One Step at a Time...

Title:
Irish Step Dancing River Dance

Performers:
Nicola Byrne and Alan Kenefick and other dancers

Culture or Origin:
This is a step dance from Ireland. Step Dances are considered virtuosic solo dances based on the hornpipe, reel and jig. The dancer's foot movement create percussive patterns on the floor

Orchestration:
Fiddles. Concertina. The dancers created the percussive like sounds. Guitar rhythm section and high strings creating chords.

Connection:
I chose to talk about this video not only because Ireland is my country for the final unit, but also because it ties into what we discussed in class. During class, we discussed the different models of authenticity. I believed that the historical and the personal model was one of the best. It's not only important to understand music's background and history but have it connect and be meaningful to the student so they can find their own individual connection. A lot of Irish music does this perfectly. Much of their music is for dancing. It is a means of expression for the individual and also a way to socialize with people around them.

In middle/high school I had a few good friends that took step dancing and did competitions. This could be a perfect segue to introduce Irish music in the classroom especially if there are students participating in it. In both the Koops and Abril reading,  they talked about music combining with other subjects. There should be a lot more cross-curricular references. This could be a perfect opportunity to tie together a history class with music and dancers in the school system.

Western Classical in a Worldly Sense

Title:

Radetzky March, Op. 228 

Performers:

China Central Chinese Orchestra 

Conductor:

Chen Xie Yang 

Culture or Origin:

Western Classical Origin. It was composed by Johann Strauss Sr. 

Orchestration:

Chinese String, Woodwind, and Percussion Instruments. 

Chinese subsitutions for the Western classical instruments are used,

including the Erhu as the 1st Violin section in Western Classical music.

Connection:

Immediately, when I found this performance on YouTube I couldn't help but think about our discussion during our last class. We talked about accurately depicting world music in performances and in our classrooms. In our readings, the authors discussed how changing elements of a piece can turn it into a completely new piece. In this video, the China Central Chinese Orchestra takes a Western Classical piece and uses Chinese stringed, woodwind, brass and percussion instruments instead of the typical Western classical counterparts. Couldn't one argue that they are in fact changing the piece? The timbre, tone and textures are very different compared to how Strauss originally imagined it as. As a result, does this make it lose its elements that makes the piece Western Classical. In Thinking Musically there is a whole chapter dedicated to instruments. A lot of times the instrument and style is what makes a culture's music unique. To change that in a performance setting changes the entire game. On the other hand, sometimes schools or individuals wouldn't have the means to play the piece on the correct instrument that it was written for. There would have to be accommodations. This isn't the case for the group depicted in the video.