Sokola Bong Bong - Cambodia play games

This documentary shows a Cambodian song game called Sokola Bong Bong.  Cambodia is part of Southeast Asia.  This video is shows young reporter that are with Youth Today.  Youth Today is produced by SCY, the Support Children and Young People, and it is aired every Monday on CTN. In this game the children learn socialization through interacting by song chant and movement.  I'm not sure what they are saying, but I like the educational instruction of the social interaction.  This game has many layers, and it involves all the kids through the whole process.  What I found interesting is that most of these kids are doing this to take up time while parents are working.  What a positive way to spend time constructively. 

This play shows the kids how to interact with one another which Lew and Campbell agree. They say, "Play assists them in their development of language and reasoning skills, and it fosters social competence and peer-group interaction" (Campbell and Lew, 2005 p. 58).  By playing the students learn who each other are, and can grow as individuals and community. 

Watching the play it is interesting to see how this game is similar to games I remember playing as a child in the school yard.  I remember singing London Bridges falling down, holding my hands with another person like these kids do.  I also see the game of tug of war, but with a people chain instead of a rope.  At the time I didn't realize that I was figuring out where I fit in society and learning how to interact with others.  I was just having fun.  I hope you found my post interesting. I wonder, can you recall any games that are similar to this one that you might have played as a child?



Reference:

Campbell, Patricia Shehan and Lew, Jackie Chooi-Theng, Children's Natural and Necessary Musical Play: Global Contexts, Local Applications, Music education journal, 2005, 91(5) p. 57-62.

Egyptian bellydancing

I really enjoyed this performance because of the way the ensemble and dancer create this art together.  It almost seems that one could not exist without the other.  The intricate rhythmic patterns coupled with the dance make this fun to watch and listen.    

Tribute to Naima Akef by Serena Ramzy with Hossam Ramzy and his Egyptian ensemble.

A Tribute to Naima Akef, one of the greatest Belly Dancers of all times.  She was alive from 1929-1966, and was a famous Egyptian belly dancer.  She starred in many films during the Egyptian cinema's golden age.

The performance of the belly dance by Serena Ramzy is indeed a tribute, and performed with true authenticity.  The origin of the belly dance is known to be Egypt.  This dance highlights complicated movements of the torso. Through the ages it has evolved into many forms depending upon the area, both in costume style and dance style.  The movements are not labeled the same in all the regions it is performed, but they can be categorized as such:

• Percussive movements
• movements that accent the beat, most commonly in the hips
• Fluid movements
• movements that smooth and flowing, requires strong abdominal muscles
• Shimmies, shivers, and vibrations
• gyrating movements, that are usually layer with other movements
• other
• turns and spins, arms for framing, level changes, and traveling steps

The instrumentation is also authentic to the origin of Egypt.   The band leader is Hossam Ramzy, husband of Serena, and player of the Egyptian tabla. The ensemble also includes other Egyptian percussive instruments, along with violin, flute, and accordion.  The tune is organized around a melody that everyone plays together.  Rhythm in Arabic music is organized into cycles of beats and pauses. In Egyptian music they are called durub.  Two sounds are produced vocally to represent the sound of the drum and the rhythmic modes.  "Dumm is the deepest or lowest sound the instrument can produce.  Takk is high pitched, sound produced when striking where the head meets the rim of the drum" (Wade, 2013 p. 87).



Tabla: Click this link to read about the tabla

Modern Mariachi

I have heard many different marachi groups through live performances and movies, but I have never heard a mariachi ensemble sing the way this group does.  I really enjoyed the complex harmonies the voices create.  At times it reminds me of the complex harmonies and showmanship of the American style barbershop, but barbershop is without instruments.  

The group Mariachi Sol De Mexico perform Guadalajara.  This group is led by Grammy-nominated band leader, singer, and trumpet player Jose Hernandez. 

This ensemble performs Mariachi style music all the world.  The band is extremely talented vocally and instrumentally.  The Mariachi ensemble instruments are all present.  The singers, trumpets, violins, harp, vihuela, and  guitarron.  

The vihuela is unique to mariachi.  It is a five nylon string guitar that is tuned up, down, then again (a-d-g-b-e).  It is tuned this way so the timbre does not conflict with the lower tuned guitarron. The bright sound the vihuela makes is perfect for its function as rhythmic pulse in the band.   

The guitarron is the bass of the marachi band, and is almost inaudible in this recording.  It has six strings and the body is very large.  It plays a simple melodic line that emphasizes the musical structure of the piece.  

Guadalajara Lyrics:

Guadalajara, Guadalajara! 

Guadalajara, Guadalajara! 

You have the soul of the province. 

You smell of the river, of early rose, of 

fresh green 

rock of the river. You are a thousand pigeons, your house 

, Guadalajara, Guadalajara. 

You smell of pure wet earth. 

Oh! distant colomitos 

Ay! ojitos de agua Brothers 

and unforgettable colomitos 

Unforgettable as the afternoons 

In which the line from the hill 

Ir made us to Zapopan. 

Oh! Zapopitan of the soul 

I never heard? other bells 

Like the graves of your convent 

Where the sufferings are eased 

Sad Zapopan, open missal

In which my thoughts are friars. 

Oh! Tlaquepaque pueblito 

Your olorosos jarritos 

They make more fresh the sweet tepache 

For the birria, next to the mariachi 

That in the pariahs and potteries They 

sound with sad melacol? A. 

Oh! Laguna de Chapala 

You have a story the 

strong 

Mage of dawns and dawns Of enamored moonlit nights 

Quieta Chapala is your lago 

N? Via romantic like no other. 

Oh! Beautiful Guadalajara 

I want to tell you one thing. 

You who preserve the water of the well 

Of your women the most beautiful. 

Guadalajara, Guadalajara! 

You have the most Mexican soul. 

Ay ay ay! 

Ay ay ay!

Guadalajara, Guadalajara!

Indian classical Raga - Anoushka Shankar

The title of the piece is "Joge."

The piece is an Indian classical Raga.  This style of music has no direct translation to classical European music concepts. This particular raga is set in cycles as Anoushka explains, and each cycle is built on a motif that can be improvised and reordered.  The raga must be ascending or descending.  Which way do you think the melody moves?  There are two main types of classical Indian traditions of  music.  They are the North Indian Hindustani and the South Indian Carnatic, and they both share the concept of raga.

 Anoushka Shankar, daughter of Ravi Shankar, does a great job of introducing her fellow musicians and their instruments they play at the beginning of the video.  I liked how the ensemble starts together, but then each instrument solos so I can really hear each instrument's unique timbre. I found this style of music to be very unique.  After learning more about these instruments and the music, it gave me a deeper understanding that all Indian music is different and depends upon the region and culture.   I've heard a violin played many times in the classical European style, but I've never heard it sound like it does in this video.  I liked hearing how the instrument can sound so differently.  I liked each instruments individual voice and how they handed off solo time to each one.  It reminded me of American Jazz, how each instrument gets there turn to improvise a melody.

It features various instruments:
Sitar, Shehnai, Tanpura, Violin, and various south Indian Percussion

The sitar can have 18-21 strings.   It has a set above the frets that are plucked, and a sympathetic set under the frets that resonate.

The violin is played in a carnatic style.

The double reed instrument is a shenai or shehnai.  Its origin is from India, Pakistan, Iran, and Bangladesh. It is generally made out of wood with a flared out bell like a clarinet.

The instrument that provides the drone is the Tanpura.   It has a long neck and strings that are plucked.  It can be found in many types of Indian music styles.

Mridangam orginates from India.  It is the main rhythmic instrument to accompany in a Carnatic music.