Jordans musical adventures through time

For this blog I'm going to be writing about Reggae and Jamaican music. Reggae is known as a popular style of music that originated in Jamaica around the 1960s. This type of music quickly led to being the forefront of music in Jamaica and the type of music that is recognized often as ‘Jamaican Music’ . Having a quite fast uprising. It became an international sensation. WIth havin close links to the Religion Rastafari movement. With music speaking widely from the voices of the oppressed. Reggae is common amongst all levels of social classes that can speak and intertwine with all kinds of backgrounds.  Reggae is music that is based off of a different genre named Ska. Something that was very popular amongst the early culture of Jamaica. It uses a standard 4/4 beat rhythm. That uses electric guitar, bass guitar, drums , and the scraper. This Genre had fumes of a culture that was trying to get away from the “white man culture”, wanting to feel the expressions of the ghetto lifestyle they...

Me: So mom, what is your earliest memory of music. Mom : well my memory of music goes back as long as I remember. With your grandfather always playing music when your aunt and I were kids. Music would always be sang and played during worship where we sang hymns and their various versions.  Me: that makes sense because that is kinda how my first memories are. Next question. What kind of music did you associate to your childhood? And how did that evolve throughout your life up until around college. Mom: Well obviously were were strictly religious household so a lot of my music when i was young up until high school were mainly hymns and worship songs that we would hear at church or around worship. Also growing up in Jamaica we didnt have as much access to music in our house as you would think. I would also hear a lot of bob marley and a Group called “the Abysseisans” played on the radio at my aunties house. But once I moved to America, During high school i was able to be opened up to ...

 Indian Classical Music As we have noticed, Indian Citizens seem to have their own entire world of music. That is easily classified under Indian Music. In the blog today I’m going to be talking about Indian Classical music. Better known as. “Hindustani” in North India and Carnatic in South India.  Raga is known as a concept of Indian Classical Music. Which seems kind of complex to me. it is stated that raga is dominant in its expression than actual notes. Where i took it as, the music itself is written to be performed to the expression of the player. So it is said that Raga is something that deals with note intonation and also the duration of notes but that notes are flexibly put together in a manner of word phrasing rather then a set notes by the composer. Raga is a given set of notes that are set on a scale and different musical motifs. That when played can either use just those notes are can use different notes added to the raga.  Along with raga ,  Indian musicia...

  For this blog I have decided I would like to speak on African - American Spirituals. Or better known and often referred to as Negro Spirituals. Personally, I have a few years of experience with Negro Spirituals. Most of my singing experience has definitely came from singing Negro Spirituals in a youth vocal ensemble from my hometown church. We sang many Spirituals over the years that had to do with many different things. Whether they fit in with black history month or they are for Christmas season or even easter. Im excited to talk about this because it gives me a chance to share one of my top 5 genres with you guys and tell you all some of my favorite negro spirituals that I have sang. In its basic essence, Negro Spirtuals are folksongs that were sung by slaves on the plantation. A lot of the lyrics are based on being free one day and are coherent with stories of the bible. Starting around the 1860s is around the time that the syncrethistm of white sharecroppers and black slaves...

  One big part that I see in African music is the call and response. Ideally where someone calls a first line or something of that sort, then gets a response from the group of people. This is something I think is very popular in a lot of music with black roots inside of it,because it is something that gets the audience into the music    One next thing I noticed was how they love to have percussive instruments shown in their music. Such as drums and different kinds of shakers that they all loved to use to enhance their music. Although this next video is long. I think it does truly show how evident and important the use of a rhythmic instruments are in the culture and music of Africans. Especially in the music of Zulu that is shown below.  In this you will notice a lot of natives wearing cultural clothing and also doing dances that go along with the music. Although it is only audio you hear how the drums are making a lot of melody along with shakers and bells in the ba...

 I have been to a few funerals in my lifetime, whether I have gone to pay respects, participate in musical selection, or I am a part of the grieving process. While getting to know the typical factors of a funeral. I realize that there are alot of practices that make a funeral, welk a funeral. Especially in the musical aspect. So in this blog,og i, going to go and tell just s few of my experiences and how the music impacted the funeral greatly. The first funeral I ever attended was my great grandma's funeral when I was 7. Although I was very young and truly couldn't understand the true aspects of death, I can truly say one of the only things I got from this service was the music that was sung. Having a family of pure Jamaican heritage and being a first generation American born. I have a very familiar relationship with lots of reggae music of all styles, whether it's dance hall music or gospel music. Well a few of my uncles sang an acapella rendition of this song named “ wa...

For my first thing i was wondering of native tribes that are from places that I’ve been. So to start I went with googling Indigenous tribes in South Carolina. there were a lot that came up but the min that caught my eye was the Yamasee tribe. Who were mainly known for being gentle but also having the best battle tragedies. Which are two things that made me even more interested in their music. Thinking that it could give sort of a gentle Tribal sound but I was also expecting a triumphant war tune that would come based of the lives that they have lived. In this song i found the name is called “ The kingdom of peacekeepers’s” which is a Yamasee tribal song. This tribal song does have lots of elements but it is typical when it comes to the phosphate . With a flute that is making the tone but also someone in the background doing percussion which I thought was a pretty cool ‘beat’ for the tune. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjhz-gdNSpE The second thing, I was very interested once i heard a...

  Currently my go-to music is the music of Johannes Brahms. A very well known and master composer. Mainly I’ve been very interested in his symphonies but when it comes to a go-to , it is the 2nd movement from his 4th symphony. I believe Brahms fourth symphony is a true example of symphonic work that shows  every technique in symphonic composition up to that point, and his second movement is just an amazing way to express tension in a deep and sustained way. Through a very slow tempos 6/8 meter it allows for a very anticipated flow that will keep the listener on its seats for the big climax, just to gracefully fall back down to the end of the movement. Currently my favorite interpretation is from a recording of the famed conductor, Sergio Celibidache. Really because he and the orchestra make each beat in the the measure perfectly meet and connect with the next that allow it to have a strong structure that somehow flows perfectly. Here is a interpretation done by the Berlin Phil...