Reflection on sound

By -
During the week of April 2, we had Professor Allen come in and talk about ethnomusicology, specifically his research in India exploring art music and devotional music. In addition, we had the Sound group make a presentation about their insights on the sense. I learned from Evan that there are microtones in our music that we hear but can’t discern, such as how a piano key connects to three strings to make the sound of a single note. Microtones can be used to differentiate music of different cultures due to the preferences of a group of people have towards a specific scale. We saw an example of such with the band King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and their song, Rattlesnake! In addition, we saw a man spell out words with an Overtone Analyzer (a computer application which I downloaded after), and how our brain makes sounds by syncing different frequencies in both ears, called binaural beats.


Something  reminds me that there is so much knowledge about music that lies below the surface, or beyond what you hear the first time. Music is like a language I don’t understand. I can listen to it and comment on the melodies I hear, but I don’t know what it means or the significance of what’s being conveyed. Though I was certainly out of my realm in this unit, I appreciate being able to scratch the surface at understanding how the world hears music.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amidst the Pandemic

By -
Image
I think having the opportunity to take Smells and Bells and then experiencing a worldwide pandemic came with good timing. Oftentimes, we’re so rushed to get from one one place to another that we miss out on what happens around us. We’re so accustomed to the lifestyle of being busy that it has become the norm for many of us. However, the pandemic has forced us to slow down. We’re now appreciating everything that we had previously taken for granted and noticing things in our surroundings that we have never noticed before.  Take this quarantining/social distancing as an opportunity to be more aware of what you experience through the senses. I don’t think my senses have necessarily heightened over the past 5 weeks, but I am actively making the choice to pay more attention to what I see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. I like going on nature/mindfulness walks and basking in the sunshine out in my backyard. This morning, I could hear a faint noise from the wind, hear the birds chirping, f
Read more

Food in the Afterlife

By -
Image
In Religion in the Kitchen: Cooking, Talking, and the Making of Black Atlantic Traditions , Perez talks of Ashabi and her grandchildren providing food offerings to their ancestors. This immediately reminded me of the practice of food sacrifice in early China. I've taken Chinese language classes for about 7 years now and in one of the lessons, we learned about food as well as the history of food in Chinese culture. Ashabi and her grandchildren would give food offerings to their ancestors every day. This included nine beverages (coffee, liquor, and water mixed with sugar and molasses) and nine square pieces of coconut topped with red palm oil and guinea pepper. The offerings would also include whatever food was dropped on the ground. In their house, food dropping on the floor signified more than it would in common American households. It signified that the ancestors wanted that food and had willingly made it fall to the floor. They also used dishware that had been chipped which was
Read more