Now we've come to the end of the road...

Wow. This month has absolutely FLOWN by! I really don't know where January went. This class was really enjoyable and I'm very glad I decided to take it this Janterm.

 

 

 

I was especially intrigued by the Chinese music and culture. I was always curious about the different instruments, and how they are played and things like that. I was also surprised that Chinese Opera was more like a musical theatre production and less like an Italian-style opera. For some reason, I expected Chinese opera to be exactly like a western-style opera, but that the arias and recitatives would be sung by singers with a very nasal timbre (and in Chinese of course.). I was surprised to see that Chinese opera was NOTHING like that. I also thought it was interesting that the performers wore masks. It seemed to me more like a musical theatre production, as I mentioned before. I was surprised by that and will look into it more deeply on my own.

 

 

 

 

 

Through our discussions I realized, that although our culture is very different from most others we learned about, there are deep similarities as well. It is in our human nature to express ourselves and our culture through song and dance. Our instruments may be different, our songs may be different, and our singers may have different aesthetic qualities; but I have learned to appreciate the other songs and vocal timbres. I noticed that after a while, the timbres that are aesthetically beautiful in other cultures doesn't sound so strange. I realized that my music culture is actually pretty centered, and I should try to be more open minded about other cultures and their music.

 

 

 

I know that I will keep listening to and discovering more about other countries music and dances. Watching all the videos in class and seeing the instruments and dances being played and performed “live" instead of just in pictures has inspired me to go and research more about the different cultures and instruments. I also want to look for more videos that combine modern beats and western influences with traditional instruments. I want to do more research on musicians from different cultures who still hold true to their roots and sing traditional songs and play traditional instruments. Those types of musicians and singers are what keep those cultures rooted and alive. They make the whole world aware of their specific music culture and what it has to offer. I think that everyone can learn to respect others cultures and traditions through music and dance. It is good to look outside our own little "music world" that we have here in the US, and realize that we aren't the only culture on this earth that has beautiful music.