Wrap-Up

This class has opened my eyes to so many types of music that I otherwise would not have been exposed to. Even though I was already aware of the music of certain parts of the world that we studied, I was able to gain a much better understanding of them. I think that the one culture I learned more about than any other was Indonesia. I knew absolutely nothing about its music or culture before taking this class. The gamelan, though not something I could listen to for hours on end, was probably the one thing we learned about that I found most fascinating. Their instruments are so different from our own, and the way that the entire ensemble of instruments is considered a unit is vastly different from anything I’ve seen before. I found the shadow puppets intriguing as well. The detail that they put into them is so intricate, and it’s interesting how the way the puppets move is similar to the movements they make in their traditional dances.

As far as my own culture, this class made me realize that, in some ways, we have more in common with other cultures than we realize. Even after I visited a mosque, I still thought of the head covering in Islamic cultures as something that was imposed upon women. But after Dr. Vaneman made the point about women wearing hats to church, I was able to see this tradition in a different light. I’ve also discovered through this class how an idea can travel from one culture to another. I had never considered that the four measure phrases used in African music might have resulted from Western European influences.

After learning about so many types of music over the course of only a month, I would love to learn more about Chinese music. I didn’t get to hear much traditional Chinese music when I was in China because they have become so westernized, but I love how melodic their music is. It’s amazing how they have instruments that seem so simple, yet they are able to play such complex and beautiful music with them. I was especially intrigued by the single-stringed instrument they used. Its design appears to be so simplistic, yet the way in which it is played is anything but this. And aesthetically, I could easily see myself listening to their music just for sheer enjoyment.