music

MUSC 210 7381

Joseph Arthur

Dr. Pelaez 

04/12/2022

Music in Worlds Culture

​A total of three instruments from diverse cultures can be seen in the World Gallery. Music is held in high esteem worldwide, regardless of cultural background. Every civilization on the face of the planet has a distinct style of music that is unique to it. The Sachs-Hornbostel classification system categorizes acoustic musical instruments extensively used in the field of acoustic musical instruments. According to Estrella Espie, two European musicologists came up with the idea in 1914, which has been around ever since (2). The following are the five different types of musical classifications: Idiophones, Chordophones, Aerophones, Membranophones, and Electrophones are just a handful of the instruments available (Espie, 2013). They are the following three instruments, which were chosen from among the classes of idiophones, chordophones, and membranophones, respectively: Among the instruments included in this World Instrument Gallery are the Caribbean steel drums, Biwa, and CuicaCuica, which will be explored in-depth in terms of their history, culture, who plays them, and the musical environment in which they are played.

​It is a sort of percussion instrument that belongs to the Idiophones family of instruments, and it is most found in the Caribbean region. Throughout the Caribbean, it manifests African culture that can be found in various forms. As Alexandra Daley of The Caribbean Current points out, the steel drum is unique among musical instruments. It can be used as both a voice and an instrument, and it is the only instrument capable of performing both duties in Caribbean music (1). In some circles, the steel drum, also called a pan, is thought to have originated in Trinidad and Tobago, in the western Caribbean. This institution was founded sometime around the period of the French Revolution.

 https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/steel-pan-drum-player-sticks-396099886

​It was obtained from the website thecaribbeancurrent.com/traditional-styles-of-the-Caribbean-steel drums/ that the image of a Caribbean steel drum shown above was taken from was got from The Caribbean steel drum is made of sheet metal that ranges in thickness from.8mm to 1.5mm. The pans were made from oil drums, which were recycled. Drums are pounded with straight hardwood sticks with rubber tips to produce music. Until the early 1970s, women were not permitted to play the Caribbean steel drum; only men were able to do so. To enhance the cultural experience, the steel drum is often performed in conjunction with other instruments, and it is frequently heard as background music in carnival tunes. The Biwa from Japanese culture and the steel drum from the Caribbean are regarded as seminal historical-cultural instruments.

​Biwa is a lute that belongs to the Chordophone family. It is a short-necked lute that has its origins in the Japanese music tradition. Its origins can be traced back to the Chinese Pipa. Senzoku Gakuen College of Music describes the Biwa as having numerous distinct forms, known as the gagaku Biwa, used in imperial court music, blind monks' prayer, and storytelling, among other places (3). The Biwa is shaped like a pear. Strings of silk are used to hang it, and it can contain anywhere between four and five. Biwa is a game that both men and women may enjoy. Males play biwas slightly larger than the Uehara Mari, and females play the Uehara Mari. The Biwa is available in several different sizes. The image above is of a typical Biwa that might be played during imperial court music, prayer, or storytelling; it was located on the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music's website www.senzoku-online.jp/TMDL/e/06- biwa.html, along with information about this instrument. Apart from their deep cultural ties, the Biwa and Cuica also have a prominent representation of Latin and African traditions.

The Cuica is a type of tube drum classified as a Membranophone. It began in African culture and was later introduced to Latin America. Brazil is the home of CuicaCuica. According to Roger Vetter, there are numerous theories on the origins of the CuicaCuica; some claim it began in Bantu Africa, while others claim it originated with Muslim traders (4). Cuica is a cylinder-shaped soundbox with a steel or aluminum shell ranging from six to twelve inches. The shell can be fitted with one or two brass horns.

The two images illustrate how unique the CuicaCuica is compared to other percussion-like instruments; these images are available at https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cuica-musical-instrument-african-origin-traditional-1243626904. Inaddition to the data that has been supplied for this device. Cuica is used in all musical ensembles and rural and urban dances. Until the 1980s, women were not permitted to play the CuicaCuica or any other instrument because men were the traditional performer. It is possible to perform the CuicaCuica in many ways due to its versatility as an instrument. One approach is to push and pull a part of it back and forth, which produces a vibration that sounds like music when done repeatedly. Identical in both appearance and sound, each of the three instruments chosen is unique. All three devices were classified using the Sachs-Hornbostel classification scheme. Every one of them has a different cultural connotation in their own countries. A distinct cultural meaning is attached to each of the three gadgets. According to the prevalent belief at the time, they were all initially depicted by men in their own cultures. Through this World Instrument Gallery, I was able to gain a better understanding of a variety of instruments and musical genres from around the globe.

Reference

Daley, Alexandra. “The Traditional Styles of the Caribbean Steel Drums.” Thecaribbeancurrent.com, 5 Oct. 2013, thecaribbeancurrent.com/the-traditionalstyles-of-the-caribbean-steel-drums/.

Estrella, Espie. “Classification of Musical Instruments: Sachs-Hornbostel.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 17 Jan. 2019, www.thoughtco.com/classification-of-musical-instruments2456710.

Senzoku Gakuen College of Music. “BIWA.” BIWA | Traditional Music Digital Library, 2014,www.senzoku-online.jp/TMDL/e/06-biwa.html.Vetter, Roger. “cuica,” Grinnell College Musical Instrument Collection,https://omeka1.grinnell.edu/MusicalInstruments/items/show/84.