular music and would not take place in the absence of its
appreciation. This interpretation is countered by animal experiments in which
separate groups of rats were exposed, in utero followed by a postpartum period of
60 days, to Mozart's piano sonata K448, to minimalist music by the composer Philip
Glass, to white noise or to silence and then tested for their ability to negotiate a
maze. The Mozart group completed the maze test significantly more quickly and
with fewer errors (P <0.01) than the other three groups; thus, enjoyment and
musical appreciation is unlikely to have been the basis of the improvement10.
Links
http://childparenting.about.com/cs/k6education/a/mozarteffect.htm
http://www.reversespins.com/effectsofmusic.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFQ81poqb2Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA6p1I9GkX0&feature=related
http://www.graemehopson.com/138-why-music-is-important-in-education-andcan-motivate-students-to-learn.html