Week 9 Posting

If I were an ethnomusicologist giving a lecture on American music in a foreign country, I would find that job to be a formidable task. It is difficult to classify the music of the United States as being homogeneous, or to gather all of its disparate genres under one category or description. Instead, American music is a reflection of America's diversity in all aspects, as well as being a representation of the country's social history.

If I were to give a lecture on this subject, I would choose to introduce my audience to American music by posing a question - what are their conceptions of American music? What is the first thing that comes to mind when they think of American music? Based on their answers, which would probably include mention of pop stars like Britney Spears and Beyonce, I would proceed to explain that American music as we know it today has its roots in the melting pot of the 17th century, when European colonists arrived in North America with African slaves, coming into contact with Native American tribes. At this time, each of these distinct people groups all brought their own musical traditions and instruments to America, drawing influence from one another to create a variety of American genres of music.

However, while acknowledging the diverse contribution of many ethnic groups toward the American music we hear today, I would focus my lecture on the music of African Americans, because their music covers so many aspects of American music, and there is simply so much to talk about, it would be relatively easy to fill two hours with an overview of African American music.

African American music, through blues, jazz, and gospel music, has made quite an impact on the development of other genres of American music. The development of a distinct category of African American music began when slaves brought from West Africa mixed their native music with Western European music.

At this point, I would discuss the different distinctive aspects of African music and European music and how African American music incorporates aspects of both styles to create a new sound. African American music is characterized by call-and-response, emphasis on particular vocal effects, emphasis on rhythm, dense texture, and complex harmony.

This is particularly noticeable in the development of spirituals and blues. Spirituals were first sung by slaves, who combined the lyrics and melodies of Christian hymns with African rhythms and singing styles, emphasizing the Biblical themes of freedom and the Israelites' Exodus out of Egypt. The blues genre combines traditional African work songs with intermittent shouts and yells, interweaving an aspect of African call-and-response. Blues emerged later in American history, in the 20th century, but it is an indispensable aspect of African-influenced American music. During this portion of the lecture, I would play some listening examples here, perhaps one spiritual ("There Is a Balm in Gilead") and one blues piece ("St. Louis Blues").

Next, I would discuss African American influence on popular music during the mid 20th century. In the earlier part of the 20^th century, into the 1920s, jazz music developed in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz is another example of hybridity of African music styles with Western traditions, combining elements of blues notes and spirituals with European military band music. The popularity of jazz music gave rise to swing music, a pop-based style of jazz appreciated by white audiences and dancers. I would play an example from this period by Duke Ellington, an influential jazz musician.

The 1940s was a period in which rock 'n roll developed, with artists like Little Richard coming to the fore. In the late 1950s, soul music evolved out of the gospel music genre, with artists like Ben E. King becoming popular with his famous song "Stand By Me." Also, the late 1950s and 1960s marked the birth of the Motown era. The "Motown Sound" was characterized by the use of a tambourine, a strong bass line, and call-and-response, reminiscent of traditional African music and African American gospel music. It was during this time that African American music gained increasing popularity among the general American audience. Many of these groups were composed of a homogeneous group of men or women, such as The Temptations or Diana Ross and the Supremes, but there were also solo artists like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. I would provide a listening example of a song by the Supremes and then discuss the defining characteristics of this period of music, as exemplified by this song.

Next, I would discuss the development of hip hop, R&B (rhythm and blues), and rap during the late 20^th century. This is the period in which most of my audience would probably be most familiar, so I would not need to dwell on this musical period for too long. It was during this time that African American music gained greater appreciation and popularity from other racial groups in America. During the 1980s, a distinct brand of pop-soul music was popularized by artists such as Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson. Their contributions can still be noted in the singing style of today’s contemporary pop musicians. It was also during this time that MTV and the music video gave musicians significantly more access to their audiences, so to emphasize the technological aspect of the dissemination of popular music, I would show a video clip of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

To conclude my lecture, I would reiterate my main point of hybridity in African American music, reviewing the characteristics of African music and Western European traditions that have combined in different portions and distinct ways over the history of Africans in America. I would remind my audience that music around the world is on a continuum and that the music of each ethnic group or nation is rarely completely unique, but has had some influence from another region of the world. America is a prime example of “melting pot” culture, particularly exemplified in African American music.

Week 8 Posting

This week in class, we have been learning about musics of Africa, concentrating on Sub-Saharan Western Africa. The first general principle of African music with which we dealt was aesthetics. In general, most African music is characterized by a preference for buzzy timbres, chordophones with a percussive element, breathy aerophones, and dense, overlapping textures, which are created by the use of interlocking parts. Although these general principles cannot be applied to every single piece of African music or every single African musical artist, these qualities can be used to distinguish African music from other world musics. In the same way, general principles of aesthetics and performance can be used to characterize traditional music of other regions, or, even more specifically, of a particular artist of a certain region, whether this musician is a performer of traditional or contemporary popular music.

My musician of choice is a Taiwanese songwriter and pop star named Jay Chou. He is one of the best-known musicians in Asia. Chou started his career in the music industry as a songwriter. His particular strength is found in constructing complex and exceptional melodies, though he also writes lyrics. Eventually, Chou broke through as a singer in his own right, releasing his first solo album in 2000. His style is uniquely recognizable as being distinctly "Jay." In terms of aesthetics, the timbre of his voice is easily distinguished from other Chinese-language pop singers. His voice often has a strained quality, as many of his songs tend to be in higher keys. His style of singing is a combination of quick rapping and medium-speed singing. Chou has a tendency toward relaxed enunciation, making it difficult for the unfamiliar listener to distinguish what words he is singing or rapping. It often sounds like mumbling, but it is extremely characteristic of Chou's style. In terms of musical sound, Chou prefers to fuse many genres of music for a fresh sound, combining R&B, rap, Western classical music, and Chinese traditional music. On occasion, Chou will use the pentatonic scale, common to East Asian traditional music, instead of the diatonic scale, common to Western music, to accentuate the desired Asian sound. This fusion of a variety of musical influences allows the listener to have a taste of Chou's musical background. Particularly, Chou's frequent use of classical music, as in his song "Reverse Scales," shows how elements of his musical upbringing have influenced his music as a professional performer. In addition, Chou also incorporates many sounds of everyday life into his music, ranging from the sound of bouncing ping pong balls to the ringing of a cell phone. Using these non-musical elements in his music allows Chou to transport the listener into another world of Chou's music, yet using familiar sounds helps the listener identify with these sounds. Finally, although Chou does not write the lyrics to all of his songs, the majority of his songs contain meaningful, rich lyrics, dripping with imagery and emotion. His songs often refer to aspects of traditional Chinese culture, incorporating Chinese folklore and history, while maintaining contemporary relevance for his audience.

Through these numerous aesthetic qualities - a unique vocal style, fusion of a variety of musical styles and influences, incorporation of non-musical everyday sounds, and meaningful, thoughtful lyrics - Jay Chou has created a distinctive style of his music. When it is imitated by other musicians, fans or frequent listeners of Chou can immediately note the similarities. Through these principles of his music, Chou attempts to create a new style of pop music that can be appreciated by contemporary Chinese music fans, but he also pays homage to the musicians who went before him. By combining many different styles of music in his songs, Chou acknowledges his many influences. In addition, Chou is a good example of globalization. Without technology and the global atmosphere of the twenty-first century, a Chinese musician would not be able to incorporate the Western sounds of rap, R&B, and classical music into his compositions. Chou's meaningful lyrics, which often contain references to traditional Chinese culture, also illustrate his respect for his heritage. Using aspects of Chinese culture in his pop songs is also a way to transmit knowledge about Chinese culture to listeners of other ethnic backgrounds, as well. In conclusion, Chou's musical style is a good representation of the state of pop music today, as it demonstrates how music is not static, but mobile; music of one culture can be shaped and influenced by outside culture(s), but it can still retain characteristics that allow the listener to distinguish it as being of that one culture.

Week 7 Posting

In class on Wednesday, we finished watching Latcho Drom, although we had to skip some scenes in the interest of time. Most of the movie revolved around the Roma people's movement in Eastern Europe. In both of these scenes, the violin was a common element.

The first scene we watched depicted a settlement in Romania. In the beginning, we saw a boy observing two older men playing and singing a song under a tree. One man played a hammered dulcimer, while the other man played a violin, occasionally using one string of the bow to draw against the strings of the violin, creating a unique sound. In this introductory scene, I noticed a clear difference in their dress, as compared to the previous scenes, which took place in the Middle East and Central Asia. Their dress in this scene appeared to be much more typical of what is commonly regarded as the dress of Eastern Europeans. I noticed that many, if not most, of the men in the Romania scene wore hats. I had always thought that this was just a stereotype about Eastern European men, but from the movie, it looked like many of them really do wear hats all the time.
In the scene of people coming out of their houses, it looked like the musicians were beckoning their neighbors out of their houses with the music. First we saw a man come out playing a violin, then there was a man with a flute, and another man with an accordion. When the company of musicians gathered together, I noticed many violins, a standing bass, an accordion, a large dulcimer, a smaller dulcimer, and a flute. The men played while the people in the audience, who were surrounding them, danced and clapped and swayed to the music. In particular, I noticed two older ladies who appeared as if they were enjoying the music very much. There was a portion of the song in which one of the dulcimer players used his instrument as a kind of drum, hitting his small wooden mallets against the non-stringed portion of the dulcimer. This scene appeared to be quite characteristically Romanian. It was also interesting to note the strong sense of community among the Roma people, as depicted here. I thought it was quite apparent that music played a significant role in drawing the community together, as a way to bring some pleasure to everyone who could hear the music.

The second scene took place at and around a train station in Slovakia. First we saw a group of Roma people singing a lament on the train, enumerating the plight of the Roma people. This song was sung a cappella by a young girl and an older woman. Next, we saw a large group of Roma people waiting at a train station. I noticed that they stood on the other side of the train tracks from a mother and child, probably of Slovakian descent. The people started a fire to warm themselves, and after a little while, the young Slovakian boy walked over to them and offered the man with a violin three coins to play music for him. The man chuckled, gave the boy back his money, and began to play. In this song, the violin was accompanied by snapping, an idiophonic drum, singing, spoons (idiophone), and dancing. The little boy was clearly pleased, as well, and danced to the music, much to his mother's enjoyment. Finally, the group of Roma people on the train arrived at the station as the music was still being played and sung. The scene ended in reunion and happiness, surrounded by music and dancing. I enjoyed watching this scene because it showed how music was able to bridge the gap between two disparate ethnic groups, both socially and physically. I think the use of the physical distance formed by the train tracks was a great way, on the director's part, to show how music could cross that distance and bring the people together.

Week 6 Posting

During our in-class viewing of Latcho Drom, we watched three main scenes of the Rom people's migration from India to Western Europe:
1) the nomads celebrating under the full moon
2) a celebration with a couple dancing in Egypt
3) a takht ensemble playing in a teahouse in Istanbul, Turkey

In all three scenes, I noticed that there was always some type of chordophone, as well as a drum, whether it was a membranophone or an idiophone. In addition to these instruments, there was always the human instruments of clapping (idiophone) and the voice (aerophone).

The first scene showed the Rom people migrating out of India, westward toward Central Asia and the Middle East. The most notable aspect of this scene's music, in my opinion, was the singing of the young boy. I noticed that his voice was clear and powerful, and he sang in a confident manner, using frequent ornamentation in his singing. In addition, there were drums that appeared to be made of wood with membranes stretched over the top, small metal idiophones, small finger cymbals, and a type of lute. It also appeared that the women used their jewelry, the many bracelets on their arms and wrists, to produce a sharp, metallic sound. There was also an older man singing primarily in the direction of two younger women, who seemed to think his performance was amusing. Most of the dancing in this scene was performed by females. A noteworthy dance performance was that of the young woman dancing under the tree, while some other men accompanied her. The music in this scene had a strong Indian flavor. The lute is quite reminiscent of Asian music, both from East Asia and South Asia.

The second scene showed three young children/adolescents scrambling to watch a celebration inside a house. The little girl danced by herself, listening to the music, while one boy climbed up a tree and played along on his homemade rebaba, apparently made from a gourd, and the third boy peered into the window to watch the performance. This scene was different from the first in that the music was primarily performed indoors. Inside the building, we could see a rather crowded room with many performers as well as many people in the audience. The focus centered on the couple dancing in the middle of the room. I noticed a violin (kaman) being played, wooden clappers, an idiophonic drum played with a wooden stick, small cymbals, and clapping as well. In this scene the music had much more of a Middle Eastern, Egyptian style. I also noticed, in particular, the rebaba, which reminded me of the erhu we had learned about when studying Chinese music, and the rebab in the Balinese gamelan. I was impressed by the widespread nature of this bowed instrument. This scene showed people who were wholeheartedly absorbed in the music, which gave me an idea of how significant music was and is in their culture.

The third scene was introduced by a family who sold flowers and chili peppers for a living in Istanbul. We see the young boy and girl watching music being performed in a teahouse. The little girl dances along, while the young boy looks like he's itching to play along or clap to the music. This scene showed a takht ensemble with signficant Western influence, in terms of the instruments used. I noticed a clarinet, a nay (end-blown flute), a riq (tambourine), a kaman (violin), an 'ud (plucked lute), a qanun (zither), and a small hand-held drum. The significant thing about this scene, in my opinion, was the active audience participation. Nearly all of the men sitting at their tables turned their attention toward the front of the restaurant, where the ensemble was seated and performing, and all of the audience clapped and swayed to the music, clearly enjoying it very much. The music in this scene showed Turkish and Western influence, as shown in the setting and instruments of the ensemble. The zither here is similar to the zheng in Chinese music, but it is of Egyptian origin, having evolved from an Egyptian harp. The lute here, like the one in the first scene, reminded me of those in Asian music as well.

Watching this movie has been quite interesting so far. I have enjoyed seeing how the Rom people have absorbed the musical style of each region they have come across and inhabited, using that region's music to make a sound that belongs uniquely to the Rom. It's clear that music is an integral part of their culture. I am looking forward to watching the rest of the movie to see the people's journey into Western Europe.

Week 5 Posting

Question 2: Can you think of an encounter with some type of representation in the mass media (give a musical example if possible) that you felt strongly about?

I can think of two noteworthy examples that immediately come to mind when I consider (mis)representations in the mass media, about which I felt strongly. Both of these encounters involve a misrepresentation of an ethnicity - in these cases, the Chinese ethnicity. Being Chinese American, I sympathize with both the Chinese and American sensibilities. However, since I live in the United States, most of the encounters that I have with the mass media are from the American perspective. Occasionally, I see or hear something in American mass media that is a bit jarring to my Chinese American perspective. These rare instances cause me to think carefully and reconsider my own identity, based on my visceral response to these encounters.



The first example is a song called "Summer Girls" by a pop group called LFO. This song first hit the radio when I was in middle school, around 1998-1999. Most of the lyrics in this song are harmless, in my opinion, except for one line in the chorus - "New Kids on the Block had a bunch of hits / Chinese food makes me sick / And I think it's fly when girls stop by in the summer..." When I heard that line disparaging Chinese food, I was initially upset. I didn't understand why a group of Caucasian boys needed to include that line in a seemingly innocuous, inane pop song. As I thought about it more, I began to think that the inclusion of this phrase about Chinese food probably wasn't an act of racism that revealed the songwriters' true feelings about Chinese food. I told myself that LFO probably put this line in the song just to be "funny," and so that it could rhyme with "Abercrombie and Fitch," which is used later in the chorus. This song doesn't bother me as much as the next example does; however, I hope that musicians will carefully consider how their music affects the thoughts of their audience, whether positively or negatively.



This is a clip of Rosie O'Donnell on the TV Show "The View," which aired in December 2006. O'Donnell made a remark about Danny DeVito's apparently infamous intoxicated appearance, in which she said, "The fact is that it's news all over the world. You know, you can imagine in China it's like, 'Ching chong, ching chong, Danny DeVito, ching chong chong chong chong, drunk, The View, ching chong." When I first heard about this incident, I was angry. I couldn't believe that she made this comment on national television. Perhaps being born and raised in California has led me to think that Americans are generally tolerant and open toward other nationalities and ethnicities, especially the "model minority" of Asian Americans, but this racist comment was unbelievable. It is interesting to consider that Rosie O'Donnell is quite outspoken when it comes to people making disparaging comments about gays and lesbians in the media or in the public forum, but she apparently has no qualms about insulting the Chinese language, which is spoken by more than a fifth of the world's population.



My last example is a relatively new song by the Chinese American rapper Jin. In this song, which is performed almost entirely in the Cantonese dialect of Chinese, Jin raps about his life in America, being both Chinese and American, and how much he appreciates it. I think this is really interesting because Jin's audience is mostly American, particularly those who don't understand Cantonese. Despite the language barrier (he can speak perfect English, by the way), he persists in rapping in Cantonese, perhaps as a way to show honor to his heritage and demonstrate that despite the fact that he was born in America, he is still proud of his Chinese background.