Lasciami, non t'ascolto

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This duet, Montserrat Caballe and Marilyn Horne, sing "Lasciami, non t'ascolto" from Rossini's opera, Tancredi. The song title translate to "Lasciami, I do not listen to you". Not knowing anything about this particular opera, the music sounds like it is telling a sorrowful story from these two women's prospective. The music itself shows a wide range of intervals. The performers help with the ornamentation of some of the notes. The contour of the song is very complex but consists of mostly conjunct motion. Some of the disjunct motion could be due to the singer's vibrato. When there is that much vibrato present, it tends to be hard to dictate the constants. Although its hard to tell what they are saying, there is a beautiful section of harmony executed when they sing together. The singers show more of their skills as a duet when they show their execution of the dissonance around minute 7:00. The performers themselves interact with each other to give that feeling that both women are going through the same thing. The first perofrmer interacts with the audience to tell her story, then the second singer interacts with the other singer, then the audience together. The whole piece is basically a polyphony, whether it is between the first singer and the orchestra or between both singers.

Avatar's Film Score and Na'vi Culture

The film score in Avatar has an emotional timbre to it. The sounds are connected to a certain character's emotion during the movie, or if you were to close your eyes during a scene, the film score would paint the picture around you of what might be happening. This goes for nearly any film score; it relates the sounds to the emotions or space around it to make you feel like you are really apart of the movie.

After listening to the soundtrack during the Na'vi ceremonies like Jake becoming one of "The People", their culture is very similar to that of Native Americans. I found an article that gives several references between the Na'vi being a cultural tribe. Their connection or relationship with Earth is very similair to those Native American tribes that practiced Earth-based religions. There was also a reference of the Native Americans were considered the outsiders. The outsider groups would usually refer to themselves as a different name typically translating to "The People". The Na'vi group was considered "The People" by the humans trying to explore their world. Another similarity to the Native American tribes was the simple weaponary the Na'vis carried around as they also lived a hunt/killing ritual and sacrificing the animals they hunted.

The separation between film score and the music of the Na'vi is very easy to pick out. The film score usually has the sound of an orchestra with no words. The music of the Na'vi has several tribal sounds to it. There is either the unique drumming patterns or the big give away would be the foreign language being sung either by a group of the tribe or a soloist.

Article on Na'vi Similarity to Native Americans

Texas Country Musical Ethnography

The Dallas music culture that I decided to research is Texas Country music. This particular culture symbolizes the hard working cowboy that has a laid back personality. The activities of Texas Country music consists of dancing in dancehalls with live concerts most of the time. Repertoires for live concerts include songs about Texas, its landscape, and anything that means something to the writer and singer of the songs. We see material things in this culture such as acoustic guitars, cowboy hats and boots, and denim jeans. The preservation of this type of this type of music is to try and become a mix of small town Texas Country to “Top 40” Nashville Popular Country.

My research data was done a few ways. A lot of information was taken from observation during the Pat Green concert I attended. I felt it helped see the music culture in action. Other information was taken from different country music artist’s official website. Biographies of these artists helped answer questions about the general idea of the Texas Country music culture. I conducted my interviews by asking three questions that I think fill the gap to two of my friends who I believe know more about the Texas Country music culture than I do. The Pat Green concert I attended was held at Billy Bob’s Texas: The World’s Largest Honky Tonk located in Fort Worth, Texas. In 1910, it was originally built to house cattle for the Fort Worth Stock Show. It is the center of country music in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

The culture defines music with its lyrics and its distinct characteristics in its music. My friend Larry Bolding, who knows well about the Texas Country music culture, says the songs that are recorded and played at concerts are focused around the acoustic guitar or a fiddle. The lyrics to most of these songs have several themes: cowboys, being a Texan, drinking, romance, or just having a good time. The cowboy songs are probably the most stereotyped songs by those listeners that are not around the culture very much. Nearly every artist has a song about growing up a Texan or lyrics that state Texas is the best place to be. Alcohol is another big theme that occurs in many of the songs. This theme appears in songs along with just about all the other themes in the same songs. Texas Country artists also write at least one song about love usually inspired by one they have fallen in or out of love with. The beliefs of this culture is having fun and enjoying life to the fullest while remembering the ups and downs. Basically any life experiences will be sung about. The aesthetic qualities in this culture are not required but are seen as proper attire when going dancing at a dancehall or attending a concert. The “proper attire” consists of a cowboy hat (more for the guys), cowboy boots and denim jeans. The cowboy is the image that Texas Country music originated from. The cowboy came onto the scene when the term Texas outlaws were a big hit in theaters.

Activities involving this music culture contribute to the overall image of Texas Country music. Two-stepping is a big part in bringing people together and dancing to Texas Country music. Larry Bolding notes that he can always tell the difference between a “Top 40” country song and a Texas country song because Texas country songs are easier to dance to. The typical dance you might see in a place like the Gruene Dancehall is called a Texas two-step. The great thing about the artists in this music culture is that even if they play professionally, they know they got their start somewhere just playing as a hobby. Bolding says Texas country music artists usually start out by playing their guitar or singing with their buddies until someone starts to like the way their music sounds. The young artist then begins to either try and write their own songs or play other famous artists songs at local bars and clubs wherever they may be able to get a gig. Pat Green stated at his concert “it’s great to play music for a living”. So even though he still plays professionally now, he loves what he does and could do it, as a hobby if touring did not require money. Another great thing about the Texas country music culture is that anyone at anytime can work their way up the ranks to become a great Texas country artists; the culture welcomes most everyone.

The genre this music culture fits into would be the overall genre of country music. The music nearly always has lyrics that are very significant. The words usually tell a story and relates to the listener’s life experiences. The composer of these lyrics is typically the lead singer of the band but all band members can have input into any of the songs. The act of composition in the current day is very important in order to keep every artist unique. The actual repertoire of a Texas country music artists’ concert usually starts out by playing one of their more popular song, then playing some of their other songs that have not made the top charts of a Texas country radio station. Depending on if the band or artist is playing in front of a large crowd, the audience may request on encore if they have not heard the band or artist’s top hit.

The material culture of this music is just about the same as the aesthetic qualities of the culture. In order to really participate in the culture a hundred percent, you must have a cowboy hat, boots and jeans to play the part. These clothes can be bought from any country western store around town at places like Cavendar’s Boot City and much other small country wear shops.

My last question I had for Larry Bolding was “what artists of bands best embody the Texas country music culture?” I agreed when he gave me a list of Randy Rogers Band, Josh Abbot Band, Kyle Park, and Casey Donahough. These people or bands exemplify the local country boy who likes to have fun and is really laid back. The Texas country music culture is on the up rise and gaining popularity fast.

Sources:

Billy Bob's Texas History

Texas Country History

Difficulties during Ethnography Research

Although there are many different resources to find answers to my research, there is only little information through each resource; this rest is seen in the eye of the researcher. The first problem when doing basic research on Texas Country music, is the culture being a sub-genre of the more popular so-called "Nashville" Country, or the Top 40 of all country music. The culture is still developing to this day so none of the information on the internet is set in stone.

Depending on the popularity of the Texas Country music artist, some concerts are hard to get into due to ticket prices or locations. In my case, I had to spend a little extra cash for Pat Green tickets because the event was sold out for 2 weeks prior to the night of the concert. Also depending on the popularity of each artist, will somewhat determine where the artists hold their concerts. The more popular artist tend to go on tour all over the U.S. while the up and coming artists try their hand at the smaller honkytonks around Texas or southern part of the U.S.

The difficulty of the interview is very hard these days, especially if the artist goes on tour. Most recording artist have a team of agents for their marketing and scheduling of shows. I tried to reach many different people in my quest for a few answers. None of my emails or voicemails were returned. I have had to settle for interviews with my friends that are very familiar with the music culture.

Texas Country Music Culture Preview

The Texas Country music culture is a developing culture with many different elements. My summary of elements include having an acoustic guitar in the band, songs are about Texas or Texas landscape, a close connection between the band and the audience, and artists have typically grown up in Texas all there life.

The acoustic guitar is a must have in a Texas Country band. Its not uncommon to find an electric guitar or bass in the band as more bands progress towards a more rock sound.

The lyrics in Texas Country songs usually have several different themes. Some about Texas cities or the landscapes, some about having fun on a Friday night in a small town, or some about romance. Many songs have a reference to alcohol which might be what other non-listeners do not like about the culture.

The close connection between the band and the audience typically happens during concerts. It is a very interactive experience. For a few examples, I attended the Pat Green concert and he would interact and ask questions to the people in the front row between and during songs. Another concert I heard about was given by Kyle Park and played darts with his audience members after the concert.

Last but not least, the artists within the culture almost always have some sort of Texas roots. Pat Green for example was born in San Antonio, grew up in Waco, and went to college at Texas Tech. The Eli Young Band formed at the University of North Texas when the singer Mike Eli and guitarist James Young started the band and Eli & Young.