Transcript Native American Music PowerPoint

NATIVE AMERICAN MUSIC
Native American
music is fairly
homogeneous
(same or similar)
Roles in Society
Native American music plays a vital role in history and
education, with ceremonies and stories orally passing on
ancestral customs to new generations.
Native American ceremonial music is traditionally said to
originate from deities or spirits, or from particularly
respected individuals.
Rituals are shaped by every aspect of song, dance and costuming,
and each aspect informs about the "makers, wearers and
symbols important to the nation, tribe, village, clan, family,
or individual".
Native Americans perform stories through song, music and
dance, and the historical facts thus propagated are an integral
part of Native American beliefs.
Epic legends and stories about culture heroes are a part of tribal
music traditions, and these tales are often an iconic part of
local culture.
Common
Native
American
instruments are
singing and drums
Vocalization takes many forms, ranging from solo and
choral song to responsorial, unison and multipart
singing. Percussion, especially drums and rattles, are
common accompaniment to keep the rhythm steady for
the singers, who generally use their native language or
nonsense syllables.
Traditional music usually begins with slow and steady
beats that grow gradually faster and more emphatic,
while various flourishes like drum and rattle tremolos,
shouts and accented patterns add variety and signal
changes in performance for singers and dancers.
Pow-Wow
A Pow-Wow is a gathering of
Native American People.
A modern Pow-wow is a specific
type of event where both Native
American and non-Native
American people meet to dance,
sing, socialize, and honor
American Indian culture. There
is generally a dancing
competition, often with
significant prize money
awarded.
Pow-wows vary in length from one
day session of 5 to 6 hours to
three days. Major pow-wows or
pow-wows called for a special
occasion can be up to one week
long.
Pow-Wow Music
Pow-wow music is the American Indian drumming,
singing, and dancing performed at pow-wows
"Good drums get the dancers out there, good songs get
them to dance well. Without drum groups there is no
music. No music, no dance, no powwow."
While the drum is central to pow-wows, "the drum
only helps them keep beat. Dancers focus on the
melody of the song.
Native American Flute
The Native American flute has achieved some measure
of fame for its distinctive sound, used in a variety of
New Age and world music recordings. The
instrument was originally very personal; its music
was played without accompaniment in courtship,
healing, meditation, and spiritual rituals. Now it is
played solo, along with other instruments or vocals in
Native American music and in other styles.
Peyote Song
Peyote songs are a form of Native American music,
now most often performed as part of the Native
American Church. They are typically accompanied by
a rattle and water drum, and are used in a ceremonial
aspect during the sacramental taking of peyote
(a small spine-less cactus).
Peyote songs share characteristics of Apache music and
Plains-Pueblo music, having been promoted among
the Plains by the Apache people.