Japan is Superior

Music of the Japanese Noh classical theater is extremely distinguished. The actress of this particular Japanese Noh performance moves rather slowly almost like she is gliding while moving her fan up and down to the chants and accompaniment by the hayashi. Elements of the Japanese Noh based on this performance include a hayashi that includes a taiko, o-tsuzumi, ko-tsuzumi, nohkan, and a small male chorus that does all the chanting and singing. It includes the nohkan being the only melodic instrument aside from the singing of the male chorus. There are also hollers and howls from the drummers. The drumming patterns are varied - different drummers play different patterns, which creates an unsynchronized effect, but the fact that the drumming is layered makes it distinctive. There is a freedom of rhythm, sometimes when it gets louder the rhythm is faster. The melodious music you hear from this performance is all from the nohkan and some of the male chorus, the other percussion instruments and the disgruntled-like chanting establishes an inconsistent beat. Since the nohkan is the only melodic instrument, it leads the hayashi. The melodies provided by the nohkan are brief and stereotyped. The actress is the main focus of the performance, using exaggerated gestures and fan waving along with the immensely decorated costume, which includes a mask.

Blog Post 5

Hindustani music is unlike any other music genre I have ever listened to… and I thought polka was peculiar. Listening to Ali Akbar Khan and his performance with Swapan Chowdhury in “in Rag Zila Kafi” was a whole new experience. There really is no distinct melody that stands out, there seems to be no climax. There are elements of North Indian Classical Music in this performance. Although the whole performance seems to sound sort of the same throughout the whole song it seems as if Ali Akbar Khan is improvising a lot and adding on his own ornamentations. His improvisation is based on raga – certain notes that he plays sounds different because he is sliding his finger across the fingerboard of the Sarod. Meter is very difficult to determine here, there are so many notes being played and the rhythm seems to be rather dynamic, not really a steady tempo – it isn’t just simple quarter notes and eighth notes. The meter seems to be made up of cycles of beat groups in systems, which is tala. Swapan Chowdhury accompanies him on some sort of drums using just his palms and fingers to intricate patterns to accompany Khan’s classical performance. There is also a man sitting behind Chowdhury and Khan playing an instrument that looks like a tanpura and accompanies the performance with a constant sounding pitch, or drone, of the tonic note and maybe another pitch. Overall I thought the performance was different, I suppose Sarods are the equivalent to guitars in our music culture.

Blog 4

Googoosh’s performance of her song, “Doh Penjereh,” or “Two Windows,” is very unique, such as having many irregularities in its rhythm, but also contains elements of Middle Eastern music. At the beginning of the song, the tempo fluctuates. It constantly ritards, but then goes back to a tempo again in order for it to ritard again. The beginning is also in 4/4 meter, but then once you get into the song, past the introduction, it switches to 6/8 meter. It is also, for the most part, performed at an Allegro appassionato tempo, with the eighth note getting the beat. As for dynamics, there are many decrescendos at the beginning of the song; as the song slows down, the volume decreases. Strings are predominant throughout the song, although you mostly hear the violin playing rather than the viola or cello. In the accompaniment, there is also a very strong bass line played by a bass. There is also slight woodwind instrumental although the strings overshadow it. The melody in this song is very basic, but has many improvisations so the melody does not sound exactly the same each time she sings it. The texture of the song is more polyphonic since there isn’t chordal accompaniment but rather many melodies being played at once that it almost sounds like a canon. The song ends with very dramatic ritards and a fermata on the last note being played by the strings so the audience is left with a sense of contentment.

40th Anniversary: Faculty Members Musical Showdown

On the cold, dark night of January 29, UT Dallas was witness to the most epic event in musical sports entertainment history. The Conference Center Arena was filled with spectators eager to observe the musical marvel.

The most memorable match of the concert for me was “Semi-suite.” In this bout, The Violin and The Clarinet formed an unstoppable tag team in which the violin provided the main melody, while The Clarinet provided a solid support in the form of an accompaniment with its smooth and mellow sounds. The Piano tried his best to hold his ground without being overwhelmed. He certainly carried his team with his relentless rhythm. The Percussion would randomly come out of nowhere to break up the count whenever The Piano was pinned. The Percussion mainly worked to embellish The Piano’s performance as well as the match of as whole. The attention was never too focused on him.

Just when I thought the match could not get any more intense, The Violin called upon an audience member to deliver a deadly blow. The crowd which, was usually silent as they were immersed in the performance, went absolutely wild.

The performance was nothing less than art. The performers seemed like they were professionals with the intent of sharing their love of music.