Native American Music, Music, College Term Papers.com


		Data Bases
		• Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism?

		Links
		• Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com

		Free Essays
		• Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers

Search Lots of Essays

Back to Subjects - Music

Native American Music

Native American Music In chapter ten, author Bruno Nettle takes the reader to the town of Browning, Montana, where he is about to witness a modern Native American ceremony. As he observes, he notices that only one-half of the people there are actual Native Americans. The rest are are white tourists and innocent observers just like himself. Eventually, somewhere around eighteen singing groups appear from different tribes and reservations. They will be summoning the dancers into what is known as the grand entry. Nettle notices that the overall style of the music remains the same among all of the different groups, or `drums.’ People are able to interact by taking pictures, video and tape recording what goes on. In that respect, the event is similar to a high school or local sporting event. Throughout this chapter the reader is introduced to many aspects of Native American music including: ceremonial traditions, musical areas, societies, unity and diversity, ideas about music, musical instruments, and aspects of history. Besides the powwow, there are other events involving music that deserve to be mentioned. In one area there may be gambling games played between two teams. This involves only the repetition of two musical phrases, trading places, along with only one melody. In another hut or barn, there could be a country hoe-down with a Blackfoot tribe singing familiar Nashville tunes. Events such as a rodeo also involve music, but not in as big of a way. It might be played jus as simple background music. These ceremonies are unique because it brings all tribes together as one. Since all songs are known by the majority of tribes, conflicts with language are overcome, mainly because the songs are wordless. Different kinds of events such as the gambling, the barn dance, and the rodeo symbolize two things: the idea that they are separate from other cultures, yet at the same time are in tune with ideas from other cultures. The idea of song among the majority of Native Americans is pretty short and to the point. Songs consist of short, easy to remember phrases. They aren’t just for ceremonial purposes, but for everyday life as well. They are important during religious or spiritual ceremonies. During these events, however, most songs are designated a time in which they will be performed. American Indian life in the present time can be characterized as one big melting pot. Some societies try to preserve their own identity, while other groups came together in some way and brought their cultures together. A lot of what is known about their music has come from the past century when technological advancements were just beginning to take place. It was also during this period of time that there was a lot of turmoil between the whites. It was obvious that each tribe had its own musical identity, whether it dealt with style, uses of, or ideas of what music was. At that time there were thousands of groups, all speaking their own language, and each had several songs to accompany ceremonies, dances, and to divide society. Anthropologists have put them into categories according to their ways of life. When comparing Native American music to that of other cultures it is obvious that their music is a lot less complex. It consists of a single melodic line and is almost totally vocal. Almost all songs are strophic(verses change, yet accompaniment remains the same). There are also shorter songs in which a couple of lines are repeated often. Basically, all of the music sounds very similar and percussion is almost always incorporated. Only if one is extremely picky, will he or she realize the uniqueness of each tribe. There are also many musical areas among the Native Americans. The first is the Plains area, which is the most distant and distinct of western music . Nettle states, “ It’s characteristic form consists of stanzas internally arranged as follows: a short phrase is presented and repeated; there follows a descending line of three to four phrases, the long second section is repeated so that the total may have the following scheme: A A BCD BCD” (257). Eastern areas have a wider selection of forms which include many short phrases, a more soothing sound, and some forms of call and response patterns. In the southwestern United States there is also the style of the Navajo and the Apache. It includes a larger vocal range with a more unpleasant voice. The style of the Pueblos is very similar to that of the Navajo and the Plains people. Native American people have a different idea than most about music. Complex organization is probably the least important aspect to them. Also, since oral tradition is incorporated in the music, it is possible it hindered some of the complexity. Music is measured instead by its potential to integrate things like ceremonies or other social events. Composition and creativity are also very different from that of European or Asian cultures. It is thought by many that songs are brought forth through dreams. In order for them to be discovered they must first be unraveled. In their culture the music is sort of a mirror image to the culture. For example, in some tribes there are certain songs to accompany specific activities. Also in many cultures distinctness of levels in society are shown by divisions in style and other aspects. Since Native American music is mostly vocal, almost all other instruments are percussion oriented and their job is to provide a sort of background music for the singing. There are also several types of rattles. There are both large and small drums with single or double skins. Rattles can be made of gourds, skins, hide pieces, and deer hooves. The instruments are also uniquely decorated with skins, paint, carvings, and beads. Among the music which produces a lot of tones, the most common is the flute, of which there are several types. There is also the musical bow, very similar to a hunting bow, which is mainly utilized in the southwestern United States. There is hardly any information dealing with Native American music. Yet there is enough evidence to do a little bit of reconstructing. Their history starting from the arrival of white people is a lot more accurate. Due to all of the fighting and terrible ordeals the two groups went through, many of the tribes were completely demolished or relocated. Due to these misfortunes a lot of the knowledge was forgotten or completely dismissed. Although they were tragic times, the Indians used music as a for of healing, and also as a way to sustain and preserve their cultural identity. After listening to the assigned material, one found that Nettl was very correct in his observations. The tracks sixteen and seventeen, dealing with the Powow and Sun Dance, had a lot of the properties that were stated in the book. It was almost totally vocal, with just a percussion instrument in the background. One noticed that many of the phrases were repeated, and had only one melodic line. There were only a few instances of call and response patterns. Track twenty-two was rather interesting. Ones gut reaction was mainly just confusion, because it was a poor recording and hard to understand. However, the singer was singing in English and that was somewhat depictable. The portion on the Peyote ceremony was really interesting because it incorporated the use of rattles and percussion at much faster pace. There was a solo singer, and he did repeat a lot of the phrases, but it was one- hundred percent redundant. Song number twenty-four brought the listener into the more contemporary trends of Native American music. The song was a capella, and in a more strophic form than other pieces. It was similar to many songs on the radio, just without accompaniment. The last three tracks contained a bigger variety of musical instruments, from flutes to guitars and strings, to percussion. The last song was really neat because it sounded like a country western tune, yet it was done in Spainish. I don’t agree with Nettl in his opinion that a lot of the music sounds the same because every song I listened to on the track was completely different from the other whether by instrumentation or vocal aspects. Bibliography:

Word Count: 1382