User:Mikehanrahan

=Analytical Writing=

Statement of Intent


Overview
I intend to accomplish a broader understanding of music theory. Also, I intend on correlating other applicable ideas that would involve the art of sacred geometry.

Rationale
I hope to get many different perspectives on my writing and to learn what others might think of the idea.

Publication


Schedule

 * 1) week 2-Research
 * 2) week 3-Build a reasonable outline
 * 3) week 4-Research
 * 4) week 5-Finalize outline and create a summery and thesis
 * 5) week 6- Start rough draft
 * 6) week 7- Proofread and update
 * 7) week 8- Start final draft
 * 8) week 9- Proofread and update
 * 9) week 10- Final Paper Done!
 * 10) week 11- relax

Anticipated Problems
 I might have a problem getting a full understanding of this subject considering the complexity of it. If this problem does arise then I will more than likely switch topics, but I am anticipating that all will go well.

Week 6 Project Review
 Well this project has been extremely complicated for me, but I think I finally grasped the concept. Now it's time to incorporate the idea of sacred geometry of sound to the use of it with other cultures. A fun and simplistic way that I've learned how to apply this concept musically was learning how to make a triangle or a square with your sounds. You count would be one note/beat per edge of the shape. From there you could subdivide it. For example, you can cut a square into two triangles, thus creating a polyrhythm if one instrument continues playing the square. I am really excited to dive into the way cultures use it for their sacred song and finding out what inspired them to do such.

Before Or During Week 6

 * www.emusictheory.com - Western Theory
 * variety of theoretical approaches
 * Musics of India
 * Gamelan music
 * Chinese Opera
 * Tuvan throat singing
 * Autobiographical

Project
The Sound of the World Mike Hanrahan Analytical Writing 3.24.10 The world is made up of many different sounds. From the deepest depths of the sea to the peaks of the highest mountain you can hear noises; some familiar, some strange, and some annoying. It is time to find out what is outside of our Western world and to indulge in the beautiful pulsations of our Earth’s heart. Every culture has it’s own way to define themselves through sound, rather that be music or chanting. One thing that is relevant, whether we can see it or not, is that all music has a certain individual rule of thumb. Sacred geometry and other musical concepts of the Earth’s pulse go back to ancient times and still today have a big impact on our musical lives and traditions. First let’s travel through the methodologies of Balinese gamelan concepts. “The rhythmic densities of these layers are most often related by simple duple ratios. Each layer is assigned to one of four main instrument groups. The densest one, usually at four notes per beat, is played by the highest-pitched metallophones and gongs. A common technique employed by these instruments is that of interlocking parts, or kotekan, which allows for rapid filigree to be played by pairs of musicians faster than any individual performer could. Though divided into rhythmically interesting separate parts, however, the composite kotekan proceeds in an unbroken rhythmic continuity and should be heard as a melodic component integral to the composition. Below this in the texture, at one or two tones per beat, is an embellished melody played on the leading instrument trompong or ugal. This melody has central importance: it is the most singable because of its register and comfortable rhythmic pacing, and serves as a point of orientation and leadership for others in the ensemble to follow. Reduced to a simple one-tone-per-beat skeletal form, I shall refer to this layer by the Balinese term neliti, which means "correct" or "precise." Below the neliti, customarily playing once every two beats, is the pokok, or trunk tones, of the melody, played by the metallophone calung. The jegogan play the deepest and sparsest part. In an eight-beat melody they may sound twice, every four beats, or in longer melodies they may sound less frequently still, at every eight, sixteen or even thirty-two beats. In this strictly hierarchic and rhythmically predetermined structure, each stratum has its own points of metric stress, which also connote special structural relevance. In each stratum, such points of stress are measured backwards in groups of four tones from the final tone of the melody, which receives the strongest stress of all according to the way Balinese conceptualize it. This is where all parts converge and are supported by the stroke of the large gong. When two or more parts coincide vertically at a point of metric stress they are normatively restricted to playing the same tone of the scale. But the differing densities of the parts ensure that horizontally each part can be singled out for its own character, advantageously discussed in terms of its melodic contour.” (mto.societymusictheory.org) So basically, there is a lot of polyrhythm being played and each instrument is assigned a section. Never hearing gamelan music before, I was shocked at how familiar it sounded. The pulse of the Earth should sound appealing no matter how it is being played because we are from the Earth. By understanding the sounds you are one step closer to understanding where you are. This particular example showed how they use special instruments for their music. How about music being created from the most commonly used instrument in the world? Tuvan throat singing is definitely a creative way to use it! So let us now take a trip to the beautiful and unique sound of throat singing. “There exist a number of styles of the Tuvan throat-singing, sometimes a singer can perform several styles. The styles differ by the pitch of the sound extraction and timbre peculiarities of the phonation connected with it. Each style has its own distinctive expressive properties. The highest, brightest style is 'sygyt' in which the highest register of the voice is used. The head subsounds have a singing 'glass' timbre shade. Songs in the 'khoomei' style sound somewhat softer. The timbres in the style are slightly muffled. Singing in the 'borbannadyr' style attracts by its velvet sound. The bass pedal in the middle register has an additional subsound affecting the quint overtone over an octave, as a result of that, there appears a peculiar three-voice singing. Usually the performing of the melody with corresponding words foregoes an inclusion of the head subsounds on the bass pedal. There are a lot of different songs that can be performed in each style.” (fotuva.org) So this type of singing is definitely something to be heard. It really shows the potential of the human voice. Normally with this type of music there is an instrumental accompaniment, but it is not always necessary. Another amazing type of sound is African drumming. Let’s check it out! “African rhythm is not merely meant to be taken as a musical accompaniment, it is literally a method of communicating. And often that communication must travel over long distances. Drumming and rhythm are essentially means for communication and if Africans can be said without question to perceive anything about rhythm is that they can perceive how communication proceeds. The languages that are spoken in western Africa are tonal, meaning that each syllable of any word has a equitable musical pitch. The specific drums used in African music are constructed with the knowledge that these pitches can be replicated by the instrument. All the gestalt theorizing of the famous theorists cannot undo the fact that African drumming is essentially utilitarian.”(assosiatedcontent.com) This music tells story’s instead of accompanying story’s being told. I find this to be an interesting approach to music and very pleasing to listen to. These are just a few of the amazing sounds of the Earth. Once you can realize that there are other types of music than what you just hear on the radio you can start towards your venture of understanding the world. Sure, there is a lot more to know, but it is a good start. This brings us to, “What do they have in common?”. “While the early Chinese, Hindus, Persians, Egyptians, Israelites, and Greeks employed both vocal and instrumental music in their religious ceremonials, also to complement their poetry and drama, it remained for Pythagoras to raise the art to its true dignity by demonstrating its mathematical foundation. Although it is said that he himself was not a musician, Pythagoras is now generally credited with the discovery of the diatonic scale. Having first learned the divine theory of music from the priests of the various Mysteries into which he had been accepted, Pythagoras pondered for several years upon the laws governing consonance and dissonance. How he actually solved the problem is unknown, but the following explanation has been invented.” (sacred-texts.com) Eventually all cultures with their music found scales. Scales that defined what nature and life are. Since the Earth is made up of very specific patterns, as displayed in the Fibonacci numbers, the music naturally followed the rules of nature. Sometimes cultures would use different colors displayed in their surroundings. Others would mimic the sounds of their language, which derived from the sounds of the Earth. Using the sequence 1,1,3,5,8 etc… would determine how many downbeats there would be. This also would determine the shapes. For example, a flower with three leaves would bloom out in a circular shape. The three leaves would indicate the use of a triangle. From here you can decide what notes to play, which is how you can create your polyrhythm. Each culture uses this technique, intentionally or not, because it is pleasing to listen to naturally. It’s pleasing to look at. It’s pleasing to touch. It’s proof of our direct connection to our world and it is simple to understand. It might be hard to understand the music outside of our culture, but then again, we are all one. Music is the only language that everyone can understand.



http://mto.societymusictheory.org/issues/mto.00.6.2/mto.6.2.tenzer.html http://www.fotuva.org/music/melodii.html http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/110017/an_ethnomusicological_analysis_of_traditional_pg3.html http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sta/sta19.htm http://www.spiritofmaat.com/archive/jan4/williams.htm