The Whole Music Experience

Since I haven't been able to travel long-distance due to finances and health reasons, I learned about the world by exploring musical traditions from other cultures.  But I didn't stop there, I also watch anthropology videos and read books on the topic.  Since I was a child, I have pursued my interests in other cultures with my earliest efforts involving pen pals in German, France and Japan.  Once the internet came available I jumped on board ditto for world music via compact discs and concerts.  However, one of my favorite books in my collection is Mickey Hart's Song Catchers published with National Geographic. This book delves into the works of famous ethnomusicologists (anthropologist who study music-related culture).   But I've already reviewed the book for this blog and I would rather pursue the topic of exploring music via headphones (or not) and YouTube.  So what kind of videos can we find on YouTube and how do we know what to search for? Since...

Excerpt from Whole Music The Practice: Musical Treasure Hunt Similar to treasure hunts from our childhood, I’m going to send you on a music treasure hunt in which the pleasures are many.  Pretend that you are a song catcher visiting other cultures where you collect new sounds. While I mentioned sound healers earlier, another important player with music preservation are ethnomusicologists who combine cultural anthropology with music preservation.  Two famous song catchers are the late Alan Lomax, and the world beat drummer Mickey Hart.  I recommend learning more about these song catchers through books, and documentaries. 1) Step One-- Head over to YouTube, and look up the following music traditions: ·          Aboriginal Didgeridoo ·          Finnish Runo-Songs (Traditional singer) ·          Gregorian chants · ...

the ruins of Machu Pichu In a world saturated with western pop music or westernized pop music in the East, we have forgotten how to connect to the natural world via music.  We have also lost our listening and appreciation skills for sound vibrations in the same way that people who consume junk food lose their ability to taste real food. Couple that scenario with the fact that we are losing languages and musical traditions in the same way that animals are becoming extinct on the planet.  Our collective heritages and lineages are encoded in these musical traditions, not to mention our personal identities.  When this happens we stumble over our own roots, that is if we have enough roots to keep us grounded and centered in the natural world or our natural place on the planet. With this in mind, I have visited YouTube (yes, the irony of using technology to connect us back to nature) to bring you these indigenous music treasures.  Once you explore these videos, you...