- "Jesus is the Only Answer" - from the CD track titles
- Ugandan performers and Bela Fleck
- Jinja (Uganda)
- Banjo, Thumb Pianos, shakers, a large variety of Idiophones, Chordophones, and voice.
- Instrumentation
- The Sachs-Hornbostel system for classifying instruments is useful in this example. Identifying chordophones used in the song emphasizes the way in which the sound is produced. With the large variety of instruments seen and heard in the video it is important to have a clear way to identify them. If we don't know the names of the instruments (as is the case with this video), classification provides a way to describe them accurately. If I knew the names of the instruments, but wanted to describe the music to someone who does not, I might use sachs-hornbostel to provide a clear picture for them. The use of meter to classify the idea of time in this recording is fairly straightforward. The overall time feel is duple (a common 4/4), but there is a great deal of polyrhythm within the music as well. Describing the time as duple does communicate the overall musical time structure in a clear and concise way. Generally, the use of classifications does this well. It communicates that which we can describe when more specific information is lacking and provides clarity to a audience that lacks insider knowledge.
Though this video clip is a joining of African and European sounds, I really enjoy this film. Bela Fleck sets out to discover the "ancestors" of the banjo and the film documents a wide variety of African music. I've shown the full film to my general music students in the past. It does a great job of showing authentic music making while spotlighting African music's hallmarks like polyrhythm, participation, call and response, and more. I also like this scene's comments on music and gender.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful collaboration between two cultures. That is one of my favorite things to do is either to find songs that are found in multiple cultures and place them together in a single song or to see someone from one culture authentically experiencing another persons culture. I agree with you, we may not always know the name of an instrument but if we can understand its general function. There are some songs that my students do in a concert but we do not have the right instruments. We have to make substitutions but they need to be the right substitutions that have the same function. Helping us to categorize music in some way helps us to relate to it and then impart that knowledge to our students in the most authentic way possible.
ReplyDeleteWes, Thank you for posting such an inspirational video. This is so great to see people of different cultures experiencing music together. The story of the thumb piano being played by the only female musician is also particularly inspiring. The individual who stated that they find freedom in the music is wonderful. Having said that, it is great to also have a system to be able to categorize these instruments to better understand and explain them.
ReplyDelete"Throw Down Your Heart" is an excellent film for world music units, courses, or lessons. It demonstrates a number of "African" concepts like polyrhythm, call and response, raspy tone, etc. I used it as a final activity for my world music unit and still use it as a "sub day" video from time to time.
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