World Music Quiz JukeBox Index

INTRODUCTION Among the many elements that define our identities are ethnicity, race, class, gender, and religious orientation. National or regional heritage, language group, political affiliation, and occupation may also contribute. Identity is almost always constructed in relation to groups that we either wish to be part of or seek to distinguish ourselves from. Identities are complex formations that rarely stay static. Today many music traditions remain closely associated with communities that share background and history. Many aspects of ethnic identity are shaped by descent; others are determined by consent and consciously chosen through affiliations. Musical styles that symbolize identity maintain strong links with the past or with an original homeland. A challenge in charting identity in the twenty-first century, and its expression through music, is the increasing separation of identity from place. Geographic location is one of many important contextual factors that may define a soundscape. EXPRESSING INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP IDENTITIES THROUGH MUSIC Case Study: The Music of a Persian Composer Reza Vali was born in Iran in 1952. As a child, he was not educated in the techniques of Persian music. Grew up schooled in the Western classical music tradition. Vali's knowledge of Western musical instruments and styles was acquired at home in West Asia. Further developed during his education in Europe Settled in the United States Interest in indigenous Persian music began when he was a teenager in Iran. His early involvement in it focused on ethnomusicological work. Not focused on transmitting or performing traditional styles A flexible approach is need to think about a soundscape's setting and aspects of sound and performance. Vali's flute concerto brings together multiple elements from the composer's background and musical experience. Commissioned by the Boston Modern Orchestra Project and first performed on February 13, 1998. Substantial Iranian musical influence Soloist hums while playing the Western flute. Sound resembles the Persian ney Instrument of antiquity Western instrument with Persian influence through unusual flute effects Composer started experimenting with effects in 1987. Effects including polyphony. Influenced by both Persian classical and folk music as well as by Persian visual arts. Flute concerto may sound random or improvisatory, but very little is left to chance or to the discretion of the musicians. Flute player is given explicit instructions about how to produce the desired sound. The composition also includes instructions to other instrumentalists. Vali clearly draws inspiration from Persian music while representing in sound the complex identity of a Persian expatriate. His work's commentary on the dialectic between Western and world musics transcends issues of individual and community Considers broad questions regarding the role of music as it seeks to convey intercultural identities Reza Vali's music provides an example of informed musical synthesis. Case Study: The Multiple Meanings of Karaoke Karaoke ("empty orchestra") originated in 1972 at a snack bar in Kobe, Japan. Technologically mediated musical performance Spread throughout Japan and Asia, later internationally Karaoke has been discussed by scholars on several levels: As a performance medium grounded in new technologies As a setting-specific musical genre As a ritualized form of musical behavior Karaoke is closely associated with particular social settings. Originally popular in bars and night clubs; substituted for live performance Also had an active life at dinner parties and in private homes In Japan, both social and musical behaviors associated with karaoke are quite formalized and patterned. Rules for karaoke performance circulate formally in karaoke journals. Popular list of "seven taboos" in karaoke Rules are intended to help regulate gender hierarchies and politeness in public space. Additional "hidden rules" as well. Karaoke draws on the traditional Japanese value of kata ("patterned form") Pervades many Japanese arts. expressive forms are composed of precise, named patterns. Form is here considered to be more important than original content. The kata principle as manifested in an historical musical style is found in the kabuki theatre. Kata guides everything. Kata shapes musical expression. Kata provides the aesthetic framework for repeating a well-known pattern, an aesthetic that reverberates through karaoke. Karaoke also draws on a long tradition in Japan of communal, public singing. One Japanese popular song genre, called enka, is particularly associated with karaoke. Enka is based on stylized formulas. The karaoke singer of enka must reproduce the song's words and music and imitate the original singer's style. Enka highlights shared values and forges group identity karaoke has deep roots in traditional Japanese values and maintains a broad-based popularity in Japan supported by an active karaoke culture. The karaoke performance derives its significance from intimate settings. Karaoke first spread throughout East Asia. Changes were introduced as it was adopted in different national settings. Others worldwide have adapted karaoke to a variety of settings. Case Study: Multiple Identities in Cajun and Zydeco Music The French heritage of Creoles and Cajuns Creoles and Cajuns share the same language and the same geographical region. Both traditions trace their roots to the French-speaking people who arrived in Louisiana between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Creoles are a heterogeneous group of people who are of mixed French, Spanish, and African or Afro-Caribbean descent. Cajuns arrived later, beginning in 1755. Cajuns descend from a more homogeneous community of French refugees who lived in Acadia. Expelled by the British The name "Cajun" derives from the French adjective acadien, meaning a person from Acadia. Present-day musical style most closely associated with Creole identity—zydeco music—emerged only in the mid-twentieth century. Setting: musics of place Cajuns sustained their French traditions and language, which increasingly, came into contact with a number of other peoples and cultures. Gave rise to a rich, distinctive culture—and musical style. The culture and the music, along with the people themselves, came to be known as Cajun. Cajuns contributed to other well-known American musical styles. Ensembles consist of accordion, fiddle, guitar, triangle, and drums. Fiddle traveled with the Acadians. Accordion was introduced by German immigrants. Electric guitars and drum sets were incorporated into Cajun bands. Emphasis in many Cajun songs is on the sound of the words. Cajun French has declined dramatically. Cajun song was one of the few means of preserving the special Cajun French dialect. The button accordion is at the heart of the Cajun sound. The association of Cajun music with dance has played an important part in keeping Cajun music alive. Sound and significance: singing ethnicity, race, and class Historically, Cajun and Creole cultures have had much in common. Poor Creoles of color and Cajun whites worked side by side in the same fields. Prolonged period of cultural exchange between the groups resulted in culinary and linguistic blending. Cajun dialect of French took on distinctive local features. Cajun and Creole musicians even played together. Cajuns and Creoles extend to their names for the very places they jointly inhabit. Complicated musical, racial, and cultural interactions emerged including, after World War II, a distinctively Creole music that came to be called zydeco. Zydeco has interacted with other African American and Caribbean traditions. Zydeco was at first influenced by Cajun music; later zydeco began to influence Cajun musicians more strongly. Zydeco uses the same core ensemble as Cajun music. Part of zydeco's distinctive sound came from a found instrument: a steel washboard or "rub board." In black Creole society, as well as in Cajun circles, music flourished in bals de maison (house dances). Zydeco's kings and queens The use of the titles "king" and "queen" comes from Joe Falcon, who called himself the "Famous Columbia Record King." Zydeco kings ruled this male-dominated tradition. Very few women were able to make careers as zydeco musicians. Ida Guillory is an exception among zydeco musicians. Queen Ida's musical style embodies all the hallmarks of zydeco. Virtuo accordion player Raising voices together: uniting Cajun and zydeco Interaction between Cajuns and Creoles is once again emerging. New bands are now bridging the racial and musical gap.

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