Music Appreciation and it’s

cultural significant

By Jose M. Ponce
College of southern Nevada
Professor Oliva Grant
March 12,2022
 Objective

Students will be able to relate and understand the music

from different parts of the world by reading, listening, and a
watching video.
Students will be able to write about what they learned
and offer their own opinions and experiences.
Warm-up

What music do you know is popular

around the world?

Where does the music you listen to

originate? Think about the music that
you listen to and think about the
culture. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
 Guided work

 When we Work on this assignment-

Ask your self if this music is
different from the music you hear.
Why does music affect the way
people look at the world.
What similarities and differences This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

you see musically and culturally.

Questions:

 What music did you choose and where does the music originate
from?
 What makes this music popular where it originate from? Name a
few reasons why the music is heard so often. Ex Religion, Stories,
etc.
 What Instruments are typically used in this type of music? What
makes these instruments so special and/or where do they
originate?
 Have you ever heard music that is similar to or inspired by this
music? If so, how is it similar. If not, write how it is different from the
music you typically listen to.
 Mariachi Music – From Mexico (Together)

Mariachi Music
From Mexico.
Questions:

 What music did you choose and where does the music originate
from?
 What makes this music popular where it originate from? Name a
few reasons why the music is heard so often. Ex Religion, Stories,
etc.
 What Instruments are typically used in this type of music? What
makes these instruments so special and/or where do they
originate?
 Have you ever heard music that is similar to or inspired by this
music? If so, how is it similar. If not, write how it is different from the
music you typically listen to.
Now you try it!!!

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

Choice from the Three Choices Below

Traditional Traditional Traditional

Chinese African American
Music/Folk Music Music/Folk Music Music/Country
Music
Assignment

You will be reading and watching a video about

different kinds of music and what they mean too
different people.
Complete this Assignment on you Word document or
sheet of paper.
 Choice One-Traditional Chinese
Music/Folk

Chinese Folk Music

in China today
 Short Reading
 Folk music
 Han folk music thrives at weddings and funerals and usually includes a form of oboe called a
suona and percussive ensembles called chuigushou. The music is diverse, sometimes jolly,
sometimes sad, and often based on Western pop music and TV theme songs. Ensembles
consisting of mouth organs (sheng), shawms (suona), flutes (dizi) and percussion instruments
(especially yunluo gongs) are popular in northern villages; their music is descended from the
imperial temple music of Beijing, Xi'an, Wutai shan and Tianjin. Xi'an drum music, performed
with wind and percussive instruments, is popular around Xi'an, and has received some
popularity outside China in a highly-commercialized form. Another important instrument is
the sheng, pipes, an ancient instrument that is an ancestor of all Western free reed
instruments, such as the accordion. Parades led by Western-type brass bands are common,
often competing in volume with a shawm/chuigushou band.
 In southern Fujian and Taiwan, Nanyin or Nanguan is a genre of traditional ballads. They are
sung by a woman accompanied by a xiao and a pipa and other traditional instruments. The
music is generally sorrowful and mourning and typically deals with love-stricken women.
Further south, in Shantou, Hakka and Chaozhou, erxian and zheng ensembles are popular.
Con’td

 Sizhu ensembles use flutes and bowed or plucked string instruments to make
harmonious and melodious music that has become popular in the West among
some listeners. These are popular in Nanjing and Hangzhou, as well as elsewhere
along the southern Yangtze area. Sizhu has been secularized in cities but remains
spiritual in rural areas.
 Jiangnan Sizhu (silk and bamboo music from Jiangnan) is a style of instrumental
music, often played by amateur musicians in teahouses in Shanghai, that has
become widely known outside of its place of origin.
 Guangdong Music or Cantonese Music is instrumental music from Guangzhou and
surrounding areas. It is based on Yueju (Cantonese Opera) music, together with
new compositions from the 1920s onwards. Many pieces have influences from jazz
and Western music, using syncopation and triple time.
Choice two- Traditional African
Music/Folk

African music in
music today
Short Reading

 There are common features though and much like the other forms of African art, most
traditional African music is more than just aesthetic expression.
 African music is a total art form closely linked to dance, gesture and dramatization. It
permeates African life and has a function, a role to play in society; songs are used for
religious ceremonies and rituals, to teach and give guidance, to tell stories, to mark the
stages of life and death and to provide political guidance or express discontent.
Cont’d

 It also serves to entertain and is used in ceremonial festivals and masquerades to work
up fervor from the spectators and participants alike. Singing, dancing and playing African
musical instruments ensure a dynamic event transpires.
 The impact of the music is tantamount; the beauty of it, like African sculpture, is secondary
to the primary function. Performances may be long and often involve the participation of
the audience and much of it is associated with a particular dance.
 Traditionally, African musicians were not concerned with the impact of the music, nor its
'beauty', it had a specific function with dance being an integral partner to music and was
used to entertain as well as to mark occasions and provide moral guidance.

 Choice Three- Country Music/Folk

Country Music today

Short Reading

 A Brief History of Country Music

 Country music emerged in the mountain towns surrounding Bristol, Tennessee in the 1920s. Early
stars of the genre included Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family.
 Country music first became popular on local radio. In the mid-’20s a syndicated radio program
recorded in Nashville, called Grand Ole Opry, brought country music to a national audience.
 String bands were popular in the 1930s and ’40s. Country music had many virtuosic players on
the guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and bass. Performing as bluegrass string bands, artists like
Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson created country hits based around dynamic playing. These
players became stars of Appalachia, Texas, and rural America after performing in clubs known
as honky tonks and on radio broadcasts.
 Country singers dominated rural radio. During the same period, "singing cowboys" such as Gene
Autry and crooners like Hank Williams brought country songs to the masses.
 Country's popularity grew in the second half of the century. Artists including Dolly Parton,
Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Garth Brooks, Vince
Gill, Reba McEntire, and Shania Twain racked up best-selling albums and Grammy awards.
Cont’d

 Outlaw country emerges. Following in the footsteps of Johnny Cash, a star of 1950s and 1960s
country music, some artists rejected the commercial trappings of mainstream country. Over
time, Cash and his peers pioneered a subgenre known as outlaw country. Outlaw country artists
include Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings.
 Alt country took hold among indie rock fans. Country music has long had an alternative side,
anchored by songwriters such as Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark. Their songwriting and
performance style helped inspire the alt-country movement of the 1990s and 2000s, where
artists like Drive-By Truckers and Jason Isbell brought country music to alternative and indie rock
audiences.
 Country is a Top 40 genre. In the twenty-first century, mainstream country music rivals hip hop
and dance pop for dominance of the Billboard charts. Singer-songwriters like Taylor Swift,
Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Eric Church, Carrie Underwood and Lady Antebellum enjoy
widespread airplay and inclusion on pop music streaming playlists. Televised industry events like
the Country Music Awards (CMA) have brought further awareness to the genre and increased
its reach.
 In 2019, the PBS network aired an eight-part documentary series on country music, directed by
Ken Burns, that broadly documented the evolution of country from hillbilly music to jukebox
standards to international pop hits.
Cont’d

 5 Characteristics of Country Music

 The country music of Texas honky tonks may sound different from pop country hits, but
several elements unify the genre.
 Folk harmonies: Most country music is based on traditional chord progressions built off of a
major scale. Non-diatonic chords are less common than in other genres.
 String instruments: Most country groups base their instrumentation around string instruments
like guitar, bass, pedal steel, lap steel, banjo, and fiddle.
 Twangy vocals: Whether country artists are from West Virginia or Canada, most sing with a
twang in their voice. This helps distinguish country music from other pop genres.
 Confessional lyrics: Many country songs tell stories about love, heartache, hard work, and
personal pride. A good number take the form of ballads, which are songs that tell a story.
 Frequent duets: From its inception, country music emphasized group singing. Early acts like
the Carter Family featured family members singing together. In more recent years, country
singers like Miranda Lambert found pop success by teaming up with other vocalists.