This particular video is on the Japanese Noh style of music. There are some distinctive classical consistencies and elements in Japanese music. This particular clip is taken in Tokyo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klww4AerPgw

The music overall has pitches that differ from Western pitches and tones. These can be heard throughout this clip, although not all are tones different from the Western tones. These tones that differ are called semitones.

The tempo seem to quite fast for Japanese music which is generally slow in nature and almost nonpulsatile in sounding, but the Japanese Noh style clearly has a moderate speed.
Other Elements of Japanese music is a sense of space between the notes, known as a ma. This allows the listener to get a sense of balance and equilibrium.

One particular thing that can be noted is the stage room. The performers are playing cues for a actor who wears a mask. The actor sings, speaks, and dances to the rhythm and chant of the five musicians in the background. There seems to be five actors also, one main character with a role as a warrior of some sort.

The division between musicians and actors is clear due to clothing attire. The musicians are playing mainly rhythmic percussive instruments, although there is one outcast that happens to play a reed like instrument. Most likely this instrument is a sho, hichiriki, or ryuteki, but due to quality it is hard to pin down which one it is.

The audience takes a small role during the performance, like a many Western plays.

Blog Post 5

Tihai, a North Indian Hindustani classical trio band, performed a traditional Indian style that revealed most of the elements of Indian classical music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puqqTPCmnKU

Digital Pill only featured three pieces, but the first piece had two performers featured with their own improvisations, one playing the saxophone like instrument and the other on a chordophone that might be a sitar. Although, the saxophone isn’t a traditional Indian instrument, the sitar and talbla are.

The tabla is a drum that is played with the hads and fingers to create elaborate patterns, another element of Indian music. Accompanied by the drummer in the second and third pieces, more elements are visible.

The improvisation was based on a raga melodic style, which is there are hundreds of unique ragas with their own ornaments, scales, pitches, and melodic lines which create the mood for the music. I could only hear the melodic movements, which didn’t move much, but the ornamentation in between seem to create the spirit of the music.

The tala, or long rhythm cycles, were too complex to follow, but seemed to be somewhat consistent for the musicians to follow together in the second and third pieces. Ironically, it seemed like the tabla player was following the sitar player rhythmically which contrasts from the contemporary style of music, where the drum is the metronome for the band.

Strangely I didn’t notice a drone until I read that it was a tonal foundation for the raga. This band also had a drone in the background.

Blog Post 4

When Googoosh sung at the live concert in Malaysia, the Iranian elements of music could be heard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtiTG7Gcb7A

The melody was definitely complex. Some syllables had several different notes sung, many which sound very strange and almost flat or almost sharp at times. I believe she used quarter-tones in this manner, but I do not have perfect pitch.

The basic melody was sung by the crowd at times. This allowed me to understand the basic melody but also contrast it to Googoosh’s voice. During these short periods when the crowd could be heard, she would vary away from the melody with her own improvisation and kick to the song.

The music had heterophony textures. The melody and some instruments played the melody at different times. Googoosh would frequently waver away from the melody, another hint of heterophony texture. Although, there were clear uses of western instruments and homophony textures at infrequent occasions, one can tell this is not a western style of music.

The rhythms seem to be very simple but different between different instruments; which is another aspect of Middle Eastern music. Also, the language that was sung was in Farsi or the Iranian Language.

She has become an iconic figure ever since the Iranian government let her perform and leave the country. Although I am not used to listening to Middle Eastern music, she has a nice quality to her voice. Her style serves as an Art Music type since she is mainly doing this out of her passion for her country and culture.

Extra Credit Blog Post 4

The Chinese New Year Celebration was an unexpected pleasure. My mom was also excited to attend since it was an open to the public, when we arrived at 7:00, there were 700 people all crowded in and outside the Conference Center Auditorium. Depressed, but determined to take notes, I befriended the bouncers and helped them bounce the frustrated parents and tourists.

The audience consisted of mainly Chinese people, some even came from china. The eager attendees ranged from little boys and girls to grandparents. There were also the regular elders and college kids, but my Asian brethren outnumbered them with a 100:1 ratio.

The performers occasionally between scenes had to change costumes. The men wearing Chinese white silk and red sashes. In the begging act they carried red fans. The girls who performed next were wearing teal and white dresses, some using masks as part of the act. Most of the girls in this act had claws of some sort and the main actress had a beautiful white dress.

This class was my way in to talking to some of the performers. I mainly talked to the Turkish fellow Ali. He wrote down some of the instruments that I heard (thanks Ali).

The instruments that I heard were the “Rewup, duttar, and timbur” (Ali). On top of these instruments I heard an idiophone and a drum. The music that I was listening to had a Duple and Simple Meter. Even with the buzz of the crowd, the music was still amazing, reminded me of my last vacation in China. Although I didn’t sit among the audience, my time that night was still an adventure. I hope next year they have more seats.

Extra Credit Blog Post 3

The music that the Chamber Orchestra Kremlin with Emanuel Borok performed was like going to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, but shrunken down into the UTD auditorium. It took place on Friday 8:00 p.m., February 5th at the Success Center Auditorium which had a strong resonating sound that could be heard from late comers and bathroom breakers.
The seats were more filled than the last concert I attended, but never the less audience consisted of mainly seniors, students, and oddly enough middle aged men and women who seem to be actively dating. I never thought dating at college programs was the convention people, but I guess its part of the college experience to learn this.
The performers consisted of both male and female, with guys in blue collared shirts and ladies with blue blouses. The uniformity in a way added to feeling that you were hearing one thing when in actuality there were about seventeen performers. The stage was arranged so that the conductor was in the center and all the instruments were grouped with similar instrumentation.
One of the movements in their first piece seemed to have a waltz like quality. I think it was in Triple Meter with a Simple Meter. But most of the songs had a Duple and Simple Meter. The music overall was soothing, although some pieces seem to be quite tense and interesting. The music had different styles when varying between movements. This is a type of Art Music, which I wouldn’t mind listening on the radio.