Jahliah's Musical Journey

Learning about the Arab culture today I learned many things that I never even thought to question. The culture is really like no other and filled with so much versatility. One question that really stuck with me today during class is what are other string instruments in the Arab culture. The first one I discovered is the Oud. It's a short neck pear shaped instrument that has 10-13 strings. It is usually played by being plucked with your fingers. I have posted a video below demonstrating the sound and a little bit of technique. I will say that if you see it and think it is similar to a guitar but the range is not comparable. The next instrument I discovered is the Guenbri. It's a three-string wooden instrument. It's a chordophone lute that is plucked. It is made out of coconut shells and wood. Sometimes a wooden resonator can be added. It's an extremely beautiful instrument and reminds me quite a bit of a banjo.  Another question that sat with me during this lesson is the...

The topic that spoke to me the most was Soul. Soul is music created by African American people in the 1950s and 1960s. It combines all the music of my cultural which include jazz, spirituals , and the blues. Growing up whenever I spent time with my grandparents this is all I ever heard. Which made me grow to love the music . It plays a huge impact on my focus as a musician now. Soul music originally  started as upbeat gospel music. A perfect example of this would be a Ray Charles song I've Got A Woman it originally  was I Got A Savior. This did not got to well with the church people they took it to be a little disrespectful . Another example would be the James Brown song Please, Please, Please which was about god but he instead changed it to make it seems as if he was begging to get his women back. Most black musicians were never trained through a actual music school do to segregation  and privileges they didn't have access to but they made the most out of the situation. ...

The place that I found the most interesting in Sub Saharan Africa is Nigeria. I've always loved the name and when I started doing research I continued to discover how beautiful it truly is. This place includes folk, pop music and different styles of folk music. Most of there music is passed down generation to generation and includes many different instruments. They are beautiful and creative people. The largest ethic groups are Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba. This is where most things where originated .  I was fascinated by something that Nigeria are really the creators of works songs. Which would be used to pass down time in the fields. Or even simply the video we watched in class and found out that it was postal workers creating wonderful sounds to pass down time. Women would often have difficult patterns compared to men because they do more work and have rhythmic task such as pounding down white yams to make fufu. That is super cool that they are so talented and that something...

This topic is actually quite interesting to me. I did notice in the Native American Pow Wow that the men played the drums and there outfits where quite dull compared to the women who wore more revealing or bright colored clothing they were also dancing. While in the videos I've seen I haven't seen any men dancing.There is also definitely stigma's on the music men and woman listen to. Women are usually characterized as people that love very emotional songs or songs by women. While men are stereotyped to like rap or punk rock. And it's known as a bad thing if they like someone like Katy Perry or Beyonce. My music style is everywhere and I actually love music that denies the stereotypes I love music by men that show them being extremely emotional or expressing how something makes them feel like D'Angelo. And I love songs by women where they are yelling and angry by artist such as Rico Nasty or Meg the Stallion. I think it's terrible that men are scripted to this co...

I think what's really cool about Native American's music is the way they have such irregular rhythms in a some what off key style. There music is used as a way of solving or celebrating things there is really no in between. They take such pride in there culture and have kept it in tact as much as they could. From the videos we watched in class I became super interested in the beat of the drums and how they do what they do. When you watch them you feel a true connection. They all play off the same drum and each have one drumstick they use. And from all the videos I've found I've only seen men playing the drums. The example I posted is the Siksika Pow Wow Drums. Many natives believe that the drum is the power of thundering and lightening.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeYYCpWfUQQ&feature=youtu.be Something else that caught my interest is The Pow Wow Dancing. The moves that they do look practiced and strategic. They look beautiful from head to toe. They have these P...