Sounds : The Materials of Music
After reading the article, not only did it refresh the knowledge that I minimally knew, but taught me the origins of where the terms had came from and what it means in different cultures. Being able to learn and listen to what other perceive as music is such an eye opener because I’m so used to listening classical and modern music that I there are different genres and instruments that I have never heard of before, and once I do, it becomes so strange to me. A true musician should be able to be open to all genre of music.
Another interesting thing that I learned is that music can be used as a game instead of just expressing something. The Katajjaq is about two Inuit women singing to see who can last the longest.
Upon reading the article I have learned about the Sachs-Hornbestel System. I didn’t know that there were names to instrument categories and it was named after the scholars who studied the instruments. The categories of instruments we are taught are winds, percussion, brass, and strings. I never knew that electric instruments are considered a category. I think this is because as I grew up learning music, I learned the classical Western music, instead of modern music which uses a lot of electric instruments such as the electric guitar. This makes me realize that I know very little about music and how much I want to emerge into more music.
Something that gets me thinking a lot is the definition of music. Many argue that if there is no melody from a instrument or voice, it is not music because there is no pitch and form involved. However, if there is a rhythm to the vocals, then it is music because there is rhythm. I believe that there doesn’t need a structure for it to be music. I think that if there is a reason or message you are trying to share, the way you convey it shouldn’t matter as long as you are expressing it the way you want to. Music is a universal language after all. Many people have the privilege of using instruments while some don’t and have to use their voice.
As I read the article, two questions came to my mind. As instruments were being created, how did the creator decide that this instrument is going to produce this sound using this material? And how were these instruments made to symbolize something in a culture? What made it express something? I understand that in Beethoven’s bird song from Pastoral Symphony, the flutes imitate the birds, but the gamelan represents supernatural power, why and how?
Annotated Bibliography
Shelemay, K. K. (2017). Sound: The materials of music. In K.K. Shelemay (Au.). Soundscapes: Exploring Music in a Changing World. Ch.1. Pp. 26-67. New York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc. ISBN- -10: 0393918289 ISBN-13: 978-0393918281
The article is an introduction of the terms that musicians all over the world use. It also is about learning and an introduction to how music is played in other countries.
Thanks for your very thoughtful and reflective response. I would like to explore your definition and statement that music is a universal language a little more. It’s interesting because the debate of music being a universal language has been researched and addressed at various points throughout ethnomusicology and music education disciplines. Some may argue that there are cross-cultural musical structures and processes and distinctive musical systems of the world that can be understood by all first-time listeners, regardless of their context. These could include the shape of a melody, the relationship of voice and instruments, etc. Yet others would argue that we do not know the music from other cultures in terms of its musical and contextual features as some…