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Respond to the following question in 200 words (minimum) and then respond to at least two of your classmates.
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Due dates:
Thursday night at 11:59pm: Initial post of 200 words (minimum)
Saturday night at 11:59pm: Two (2) posts of 50-100 words (minimum) to other students
You must respond to two (2) other students to get a passing grade on this discussion question.
Percentage of grade: 5% (5 points)
Student responses should be thoughtful, detailed, and substantive. Responses also must reflect knowledge and information from the video(s) given. All responses must appear in the text box and NOT be uploaded attachments.
Discussion Question
Native American musical features differ among tribes, but there are certain melodic patterns that are pantribal. Some of these are:
An A-B structure, in which an A melody (usually the first melody of music) is sung and repeated, and then a B melody (slightly different from and lower than the A) is sung.
An A melody that starts on an emphasized high note and then moves down in pitch.
A B melody that starts lower and may end with a “rocking” or a repeated up and down pitch at the end of the line.
A duple meter (1-2, 1-2) throughout
And, of course, the Navajo language.
Please review your text book for these features.
Your chapter on Native American music includes some modern Navajo musicians who are trying to bring Navajo music or musical features to more general audiences as well as to audiences in the Navajo nation. Sharon Burch is one such musician/singer. In the song below, Burch plays a Western guitar using very recognizable pitches and chords for a Western audience. However, there are many Native American features that you can hear in the song, “Mother Earth”, below.
Listen to this beautiful song. Just listen to the music–the whole thing.
When you have finished, go back to 22 seconds on the video. Listen from 22-35. This is the A melody. Do you notice anything about this melody? How does it start? How does it finish?
Then, go to 40 seconds on the video. The B melody is 40 seconds to 59 seconds. How is this line different from the first?
Do you hear the Native American music patterns in this piece? See above for reference.
Now listen to the song again. This time, listen for the A melody and the B melody in the singing. What do you notice about this piece of music and how it is constructed?
Also, try to get a feel for the beat/meter. Try counting 1–2, 1–2. Does that work? (Some of you may also hear a quick 1-2-3, 1-2-3. Musicians might recognize a 6/8 meter) But the principle count is duple.
Now look at the lyrics to the piece. You may find the lyrics in English here:
https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/Sharon-Burch/Mother-Earth
Are you surprised by the lyrics? What do you think they might refer to or mean?
Then write 200+ words about this piece of music, using:
Information about common melody patterns and meter in Native American music (given above and/or in your text book)
Information from your listening (time stamps of As and Bs, overall structure, language (Navajo))
Lyrics
Your own personal reactions.
I care about your PERSONAL listening experience, not “correct answers” given on the internet. Part of music is training your ear to hear musical patterns. And this is a beautiful piece to do it with.
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