Contra Dancing

In American culture, we are usually exposed to presentational or hi-fidelity forms of music and music making. This is unfortunate as many people that are born and raised into this type of society are not able to take part in participatory forms of music making. As a part of this class, I was lucky enough to be able to be a part of two different instances of participatory music and entertainment. From these experiences, I have learned that participatory music making is a great tool for forming social bonds and connections with community.

I think I can speak for everyone in attendance when I say that the contra dance was incredibly fun. I didn't see or hear of anyone that didn't have a good time. This type of dancing is very different from mainstream music and dancing scenes. One way that they are different is that you are taught the dance before it actually starts. This way, people of all skill levels are able to dance giving the event a more participatory feel. Another difference was that through the dancing, we were able to dance with pretty much everyone there. In most public dance settings, dancers hang around their friends or the people they came with. This system makes it very hard to meet people and form bonds which is much easier at participatory events like the contra dance. 

After having so much fun and experiencing a flow state at the contra dance, I must say that I do plan on going back. I very much wanted to go to Sugar Hill to see it on a bigger scale, unfortunately it interferes with welcome week. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and hope that I am lucky enough to be able to go back. The only thing I can think of that would keep me from going back would be finding a way to get there that wouldn't leave me exhausted.

Participatory music making and social action boast a great deal of benefits. Thees benefits include the ability to foster social bonding and the formation of new relationships. This style of music making a great way for people to meet and form connections with others. Participatory music also has the ability to put everyone on the same level. No matter how virtuosic you are, you are still able to interact with newcomers in a productive way. Participatory music making is very efficient at increasing morale, since the goal of this style of music making is the happiness of the participants.

Overall I am greatly appreciative of my experience at the contra dance. This event was successful because it was clear that everyone involved was enjoying themselves. Although I am dissapointed that I will not be able to go to Sugar Hill, I look forward to the next time I am able to participate in this style of dancing.

Dem punks iz aiight

"Punk is the remedy for my sickness". This quote from the movie The Punks Are Alright does a great job of summarizing how important punk is to the people that enjoy it. Punk isn't just about being loud and obnoxious, it's a way for people to express their anger and dissatisfaction with a system that isn't doing anything for them.

After watching this movie, it is clear that punk is a lifestyle used by those who have no other way to express themselves and their feelings. The movie highlighted two places that couldn't be farther away in terms of geography, but shared a lot of common traits including the popularity of punk music. In both Brazil and Indonesia, people lived in poverty stricken and religious environments. These people were economically challenged and held a great deal of anger for the system that had put them in this situation, capitalism. A lot of the people that live in poverty in those areas are against capitalism because it hasn't helped their lives. They want this system to change so that hopefully they can have a better life. To express their feelings of defiance to the way things are, many people turn to punk music. One of the things about music that will always amaze me is it's ability to connect people. There are people all over the world that are experiencing poverty and punk can be important to all of them. Brazil and Indonesia are two very different countries but they are united through their experiences and punk music.

Clearly, punk is used to show an opinion on political debates, but it can also be used in religious debates. Both Brazil and Indonesia have a high number of religious people. When someone is living in poverty, religion might be all that they have to hold on to. When they are counting on their religion, and the situation is not getting better, one might blame the religion or God. There are some punk songs that go directly against the religion that they had practiced their whole life. People feel as though their religion has betrayed them, let them down. Punk is used to rebel against things that have made people's lives worse.

This movie helped me to see that just because these people like a different style of music than me, that doesn't mean they're weird. I found a lot of similarities between myself and some of the characters. They were rebelling against a system and I think that just being a teenager in America makes a lot of kids rebellious as well. Another thing that the movie helped me to see was how connected this planet is. I had never really thought about how my decisions here in Indiana can have an impact on the lives of people living all across the world. I now see that every decision I make, has a ripple effect that can travel across the world.

Bloomington Farmer's Market

On Saturday morning, we had the opportunity to attend the largest farmer's market in the state of Indiana. The Bloomington Farmer's Market was an awesome experience. I am familiar with farmer's markets because I have been working with a vendor at the Carmel farmer's market. This market had a lot of similarities as well as differences. Some similarities included the things that were being sold like produce and maple syrup.

Even though there were a lot of similarities between these two farmer's markets, there were some things that popped out to me as being unique. One of these things had to be Charlie, the best parrot I've ever met. Also the music scene was different. At my market, there is a single stage, and the music is broadcasted on speakers throughout the market. In Bloomington, there were various "stages" where artists just set up and did their thing which seemed more participatory than presentational. "Information Alley" was another thing that was unique to the Bloomington market. I was not expecting to see politicians at the market, this just goes to show that the Bloomington market is a big part of the Bloomington community. 

Some of the similarities included things that are common in most markets including fresh produce, ready to eat food, and music. I loved seeing that each farmer's has their own sense of community where buyers know the name of the farmers. It's great to see someone go up to a booth, and say "Hey! (name) gimme the same as we got last week it was really good!". That type of conversation is completely normal at the Carmel market and I like knowing that it's common here in Bloomington as well.

This is our map of the market showing the different sections and aspects of it. It was interesting to see that there were actually sections of the market, because in Carmel, everything is mixed in together. For example, the booth that I work at in Carmel sells flowers, produce, ice cream, frozen meats, and ready to eat food. There are a lot of similarities as well as differences but all in all they are both great experiences.

4 Fields of Music

Participatory

In participatory music making, there is no distinction between the artist and the audience. In this situation, the experience is focused on "doing" not "listening". The quality of the activity is based on how people felt during it, not how technically right it was or how good it sounded. There are great potentials with participatory music making including that everyone will be able to be involved, there is a greater level of interest, and it becomes a more social event than the other forms of music making. There are some limitations as well though, mainly that artists with a great deal of virtuosity are not able to let their skills shine because they have to stay at a level where everyone can participate. The following is an example of participatory music making.

Presentational

Presentational music making differs from participatory in that there is a difference between the artist and the audience. A limitation of this type of music making is that the artist is tasked with generating and sustaining the interest of the audience. Potentials for this form include the ability for the artist to have greater freedom with their craft because they are not responsible for the audience's participation.





Hi fidelity

This type of music is meant to be a representation of presentational music. This type of music is focused no the ability to sell and make a profit. Hi fidelity music making has the potential of giving studio engineers more control of the music they are creating. There are some down sides to this form of music as well. These include that the music creators have a much harder task than those who create participatory and presentational music. Hi fidelity music must be able to generate and sustain the audiences interest while they are not involved (as in participatory) and don't have a visual to go along with it (as in presentational).






Studio Audio Art

This type of music has no expectation of being performed live. This form is usually considered abstract so the artist has a great deal of influence and ability to make sounds, beats, and rhythms that would not be able otherwise. Examples of this type of music can be seen by artists such as Skrillex and the song "Turn down for what?"

Music and mood go hand in hand

Music has always been able to have an effect on my mood. One great example happened just a few months ago. It was prom night, I was driving to the dance with my friends and I was a little nervous. I had graduated from school a semester early so I was anxious about seeing everybody again. Thankfully, while we were listening to the radio, the perfect song came on. “Turn down for what” is the ultimate party song that will put anyone in a mood to go out and have a ton of fun.

In this experience, the sign would be the song coming on the radio which referenced prom which would be the object. The sign and the object are what affected my mood. They produced the interpretant which the excitement I felt. This song makes me feel excited because every time I have listened to it, I have had a good time.

The song coming on was a sign that created an iconic relationship with prom that I was heading to. I heard the song, and it sounded like a party and a lot of fun which reminded me of the fun I was about to have. My past experiences helped create an indexical relationship between the song and having a good time. Based on my internal context, my mind relates that song to having fun because these things have co-occurred in my past. The frame would relate to the fact that I was on my way to a big party, but in this instance it didn't play that much of a role. Honestly it doesn't matter what frame I’m in, when that song comes on I just go crazy.

This is me

The first stop on our journey of myself starts with where I'm from.  

 I chose this song first and foremost because I was born in Philadelphia. There were days when I was chillin out, maxin, relaxin all cool, but I never shot bball outside of the school (not really into sports). I definitely remember there were some people that starting making trouble in my neighborhood also. Unlike Will Smith though, I moved because my father's job relocated and we ended up here in Indiana. Similar to the show, it was a bit of an adjustment but we made the best of it. 

This next song gets a little more personal but I think it does a good job of describing me, these lyrics in particular.

"All the pain and the truth
I wear like a battle wound
So ashamed, so confused
I was broken and bruised

Now I'm a warrior
Now I've got thicker skin
I'm a warrior
I'm stronger than I've ever been
And my armor, is made of steel, you can't get in
I'm a warrior
And you can never hurt me again"

I had some bad experiences in my childhood that, in the long run, made me who I am today. I know that if I made it through all that stuff then I can make it through anything. 

This provides a nice segue to my next song "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea

   

I love this song first because the beat, the lyrics, and Iggy's voice mixed together just take me to another world. This song can seem arrogant but I see it as her proclaiming herself. I can relate to this song because I sometimes feel the same way especially in these lyrics:

I said, "Baby, I do this, I thought that you knew this."
Can't stand no haters and honest, the truth is

I just can't worry 'bout no haters, gotta stay on my grind

I'm at a stage in my life where I have decided to just be me and not care what people think. If people accept me as I am, that's great. If they don't then I don't need to be around them. The last line really sticks out to me because there have been people who have tried to put me down but I disregard them and keep doing what I feel is right. I think I'm doing pretty good seeing as I got into IU as a direct admit to the Kelley School of Business receiving $7,200 in scholarships every year. I'm not trying to be arrogant, just like Iggy I just want everyone to know what I'm capable of and what I can do because I "gotta stay on my grind".

Stop the track, lemme state facts:
I told you, gimme a minute and I'll be right back
Fifty million round the world and they say that I couldn't get it;
I done got so sick and filthy with Benjis, I can't spend it
How you gon' be talking shit? You act like I just got up in it;
Been the number one diva in this game for a minute!
I know you read the paper - the one that they call a queen,
Every radio round the world know me cause that's where I be (first!)

The first verse of this song explains what it's all about. I love this song because she knows what she's worth. I think this is a good conclusion to my life story. I started in Philly, went through some stuff and came out of it. Even though people doubted me or treated me badly I rose out of it and now I'm a fancy diva!