Imagine this
What does your space sound like? Is someone playing music? What music do you listen to? Where is it from? Is it "typically" American or European? Is it from somewhere else in the world?
In this Activity, we are going to explore how music can help us make a world community!
Disclaimer
“World Music” is often defined as “traditional music from the developing world.” This definition is problematic for more than a few reasons:
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It assumes that the music in the West (“anything that wasn’t deemed to be from a European or American tradition”) are not a part of the world
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It assumes that “real music” --music that doesn’t need to be categorized or described --is from an American or European tradition.
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It assumes that the Bilboard chart categories of “Pop. Country. Rock. R&B/Hip-Hop. Latin. Dance/Electronic. Christian/Gospel. Classical. Jazz.” and others are actual fixed categories that all music can fall into.
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It also assumes that those of us who live in the US or Europe all listen to the same music!
Can you think of other reasons we should drop the term “World Music”? What can we replace it with?
Music Around the World Map
I love the maps and sounds that Jay Sand and team have put together over
at All Around this World. If music and history are your "jam" you'll find the
depth on this page lots of fun! Explore a region in depth or taste all the regions.
The videos below are a few other of my personal favorites.
**Pro Tip**
To the best I was able, these videos don’t have themes, images, or words that aren’t appropriate for littles. But, you’ll want to preview them before sharing just to be sure they are OK for your family.
**Going Deeper**
Check out this article from The Guardian asking “Is there a better way to market music from across the globe?” The article includes this paragraph:
...Talking Heads frontman David Byrne founded the label Luaka Bop, which has released artists who might be placed in the “world” category, including William Onyeabor and Susana Baca. In 1999, he wrote a scathing op-ed in the New York Times called I Hate World Music in which he argued that listening to music from other cultures, “letting it in”, allows for it to change our world view and to reduce what was once exotic into part of ourselves. World music meant the opposite: a distancing between “us” and “them”: “It’s a none too subtle way of reasserting the hegemony of western pop culture,” Byrne wrote. “It ghettoises most of the world’s music. A bold and audacious move, White Man!
Read the article if you’re interested and see what you agree and disagree with. What should we call music from around the world and music from the US/Europe to be more inclusive?
Resources
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jul/24/guardian-world-music-outdated-global
https://www.billboard.com/charts
Create!
Once you think through these questions, find a way to express yourself. Maybe you want to write about it, compose a song, build a sculpture, act it out, or paint, draw, color your thoughts! I'm hoping for interpretative dance or puppet shows!
Share!
If you can capture your ideas in paint, in crayon, on film, or in another way, we would love to see what you've made! Post on the Share Ur Stuff (blog).