Music History and CultureTulsa Public Schools

General Music Assessment

Objective:The purpose of this slide show is to allow students to examine music and instruments from a variety of cultures. The examples in this presentation are certainly not the only instruments or musical examples out there. Explore other examples as they relate to your classroom lessons. This slide show is a resource to your assessment of students in general music standards.

The cultures examined in this presentation are: Native American, Latin American, India, Japan, and Africa.

Grades 5-8 should also compare these cultural instruments and music to elements found in American music and instruments. Comparisons can be made to American patriotic, orchestral, band, and folk music.

Also included are definitions.

Native American Flute

The most common Native American flutes are like the European recorder. Almost every culture in the world has simple one chamber flutes. The Native American flute, however, is not one chamber. Its tube is divided into two sections by a wall or Stop. Native American flutes come in many lengths and bore [the tube] sizes. They are made of different woods but cedar is the most common.

Demonstration

Thunder or Pow Wow Drum

The drum is made from a wooden shell covered in rawhide. Today, cowhide is usually used although a buffalo hide head is not unheard of. The average size drum is about twenty six inches in diameter and can seat about eight men around it. In the Northern style of singing, drums are smaller and are often commercial bass drums, like those used in marching bands. The sticks used to strike the drum are usually thin fiberglass rods with a leather handle and leather padded head. There are about ten people on an average drum-- seven or eight men and two or three ladies. In the Southern tradition, ladies are not seated at the drum or allowed to strike it, but instead sit on the second row behind the men and sing. The people on a drum are required to know many songs because a good drum is expected to be able to be able to be played for an entire pow wow without repeating a song. A song is started by the lead singer, who does not announce what song they are about to sing but instead begins with the lead.

Demonstration

Latin American Percussion

The conga is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum of African origin, Although ultimately derived from African drums made from hollowed logs, the Cuban conga is staved, like a barrel. They are usually played in sets of two to four with the fingers and palms of the hand.

The GUIRO (gwee-ro) is a percussion instrument of Latin-American origin made of a serrated gourd or cow horn and played by scraping a stick along its surface. It emits a rasping sound when scraped with a stick.Modern versions are made from most any material, plastic, aluminum.

Conga Drums

Guiros

Instruments of IndiaA tabla is a pair of small drums, the principal percussion in Hindustani music of northern India. The higher-pitched daya, played with the right hand, is a roughly cylindrical one-skinned drum, usually wooden, normally tuned to the raga's tonic. The baya, played with the left hand, is a deep kettledrum usually of copper; its pitch varies with pressure from the heel of the player's hand.

The Sitar is the most popular and respected stringed instrument from North India. It is fashioned from a seasoned gourd (Calabash) and teak wood. On its finger board, there is a track of 20 metal frets along with two sets of strings resting on two bridges - the upper and the lower. On the upper bridge there are seven strings; four for playing the melody, and three for rhythmic variations and resonance. The lower bridge carries 13 sympathetic strings, all for resonance and occasional plucking.

Sitar

Tabla

Japanese Koto

The strings are plucked with three ivory picks worn on the thumb, index and middle fingers of the right hand. In classical pieces, the left hand is usually only used to raise the pitch (by pressing on a string behind its bridge), to make grace notes or to physically move the bridges for key changes within the piece. In modern pieces, however, the left hand is also used for vibrato and to pluck the strings. Koto music is written using Japanese characters. The strings are numbered from one (lowest) to thirteen (highest) and the character assigned to each string indicates its number. So koto music is basically a play-by-number system. Generally, it is written from right to left and from top to bottom. However, there are some schools of koto where the Japanese characters are written left to right, simulating the feeling of reading Western music. And, of course, modern music being written today for the instrument often utilizes standard, Western 5-line notation.

For Demonstration, Click Here

African InstrumentsThe shekere or Axatse rattle is a gourd covered in netting with seeds attached to rattle against the hard side of the gourd. The shekere often plays variations on the rhythm played by the bell.

The kalimba is a plucked idiophone unique to Africa and widely distributed throughout the continent. It is commonly played as an accompaniment to song, but in some areas it is used for purely instrumental music. Kalimbas have played a part in African culture for 800 years. After work in the evening, Africans sit in a circle, tell beautiful stories, sing and play kalimba. They are also used to pass the time on long journeys on foot.

The djembe (pronounced JEM-bay) is a skin covered hand drum shaped like a large goblet and is meant to be played with bare hands. The djembe originated in West Africa where it became an integral part of the area's music and tradition. Properly crafted djembe drums are carved in one single piece from hollowed out trees. In earlier times and still in some rural areas djembe were used to send messages over long distances.

Click names to show demonstrations.

Periods in Music History

Standard 2.3 (b)Grades 5,6,7, and 8Recognize, describe, and listen to music from a variety of periods.Baroque Classical Romantic Contemporary

Baroque Period (1600-1750)

Baroque music, from the Baroque period of Western Classical Music, was composed in the range of the late 1600s to 1700s AD. The first Baroque composer is widely recognized to be Claudio Monteverdi. The death of Johann Sebastian Bach (1750) is generally considered the end of the Baroque period

Important Features of Baroque music: Clear and linear melody, ornamentation, new musical forms such as opera, dramatic musical expression, homophony (one independent musical party), and the development of modern Western tonality (major and minor scales).

Suggested listening include songs by: Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) Four Seasons (Winter)

Georg Philipp Telemann (1681-1767) Viola Concerto In DJohann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Toccata and Fugue in D MinorGeorge Friderich Handel (1685-1759) Hallelujah ChorusDomenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) Sonata in D Minor

Classical Period (1740-1825)

The classical music era in Western music occurred in the second half of the 18th century. Although the term classical music is used as a blanket term meaning all kinds of music in a certain tradition, it can also mean this particular era within that tradition. The classical music era falls between the Baroque and the Romantic periods. The best known composer from this period is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The last classical composer is generally taken to be Ludwig van Beethoven, who after writing in a classical style in his early works, moved his style into this new period of composing.

Important features of Classical music:Use of dynamic contrast to accent suspension and return to the tonicPlainness of style, without the heavy and complex Baroque figurations General emotional coolness and its regularity of formClassical music was written specifically for the sake of music; there is no grand design or emotion built into it. Forms created include the symphony; the concerto also saw considerable development.

Suggested listening include songs by:Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Don GiovanniLudwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Symphony No.3Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) Symphony No.94 (Surprise)Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) William Tell Overture

Romantic Period (1825-1900)

The romantic period in classical music started during the early 19th century and ended in the early 20th century (although many later composers may be said to still write in a romantic style). Although the word "romantic" now most usually means "something related to love", romantic music is not necessarily about this and does not always sound like a "love song”. It is instead related to the wider concept of romanticism which flourished in the arts around this time.

Important features of Romantic Music:stressed strong emotion, imagination, freedom from classical correctness in art forms, and rebellion against social conventions.

Suggested listening includes songs by:Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) Symphonie FantastiqueLudwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) Symphony No.9Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Der ErlkonigRichard Wagner (1813-1883) Ride of The ValkyriesPeter Illyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Nutcracker Suite

20th and 21st Century Period (1900-present)

Modern classical music refers to music written in the 20th century and beyond. Although much of it draws heavily on earlier forms, modern composers also experimented with rejection of long-held ideas; notably, Arnold Schoenberg questioned the traditional notions of harmony with his twelve-tone system, and John Cage questioned the very definition of music with his use of chance and found sounds. Many of the ideas of 20th century music mimics those ideas found in 20 th century art.

Important Features in Contemporary Classical Music:Exploration of tonalities other than traditional Western tonalitiesUse of varied notation, composition, and performance rather than traditionalmovements of minimalism, pointillism, impressionism and serialism similar to movements in art

Suggested listening includes songs by:John Cage (1912-1992) Sonata II For Prepared PianoArnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) Concerto for Violin and OrchestraEric Satie (1866-1925) Gymnopedie No.1Aaron Copland (1900-1990) Fanfare for the Common ManIgor Stravinsky (1882-1971) Excerpts from Firebird SuiteMaurice Ravel (1875-1937) BoleroClaude Debussy (1862-1918) Clair De Lune

Styles of Music

Jazz is an original American musical art form that originated around the start of the 20th century in New Orleans, rooted in African American musical styles blended with Western music technique and theory. Jazz uses blue notes, syncopation, swing, call and response, polyrhythm, and improvisation.

Websites for listening:Take the A Train, this 1941 sample of Duke Ellington's signature tune is an example of the swing style. "Take The 'A' Train"

Mr. P.C., this hard blues by John Coltrane is an example of hard bop, a post-bebop style which is informed by gospel music, blues, and work song."Mr. P.C."

The Jazzstep, this song by Courtney Pine shows how electronica and hip hop influences can be incorporated into modern jazz. "The Jazz Step"

Opera

Opera is a musical genre in which the drama is conveyed through music and singing. Opera was first created around the year 1600 and is closely related to the Western classical music tradition. Opera uses many of the elements of stage drama such as scenery, costumes, and acting. However the emphasis on song is what distinguishes it from standard theater. The singers are accompanied by a musical ensemble ranging from a small instrumental ensemble to a full symphonic orchestra. The words written for an opera are called libretto. Some opera, such as those in the French tradition, also incorporate the element of dance.

From Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s The Magic Flute:

"Der Holle Rauche"