The movie Avatar featured two different aspects of soundscape. The music culture of the film score and the culture of the Na’vi, the indigenous creatures of the planet Pandora, could be distinguished in terms of style and musical instruments. All in all, the film score music was created with the intention of dramatizing the scenes and plot line of the movie itself, while the music of the Na’vi was created to fully define the beliefs, values, and customs of their world.
Listening through each soundtrack of the movie, I could make a generalization that the film score music consists mainly of Western orchestral form, which was familiar like the ones from typical film scores of other movies. Notable usage of string instruments with dark tones in a rather fast paced beat could be easily referred to the concept of destruction and devastation on the land of the Na’vi caused by the human greed.
On the other hand, the exclusive music culture of the Na’vi embodies the “otherworldly” sense of wonder and mystery. The tempo in general is noticeably slow compared to the film score, and the implementation of polyrhythmic drumming and actual voices in the Na’vi language were key characteristics that made the music remind the listener of African or even Native American tribal music.
Some of the shared elements of these two music cultures include the use of digital synthesizers and mash-ups of pre-recorded sound clips. The collaboration of these two forms of music in this movie soundtrack helps beautify and accentuate the wonders of the interaction between the humans and the Na’vi.
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, or DSO, encompasses an ensemble of professional classical musicians that perform a variety of public concerts and programs, permeating innovative and yet timeless genres of classical and pop music to inspire the minds of music appreciators in the Dallas community and beyond. In this musical ethnography of one of the largest performing arts organization in the Southwest, the firm ideology rooted in a century of history, the performance and its communal connection between the stage and audience, the vast array of repertoires of music, and the practical material culture of the DSO are determined based on direct participation, research, and interview.
Methodology
The main bulk of the research was conducted from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s official website, which provides several links for finding historical facts, ideology, activities, material culture, past and upcoming events, as well as ticket information of the musical organization. Field notes on performance elements were taken as an audience member of one of the live concerts. The DSO presented “The Music of Pink Floyd” featuring vocal soloist Randy Jackson and guest conductor Brent Havens. A fellow audience member, who had attended the same concert as well as some of the previous ones, was interviewed in person right after the concert. Interesting perspectives as an active participant of this music-culture could be obtained through the one-on-one interview.
Aspects of the Music-Culture
Ideas About Music
According to Douglas Adams, the president and CEO of the DSO, the ideology behind the workings of this musical organization rests on "the pursuit of uncompromising musical distinction through innovative and classical programming, seeking to enlighten and inspire the broadest possible audience (Dallas Symphony…)." Since the start of the twentieth century, the unwavering belief of the power of music as well as the importance of preserving both classical and pop music for generations to come has kept the orchestra and its board members intact and well-tuned to the purpose of stimulating the world of music across the local boundaries. One could say the on-going goal of the DSO is to enthuse, entertain, and educate as many audiences as possible via concerts and programs for as long as possible.
Activities Involving Music
Under the current musical direction of maestro Jaap van Zweden, the DSO offers numerous concert and program opportunities at the world-renowned Meyerson Symphony Center located in the Arts District in Dallas.
The DSO provides distinct educational programs for music students of elementary, junior high, high school, and college and beyond. For example, free Performance Preludes, which are informal presentations designed to help the audience gain an enlightened concert experience, are offered to ticketed guests before every Classical concert. Students who wish to see how the Symphony preparers for a performance are welcomed to select open rehearsals. The Symphony holds competitions contests such as the Lynn Harrell Concerto Competition and North Texas Young Composers Project as well.
Charity and scholarship programs such as Heartstring Program, established to provide complimentary concert tickets to those with limited incomes, and Young Strings, created to find and grow the musical talent of exceptional young African American and Latino string players.
The DSO performs not only at the Meyerson Symphony Center. The Parks Concert Series – a series of free outdoor performances by the Symphony in Dallas-area parks held throughout the spring – makes this organization one of a kind for the local community since it is in conjunction with the City of Dallas Parks and Recreation. Even going far beyond the local areas, the DSO has recently been led by Jaap van Zweden on the fifth European tour to England, the Netherlands, Germany, and Austria from February 27 to March 11, performing ten consecutive concerts in nine different cities.
As far as the details of a DSO concert goes, the incidence of The Music of Pink Floyd concert held at DSO’s home, the Meyerson Symphony Center, makes up a great example of describing the extent of the interaction between the performers and the audience in this particular kind of environment. This concert was a tribute to the music of the popular British rock band named Pink Floyd. The tickets were already sold out a couple of days before the day of the concert; therefore the enormous concert hall was absolutely filled with people. The demographics of the audience were generally made up of white adults with semiformal outfits. When the concert started at 8:00 PM on March 3rd, 2010, pink and purple lighting effects were provided on and around the stage where all of the musicians were seated and ready to perform at the queue of the conductor’s baton. The Symphony was situated neatly around the inner side of the stage surrounding the special Pink Floyd ensemble in the middle, facing the conductor in the middle front. The special guest ensemble included electric guitars and bass, electric keyboard, a drum set, a saxophone. At the beginning of the first song, vocal soloist Randy Jackson came up to the stage with a microphone and showed off his vocal virtuosity along with the accompaniment of the orchestra behind him and occasional instrumental solos among the ensemble. After every solo performance, the crowd cheered and applauded accordingly, showing visible enthusiasm towards the stage. In between songs, Randy Jackson would briefly introduce the upcoming song and verbally interact with the audience by asking questions and rounding up the crowd. The audience of course was responsive and courteous throughout the rock-and-roll vibe program that lasted for roughly three hours, including a short intermission.
When asked why he would attend such a concert and what it means to attend one, York Wang replied that not only he considers himself a huge fan of the DSO concerts and what the organization does to spread the cultural and educational value of music to the people in the community, he believes that such an experience is a worthy opportunity to learn to appreciate the wonders of music – how it brings people together for what they enjoy. He plans to continue participating in this music-culture in the future and is excited for what repertoire the DSO will bring onto the illustrious stage next.
Repertoires of Music
The DSO performs and introduces classical music from the baroque era all the way to contemporary pop music. The most frequently played repertoire includes that of the classical, romantic, and contemporary periods, composed by famous composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Tchaikovsky. The DSO has presented in the past repertoires of American film music, Christmas carols, 50’s dance music, jazz and blues, classic rock and roll, latin and Spanish pop music, and even mainstream pop music such as Good Charlotte, Daughtry, Jonas Brothers, and Jordin Sparks intended for young audience. Because of the diverse array of musical repertoire, the DSO is able to attract a various selection of audience members from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds for a series of concerts. Also, collaborations with renowned guest artists such as legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman, or international superstar singer Julio Iglesias help the DSO achieve a full-house crowd.
Material Culture of Music
The vast material culture of Dallas Symphony Orchestra is produced mainly from the Dallas Symphony Store, which can be shopped online or directly at the Meyerson Symphony Center. The store provides all kinds of products including apparel, home and office ware, jewelry, accessories, music, and even toys and games. DSO logo merchandise is also sold as souvenirs for the fanatics. Tickets to every single concert are sold at different prices depending on the location of the seats at the Meyerson Symphony Center. Ticket sales and donations, or endowment funds all contribute toward cultivating future ticket sales, salaries for the employees including the orchestra members, and other renovations or needs within the organization. In another perspective, the material culture of the DSO on stage includes sheet music, music stands and chairs, the conductor’s podium, baton, microphones – usually for recording purposes, and of course, western classical instruments composed of string, woodwinds, brass, and percussion groups. Depending on the event, there may be other types of musical instruments, as mentioned above about the Pink Floyd concert.
Conclusion
All in all, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra is more than just a group of paid professional classical musicians. It is a highly organized musical entity that seeks to contribute music, entertainment, and education to its local surroundings and beyond through a series of unique cooperation of music, performers, audience, time and space.
Works Cited
Dallas Symphony Orchestra: Listen, Buy Tickets, Plan Your Visit. Dallas Symphony Orchestra, 2010. Web. 9 March 2010.
The Music of Pink Floyd. By Pink Floyd. Dir. Jaap van Zweden. Perf. Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Randy Jackson. Cond. Conductor Brent Havens. The Meyerson Symphony Center. Dallas. 3 March 2010.
As far as the process of researching and learning about the music culture of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra went, I did not face any major problems. It was not difficult to access all the information about the DSO online thanks to the informative official website. The website was also the place to go to for finding upcoming events or concerts and purchasing tickets. The way to get to the Meyerson Symphony Center could be resolved by taking the Dart train, which helped save $10 for parking in the garage.
Several public programs were organized by the DSO in February and March, but I tried to attend a concert that featured the orchestra itself. There were two such available concerts that I could attend during the research period: Itzhak Perlman concert and Music of Pink Floyd concert. As a sincere fan of the legendary violin master Itzhak Perlman, I planned to go to his concert with the DSO as my first choice, but unfortunately, I was unable to purchase a ticket due to the enormous popularity and demand of tickets. By the time, I visited the website to purchase a ticket, they were all sold out. With a bitter, yet hopeful feeling, I quickly purchased a ticket to the Pink Floyd concert, which turned out to be a successful field participation for my music-culture study.
As for the interview, I figured the easiest way was to contact a friend, who is a huge fan of DSO and has attended several of the concerts. I was able to conduct a short interview with her to gain some perspectives as an active participant as an audience member.
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, or DSO, encompasses a renowned American ensemble of professional classical musicians performing a variety of concerts and programs open to the public, working toward distributing innovative and yet timeless genre of music and encouraging appreciation of music in the community. In this musical ethnography of one of the largest performing arts organization in the Southwest, the firm ideology rooted from the beginning of the twentieth century, the performance and its communal connection between the stage and audience, the vast array of repertoires of music, and the practical material culture of the DSO are determined based on direct participation, research, interviews, and prior knowledge and experience.
Noh has been a part of graceful traditional Japanese music for centuries. It is a highly stylized form of symbolic drama that involves 2 or 3 actors and a group of musicians dancing, singing, chanting, and playing instruments on a rather conservative, unornamented stage. Here is a list of the main elements of Japanese noh theater:
·Exclusive cast of male actors and musicians (female performers have begun to participate in modern days, however)
- Utai: vocal part performed by both actors and a chorus of eight male singers
- hayashi: musical ensemble consisting of 1 nohkan bamboo flute (the only melodic instrument other than singing voice) and 3 small drums (ko-tsuzumi, o-tsuzumi, and taiko)
·Few props and simple settings for symbolic use, if any
·Slow, deliberate dance movements by the actors
·Use of elegantly painted masks by the actors
·Standardized stories drawn from ancient narratives “told” by the chorus
·stylized speech and gestures characterizing certain emotions
·Nonpulsatile music giving great amount of freedom for expression and sense of time
·enhancing of musical tension through kakegoe, orshortshouts and exclamations from the drummers
·Buddhist chant or shomyo-influenced style of singing, mostly free in rhythm and pitch with tense vocal quality
- kotoba: heightened speech-song
-fushi: song melodies
In this video clip, Ustad Rashid Khan, an Indian classical musician in the North Indian Hindustani music tradition, performs Raag Basant, which is a holy song about the pastimes of Sri Krishna (whom I believe is considered a deity in Hindu culture) in Vrindavan.
This particular performance of the homophonic song consists of five musicians, including the vocal soloist (playing a chordophone on his lap simultaneously), two tambura players, a tabla player, and a harmonium player. For the first two and a half minutes, the music is quasi-pulsatile with no participation by the drummer. The melodic improvisation by the soloist seems to be based on raga and the tonal foundation provided by the drone of the tamburas. When the drummer joins in on the accompaniment, a cyclic conception of meter, or tala, could be recognized. Although, for me personally, it was not so easy to distinguish the meter at first since the rhythm itself was rather unfamiliar.The accompaniment is consistent throughout with repetitive familiar strums of scales and arpeggios made by the chordophones. The main melody sung by the vocalist is in conjunct motion with occasional bursts of vibrato-filled improvisation. It seems to reach its climax towards the end of the video clip, which lasts for about ten minutes. The song itself may have been well over this, but I would never know since the video is cut off at this point.
The Iranian pop legend Googoosh performs "Hejrat" in this video from the 1970's - the decade in which she reigned as the diva of Iranian pop culture. In an elaborate sparkly costume that pairs with the decorative backdrop, Googoosh dances to the music before the first verse. In general, the music portrays the characteristics of middle eastern music, aside from the fact that the song is performed in Farsi. However, it can definitely be perceived as modernized with the influence of Western music. The music itself is a heterophonic collaboration with the soloist singing in conjunct motion with integrated melismas. The accompaniment consists of chordophones, membranophones, possibly electrophones, and backup voices. Incidences of cadential motives can be found throughout the song, which keeps the listener intact with anticipation of certain cadences. The rhythm is consistent with a specific beat pattern, although such beat pattern resembles that of Latin music - particularly a piece from the Latino repertoire of the Music Faculty Concert at UTD. The song is in minor mode, therefore it does not exactly have a "happy" melody, but it seems effective in arousing emotional attachment to the music. In any case, the overall presentation, which allures the general appeal of the audience, seems appropriate for the style of popular music.
