The steelpan is a very interesting instrument, for a lot of reasons. I have conducted research on this instrument using two ethnography methods; Participant Observation, and Group Performance, and have explored what makes it so interesting. This ethnography explains my finding, and gives insight to how the steelpan is played, and how it is used in different settings. It will answer my inquiries about the steelpan’s background, their history of how they came to be what they are today, their origin of how and why they were created, and also their uses and meaning in the Trinidadian culture. Lastly it will explain how the steelpans are used in people’s leisure time. In 1789, during the French Revolution, French planters immigrated to Trinidad …show more content…
They are created from 55 gallon oil drums which originally had the top ends of the barrels hammered into a convex shape, protruding outward. However in today’s modern pan, they are hammered into a concave shape which makes it much easier to play. On the inner area of the top, are section which have been hammered very thin, and flat to the point where when struck, produce a noticeable tone. This is what gives it the distinct sound. And there are many different ways to arrange the notes on the pan, two of which are called, “Invader”, and “Spider Web”. The Invader style of drum was created by Ellie Mannette, and was the first chromatic pan, and also the first sunken drum. The Spider Web style of drum was created by Tony Williams. The notes of the steelpan range from bass, all the way to tenor voice, and a complete steel band typically covers about 5 octaves. The steelpan is played using rubber mallets which are used to strike the notes in the pan. Depending on the song, the movements of the hands, and the force applied to each note is crucial, and takes quite a bit of practice. Some songs, like Sea of Stories, written by Andy Narell, can last around 10 minutes, so practice is key for playing the steelpan. However, the most crucial part of a steelpan ensemble, is the harmonic precision of every member of the …show more content…
I not only got to see what it was like to learn how to play these instruments but I also got to experience what it was like to play one in a group. What first drew me to it was when the professor leading the ensemble came to class one day and did a small performance for us with one of the members. Being able to watch true professionals play was incredible. The way they played with such passion and enthusiasm caught my eye immediately, and is what peaked my interest in the steelpan. After a semester of watching and learning, and interacting with the other performers, I came to understand that even though the Maroon Steel ensemble is not a Trinidadian one, they still play with the same techniques, and the same passion as a true Trinidadian steelpan player. As I conducted my research, I found that the steelpan can be played in a multitude of settings. Anywhere from a small community performance, to a large orchestra sized ensemble performing in massive competitions. The steelpan is a very versatile
Canciones de arargue, or songs of bitterness – was the original name for the creolized form Bachata. Many closely associate Bachata with the other Caribbean styles of the African diaspora such as merengue and son. In Intro to Music Cultures of the World we were tasked with attending a world music concert. I chose to attend a Bachata concert because I already had an interest in Caribbean music. The concert was not as I had expected, but was rather intriguing and thoroughly enjoyable. In this report I hope to analyze Bachata’s roots, report on its concert style, and compare it to another piece in the genre.
When you go to the mall to pick up a pair of jeans or a shirt, do you think about where they came from? How they were made? Who made them? Most consumers are unaware of where their clothes are coming from. All the consumer is responsible for is buying the clothing from the store and most likely have little to no knowledge about how it was manufactured, transported, or even who made the clothing item and the amount of intensive labor that went into producing it (Timmerman, 3). In my paper, I will utilize the book Where Am I Wearing? by Kelsey Timmerman and the textbook Cultural Anthropology: A Toolkit for a Global Age by Kenneth J. Guest to examine globalization in the context of the clothing industry.
In Essentials of Cultural Anthropology, the book defines ethnography as “a written account of how a single human population lives” (Bailey & Peoples, 2014, p. 8). It seems to be such a simple definition to the multiple levels needed to make a successful ethnography as shown by Douglas Raybeck in Mad Dogs, Englishmen, and the Errant Anthropologist. These multiple levels of ethnographic methods include problems that often arise, the assimilation into a culture, and the many different ways of perceiving culture. This method of study is particularly unique to the social sciences because of the extensive amount of assimilation one does in order to interpret a society's culture. There is the need for a year-long period--occasionally even longer--
Ethnomusicology: a short introduction is about describing the growing discipline of how ethnomusicology researchers are going about studying different music from around the world, looking for perceptions in both humanity and music. Ethnomusicologists believe that all people are musical, not just people that label themselves as “musicians” and that there is music in all beings. This thinking causes a lot of debate in which ethnomusicologists argue that we must first study all forms of music such as its Geographic’s and history in order to answer any questions. Not only are traditional forms of music acknowledged but also more contemporary musical forms.
Music and dance are important parts of Peruvian culture. “Andean Folk Music is common in Peru. People perform a stylized dance to energetic music mixed with sad songs. Popular instruments include clay panpipes, flutes, conch shell trumpets, and puma-skin drums”(Falconer, Kieran, and Quek 102). The music follows themes of religion, war, and profanity. Peruvians are always found dancing, whether at a festival, carnival, or just for fun. Music shows important parts of Peruvian culture.
Throughout the years Latin music has slowly made an impact in the music industry in the United States, from the traditional mariachi to the vibrant Rock en Español. But it is the controversial folk-music genre called narcocorridos that has made a major impact in the last few years in the United States, mainly the southwestern states that border with Mexico. Also called drug ballads, this subgenre of the traditional corrido has emerged since the 1990’s as the principal instrument to chronicle the odyssey of Mexicans across the Rio Grande in a drug-infested universe (Stavans). Played by the tuba, an accordion, drums and a guitar, narcocorridos are about violent confrontations between cartels and the luxury lives of powerful drug lords. With the violent drug wars in the last ten years in Mexico, narcocorridos have been the music trend to many, mainly the young generation. People get influence by this music and want to live the expensive and exotic life these drug lords live by. In this research paper I am going to explain how the emergence of narcocorridos has influenced the young generation and societies in the United States and Mexico.
When society envisions a Wind Ensemble, talented musicians, grand music halls, and difficult arrangements typically come to mind. However, a modern-day Wind Ensemble includes a variety of musicians,
Music comes in many shapes and forms, and has been a magical element of inspiration and encouragement throughout time. The art of music derives from many different things, such as culture and traditions. One such type of music is mariachi music, deriving from Mexican culture and traditions. Mariachi music is often an upbeat rhythm, consisting of a band of up to six to eight violins, two trumpets and a guitar. Unlike modern music and other music bands alike, mariachi bands lack in numbers when it comes to band size. Though they are small, their music brings great significance and life to the places they perform and the people that they touch with their joyous music. In this paper, I will be comparing the culture and style of mariachi music to twentieth century modern music.
“How Musical is Man?” was published in 1974. This book was written by John Blacking, a musician turned social anthropologist. His goal in writing this ethnography, and several other papers during this same time period, was to compare the experience of music-making that takes place within different cultures and societies throughout the world. In this book, he discusses and describes the musicology of the Venda people in South Africa. Though he does go to Africa to research and learn about the Venda people and their music, he specifically states that his book is “not a scholarly study of human musicality” (ix), but rather it is a summary (written from his point of view), which is both expressive and entertaining, of several different issues and ideas that he has seemingly been contemplating for some time.
"Music is a common experience and a large part of societies. In fact, anthropologists note that all human communities at all times and in all places, have engaged in musical behaviours. Music as a mode of human activity is a cultural phenomenon constituting a fundamental social entity as humans create music and create their relationship to music. As cultural phenomeno...
The book America’s Musical Landscape starts by looking back to early North American Music from the American Indians, to the religious and non religious music of the European and African settlers. According to the book “Native American music was and is song, sometimes supported by instruments.”1 The Native American used different types of instruments to accompany their songs or chants such as the drums, flute and rattles. Like music for us today the Native Americans used music in all different aspects of their lives. The early European settlers br...
Based on this, it has become hard to conceptualize Mayan music nowadays without the influences of post Encounter. The Mayan music of present day uses marimba as the most popular instrument. This instrument is believed to have originated from Central Africa in the 16th century and arrived in Guatemala in the 17th century (Oxford Music Online, 2012). One of the most outstanding examples of hybrid in pre and post Encounter is the notion that in some Mayan tribes the marimba is used both as an instrument of music and communicating device (Pellicer, 2005). The marimba gives a revelation of indirect contact existing between Africa and Europe. The quality of hybrid in Mayan music is exhibited in the selections of songs from Olsen and Sheehy (2008). The influence of Mayan musical tradition has been seen in ‘Los Novios. ' The instrumentation involved mirrors the effect of African contact from an indirect perspective while the subject matter of the work mirrors the influence of Roman Catholic. Looking at ‘Los Trece’ there is an integration of the subject matter into sones that Latino musicians have developed from various traditions of pre and post-Encounter. In ‘Amilahani’ however, the traditional Mayan impacts the performance and music in general. Dances are more vivid without any trace of influence from post
Throughout the semester, various styles of music and the aspects of culture associated with these styles have been analyzed. Musical elements such as dynamics, texture, form, timbre, melody, instruments, etc., have been used to thoroughly explore each kind of music from different areas of the world, with an emphasis in music from Africa, India and Indonesia. These aspects of music go far beyond just music itself. Culture also plays a huge role in music and the accompanying musical elements. Each country and culture has a different style and distinctiveness that add to what makes the music of that certain culture unique. Music in Africa may differ dramatically from music in Indonesia or India not only due to those certain elements but also due to how it is interpreted by people and what it represents for those people. In addition to this, what one may consider music in one culture may not be music to another. These differences have been made apparent in the several demonstrations that we have been exposed to in class.
According to his review of A Guide to Latin American Music by Gilbert Chase, Charles Seeger describes Chase’s description of the music culture, “The quantitative distribution of more than 2700 entries, which include some multiple listing, is interesting” (Seeger, 1946, 304). Chase explains a plethora of countries in Latin America and their specific musical features. Furthermore, thanks to his detailed work, the reader can see how many common features can be seen. Firstly, a common feature among all genres is the use of aerophones. The aerophones used could include, panpipes of various varieties, flutes, trumpets (as seen at the Boogat performance in Ottawa) and many more. Another common feature among all the genres is a strong rhythmic presence. In essentially all Latin American music, a steady, metrical rhythmic quality can be heard keeping the music energetic and easy to follow. To keep the rhythm, another common feature to Latin American culture is the drum. Most commonly found in the Afro-Latin genre, as a result of influence from African culture, can be seen throughout Latin America. A popularized western form of this type of music, is that of mariachi. Finally, Latin American culture is known for its vibrancy in their music. The music is generally quite expressive of feelings, strong moral messages found in protest songs, and their colorful, elaborate
Music is a form of communication, letting others knows what is going on in the country, political, social or economic and any other problems the people of the Caribbean faced. With so many different ethnic backgrounds in the Caribbean, they are people with Asians, Indians, and Africans descents. This created a language and culture barrier but each ethnic background shared a common link music. Music bridged the gap between the different ethnicities Music is part of everyone’s culture especially here in the Caribbean. Our culture is recognized worldwide for its music. The Caribbean has different genres of music such as calypso, reggae, dance hall, zouk and many others. Our music has roots in both African and European cultures. The drum rhythm comes from the African in...