This semester, I think the most surprising thing I learned was that Indian vocalists use quarter tones. I'm not sure if that's something America would ever be able to wrap its mind around. The primary instrument we use for songwriting, piano, is not even capable of having quarter tones. Our ears are trained to hear whole steps and half steps and I don't know about you, but I struggle with that enough as it is. Imagine Musicianship class including quarter tone identification. That is a skill that I will never have.
          Although Trinidad and Puerto Rico weren't covered specifically, I definitely have African roots. When we went over Africa, I was delighted to hear about how resourceful they are. Using the very trees which surround them to make drum. I really enjoyed the part of the video when the guy chopped down the tree, hallowed, and carved out the wood to make it a drum. They make it themselves. I've never made my own instrument. Nor do I know anyone who has, but for them, it's so typical.
          As far as what has intrigued me enough to go out on my own and learn more, I would have to say that the Ireland presentation really caught my attention. Celtic Woman was a group I had never heard of before and the musical characteristics unique to Ireland seemed so unique. It sounded good without sounding foreign even though it was. It felt natural to me, but I'm certainly not Irish. I also really liked their use of the violin.
          There were many things that sparked my interest this semester that I didn't quite expect to. The class was great. The students, the lessons, the videos, and  the music was, for the most part, new to me. It was a great experience and will always be remembered as my first Jan term. I had fun and hope to for my next three Jan terms as well.

          I'm sure you're all aware of this thing called Netflix. On it, I discovered an Australian TV show called Dance Academy. It's not quite like the American ones, but it's different in a good way. It doesn't seem to follow a specific trend, making it unique. The actors and the music is all Australian. Here's a scene from it when a music video was shot. I could tell you exactly what was happening, but that would discourage you from watching the show yourself. If you've run out of series to binge watch, here's one worth seeing. I love it and I'm sure many of you would, too.

          I did some looking around on youtube and came across this marvelous music video. It makes me happy. :D I would be twisting and jiving if I heard this at the club. The dancing is so cool and I love how they maintain the qualities unique to Indian music. Are you ready to feel the beat??

          Bohemian Rhapsody is one of very favorites. It's not quite from Indonesia. In fact, it's from the musical works of Queen. However, the instruments being played in the following video are Indonesian. It is called an Angklung. It looks golly good complicated to make, play, and understand to me, but they seem to have all mastered it. Props to them. I'll stick my little voice and staff paper. Anyways, this is wonderful. I hope you agree!

If it were up to me, I would have interviewed my mother's eldest sibling, my Aunt Linda. Unfortunately, she passed within a few weeks before I was born. She was, however, an instrumentalist, as well. She played the guitar despite her being tone deaf. Obviously, I couldn't conduct the interview precisely as I had wanted, but that was not a problem at all. You see, my mother and all 5 of her siblings were involved musically and most played multiple instruments. So I instead asked my beloved Aunt Stephanie and between you and I, I think she liked the attention. Shh. Enjoy!

          My favorite Blues artist is Billy Holiday and trust me. If you've ever seen Lady Sings the Blues, the movie about her life, she'd be yours, too. Inspirational doesn't even begin to describe her career. Developing as a music artist during a time when the KKK was thriving, racism was undeniably prevalent, and the wrong roads to go down were constantly thrown into her foresight was not easy. She was strong, but did not always make the best choices. Unfortunately, she became addicted to drugs. The pain was too much. If you're wondering what kind of things she had to be sad about, listen to her song here, Strange Fruit.

I wish she could say she was talking about apples and bananas.

Lynching was all too common.

          Once upon a time, I was on a salsa dancing team. It was forever ago and I forgot most of what I learned but have no doubt that I can still turn all the way up at a party with predominantly hispanic people and music. Salsa is a style of dance where out of an eight count, you step on 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7. Then there's bachata and merengue which consist of movements based on a simple 1, 2, 3, 4. My personal favorite of the three is bachata and below is my favorite bachata song.

          Racism is something that I have been lucky enough to not really have to deal with in my time alive. To keep myself aware of how real struggles have been and are elsewhere, I try to remain educated with movies such as Hotel Rwanda. It shows the struggles of an unsupported African couple and their attempt to help their people during apartheid. Here is a clip of this movie, which in my opinion, could change your entire view of life, if you watched.

         In my area, there was never really a lack of what was acceptable for females to play. Girls played drums and guitars and cellos and basses. We even had some female tenors. I suppose I've never really considered it before, but we were pretty fortunate, huh? There was one thing I noticed, however. In all my schools, elementary through high, the orchestra and chorus teachers were females, while the band teacher was a guy. Why this is, I suppose I have an inkling, but I certainly don't understand.

          From what I hear, it's only recent that females be the director of any sort of musical ensemble. Society is gradually adapting to the fact that having a certain organ shouldn't dictate what is and is not acceptable. I guess that in this area, it'll just need a little more time. The conducting of Converse's female director has been marvelous to watch. I do admire the vigor and life she bring to the stage, music, and atmosphere. Watching her makes me excited to see a rise of more female conductors and all that they may have to offer. I've had a chance to conduct. It was just the concert chorus at my high school, but I enjoyed more than most of my musical endeavors. I can say, from experience, that the thrill of conducting; of having the power and respect enough to take the performers and performance, as a whole, to the next level is exhilarating, to say the least. I hope more females find their way into positions of directing large ensembles. I definitely encourage the female musician population to do whatever they find interested in. If you've got the stuff, that's the kind of thing that makes history.

          Another area I've noticed that it, for whatever reason, seems strange for women to partake in is rap. When you think of a female rapper, is Nikki Minaj not one of, if not the, first to come to mind? Rapping was turned in recent times into more of a thuggish art. It is often about and representative of the struggle of growing up surviving in the hood and living as a "gangsta" as precedented by artists such as Dr. Dre. Every now and then, there will be an artist who takes things to a level of more depth and intuition, such as Hopsin or Lupe Fiasco, but they, too, are males. Why is it so out of the norm for there to be a decent female rapper. Is it that we supposedly have less to write about? Or maybe all we think of is sugar plums and gumdrops. I consider myself a decent rapper. If you ever want to hear, just let me know. Always happy to share. I don't specifically aspire to be a rapper, but if it happened, I wouldn't mind. Breaking boundaries and staying fly-- sounds like my kind of lifestyle.

          Something I was really hoping we'd go over about Native American heritage was spirit animals. Similar to the zodiac presented in several different cultures' traditions, it is a Native American belief that at birth, each person is designated a spirit animal. With that animal, comes certain characteristics. This animal then becomes apart of the person. They are said to have an attachment if and whenever they encounter this animal in real life. This spiritualistic point of view on these animals is not only interesting, but a joy to think of as a possibility. A friend of mine's father is a pastor at a church. He is also, however, very in touch with his Native American beliefs. The two of them went on a camping trip on a Native American reservation a few years back. My friend says that this was when he discovered that his animal was the wolf. Knowing him, the young man that he was, it seemed strangely ordinary. I wasn't, nor am I now, used to hearing such things, but it just seemed to fit. I later discovered what being the wolf is supposed to mean and it only furthered my feeling that it just fit him. The wolf is supposed to be loving and gentle, but wanting freedom. Fully capable of providing needed love, the wolf remains independent and often takes on the role of the lone wolf. Check out your sign at http://www.whats-your-sign.com/native-american-animal-symbols.html 

the symbol of the wolf

          Another topic I wished we could have dabbled upon was the history of stepping. I'm sure many of you have heard of or seen some form of step dancing; at least stomp the yard. However, it wouldn't surprise me that the same number of you have never realized that stepping has roots in African dance. In West Africa, the slaves weren't allowed to communicate by drums. Deprived of this key component of their culture, they reverted to what they were left with-- their bodies. By slapping  their arms, legs, and chest, a new form of communication developed. With time, it was incorporated with music and morphed into tap dance. Only after these occurrences was the modern day stepping able to evolve. It always stirs up a sense of nostalgia to think of how far we've come and where we've come from , doesn't it? I mean, look at what we've made it to and this is only a taste.

          Before delving into what ways I think music and religion can correlate and enhance each other, I think that for the purposes of this post, I should briefly explain my spiritualistic views. Although I do not consider myself a member of specific denomination, I do believe that Jesus came and all that, so I am a Christian, but I think that a person's individual relationship with God is where the greatest importance lies.

          For this reason, I think it can differ, the ways in which religion and music can effect someone. For me, when I do go to church, I must admit that I do enjoy a good hand-clapping service. The more I get into the music, the more praise I feel that I'm showing my creator. The music I listen to varies. I am not a saint. I have songs like Loyal and Coco on my favorite playlist, but I also have some spirituals. The common factor, though, is that I enjoy listening to it all. I feel that just as you should respect and enjoy the time spent with your mother, the same should go for your creator. I enjoy a decent conversation. When others might say they're talking to themselves, I may be talking to Him because I know that someone's listening. I am thankful and don't like seeming ungrateful towards anyone. It is no different with my Christianity. I think that being involved, or at least interested in music intended for His praise is an excellent way to show gratitude and also to enjoy some decent music.

          I do not enjoy all music based upon Christianity. If it isn't decent, I won't enjoy it and then I just feel like I'm living a lie. There is a station that my grandmother used to play all the time and it always had these old-fashioned Jesus-loving songs during which it always seemed, to my juvenile ears, that they would spend about half of the song saying Looooooooooooooooooooooooooord on a single, monotonous note. I don't know what kind of music that is, so I may just be ignorant, but it's definitely not my personal preference.

          The parameters which mandate meeting have gradually lessened when it comes to what religious music should and should not contain. Certain characteristics such as notational repetition, rhythmic pattern, and altogether catchiness exist in traditional hymns. Hymns have, without a doubt, existed since long before America's modern music. Interestingly enough, these qualities also lie within many of our favorite songs. It's quite a sight to see how music has developed. Of course, modern music has far surpassed the technical intricacies of traditional hymns. As progress persists, one can see that there are now modern forms of musical praise which borrow from the stylings of several different genres such as bluegrass, rock, and even rap. In these ways, despite the undeniably prevalent differences between most of today's music and religious music, they are able to find common ground and rise to a spiritualistically head-bumping level. Before recent ages, this was not only simply unthought of, but moreover, looked down upon for its being outside of tradition.