Disfarça e Chora

Cartola

Brazil 

Cartola, real name Angenor de Oliviera, was a brazilian singer who lived from 1908-1980. He was a key figure in the development of samba around the 1930's, working with samba schools and composing samba music. The meaning of Disfarça e Chora isn't very clear according to online resources, but it could be about a women who has cheated in a relationship and she is crying to disguise her treachery, attempting to make the man forgive her and take her back. The man, who is the singer in the song, is aware of her sneaky intentions, but will remain by her side, never deserting her. 

This song is a good example of what samba music consists of, which is rich harmonic chord progression, syncopated rhythms and instrumentation. It is a relatively slow piece compared to other well known samba works that are rapid in tempo, for purposes of dance. I like this song and find most other samba songs very enjoyable, mainly due to harmonic progression within the pieces. Harmonically, it moves unexpectedly but with satisfaction in the color of the chords and melody that flow throughout the piece. Rhythmically, it has a good pace and beat that produces a foot tapping effect from the listener because of the consistent groove provided by the guitar's syncopation. Despite the fact that I am mostly unsure of what the lyrics are about and I have never heard this piece before, there is a nostalgic quality to this piece. It could be the relaxed mood that this song paints. 

Tinkus andean tradition

Bonanza Group from Bolivia.

Tinku is a tradition that began as a ritualistic combat dance, meaning encounter from the native language of Quechua. In tradition, men and women from different communities congregate to begin a festival dance. The women formed circles while chanting and the men would start fighting each other. In modern folkloric dances, the fighting is replaced with rhythmic dancing.

In the reading by Jackie Chooi-Lew and Patricia Shenan Campbell, the authors discuss the importance of incorporating playful activities with musical ones when educating young children in music for not only global contexts, but local applications. A child understands content more from what he/she experiences that is enjoyable in sensory and exploratory activities. These activities, when related to educational subjects, can expand a young child's understanding of the material being taught. A dance such as the Tinku can provide a stimulating experience for a child when learning music from the andean region, such as bolivia. The highly energized movements from the dancers demonstrate a level of concentration and rhythm required from the performers that children can find both challenging and delightful. The tinku is somewhat similar to a folk dance that is taught in America with traditional or modern folk music. There is a procedure of dance movements that are executed at appropriate moments that compliment the music that is being played. Children can benefit from these types of activities, identifying the relations between the movement and the dance.

Traditional Song from The Philippines.
Performance: Lemuhen of Tboli Tribe.
Culture: The tboli tribe is are an indigenous group located in the southern Philippines, on an island called Mindanao. The man is playing some sort of dulcimer and the woman uses a membranophone of some sort, possibly a Dabakan. They are playing a folk song with improvisation.

The indigenous man is playing in a tune that is constructed by a pentatonic scale. Folk songs are examples of music that is learned through an aural process by tradition. In cultures that do not incorporate written notation for music, folk songs are passed along through generation, the performer presenting the piece to the audience. Through the performance, the music lives on, as the members of the audience or students are now possessors of the folk song. A problem that can be considered with this is that the original version of the song can be distorted or varied through constant manipulation from generations of musicians. After all, one person always interprets music differently than another, therefore, the folk song that is aurally transmitted will almost definitely be different than the original. The song these members of the Tboli tribe are playing could either be an original composition played for the first time, or a varied personal version that was taken through generations of aural transmission.

La Cañada

Performers: Paco de Lucia, Pepe de Lucia 

Culture: Flamenco is an example of a genre that was created through a culmination of cultures 
from different regions such as the andalusian region of spain, settlements of the Romani the 
middle east and northwest Africa. The scale passages, harmonic texture and instrumentation 
are evidence of the wide influence that Flamenco has garnered. 

Instruments: 2 Flamenco Guitar, Voice, Flute, Electric Bass,  2 Cajon drums

In Wade's fourth chapter, "Thinking about Pitch," Scales are described as a way to clearly articulate 
a set of pitches in ascending or descending order. The scales present in the Flamenco example above 
are "oriental" scales, regarding to near eastern cultures such as Arab or Indian. This performance 
contains passages of augmented seconds and chromaticism from the Paco's guitar and Pepe's voice. 
At times, Pepe's solo displays scale passages that can be found in Islamic chants. Music systems vary 
around the globe, so it is important to not only be familiar with western diatonic scales, but other modes 
as well. The growing musicians should understand how pitch can be defined differently. 

Title: Tapha Niang

Performances: Toumani Diabate's Symmetric Orchestra.

Culture: Toumani Diabate is a Malian musician who is well known internationally as a versatile Kora player. The kora is a bridge harp made up of 21 strings and it is played throughout western african countries like Mali. Together with the Symmetric Orchestra, a group of musicians formed by Diabate to modernize traditional music from mali. Diabate's goal is to create a symmetrical balance between traditional and modern music, mixing traditional sounds from Mali with various genres such as jazz, flamenco and blues. The Arabic lyrics in this song come from from the Qu'ran, which caused this song to come to controversy in 2008 when the song was used in a video game, Little Big Planet.

Instrumentation: Light Strings, Brass, Vocals (Verses from Qu'ran), African Percussion, Drum kit, Electric Guitar and Bass, Kora.

This is a beautiful composition incorporating elements of music from across the world. Its an example of how music can be both traditional and untraditional at the same time, creating a cultural equilibrium. Diabate uses the Kora and native rhythm to create music that is true to the Malian people while incorporating western instruments to provide harmony and form that is central to western genres. This song is also a good example of how music can be seen as inappropriate depending on the context it is being used. Sony Computer Entertainment received objections based on the inclusion of Qu'ran text in video game, so in response, the company delayed the release of the game in order to delete the verse from the song to be included in the game. This also brings up a matter of staying authentic to a piece of music as much as possible. Sony opted for including the song anyway because of its geographical sound that remains relevant to the game itself, despite the fact that it is not the authentic song. Personally, I think it was fine to use this song in the game, as it is not a song created for worshiping purposes but rather for celebration and enjoyment; the inauthenticity is due to the objection that it received for its inclusion. But that is my opinion, rooted from the fact that I love Little Big Planet. 

Title: En el Nombre del Cielo 

Performances: Misioneros de la Palabra, a catholic recording company that distributes a variety of religious music recordings. The name of the musicians are not listed. 

Culture: During the christmas season in Mexico, people reenact the biblical event of Mary and Joseph trying to find shelter for the son of God. For one night, a group of people migrate to a home and sing a litany from the scripture. The home owners respond in song with the proceeding litany. At the end of the procession, the traveling group of people are invited into the home and celebrate. This event is also practiced in the united states among hispanic communities. 

Instrumentation: Accordions, Voices (Spanish),  Guitar, Bass. 

The article by Ms. Lisa Koops discussed the methods and purposes for teaching an authentic piece of music to students in a music classroom.  It can be difficult to find an authentic version of a foreign piece of music, as it can be tricky to trace the origins, obtain the instruments and completely understanding the cultural context in which a piece is connected to. Music is also modified when it travels to different nations. This song in particular is rooted in the tradition of the procession, created around 1600's in Spain and it is now chiefly celebrated in Mexico.  It is unknown whether the song was originally performed with instruments or with voice. Above is an example of an arrangement of the song with instruments. Below is an example of the song used in its context, the reenactment of seeking shelter. 

A group of people celebrating the procession of La Posada.

Performances: Sin Bandera, latin pop duo. 

This is an example of the same song in a pop version. Koops article raises the question of what authenticity really means. Does it matter if students learn the context and history of the music and replicate it exactly as it was originally intended? Or does learning the structure of the music give more relevance without any cultural recognition. Personally, I think that authentic music is created if the students/performances can relate to it and receive aesthetic value and appreciation. The relevance can come from understanding and performing the music culturally correct. However, if students are not emulating the essence of the piece through the performances while replicating the music as it originated, it can't really be authentic without any human emotion involved, which is what music is all about.