January 2024

Welcome Back Everyone!  In the two weeks leading into Christmas Concert we had to suspend the world tour as we were working on the show so we'll start with 2 countries we missed-Belize and Bangladesh.  Younger students will be working with our districts bells through January.  Older students will be coming back to the ukulele working on Am, F, C and G and playing 'Wake Me Up' by Avicii.  Some students in the middle will do a combination of these, or choice by class.

January 8-12

This Week's Music Around the World-Traditional and Contemporary Music-Belize

Mayan music is a blend of Mayan, Creole, Mestizo, Garifuna and European cultures. 

Ancient Mayan Orphan Song-Leonardo Acal(4:38) (edited from film found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7ZHt2WGRDQ) 

Garifuna Nuguya-Hopkins Village (4:13) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsK4_7VtQrI) The Garifuna culture are descendents of Africans and Indiginous people in the Caribbean.  There is a large Garifuna population in Belize. 

Bumm & Chime-Run Mr. Peters Run (4:47) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoPEdcuAfSY) Brukdown music is the Creole (Kriol) music that is central to music in Belize.  It was difficult finding this music with video accompaniment (lots of audio only online) but I found this piece by Wilfred Peters (Mista Peetaz)-a very important figure in Brukdown and Belize. 

Mestizo Music and Dance (1:44) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-IHFI6_aWU) Mestizo are the people who are of mixed Indigenous and European descent.  

 

January 15-19

This Week's Music Around the World-Traditional and Contemporary Music-Bangladesh

Ved Shukla-Bengali Bhajan (6:59) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SywENkRhZdc) Classical raga music in Bangladesh is closely related to the music of Northern India.

Folk Music (3:52) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVB52tRdV4o) Folk music is the most popular form of music in Bangladesh.  Here is a fun video of some instrumental folk featuring a lot of the traditional folk instruments.  I can't name them all but I think I see sitar, tabla drums (on ground), esraj or tanpura (looks like a bass version of sitar), dayan or dholak drums (held), cymbals, sarinda (3 string bowed instrument), bansuri (bamboo flute) and ektara (one string drone lute-looks like it has basket at bottom).  

Folk Dance (2:04) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G98QK6UadUk)

Xefer x Muza-Jhumka (3:17) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LolUVl3nSu4) I found articles talking about the rise of western pop music and rock in Bangladesh.  This piece has a lot of elements of western pop both in song and video-with a Bangladeshi flair.  Xefer is the female pop singer from Bangladesh. Muza is a Bangladeshi American singer and producer.  I believe the video is in a mix of Bengali-the language of Bangladesh and English.  

 

January 22-26

This Week's Music Around the World-Traditional and Contemporary Music-Eswatini

Formerly Swaziland Eswatini is the smallest of African countries set mostly into South Africa.  The country is mostly inhabited by the ethnic Swazi people.  

Traditional Song and Dance-Swazi (4:17) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOx0l4msglQ&list=PLX7UihygEiDKnMVMSIKriBN-dtk--mbeE&index=2)  The small foot shuffle you can see a few times is quite common in the traditional dance videos I watched. 

More Traditional Dance (0:30) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaweWOsTWi0) Here's that little slide step move again!  Loved this video with the child.  

M Nation-Limuva Lama Official Music Video ft. Gogo Eswatine MM and Slwane (4:07) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9zL_Nybwy8) Rock, pop and hip are all popular in Eswatini.  Here is a well known artist from Eswatini.  

Lyrikal Busta-Buyekhaya (3:43) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G9RNV5OxA8) Another well known hip hop artist from Eswatini.  'And the winter is cold and you are not at home'. 

 

 

January 29-February 2

This Week's Music Around the World-Traditional and Contemporary Music-Guatemala

 Mayan-Traditional Music-Musica Maya AJ (8:50) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HILbfuvBD0) One commentator listed these instruments as: 

"Chirimiya and Tzijolaj (wood flutes/pipes), pottery whistles caracol shells winds maracas made of Jicaras and Teconate gourds filled with pebbles or seeds. Turtle shells, the Tum drums, marimba percussion among other diverse and exotic instruments."

 

Marimba Music (3:28) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHsaOPNf0kw) Like other countries in this region marimba music is vital.  Here are some beautiful instruments!  Marimba's have been documented in Guatemala as far back as 1680.  Some put the instrument back as far as Afro-Carribean slaves arriving in 1550.

Garifuna Music-Garifuna Collective of Belize/Guatemala (5:19) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqFtuWarRbM) Garifuna culture originates in descendants of Africans and Indigenous People and is important in Guatemala as well as surrounding countries.  

 

Fuiste tú-Ricardo Arjona feat. Gaby Moreno (4:55) (found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9cCPQVPv8o) Here's a beautiful song by one of the best known singer-songwriters of Guatemala-Ricardo Arjona