Our Playlist

 I have loved learning about so many different cultures in this class, and the music of their history. It's all been so interesting, and I feel so much more knowledgable about these groups of people, but it has led me to also wonder what more is there that I have no idea about? What else can I explore? This assignment was very exciting to me because I do actually enjoy listening to music of other diverse cultures, so I am excited to share what I already like, but even more excited to learn about the music I never knew!

For the first culture, I wanted to explore my own! My family is Filipino, and it wouldn't be possible to discuss Filipino traditional music without talking about Tinikling. Tinikling is a traditional folk dance in the Philippines that involves dancers, male or female, stepping over two bamboo sticks while the sticks are clapped together to the beat of a rhythm by the people holding them and both ends. It's a very fun, lively, and very tricky dance that has been around forever. It's supposed to mimic the Tikling birds that would walk on the grass and would have to dodge the bamboo traps set up by rice farmers. 

The music that accompanies the dance is traditional Filipino folk music that serves as an accompaniment to the dance. It has rhythmic patterns and involves lots of clapping or tapping, and string instruments like the guitar, ukulele, and more. 

For the next culture I wanted to explore, I wanted to look into is traditional Mexican Huapango music. I wasn't too familiar with all the ins and outs of this type of music, but I was first interested in it because of the singer Lola Beltrán who I just adore. Her voice is beautiful on top of the music. Huapango is a traditional Mexican music and dance style that originated in the Huasteca region of Eastern Mexico. The themes of this music usually include love, loss, and the everyday lives of the people of the rural countrysides. The instruments include what is known as the "trio huasteco," which involves a jarana, a quinta, and a violin (all chordophones). The singing involves a lot of beautiful falsetto, and the music is accompanied typically by a dance called the Zapateado, which is a foot-stomping type of dance. This song I am sharing has been in various playlists of mine for years since it is just so beautiful to listen to!

The next culture I dove into was more modern French electronic dance music. This is a type of music I really enjoy and am excited to share! I just really love French dance music! It's essentially a kind of house music and subgenre of EDM, but it contains just a lot of driving rhythms and a more futurisitc/dystopian kind of sound mixed with some funk and disco elements that just makes you want to dance. It began to emerge in the early 90's and was pretty underground in France, but since then I really believed its just gained more and more popularity. The song I'm sharing I think is one of the most popular songs of French dance/electronic music. 

The final music culture I explored was Russian folk music. This type of music just sounds very unique as it does incorporate modal scales and melodic patterns you just don't typically hear. Authentic Russian folk has really evolved over time and taking influence from many other styles of music, even including Western classical music, while also incorporating Soviet-era compositions. I think the instruments involved create a very pretty sounding, yet busy, backing to a different type of vocal style and melody. This type of music emerged from Slavic tribes and their ceremonies that were known for their music and dances.

This was very fun! I loved getting to look into music I didn't know much about, and also getting to look into music I loved but getting to learn more about the history behind it! Hope you enjoyed!