post 10

href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpW8Jvl9low&NR=1">
This is a link to Puccini's Madame Butterfly. The melody is something that perhaps many people know but they don't know where it comes from or who it was written by.

The music is very melodic and describes the situation well. It is more in the cantabile style, slow and melodic. The melody has a sad, longing feel to it. It is slow and feels like it can drag on and on because the melody never really concludes for the singer. The dynamics are well balanced in that there are softer parts and some stronger parts to contrast with the music and the feeling of the scene creating an effective piece for the opera. Building up to the climax of the piece, the same melodic line is repeated multiple times to create the tension leading to the climax.

While the performer is singing, she is also acting. She doesn't do much other than make small movements but everything is expressed through her voice. The opera style technique being used only makes the music even more fluid and smooth and more emotional. The singer seems to sing "with her whole body" in that it seems she uses a huge effort in order to sing. This brings out the fact that the character, Madame Butterfly, is very much dependent on the Caucasian man. Since it is opera, the acting comes through the voice but it also comes through the way the performer acts. Everything she does will be towards the projection of the expression in the music which is written so she can express the feeling of the moment in the opera.

I have no idea why this whole linking thing isn't working....=[

Post 9

When trying to create the soundscape for avatar, the creators tried to incorporate the music from the na'vi with the music of the human world. There are many parts in the movie in which the music will be mixed since the movie is about the interaction and mixing of the two races: human and na'vi. But there are also times when it is very clearly na'vi and other times when it's clearly 'human'.

The parts that sound like the na'vi culture are parts in which there isn't that much of a melody. There are sounds of traditional drums, like hand drums and more rhythm with less melody. There are also voices chanting in the na'vi language. The chanting is what sings the melody most of the time. It's usually more quiet and there are less instruments during these parts. There may be a flute that plays with the voices and drums.In trying to create the "outworldly" sound, the drumming was pretty genius, I have to admit. Since the language of the na'vi has stops in the sound it went really well with the drumming. Also, the na'vi lived in trees. Drums would be used as communication and calls. The timbre of the voices is also strange. It doesn't sound like anything from the cultures currently so it sounds "outworldly".

The parts that sound like 'regular' music are the portions that use modern instruments: orchestra instruments in this case. It all just sounds very normal and familiar to your ears. Those are the parts that are the 'human' portions. There is usually no singing for these parts. In the movie, these parts are played during the portions of the film that do not involve the na'vi, which is only a small portion since the film is pretty much all about them. In general, this part of the music is louder and more grand than the 'na'vi' parts but there are quiet parts. It has a more..sinister feel to it.

In much of soundtrack has mixed 'na'vi' and 'human' music. So you have the singing and the drumming and the orchestra all going at once. Or you have the orchestra quiet and a singer singing in a strange timbre with a simple melody. Or you could have he orchestra playing and singing with a little bit more complex melody. There are parts where the singer is just singing sounds and no words. In these parts, her voice was probably modified to have a very open sound, like she was singing and her voice would go on forever. This also contributes the "outworldly" feel along with the fact that the melody she is singing is very simple and she is not singing any words. Her voice is very calming while the accompaniment that comes later (the 'human' portion) seems so "rough" in a sense, hitting your ears in an intruding manner of sorts.

music ethnography

Introduction:

The subject of this ethnography is the music culture of western classical music. In this case, it will be observed through a high school setting though this setting from the next does not differ greatly. The default thought in the minds of many people when they heard the words classical music is the western style of classical music. This music within the high school setting is what will be discussed.

Methodology:

Data collection was different. I have very close ties with this music culture so some of the information was found on a stroll down recent-memory and long-term memory lanes. Other things such as the technical portions like instruments and their usage have more concrete research to them since it would be more believable. Observation in the actual music culture was probably the most beneficial place to do research. Books and sources can only tell you an account of the author who might not understand all the aspects of that culture. Interviews and first-person observations were profitable in that they gave the closest account of the music culture possible without actually experiencing it. It was somewhat difficult to think of questions to ask since I was and still am part of the music culture. Sources include more concrete evidence on the instrumentation and history behind this music culture and interviews and some personal experience. The sources for the instrumentation is obviously used more since there isn't really much there, just the main instruments and their usage.

"Musical Instruments." NAXOS. NAXOS, 11 mar 2010. Web. 6 Mar 2010.

This source is used heavily simply because there isn't that much content in it. This is a basic outline of the instruments used in western classical music which is the same as those used in any setting whether professional or high school level (although at the professional level, they're usually of much higher quality).

"History of Classical Music." NAXOS. NAXOS, 11 mar 2010. Web. 6 Mar 2010.

This source is used only slightly to note the time line of the western classical music genre and to provide proof that the music played today are pieces written in older times.

Wong, Nicholas. Personal INTERVIEW. 6 March 2010.

This interview was used heavily to tell of the true experiences of someone within this music culture. Not everyone will experience this and so this is the closest to actually experiencing the music culture.

Liberty High School Full Orchestra. Concert Performance. 18 February 2010.

This performance observation is used as a guide to the performers, the setting, the audience, and the setup of the concert in general. This is where the performer is most himself, without restraints and most concentrated on his music so this source is used more heavily to note the attitude and person of the performer; a member of this music culture.

Keller, Alysson. Personal INTERVIEW. 5 March 2010.

This is my director. This source is an interview but also a collection of the many life lessons I was taught by her.

Aspects Of This Music Culture:

Ideas about music:

When asked what their idea of music was, some of the people within this music culture wouldn't know how to respond since they deem this to be obvious and needing no explanation. Explanations tend to vary from definitions of music such as the performer and the sheet music and not simply the black dot notation to having never thought about it since they decided to continue music in high school simply because they had learned an instrument and it would be a waste of time if they were to stop. Others are their due to their parents' influence and other still are their because they love the music that they make. Music to these latter people is the expression that those composers who compose the pieces they perform wanted to convey in composing what they did. Regardless of what a certain member of this music culture thinks of music, one thing in common among them is the never-ending search for perfection (Wong, Personal Interview). It is the perfect expression that is unique to each piece that is sought (Concert Performance). While all may have different reasons for doing so, this is something that all members within this music culture strive to achieve, whether on an individual level and/or on a larger level with the rest of the orchestra/band/ensemble.

Activities Involving Music:

Activities involving this music culture include rehearsal, individual practice, concert performance and competition performance (Wong, Personal Interview). Majority of the time is spent in rehearsal since that is the base on which performances for concerts and competitions stand on. If there is no rehearsal there is nothing. In a rehearsal is where all the problems and blemishes in the performance of the piece are found and attempt to be fixed. They say practice makes perfect but it doesn't. Only perfect practice makes perfect (Keller, Personal Interview). Individual practice is very important within this music culture as well because there is also individual competitions. Also, individual practice makes the rehearsal run better. Although, for some reason, no matter how much individual practice you do there is always a crazy long list of things to fix in rehearsal (Wong, Personal Interview). Of course, there is no reason to practice and rehearse if there is never a performance. So there is concert performances and, specialty of the high school setting, competition performances. Although during competitions, there isn't much music as “I need to get everything right” is probably on everyone's minds. It isn't so much as “activities involving music”, it's more like “music involving activities”: everything done has to do with music, meaning music is always at the center of everything done.

Repertoires Of Music:

The repertoires of this music culture are pieces of music written a long time ago. Very few pieces are written in the modern day that would be performed in a full orchestra. There are more modern pieces for the wind band but the full orchestra is very complicated to write music for and isn't done very much in the modern age. Orchestras usually won't perform pieces that were written before the times of the Baroque era. This is the time that the modern orchestra was born (NAXOS). Instrumentation isn't the only problem but also the way the pieces were written. They make less sense than those of the eras after them (Keller, Personal Interview).

Material Culture:

The most obvious material thing about his music culture are the instruments since there are so many of them. The main instrument groupings are the bowstrings played with a bow drawn over a set of strings: violin, viola, cello, contra bass, etc., woodwinds played with airstream and the opening and closing of a series of pads on the instrument body: flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, the brasswind played with airstream that causes lip to buzz within the mouthpiece of the instrument: trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba, percussion played by striking the instrument with a mallet, stick or hand: split into the two categories of tuned and indefinite pitched, and keyboards played by clicking a key which then either plucks (harpsichord) or strikes (piano) a string to create a sound (NAXOS).

It doesn't sound bad until you see the price tag on some of these instruments. Nothing playable at the high school level every costs anything below $2000. Things can get as bad as $15000 for a marimba or even more for a set of timpani (Keller, Personal Interview).

Other than instruments, the music, written on scores or called sheet music, must also be purchased. Sometimes for a price unfitting of a stack of paper to some (Keller, Personal Interview). With all these instruments, there is also maintenance. Instruments must be repaired after a certain time and, depending on the instrument, can be very expensive, ranging from $100 violin strings to $20 oboe reeds or $3 bottle of slide oil (Wong, Personal Interview). This is a very expensive music culture.

Preservation of Music:

Although new ideas in the classical music of the high school world is accepted, it is mostly not used since it just seems to never sound as good as following the old traditions left behind by those of previous musical era. From observation, it can be seen that everything is done closely to the methods since the Baroque era. Even though each high school orchestra is different, it is the unspoken rule to keep the practices of previous orchestras, even the music arrangement is kept as close to the original as possible. Each orchestra is different but each orchestra is it's own version of the original which doesn't like to bend to other orchestras (Concert Performance).

Conclusion:

The music culture of western classical music through the high school view varies from school to school because of the different people involved. Most things are similar, but there are slight differences. Each is it's own take on the classical orchestra, with all the instruments, music repertoire and methods but because it's different people, it's a different orchestra.

Sources:

"Musical Instruments." NAXOS. NAXOS, 11 mar 2010. Web. 6 Mar 2010.

"History of Classical Music." NAXOS. NAXOS, 11 mar 2010. Web. 6 Mar 2010.

Wong, Nicholas. Personal INTERVIEW. 6 March 2010.

Liberty High School Full Orchestra. Concert Performance. 18 February 2010.

Keller, Alysson. Personal INTERVIEW. 5 March 2010.

Post 8

Western classical music isn't something that is particularly difficult to research since it's western and there is so much information on it. One of the difficulties, however, would be getting the reader to believe the information to be true in that so much of it is from experience. If I were to talk about the technical aspect of the music culture it would be too complicated and confuse many people as the western classical world in the high school is just as complicated as if you were to talk about western classical outside the high school culture. What makes it the unique high school experience is performers who are teenagers with attitude problems and learning to be less dramatic about everything. This all translates into their music which makes it the music culture that it is. This is so hard to explain to anyone who has never been in such a situation or experienced it first-hand.

Another difficulty is getting interviews. Right now, the high school orchestras are getting ready for their annual competition which is the biggest high school music competition in all of Texas. So all the directors and members are busy and it is difficult to schedule times. Regardless of the competitions, there is always a concert to be practicing for or an individual competition to get rehearsing or practicing for. The people of this music culture are busy people.

That being said, if there is a concert, there is a concert and it will not be canceled easily because concerts are what they're always preparing for. In this music world, we believe in getting things done, so postponing a concert is somewhat akin to an insult to the musical abilities of the performer. It's like saying you're not good enough even with all the time you put in so you're not going to perform.

Post 7

The topic of my music ethnography is western classical music in the high school setting in Dallas. I have been a part of this music culture for as long as i was in high school, before that, and even now to a certain extent. A major part of this music culture is the instrumentation and arrangement of the music. It is usually played in a large group setting with the number of actual performers depending on the size of the group,which could range from a few people to hundreds of people, called the orchestra or ensemble, which is led by the director or conductor who does not actually play an instrument him/herself but leads the group by keeping the tempo and cuing entrances. There are different meanings to the words orchestra and full orchestra. An orchestra is a grou of players whose instruemtns consist only of chordophones, violin, viola, cello, contra bass and percussion which includes a great variety of instruments. A full orchestra suggest a group that includes wind band elements. In other words, it includes instruments that require air, trumpet, trombone, french horn, etc.. Since orchestra back in the days of old were almost always a full orchestra, that is what will be discussed.

The arrangement of the music in the music culture is sophisticated, and the western music front in the high school world would most likely never compose anything. In the high school setting, those withing this music culture are almost solely performers. The music that they perform was written by composers of a long time ago like Beethoven or Mozart for this form of music is one in which, without proper training there would be no way to compose anything that "makes sense" or even deserves the attention of the performers.

In general, the music is very complex. Whether it is the massive number of notes or the difficult harmonic fabric of the piece, the structure and arrangement of each of the pieces is complex and intriguing. In order for the performer, withing a high school setting or any other setting for that matter, to bring out all the feeling and expression the creator intended for the piece is nearly impossible. However, is is perhaps this imperfection that makes this music culture great in it's own right in that there are so many "right answers" to the musical question posed to them whenever they pick up their weapons of choice.