Milan Music
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Objective description: The music is so abstract, its almost as if some people just got together randomly and decided to make some noise. Its sometimes calming and sometimes stressful. Its like a call and response music, one section makes a noise and the other sections respond accordingly with a similar sounding rhythm, very interesting to listen to. Steel drums, chimes, drums, drones, flutes, and some other instruments, not even sure what the names are. I have heard them before but do not know the name. There are different types of steel drums giving out different pitches and resonations. This music is just so abstract and unlike music today. No music I listen to can compare to this type of abstract material. The most prominent thing to me in this music is the rhythm. Its not a mono rhythm; its more of an ever-changing rhythm which makes me try to pick up a new one every change of the call and response. I hear a very polyphony texture with many different instruments playing at once or responding to each others calls. The piece does not use repetition as songs do today but the way they come back to the main rhythm is somewhat of a repeat. They just call out a rhythm and then someone tries to repeat it. This music is awkward to listen to at first but the second or third song I got really used to the abstract interactions the different instruments had with each other.
Functional description: Gamelan music is a way of making social groups. Gamelan music is performed as a group effort, and so there is no place for an individual showoff. Traditionally, gamelan is only played at certain occasions such as ritual ceremonies, special community celebrations, shadow puppet shows, and for the royal family. Gamelan is also used to accompany dances in court, temple, and village rituals. Besides providing music for social functional ceremonies, gamelan also provides a livelihood for many professional musicians, and for specialized craftsmen who manufacture gamelan. I took a class at Sonoma and was somewhat familiar with this type or music but before that I had no prior experience with the music. The music grew on me over time and became less awkward. Its not something I would choose to listen to but its a good sense of what music around the world has to offer those of us in the United states that are not open-minded to other cultures music.
Critical response: What the abstract sounds and jarring explosions interest