MP II

Musical Practices II

General

• Bakan’s Properties of Music

  • Timbre is a fundamental property

  • Music is organized sound

  • Sounds are organized by people

  • Music must have an intention and perception

  • “Music” is a western culture

• Ethnocentrism

  • Imposing ones own cultural perceptions upon another culture

• Maqam Modal Theory

  • Grouped together into 2 four-pitched sets called tetrachords

  • Both share a pivot pitch

    • Root can be interpreted in two ways seamlessly

  • Each pitch has a particular performance practice, when combined, makes a maqam

  • Has additional melodic and ornamental rules

• Arabic music

  • Containes 24 pitches

    • Not equally spaced

    • Players moved to 12 tone when they had to work with western musicians

• Chamber music

  • Music designed to be played in the background of a “chamber” which usually ment a cafe

  • Examples of this are Arabic Takht and Chinese Sizhu

• Instruments

  • Solo

    • Chinese Zheng

    • Persian Tar

    • Arabic Oud

      • Much bigger body and smaller neck than the Tar

    • Spanish Classical Flamenco Guitar

    • Lap Steel Guitar

      • Made to sound like a voice

      • Fretless

    • Blues slide guitar

      • Utilizes the vocal like fretless sound of a lap steel guitar while still having frets

• Interlocking: Partial musical phrases that together comprise a musical whole

  • Can be repeating ostinatos, melodic pitch fragments, or a combination

Vocal Improv

• Baqara (abridged) - Hafiz Kani Karaca

  • Qur’anic recitation

    • Fixed text with improvised melody

  • Uses Maqam modal theory

• Ato Nosin Yoo Lapashim - Abraham Brun

  • Jewish Cantorial Recitation

    • Cantor (or chazzan) sings text from the bible using modes related to the Jewish calendar

• Ya Garatal Wadi - Fairouz

  • Arabic popular music

  • Melody based on Maqam theory

  • Combines traditional arabic instruments with european practices

• Nice Work if you can Get it - Sarah Vaughan

  • Pop given jazz treatment

    • Text unchanged but takes liberty with the melody

• Cottontail - Ella Fitzgerald

  • Wordless vocal aka Scat Singing

Instrumental Ensembles

• Ghanaian Drumming

  • Agbekor” A war music of the Ewe people

  • POLYRYTHMS

  • Uses 7 very important instruments

    • Gankogui: Keeps a pattern that each rhythm can relate to to stay locked in

    • Kidi: slightly larger and fatter

    • Totodzi

    • Kloboto: similar to totodzi

    • Kaganu: slightly larger and skinnier

    • Atsimevu: largest

  • Uses Interlocking

• High life and afro beat

  • Traditional west african polyrhythmic practices utilizing western popular music instrumentation

• Zombie - Star Fela Kuti

  • Nigerian afro beat

• Blocos Afro

  • From brazil

  • One vocal line with drums

• JulaJula

  • Interlocking Pan Pipe music from the andes

• Araic Takht

  • Performed as background music in cafes

  • Some instruments from europe

  • Violin

  • Oud

    • 10 string lyre

      • 5 pitches doubled

  • Nay

    • End blown flute

  • Q’anun

    • Multistring Zither, played with fingerpicks

  • Riqq

    • Tambourine like percussion 

• American Be-Bop

  • Like the arabic Takht, Be-bop ensembles were formed in bars and nightclubs, emphasizing improv.

  •  Harmonic changes from the standard quiet background swing jazz

  • More intense

• Irish Seishún

  • Heterophonic melodies

  • Little to no improvisation

  • Traditional irish instruments

    • Tin whistle

    • Uilleann pipes

      • Similar to bagpipe, but with changeable drone

    • Often flute / fiddle is included

  • Irish quickly incorporated new instruments with tradition

    • Bodhran drum was introduced to irish music by Sean O’ Riada in the early 1960’s

      • Played with The Chieftains led by Paddy Moloney