Author Question: Listen to the Songs of the hermit thrushes online. What characteristics of music do you hear in the ... (Read 67 times)

skymedlock · **on:** Jul 25, 2018

Listen to the Songs of the hermit thrushes online. What characteristics of music do you hear in the thrushs song? How can the sound of birds singing be considered music? To be considered music, what must any sound possess?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Not all music-cultures have a word for music (as is found in the familiar Euro-American music-culture). Other music-cultures have a word that roughly translates as music-dance. Give some examples to illustrate this idea. (Answers may vary.)

What will be an ideal response?

okolip · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 25, 2018

Answer to Question 1

The bird song has rhythm, melody, repetition, and variation. Whether or not the bird song is music depends on one's cultural viewpoint.

Most Euro-Americans would not call bird song music, yet the Kaluli people of Papua New Guinea think bird songs have human meaning. The Kaluli people believe that bird songs are the voices of their deceased ancestors who have died and changed into birds.

Music has human meaning.

Answer to Question 2

Traditional Rosans (in the former Yugoslav area) have no general equivalent to the English music, instead they divide what we call music into persui (songs) and muzika (instrumental music).
Old-time Southern Baptists may say they don't have any music in their religious service, meaning they don't have instrumental music accompanying their singing.
Other music-cultures have words for song types, such as lullaby, epic, and so on, but no overall word for music.