This was my first time watching a Noh performance. After a good amount of searching, I happened to come upon this clip. To be frank, I did not understand the performance at all. It seemed pretty cool and all, but it would have been a lot better if I had understood what was actually going on.
During the performance, I noticed the musicians in the backdrop of the stag. The ensemble was composed mostly of drummers on the left side of the stage. The drummers controlled the pace of the whole performance. The nohkan player was the lone aerophone present in the hayashi. However, it played a crucial role in the performance by allowing the audience to get lost in its notes. There was also a male chorus group somewhere there. I wasn't sure if it was the guys on the right side of the stage but I know I definitely heard so kind of chanting.
It was very hard to see the make-up on the actors faces so I can't really describe it really well. I see that they use a lot of white powder and the actors have a very emotionless face throughout the performance. I didn't/ couldn't see any expression on their faces. Their movements were slow and restrained throughout the performance. I didn't really get what was going on but I thought it was pretty cool to watch. Their movements were synchronized with the ensemble which I thought was interesting.
Overall, I thought this was a good thing to see. I may not know much about noh theater but I can still appreciate it.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Indian Classical Music
In this video, I was able to see a very good example of classic Northern Indian classical music. This piece of music featured many pieces of classic music from gharana. The beginning of the piece has a soft drone from an unknown instrument that is not revealed in the piece. However, I am almost absolutely certain that it is a chordophone. This drone is very commonplace in many Indian classical pieces.
This performance only had two instruments but they still manage to produce an excellent piece of music. The sitar was amazing. It was only the second time that I had ever seen it played. (The first time being an episode from The Office.) During the performance, the sitar played the same set of notes over and over. The fast repetitive notes provided a good backdrop that aided the tabla. Without the sitar, the tabla player would not have been able to do all the intricate variations that he does. The high notes that the sitar constantly plays kept me interested throughout the whole time.
However, I found the tabla to be the main focus of the performance. The tabla is a membranophone which consists of two drums for each hand of the musician. Throughout the song, the tabla created a rich variety of rhythms. With the help of the sitar, the tabla was able to
produce many variations and it was even able to improvise many parts. Those improvisations kept the music very lively and interesting.
All in all I really enjoyed this music. I was thoroughly entertained during the whole piece.
This performance only had two instruments but they still manage to produce an excellent piece of music. The sitar was amazing. It was only the second time that I had ever seen it played. (The first time being an episode from The Office.) During the performance, the sitar played the same set of notes over and over. The fast repetitive notes provided a good backdrop that aided the tabla. Without the sitar, the tabla player would not have been able to do all the intricate variations that he does. The high notes that the sitar constantly plays kept me interested throughout the whole time.
However, I found the tabla to be the main focus of the performance. The tabla is a membranophone which consists of two drums for each hand of the musician. Throughout the song, the tabla created a rich variety of rhythms. With the help of the sitar, the tabla was able to
produce many variations and it was even able to improvise many parts. Those improvisations kept the music very lively and interesting.
All in all I really enjoyed this music. I was thoroughly entertained during the whole piece.
Monday, February 8, 2010
GOOGOOSH!!!!
In Googoosh's performance of Hamseda, she uses many influences from Middle Eastern music. While my skills in music are not good, I will try to comment on this performance.
I was able to hear multiple gusheh or base melodies. The gusheh was easy to spot even though I had never heard one before. They were often present when there was a change in the beat of the music. This was the primary reason that I was able to pick up on the gusheh otherwise I would not have known of it. I have no idea what to make of this. I had never really paid much attention to this but now that I know that it's there......
During the performance, you hear very little string instruments. The song features many wind instruments and drums. The drums create the rhythm and provide the beat for the song while the wind instruments added little ornaments and variations throughout the song. I found myself focusing on the wind instruments for the most part besides the singer, of course. I don't know if this was the original intent of the artist or if I'm just weird. For a while, I thought that the song was non-pulsatile because I kept focusing on the wind instruments too much.
For the most part, I hear a predominately Middle Eastern influence in the piece. However, I think I also hear some elements of Latin music. Some of the sections for the wind instruments sound like some pieces of Latin music that I have heard before. I don't know if this is just a coincident or just a misunderstanding on my part.
I was able to hear multiple gusheh or base melodies. The gusheh was easy to spot even though I had never heard one before. They were often present when there was a change in the beat of the music. This was the primary reason that I was able to pick up on the gusheh otherwise I would not have known of it. I have no idea what to make of this. I had never really paid much attention to this but now that I know that it's there......
During the performance, you hear very little string instruments. The song features many wind instruments and drums. The drums create the rhythm and provide the beat for the song while the wind instruments added little ornaments and variations throughout the song. I found myself focusing on the wind instruments for the most part besides the singer, of course. I don't know if this was the original intent of the artist or if I'm just weird. For a while, I thought that the song was non-pulsatile because I kept focusing on the wind instruments too much.
For the most part, I hear a predominately Middle Eastern influence in the piece. However, I think I also hear some elements of Latin music. Some of the sections for the wind instruments sound like some pieces of Latin music that I have heard before. I don't know if this is just a coincident or just a misunderstanding on my part.
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