Yundum Nko

When I listen the assigned selection entitled “Yundum Nko” from the jali tradition of West Africa I envision a small gathering listening to one performer who is located in the middle. In my mind the performer in the middle acts as the equivalent as a storyteller and the listeners are his/hers captive audience. In a way, the performer is telling a story through his instrument (which is called the Kora) and that sense this piece gives makes it more enjoyable to listen to. When one thinks of rhythm in this piece, a clear delineation is not obvious. The rhythmic aspect of the track requires a significant amount of imagination, critical thinking, deductive reasoning, and creativity. Since there is no rhythm section or instruments that would make up such a section (idiophones and membranophones), the rhythm is more of the concept of “free” rhythm.

This basically means that the cadences that the Kora produces flow together in relative sections that are definitely not definitive and are largely left for the listener’s imagination to figure out. Having said that, the background strumming of the Kora was not so much ostinato (the same rhythm repeating itself) in that it was constantly changing pace and that definitely added an interesting flavor to the song as a whole. When one also adds the very prominent vocals into the mix, it really brings up the feeling of longing to be there because of how clearly passionate the vocalist is while he is singing. In my opinion, this song would be more enjoyable if it was experienced live and one could actually see the expressions on his face and the impression of the audience. The same things can be said about the so-called “rhythm” of the singer’s vocal style in that it’s not structured in a way that could be easily delineated by the tapping of one’s foot or the nodding of one’s head. With that being said, one (or at least I do) wonders how (or if) an individual dances to this type of music, if they do it often, and what type of event or events in which the dance is done.

The performer, Jali Nyama Suso, lived from 1925 to 1991 and died of TB, but his legacy definitely lives with him being one of the most prominent Kora players. If one has the desire to listen to musicians playing the Kora live and they can’t afford to travel to West Africa, there are at least two options (that I know of) based in the Asheville North Carolina area. The first option is a band composed of Warren Wilson College alumni called Toubab Krewe and the second option is an individual named Sean Gaskel. I had the distinct pleasure of hearing Toubab Krewe perform when they came to Warren Wilson College about three years ago and there was barely any room to dance it was so jam packed. If Jali Nyama Suso were alive today, I am sure that he would have enjoyed that show very much.

Africa continued

            For the first assigned selection entitled “Atsia Suite”, there was significant amount of repetitive cycles of rhythms that kept the “flow” in the background while the other elements of the track came into play. The timbre in the selection consisted of strong polyrhythmic elements and vocals that had the tendency to come across as not having any variation and hence extremely monotonistic. The song came from the culture of the indigenous Ewe people of Ghana and as a very family oriented culture their music is a very important part of how they orchestrate their social gatherings and is a sure way for them to bond. It is very interesting that throughout the piece the monotonous and virtually monotonic style of the vocals never changed but the style of rhythm changes midway through. The second style of rhythm is much more accentuated and slightly louder than the first one. However, both rhythms stay the same for however long that they last and are extremely repetitive. If I was to advise someone who is about to listen to “Asia Suite”, I would say that the absolute best way to listen to it would be to just keep your eyes closed for the duration of the song and let it put you in a trance. I can imagine meditating and/or relaxing while listening to this particular selection.

            For the second assigned selection entitled “Choral Song”, there were not any instrumentals detected besides vocals. I thought the number was very upbeat and it made me eager to find out what the words they were singing meant. With the vocals being sung in unison and ending abruptly in some parts, it made one get the impression that they were chanting possibly for religious purposes and in my opinion that aspect of the piece slightly drowned out the slightly enjoyable aspect of the song. Since the piece comes from the culture of the Congo, it was sung in the official language of that country, which is called the Lingala language. When listening to “Choral Song” one (or at least I did) wonders what types of dancing (if any) could be practiced and what occasion was appropriate in which the song could be played. As for the structure of the song, it seems as though it was a combination of it being random and having virtually no structure and it being organized in segments with very minimal direction. Unlike “Atsia Suite”, I don’t belief it would be possible to meditate to this type of music.

             For the third and last assigned selection entitled “Music for Divination”, I got a genuine sense of community while listening to it. During the song it seemed like many people are actively trying to pitch in to add their parts to the music. Unlike “Atsia Suite” the vocals were extremely lively and upbeat and made the listener have the desire to get up and move around instead of fall asleep and/or meditate. To me, the vocals sounded similar to about twenty people yodeling in unison and adding their own creative twists throughout the song. In my opinion, the male and female vocalists with each of their “twists” made the song more intriguing as it went along and I found it the most enjoyable selection to listen to out of the three assigned selections. It would be neat to see these same individuals perform this selection live and see/hear how they harmonize in person.

           

            

Nhemamusasa

            After listening to the assigned eleven and a half minute recording and doing a little research on its background, I discovered that the only instrument being played is called the Mbira. This instrument is a plucked idiophone (percussion instrument) and is a native instrument from Ghana but is extremely popular in the Republic of Zimbabwe and that is where this selection was played and recorded. The name of the song is Nhemamusasa. It is often played by the Shona people of Zimbabwe and that is who is playing the specific selection that was assigned for this blog entry. This title of the song (Nhemamusasa) means “temporary structure” or “cutting branches for shelter.”  I would imagine that this symbolizes the constant struggles of the people in that area of Africa to find adequate land to settle and the only way that they can put that daunting thought behind them is to “drown it out” with the joyous sounds of this lively style of music. Many cultures use music to either temporarily put their struggles behind them or to discuss their inherent struggles and ways to actively and cooperatively possibly make them have lives that are not daily dilemmas and often put them into situations that inhibit them from carrying out the everyday tasks that are necessary to live. As for the vocals in the selection, in a way it dampened the level of how monotonous it was. It, if you will, added more “color” to the piece. But, that is solely how I interpreted the addition of the vocals. It’s highly possible that other listeners may have a completely different reaction (for example: the repetitiveness of the vocals made the selection more annoying or something that is along those lines).

            My impression of the piece, Nhemamusasa, besides it being incessantly repetitive and slightly monotonous, was that yes it does take a while to get used to but when one researches the culture in which the music comes from, the type of people that typically play it, the skill set it takes to pay this type of music (it looks very complicated), and the type of instrument used to produce this type of music, one finds out that that back story and culture behind it is actually pretty fascinating. The instrument, the Mbira, consists of consists of 22 to 28 metal keys attached to a gwariva (hardwood soundboard) made from the mubvamaropa tree. These metal keys traditionally are constructed out of smelted iron ore, but now it is possible to see the keys of mbira instruments to be constructed out of common household items and miscellaneous recyclable materials such as insignificant sofa springs, car seat springs, spokes of a bicycle wheel, or any metal product (preferably steel) that can be recycled. The type of music that the Mbira produces creates distinct polyphonic rhythms that make the listener really use their critical thinking skills to put effort into listening in order for them to figure out the various timbres that are present. Another material that typically is part of the Mbira is the addition of recycled bottle caps. These items are really easy to accumulate, are completely free, and contribute a “buzzing” sound to the timbre that is necessary for the type of music that the Shona people of Zimbabwe are producing for the listening pleasure of the rest of the world.

         Last but certainly not least, in listening to Nhemamusasa after participating in the marimba workshop, I detected distinct connections with the two instruments (the Mbira and the marimba) not just because their timbres are substantially similar, but also because of how similar the music flows with the two instruments. As for me, I would not particularly enjoy listening to a whole concert of Mbira music, but learning about the Zimbabwean culture is very interesting.  

Mahakala Puja

                                                                        Mahakala Puja



       

                                        A Tibetan Buddhist Monk Ensemble

 

                 Since I recently completed a class focusing on the history and literature of Buddhism, this musical excerpt is somewhat familiar to me. As a history major and a world traveler (23 countries and 37 states), I have been interested in actively delving into the various cultures of the world for over a decade. This experience has proven to be very valuable and has had me put world music in a different light requiring me to use a substantial amount of critical thinking and deductive reasoning in the process of analyzing how a certain style of music that may be aesthetically pleasing to a specific culture may be a “lost cause” or extremely difficult for other cultures to accept and/or to wrap their heads around the multitudes of changing timbres and elements of the particular musical traditions of that culture. To put it into perspective, a good way to think of this concept is to visualize how difficult it may be to learn a new language and subsequently attempt to assimilate all of the idiosyncrasies that come with it.  

As with this particular selection, it is extremely difficult to bear if the specific listener is used to music that incorporates the basic (and most common) elements of music (rhythm, melody, harmony, etc.). In my opinion, one (an individual that is used to the “western styles” of music) cannot go into this style of music with the expectation of having an enjoyable experience simply because that it is lacking virtually everything that they expect from music (all of the aforementioned aspects and elements). To the western ear the excerpt has the major tendency to me substantially monotonous, and headache inducing, however one can only approach this selection with a vivid imagination and creativity. That creativity must consist of attempting to force oneself to have the mind of a Tibetan Buddhist and also immerse oneself in the complex culture of Tibet. I believe that it simply is inadequate for an individual to judge a specific culture, and/or style of music without acquiring a full background first (no matter how averse they are to it originally).

Personally, I am always eager to learn about different traditions and cultures and when I graduate college I aspire to continue doing just that. Specifically, my “dream job” would be to continue travelling the world and to direct documentaries that bring out unknown traditions and cultures so the world can be educated for the purpose of either experimenting with various music scenes life Tibetan Buddhist monk chanting or simply for the purpose of educating the rest of the world how diverse the many cultures on this planet can be. Thus, the moral is, never automatically “write off” a particular music     style/tradition/culture just because you are averse to it, or it is not what you are used to. There is a possibility that it may grow on you when you are more educated on what it may represent.