Kristine Yang's MUH6515 World Music Blog

In thinking about how children play with music and through music, I was reminded of a fun chanting and clapping game I taught to a second grade general music class to align with their Japan unit. This chant is called "Omochio Tsukimasho" and involves chanting the words while carrying out a clapping pattern to specific rhythms guided by the beat in the lyrics. If you watch, it takes a bit of coordination as well as rhythm to carry out this song successfully!  At first glance, this chant appears to be a simple children's game. However, it is implications for musical, cognitive, physical and social development. According to Lew & Campbell (2005, p. 58), "Play is an important medium for learning in young children's lives-wherever they may be. It assists them in their development of language and reasoning skills, and it fosters social competence and peer-group interaction".  Musically, it challenges the players to keep a steady beat and to clap and m...

As part of my fieldwork presentation, I have been listening to recordings of the Oscuro Quintet, a tango ensemble that resides in Philadelphia. Along the way, I found some other recordings of tango music that I really enjoyed. One that I particularly enjoy is this arrangement of "La Cumparsita" performed by the Dali Quartet. This piece was originally composed by Uruguayan composer Gerardo Matos Rodriguez and was arranged for quartet by Javier Montiel. This string quartet performance features Luigi Mazzochi and Carlos Rubio on violin, Adriana Linares on viola, and Jesus Morales on cello.  Several arrangements of "La Cumparsita" already exist for various ensembles and playing levels which make this piece particularly accessible for students. According to Campbell (2004), re-creating music through performance is an excellent outcome of learning through listening, but creating music allows for an even deeper internalization of the sonic structures of a piece of ...

This week I will be comparing two videos as part of this week's theme of authenticity. Both recordings are a performance of the Chinese classical song Han Tien Lei (Thunder During Drought) composed by Yan Lao-Lie.  The first recording is an arrangement of the song for string quartet (2 violins, viola, and cello). This recording is performed by the Shanghai Women String Quartet.  The second recording is a performance by the Hanshin Chinese Folk and Dance Ensemble. This recording features traditional Chinese instruments such as the erhu, pipa, guzheng, dizu, and yangqin.  If we are to consider the second recording as the more "authentic" performance, several comments on authenticity can be made in comparing the two performances. Considering Palmer's definition of authenticity as a continuum (Koops, 2010), the string quartet performance cannot be absolutely authentic because the music was not originally written for that arrangement. However, it is not far off ...

This week, I am sharing a live performance of "Tahmila Suznak" by the Michigan Arab Orchestra Takht Ensemble. The ensemble performs classical and contemporary Arab music. Its members are Michael Ibrahum playing the nay (Arab reed flute), Nady Benyamine playing the violin, Nashwan Fadhel playing the oud (Arab lute), Victor Ghannam playing the qanun (Arab zither), Jonathan Hammonds playing the bass, Gurushuran Yash Singh Sandhu and Daniel Khouri playing percussion, and Usama Baalbaki and Asaad Sultan on voice. As I was listening to this piece, several musical elements caught my attention. I immediately noticed the ensemble sound created by the unique combination of instruments and the lively rhythm patterns. As I continued listening, I noticed that a major feature of the piece was the use of solo improvisations throughout the piece interspersed with call and response between the soloist and the ensemble and sections of full ensemble playing. Understanding the context of th...