Music Appreciation and it’s

cultural significant

By Jose M. Ponce
College of southern Nevada
Professor Oliva Grant
March 12,2022
 Objective

Students will be able to relate and understand the music from different
parts of the world by reading, listening, and a watching video.
Students will be able to write about what they learned and offer their
own opinions and experiences.
Warm-up

 What music do you know is popular around

the world?

 Where does the music you listen to originate?

Think about the music that you listen to and
think about the culture.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
 Guided work

 When we Work on this assignment-

 Ask your self if this music is
different from the music you hear.
 Why does music affect the way
people look at the world.
 What similarities and differences This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

you see musically and culturally.

Questions:

 What music did you choose and where does the music originate from?
 What makes this music popular where it originate from? Name a few reasons
why the music is heard so often. Ex Religion, Stories, etc.
 What Instruments are typically used in this type of music? What makes these
instruments so special and/or where do they originate?
 Have you ever heard music that is similar to or inspired by this music? If so, how
is it similar. If not, write how it is different from the music you typically listen to.
 Mariachi Music – From Mexico (Together)

Mariachi Music
From Mexico.
Questions:

 What music did you choose and where does the music originate from?
 What makes this music popular where it originate from? Name a few reasons
why the music is heard so often. Ex Religion, Stories, etc.
 What Instruments are typically used in this type of music? What makes these
instruments so special and/or where do they originate?
 Have you ever heard music that is similar to or inspired by this music? If so, how
is it similar. If not, write how it is different from the music you typically listen to.
Now you try it!!!

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

Choice from the Three Choices Below

Traditional Traditional Traditional

Chinese African American
Music/Folk Music Music/Folk Music Music/Country
Music
Assignment

 You will be reading and watching a video about different kinds

of music and what they mean too different people.
 Complete this Assignment on you Word document or sheet of
paper.
 Choice One-Traditional Chinese Music/Folk

Chinese Folk Music in

China today
 Short Reading

 Folk music
 Han folk music thrives at weddings and funerals and usually includes a form of oboe called a suona and
percussive ensembles called chuigushou. The music is diverse, sometimes jolly, sometimes sad, and often
based on Western pop music and TV theme songs. Ensembles consisting of mouth organs (sheng), shawms
(suona), flutes (dizi) and percussion instruments (especially yunluo gongs) are popular in northern villages;
their music is descended from the imperial temple music of Beijing, Xi'an, Wutai shan and Tianjin. Xi'an drum
music, performed with wind and percussive instruments, is popular around Xi'an, and has received some
popularity outside China in a highly-commercialized form. Another important instrument is the sheng, pipes,
an ancient instrument that is an ancestor of all Western free reed instruments, such as the accordion. Parades led
by Western-type brass bands are common, often competing in volume with a shawm/chuigushou band.
 In southern Fujian and Taiwan, Nanyin or Nanguan is a genre of traditional ballads. They are sung by a woman
accompanied by a xiao and a pipa and other traditional instruments. The music is generally sorrowful and
mourning and typically deals with love-stricken women. Further south, in Shantou, Hakka and Chaozhou,
erxian and zheng ensembles are popular.
Con’td

 Sizhu ensembles use flutes and bowed or plucked string instruments to make harmonious and
melodious music that has become popular in the West among some listeners. These are popular in
Nanjing and Hangzhou, as well as elsewhere along the southern Yangtze area. Sizhu has been
secularized in cities but remains spiritual in rural areas.
 Jiangnan Sizhu (silk and bamboo music from Jiangnan) is a style of instrumental music, often
played by amateur musicians in teahouses in Shanghai, that has become widely known outside of its
place of origin.
 Guangdong Music or Cantonese Music is instrumental music from Guangzhou and surrounding
areas. It is based on Yueju (Cantonese Opera) music, together with new compositions from the
1920s onwards. Many pieces have influences from jazz and Western music, using syncopation and
triple time.
Choice two- Traditional African Music/Folk

African music in music

today
Short Reading

 There are common features though and much like the other forms of African art, most traditional African
music is more than just aesthetic expression. 
 African music is a total art form closely linked to dance, gesture and dramatization. It permeates African life
and has a function, a role to play in society; songs are used for religious ceremonies and rituals, to teach and
give guidance, to tell stories, to mark the stages of life and death and to provide political guidance or express
discontent.
Cont’d

 It also serves to entertain and is used in ceremonial festivals and masquerades to work up fervor from
the spectators and participants alike. Singing, dancing and playing African musical instruments ensure a
dynamic event transpires. 
 The impact of the music is tantamount; the beauty of it, like African sculpture, is secondary to the primary
function. Performances may be long and often involve the participation of the audience and much of it is
associated with a particular dance. 
 Traditionally, African musicians were not concerned with the impact of the music, nor its 'beauty', it had a
specific function with dance being an integral partner to music and was used to entertain as well as to mark
occasions and provide moral guidance. 

 Choice Three- Country Music/Folk

Country Music today

Short Reading

 A Brief History of Country Music

 Country music emerged in the mountain towns surrounding Bristol, Tennessee in the 1920s. Early stars of the genre
included Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family.
 Country music first became popular on local radio. In the mid-’20s a syndicated radio program recorded in
Nashville, called Grand Ole Opry, brought country music to a national audience.
 String bands were popular in the 1930s and ’40s. Country music had many virtuosic players on the guitar, banjo,
fiddle, mandolin, and bass. Performing as bluegrass string bands, artists like Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson created
country hits based around dynamic playing. These players became stars of Appalachia, Texas, and rural America
after performing in clubs known as honky tonks and on radio broadcasts.
 Country singers dominated rural radio. During the same period, "singing cowboys" such as Gene Autry and
crooners like Hank Williams brought country songs to the masses.
 Country's popularity grew in the second half of the century. Artists including Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Kris
Kristofferson, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette, Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Reba McEntire, and Shania
Twain racked up best-selling albums and Grammy awards.
Cont’d

 Outlaw country emerges. Following in the footsteps of Johnny Cash, a star of 1950s and 1960s country music,
some artists rejected the commercial trappings of mainstream country. Over time, Cash and his peers pioneered a
subgenre known as outlaw country. Outlaw country artists include Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Waylon
Jennings.
 Alt country took hold among indie rock fans. Country music has long had an alternative side, anchored by
songwriters such as Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark. Their songwriting and performance style helped inspire the
alt-country movement of the 1990s and 2000s, where artists like Drive-By Truckers and Jason Isbell brought
country music to alternative and indie rock audiences.
 Country is a Top 40 genre. In the twenty-first century, mainstream country music rivals hip hop and dance pop for
dominance of the Billboard charts. Singer-songwriters like Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Eric
Church, Carrie Underwood and Lady Antebellum enjoy widespread airplay and inclusion on pop music streaming
playlists. Televised industry events like the Country Music Awards (CMA) have brought further awareness to the
genre and increased its reach.
 In 2019, the PBS network aired an eight-part documentary series on country music, directed by Ken Burns, that
broadly documented the evolution of country from hillbilly music to jukebox standards to international pop hits.
Cont’d

 5 Characteristics of Country Music

 The country music of Texas honky tonks may sound different from pop country hits, but several elements
unify the genre.
 Folk harmonies: Most country music is based on traditional chord progressions built off of a major scale.
Non-diatonic chords are less common than in other genres.
 String instruments: Most country groups base their instrumentation around string instruments like guitar,
bass, pedal steel, lap steel, banjo, and fiddle.
 Twangy vocals: Whether country artists are from West Virginia or Canada, most sing with a twang in their
voice. This helps distinguish country music from other pop genres.
 Confessional lyrics: Many country songs tell stories about love, heartache, hard work, and personal pride. A
good number take the form of ballads, which are songs that tell a story.
 Frequent duets: From its inception, country music emphasized group singing. Early acts like the Carter
Family featured family members singing together. In more recent years, country singers like Miranda
Lambert found pop success by teaming up with other vocalists.