Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: HiTech RedNeck
Music would be another story. It is universal among humanity. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_music

I suggest you actually listen to the recordings at your link. Technically it's music I suppose. More like a stench in the ear, if you ask me.

Back in the late '90s, I was music director for a professional children's theater group. The creative genius behind the group was a guy who wrote the book and all the original music for the many shows they performed.

The songs were outstanding, and I enjoyed being his arranger.

Anyway, back when Disney came out with "Pocahontas" in 1995, this fellow was very irritated by the fact that the movie script completely distorted the actual history of Pocahontas. So he decided to write his own original musical based on the actual history.

The show was produced and performed for many seasons, including a year or so ago at one of the major area venues.

The thing is, when he started to write the music, he wanted to avoid all the Hollywood cliches about what American Indian music sounded like. So he researched it in order to write authentic sounding American Indian music.

It turned out that it all pretty much sounded like the two sound clips at the link you posted. He ended up using typical broadway song conventions in writing the songs, because there really was no alternative.

Honestly, I think it's very charitable to describe American Indian music as music, although, as I said, I suppose it is technically music. But barely so.

45 posted on 10/11/2015 12:38:12 PM PDT by Maceman
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies ]


To: Maceman

Nobody claimed one culture’s music was beautiful to another culture. A lot of palefaces don’t like roast opossum either. I’m sure that for something to be presentable to a paleface audience as inspiring music it would have to be done in a paleface musical idiom.

I am not a music ignoramus by the way — I am a pianist of over 42 years experience. Some Western musicians have done impressions of American Indian music as well and it isn’t that bad, but of course it has the Western harmonic spice in it.


47 posted on 10/11/2015 12:41:47 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies ]

To: Maceman

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxU7a0aw6fU

This motif shows up in a number of American musical contexts, interestingly.


49 posted on 10/11/2015 12:49:36 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson