User:Willace01/Indigenous music of North America

CHARACTERISTICS

Scale over 5 octaves

Pentatonic Scale - C Major

Vocalization takes many forms, ranging from solo and choral song to responsorial, unison and multipart singing.

Tritonic Scale - E

Although each Native American group can be characterized by their own distinct genres and styles, certain aspects of style can be found with similarities among tribal groups who would have been neighboring tribes. These similarities are even further expanded upon when music and instruments are shared between each tribe, making it easy to find certain characteristics in frequent use. Traditionally, melodies consist of a simpler scale than the classical eight-pitch scale of eastern culture, often finding itself in the pentatonic or tritonic scale.

The voice can range from a tense, nasal, or relaxed sound, and consist of higher timbres specifically for male vocalists where falsetto is common. Vocal vibrato, when it occurs, is a rapid pulsating of different pitches as a more ornamental effect. Rhythmic patterns often can be found in meters of two or three and account for the vocal rhythms and syncopation in order to incorporate it into the pattern. Ostinato may be included in the percussion part as well.

Drums consist of types ranging from single headed, double headed, and kettle drums. Other percussive instrumentation consist of rattles and shakers made out of things like turtle shells.

A lot to add here (call and response, pentatonic scales, ostinato, etc.) * I think most of my work can be added here, reference parts of music areas

Pentatonic Scale - F Major

SONG AND TEXT SOURCES

Some native Americans view songs as 'property' owned by the tribe or individual who first perceived it

SOCIETAL ROLE

more on the committee that uses dreams for composition

Gender

particular

HISTORY

"aside from ..."?? also is talking about pentatonic scales etc necessary in 'history' or characteristics

Academic... (also switch to end of history)

"began and was led by" / "began. It was led by"

Add* Influence

During his time in the United States, composer Antonín Dvořák maintained that the future of the American voice in music lied in African American and Native American music, and supported their growth in the U.S. He had a goal to discover "American Music" and called upon American composers to look to these cultures of music for study and inspiration. (While Native American and African American musical roots are rather different, they share similar characteristics such as featured pentatonic melodies and complex rhythms.)

In this study of the American sound, he wrote:

"The music of the people is like a rare and lovely flower growing amidst encroaching weeds. Thousands pass it, while others trample it underfoot, and thus the chances are that it will perish before it is seen by the one discriminating spirit who will prize it above all else."

During this time he also wrote his Symphony No. 9, From the New World, which would become one of his greatest successes.

Before the symphony's performance, he made it clear the fact that 'the work was written under the direct influence of a serious study of the national music of North American Indians.' Although at this time, Dvořák was under the impression that Native American music was more similar to African American music than it truly was, due to the presence of pentatonic melodies in songs of each culture.

MUSIC AREAS

Southwest

..."cadential formulas"???

Plains

"nettl says that arapaho..."

Arctic

The Inuit of Alaska, Northwest Territories, Yukon Territory, Nunavut and Greenland are well known for their throat-singing, an unusual method of vocalizing found only in a few cultures worldwide. The traditional Inuit form of throat singing usually involves two females in a face to face position, where one performer sets a rhythmic pattern with voiced or unvoiced sounds, and the other fills in the gaps of the rhythm with these sounds. These sounds are very different from that of Tuvan throat singing, which includes overtones of whistling and nasal sounds, but most prominently a low 'growling' sound. They instead produce sounds through inhalation or exhalation, most often a mixture of both in fast pace, producing an athletic musical performance. Throat-singing is used as the basis for a game among the Inuit where each performer attempts to keep up their pace and rhythm of the duet without failing. The winner of this game is the one to beat the largest number of people in these contests.