Japanese Noh

I've found that Noh Classical Theater has several common elements:

• A Primary Performer that wears a kimono (a dress-like robe), a hakama (skirt), a white mask that shows different pronounced emotions. The performer also holds a fan or sword as his or her primary prop.
• Normally there are three musicians: A nohkan bamboo flutist, drum player(s), and a vocalist.
• The vocalist usually only sings the word "Noh" throughout the performance.
• In some performances, the tempo increases halfway through the piece. This is represented in the video below.

These aspects are echoed in the following video:

Japanese Culture Styling: Noh - 能 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUhtCLKFMx0

North Indian Classical Music

The video I choose to cover over North Indian classical music (Hindustani) is Ustad Rashid Khan performing Raag Desh. Like most classical North Indian music, there are string instruments called tamburas that provide a lot of drone which accompanies the main vocalist. There is also a drummer which plays with his palms and figures throughout most of the piece. There is a somewhat large section where the drummer does not play at all. I suspect it is the vocalist's solo at that time. The drum makes distinctively different notes and timbre depending on how it is played. Raag (or Raga) is the melodic mode which is used in Indian classical music. Desh is a Hindustani classical raga in which in the case of Arohana, 5 notes are used and in the case of Avarohana, 7 different notes are used throughout the piece. The vocalist also plays an interesting instrument that adds a sound similar to a harp to the performance. Throughout the piece, the strongest and most important voice from the group has to be the vocalist.

link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz46DtJTEes

Blog Post 3: Music Faculty Concert

After attending the 40th annual music faculty concert on the coldest night we've had in a while, I headed out into the chilly night air with an ear-full of Latin music. The venue was full of discarded coats and jackets from the audience that filled the packed auditorium. The song I'm writing over is called How Insensitive by Antonio Carlos Sobim. The performers played piano, electric guitar, bass and drums. As the chatter slowly quieted down from the packed audience during setup for these songs, the pianist, Kelly Durbin started playing a solo. With many ornaments including trills and riffs. The guitar completes some of the piano's phrases and this leads off into a jazzy duet by the piano and electric guitar with the guitar part including a lot of legato articulation. The bass and bass drum kept a steady beat with hi-hat notes on the off beats. The middle gets very loud with a full band crescendo. The piano starts playing shorter notes and then the piece ends with a full band decrescendo and the guitar quietly fading. The audience cheers.