Music Around the World: Week 6: Musics of the Middle East

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Week 6: Musics of the Middle East

Upcoming event on music and culture in the Middle East (including music of the Whirling Dervishes, Sufis, that we covered in class!)

Sunday, May 20, 2007 • Northwest Auditorium • 1 PM
"At the Cultural Crossroads:
Music and Culture of the Middle East”

Sacred Jewish Music: Mysticism of Sound,
* Whirling: A Sufi Way of Sacred Movement
The Magic of the Armenian Woodwinds

Today, we briefly discussed the general characteristics of Arab classical and Persian classical music through our listening examples. Then we heard two guest speakers discuss the technicalities of Arab music, specifically rhythmic patterns or Iqaat, and melodic modes called maqam. We learned how to play several rhythmic modes, like sama'i : D x x T x D D T x x
See if you can play along to your listening example entitled "Sama'i Bayyati" (Bayyati is the maqam). See our guest speaker David Martinelli's website for an upcoming performance of his group: www.kanzaman.org

Persian classical music, on the other hand, uses the Dastgah system, which includes both melodic and rhythmic material in each of the 12 Dastgah. We discussed the similarities between Indian raga/tala, Arabic maqam/iqaat, and Persian dastgah.

Also, your classmate Maha did a fantastic presentation on the life and music of Egyptian artist Abdel Halim Hafez, his impact on music of the Arab world, and influence outside the Arab world as found in the music of diverse artists such as Jay-Z and Ishtar Alabina. http://ethnomusicology5mahasami.blogspot.com/

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Concert Ethnography

Due: June 6, Wednesday, at the beginning of class, 15% of final grade Submit a 4-5 page (double-spaced) musical ethnography on a live world music concert you attended this quarter (see http://www.ethnomus.ucla.edu for a schedule of FREE UCLA concerts). Include a title page, with the title, your name, student ID, and major/year along with a concert program, handed out during the concerts, stapled to your paper IF POSSIBLE. Start with a statement of what your essay will address--some concept we covered in class such as identity, representation, context, aesthetics, ritual, etc., that ties all your information together (just like you've been doing in your blog assignments). Then, the ethnography will describe the music being played, the context or setting, the musicians, the audience, as well as your own experience, using the relevant analytical terms and techniques learned in class. You may also compare the music with another type of music (one studied in class) for further analysis. Pay attention to the (1) types of instruments being used (2) types of vocal music used (solo or chorus?) (3) Musical features such as call-and-response, complex meters, heterophonic textures, all the types of musical elements were learned in class. Other questions: Do you hear Western-style harmony in any of the pieces? What about the tempo and rhythms of the pieces? Does any one instrument seem to be featured or are they all more or less equal? Do you hear monophony, heterophony, or polyphony? Pay attention to the performers—are they mostly students or professionals or a mix? Is the audience composed of other students, relatives of the performers, or people who appear to share the same cultural heritage, or a mix? How do they respond to the music? Is the audience quietly listening, or are they clapping along and responding out loud? Anything else of interest should be noted. IF POSSIBLE, interview someone from the ensemble—why do they participate in the ensemble? How did they become interested in the music? How do they learn the music (by written notation or by aural transmission)? Would you want to perform or participate in this music? Why did you choose this particular concert to attend? Demonstrate your knowledge of class material by using information from the lectures, guest lectures, films, and textbook. Compare the original context (what one might find in the country of origin) to the one you attended (in a university setting, with students and professors, mixed audience). How do the audience, setting, musicians, and music differ? You can use outside sources IF WE DID NOT COVER THE MUSIC IN CLASS such as books, articles, recordings, interviews, videos, etc. Use the appropriate manner of in-text citation and of listing your references cited at the end (see the journal Ethnomusicology as a guide). The TA or I will be happy to look at preliminary drafts and advise you on any aspect of your project. Please proofread your paper and avoid mistakes in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and vocabulary usage (they do count!).

Assignment: Week 8

In class, we discussed general principles of African music through aesthetics such as dense texture, and the relationship between social organization and musical organization (community participation vs. professional musicians). Think of a popular music artist/group or genre that you listen to...Can you list three to five aesthetic qualities that characterize the artist/group's music or that genre? What type of identity/image does that artist/group try to project through their music? In other words, how does the music sound reflect the artist/group's image/identity?

Music Around the World

Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Week 6: Musics of the Middle East

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Concert Ethnography

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Assignment: Week 8

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