Tanner's Terrific Tunes

  Music and Family Field Study     I interviewed my mom, Kimberly Smith, for my family field study project.          Me:  What is your earliest memory of music?     My mom:  Listening to mama play music on our radio.           Me:  What kind of music do you associate with your childhood?     My mom: The  80's - Duran Duran, Van Halen, Beastie Boys.      Me:  Think about younger childhood, middle school years, high school, college–how did it change, evolve?     My mom:  Elementary I remember Michael Jackson, Rock Springfield, etc. that my parents liked. I also remember all the 80's hair bands, along with groups like Van Halen, Beastie Boys, New Edition, etc. The European invasion of bands like Duran Duran that my sister loved still sticks with me. I would love to see Duran Duran or New Edition in concert.         ...

  Arabic and Asian Music                               I decided to discuss the Arabic accordion for my blog.  Arabic music includes many influences from other cultures in its music.  They have more scales than any other type of music.  The accordion is a Western instrument, but it made its way over to Arabic nations and now it is a normal instrument over there.  In the video the man talks about how the accordion is so difficult to learn, because quarter-tones, which are half a semitone, do not exist on the accordion and quarter-tones are played in most of Arabic music. The man talks about how he had to learn to play the accordion Western style.  When he was young the man moved from Lebanon to the United Arab Emirates, because the war started in Lebanon.  While in school in the United Arab Emirates he had nothing else to do in his free time, so he decided to lear...

  History of Rock & Roll          Rock and Roll emerged around 1916 with the Great Migration. This new genre of music came out of African American Blues and Gospel music. The Great Migration led African Americans to travel to northern cities in America and their musical style of rhythm and Blues allured the teens from the suburbs.  At the time segregation and racism was a serious issue in America, so most of the artists that performed Rock and Roll were never really broadcasted throughout the country.  A man by the name of Alan Freed began a radio station in Cleveland where he broadcasted his rhythm and blues show.  Freed's show became increasingly popular and Freed created the term "rock and roll" for the music he played on his radio station.  Many caucasian artists at the time began covering R&B songs, but they lacked the feeling and the soul that was produced by the original African Americans who sang that music, so the music ...

  Krar          For my blog I chose to discuss the krar, because I was interested in learning about more South African instruments. The krar is a South African instrument that looks kind of like a guitar. The strings on the krar are different from a guitar because at the end of the instrument they all come together instead of staying apart from one another.  Also, the krar is played with five fingers and it is held underneath your armpit. In this video Gebresgi discusses his wish to become a professional krarist and singer.  On the lower end of the instrument you can change the pitch for different songs, like changing the solfege. Basically, the silver slider at the bottom of the instrument works as a capo. The pitch can be raised up to la. Gebresgi said that the krar was always in his home growing up and he grew up in Eritrea, Africa.  The krar sounds very similar to the guitar and it works in the same way. Kwaito Dance     The kwa...

High School Graduation          For my blog, I chose to discuss music and rites; in particular, I chose to discuss music in a high school graduation. The reason I chose high school graduation is because it is both something I have experienced and a rite of passage into the world.  Graduation is when young adults reflect back on the times they had, look forward to the future, and go out into the world on their own for the first time.  The music that is used in graduation ceremonies is full of nostalgia, love, excitement, hope, and a tinge of sadness.       My graduation included various styles and genres of music, including songs that exhibit the emotions I previously stated. One of the songs that was played at my graduation was "Whenever You Remember," by Carrie Underwood.  This song was played at the beginning before the ceremony began and it served to set the mood of the ceremony.  The purpose of playing this song at the...

  Powwow Healing Dance     We have discussed the significance of the Powwow in Native American culture and how it unifies the members of that culture.  During Powwows there are dance competitions and I found the costumes that they wore to be interesting, so I looked up specific dances and the costumes' significance to that dance. I chose to learn about the Healing Dance.  In this video the dance is being performed by the Northern Cree and they are a powwow, round dance, drum, and singing group.  The Healing dance, also known as the Jingle dance, was created during a time in history when many people were getting sick and a lot of the children were becoming incredibly ill.  A man that was in their village who was worried about his daughter prayed to the great mystery and he received a vision in a dream.  In that vision he was told to help the people, and he saw four women who were each dressed idiosyncratically. The dresses they wore were covered wi...