In Salamanca, Spain (Summer 2012
Throughout my life
I have been constantly exposed to music in some way or another. Either by
playing it, and/or listening to it whether it may be via live concert settings,
radio, various portable devices and/or just during the jam sessions that occur
on Monday afternoons at my college. Music is ubiquitous, some of it is
unfortunately “painful” and some of it quite the contrary but no individual can
escape the presence of music in their lives. At a very young age, I started
taking violin and piano lessons and with that eventually joined an orchestra.
From participating in that ensemble, I received a well-rounded musical
education (mainly classical) and developed a deeper understanding and
appreciation for live music.
For me, the definition
of ethnocentrism is a little scattered due to the significant amount of globe
trotting that I have been fortunate to experience in my short life thus far (23
countries and 37 states). But, I was born in Boston and raised near New Orleans,
so if one would the true root music of my culture it would be Cajun music
and/or jazz. Thus, I have experienced a fair amount of both, whether it being
through live concerts, and/or digital recordings; I have also been taught by well-known
Cajun musicians in their own right. Scenarios like these are truly valuable and
create more of a bond with the music that one’s culture is connected to,
however for me (because of all the traveling I have done) they create a catch
22 situation. Traveling the world allows one to experience numerous amounts of
music styles, cultures, and traditions that create a cumulative amount of
impressions and/or experiences and compared to someone who has never had the
opportunity to leave ones native culture, I believe I am able to get more out of
the music rooted in my culture by tying in the knowledge of the specific
traditions I learned about from various parts of the world. Also, I have found
that jazz (not so much Cajun) has infiltrated many parts of the world (in some
cases where one would least expect it namely Turkey).
In conclusion,
learning about the various cultures and traditions of the world fascinates me
and music is an integral component of that education. If I would pull just one
minor example of how my music education deeply coincides with my travels, while
I was enrolled in my second study abroad course this past summer (this
particular time in Turkey), I experienced a massive show of folk music and
dancing specific to that region of the country and it was extremely enjoyable,
fascinating, and well attended. Another example would be during my first study
abroad experience (in Spain) when a band of college aged students (depicted) called “La Tuna” played
their hearts out every night in the Plaza Mayor. In a nutshell, just like the saying
“you have to see it to believe it”, with music you have to be there to
experience it.
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