Musical Autobiography
I have been very fortunate throughout the years to have many opportunities to be exposed to music of different cultures. My music studio in Mississippi was very good about incorporating music from different places. For instance, we sang a lot of African folk tunes such as Gabi, Gabi (from West Africa) and Alleluia (from Ghana). We were also very interested in North American slave songs such as Wade in the Water and Ride on, King Jesus. We even had an African drum teacher in my studio named Adebe. When I was thirteen, I played the penny whistle in an Irish band with two violinists and a drummer. Perhaps my favorite memory of learning about other cultures’ music was when I went to a Mountain Music Festival in the summer of 2004. It was really cool, because there were all kinds of musicians there. A lot of people made their own instruments, including these drummers I met. They made drums out of pails, metal things, chimes and pretty much anything that could be struck and make a cool sound. I had a lot of fun with them, and we just improvised. Actually, every one pretty much improvised their music at the festival. Also, I am from Mississippi, and I am at the center of some pretty cool musical styles. First, blues was introduced in the Delta, so I have pretty much heard that style of music my whole life. I am also near New Orleans where there are all kinds of styles of music. Out of all of the styles of music that I have been exposed to in my life, I think that I enjoy the African folk songs the most. They just have a spirit about them that one cannot really find in the Western culture. I think a close second would be the slave songs. They are not really as influenced by Western culture as one might think. There are a lot of really interesting modes used, and it gives the songs an overall haunting feeling. I really enjoy music of other cultures besides Western culture, and I am very interested in learning more about them.
I have been very fortunate throughout the years to have many opportunities to be exposed to music of different cultures. My music studio in Mississippi was very good about incorporating music from different places. For instance, we sang a lot of African folk tunes such as Gabi, Gabi (from West Africa) and Alleluia (from Ghana). We were also very interested in North American slave songs such as Wade in the Water and Ride on, King Jesus. We even had an African drum teacher in my studio named Adebe. When I was thirteen, I played the penny whistle in an Irish band with two violinists and a drummer. Perhaps my favorite memory of learning about other cultures’ music was when I went to a Mountain Music Festival in the summer of 2004. It was really cool, because there were all kinds of musicians there. A lot of people made their own instruments, including these drummers I met. They made drums out of pails, metal things, chimes and pretty much anything that could be struck and make a cool sound. I had a lot of fun with them, and we just improvised. Actually, every one pretty much improvised their music at the festival. Also, I am from Mississippi, and I am at the center of some pretty cool musical styles. First, blues was introduced in the Delta, so I have pretty much heard that style of music my whole life. I am also near New Orleans where there are all kinds of styles of music. Out of all of the styles of music that I have been exposed to in my life, I think that I enjoy the African folk songs the most. They just have a spirit about them that one cannot really find in the Western culture. I think a close second would be the slave songs. They are not really as influenced by Western culture as one might think. There are a lot of really interesting modes used, and it gives the songs an overall haunting feeling. I really enjoy music of other cultures besides Western culture, and I am very interested in learning more about them.
One of my Dad's really good friends plays the flute and has several different penny wistles and flutes from around the world and tuned to different pitches. That whole family is really neat. (They are the ones who came up with the idea of making a bamboo band... I wonder whatever happened to that video). I know you are not too fond of my Nordic folk music and now that I know you like African folk songs it I might be able to find some random music somewhere in my family's large collection that you would like. (My Dad hates my Nordic folk songs by the way and I made him listen to them for about three hours on the way up here in August... It was only fair. I had to listen to SIX Cd's of Jussi Bjorling. I love him, but not that much.) I really liked your blog! Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteThe Mountain Music Festival sounds like a lot of fun :) Too bad classical music training doesn't really help with the aspect of improvization...
ReplyDeleteI love penny whistle! It adds so much to the texture of Irish music. If you're interested, I have some great Irish CDs where it's featured.
Good Blog, Ashley. Some interesting stuff. It's always helpful to put song tites in quotes, just to set them off, no matter what the context.
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