Describe your own imaginary musical culture, replete with instruments, concepts and contexts of music making. Consider coming up with your own musical terms to reflect a society with a unique set of p

MUS 505 Discussion Two – student sample 1

In a solar system not far from us, located within the Milky Way galaxy, there exists a unique and fascinating planet that has a quite interesting way of communicating amongst its higher beings. In this culture, communication takes place by way of musical elements. The primary mode of communication, like speech for humans here on earth, is a kind of song. The humans do not communicate by using particular words, but rather by short melodic outbursts of song, with occasional syllables added. As song is the primary form of communication, this species has developed interesting instruments and various forms of elaborate melodies by which to communicate higher feelings, and for ceremonial purposes.

The primary form of communication is called bililang. For basic day-to-day purposes, there are various melodies that serve a functional purpose. For instance, a short, five note, rising melody signifies when to wake up. Mothers and fathers sing this to their children. Another example is a common greeting, similar to good day, which is a seven note rising then falling melody, often heard throughout the day. Also a very common melody heard on the streets is a short, three note falling triad that signifies happiness with how beautiful things are. All of this communication takes place in a peaceful and prosperous society that has existed for tens of thousands of years. Their communication evolved in such a way as to allow the speaker and listener to most directly communicate emotion through sound.

On this particular planet, these beings, called ravali, have evolved in such a way that they communicate by sharing emotions using sound. Because the people live in peace and prosperity, they have developed daily ritual spaces that define their existence and provide a means to pass the day. There are simple morning rituals, where families and neighbors gather together and sing to start their day. They sing complex melodies and often join together in intricate harmonies when communicating. They share their dreams from the previous night and comment on them. The older beings will share their experiences with the younger ones and the meanings of the dreams will be shared and learned from. The melodies that are sung in these rituals are quite complex, as the dreams are also communications in visual form, and audio as well, to the ravali people. Ancestors and descendants appear in dreams to them and the aim of these morning rituals is for the people to create and sing melodies that pass on the emotion and meaning of the dreams.

These morning rituals are a good chance to get a closer look at the style of singing. In conversation, ostinatos are often used to provide supportive feedback. The timbre of their voices is smooth and bright, almost like a bird. There is a vast array of pulses in their musical communication, from rapid staccato-like high pitches, to low, slow-moving rolling tones. Finally, their harmonics are quite interesting, as they follow a strict overtone series, and so the complexity of melody and harmony is much richer than what can be commonly found on earth in the 12-tone equal temperament scale.

Finally, one instrument, called a varalira, that is used quite often throughout the day is an aerophone, which when blown through, produces both a soft breezy sound, like wind through the trees or tall grass, and middle register tones of simple melody and/or harmony. This is a conical, spiraling instrument about three feet long with holes at various places where the fingers are placed and moved to create different pitches. The harmony is produced by covering several holes, which divert the air stream to other internal sections of the instrument. This instrument is used to freshen and clear the mind from normal communication.

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MUS 505 Discussion Two – student sample 2

Resonia is a remote island populated by a small number of inhabitants. Resonians, as this people are known, have lived here for millennia with little outside contact. Originally linked to a continent by an ice bridge, Resonia has, since the end of the last ice age, been separated by hundreds of miles of open water. Resonians never developed sailing technology which would allow them access to the outside world; instead, their culture has survived in near total isolation.

This isolation did not inhibit the development of a rich, complex Resonian culture. Music is central to Resonian life. Resonian musical instrumentation consists of two component instrument families: vocalization and percussion. Singing, by soloists and in chorus, arose naturally from Resonian speech. In addition to language, Resonian tonality was influenced by birdsong and the sound of the wind which buffets the island for most of the year. Resonian percussion is multifaceted. Highly resonant forms of percussion predominate. Resonians eat a diet rich in vegetables and seafood, and these provide the raw materials from which their instruments are fashioned. Gourds are the primary vegetable on Resonia, and when hollowed and dried, these become shakers, drums and, when halved, amplifiers for Resonian singers. Chimes and xylophone-type devices are fashioned from the shells of the ample shellfish consumed by Resonians. The skins of whales and dolphins are stretched over wooden frames to make drums. These drums produce tones from very low to high.

The island of Resonia is notable for its total lack of mammals, save for the Resonians themselves, and whatever sea mammals they can catch. Perhaps as a result, there are no stringed instruments in Resonia.

Resonian musical performance begins at dawn each day. Resonia is a small island with few villages, and each of these appoints a cantor to summon its residents to the morning worship ritual. Resonians venerate the sea as the source of sustenance, rainfall, and protection from the dimly understood outside world. The morning call to prayer, performed solo by the cantor, refers to all these elements of the sea. The ritual space to which the cantor calls the villagers is, in each village, a large, hollowed-out sandstone formation. These spaces, carved by Resonians over centuries, are well suited to the complex percussive pieces which are at the heart of Resonian religious ritual.

The ritual music is performed by a large percussion orchestra and chorus. The relative simplicity of the individual performers’ parts allows for the orchestra to comprise nearly the entire population of the village; furthermore, no performer plays the same instrument every day. In addition to those villagers whose voices have a desired resonance and beauty, others who are unable to perform in the percussion orchestra comprise the chorus. This totally inclusive arrangement means that there is no audience for Resonian music, only performers. As a result, Resonian life is relatively harmonious and strongly cohesive.