Music & Rituals

 Fortunately enough, I've only attended a few funerals in my lifetime, but one that stuck out to me was my grandfathers funeral last November. This guy was quite far into the term interesting. He kept his world of knowledge especially sharpened throughout his lifetime and his house was filled to the ceiling with textbooks, papers, journals, and maps- all of which he read. Therefore, at his funeral, this appreciation for different cultures and the world outside of Columbus, Ohio, his family was determined to honor this side of his life. His funeral was semi-normal in terms of music played, but during the service we took the time to stop all the words and all the crying to play some of his favorite music so we could all listen together during the service. 

When the service concluded (this is what stuck out to me), the family developed a playlist for some of his most interesting CD's- including Gregorian Chant music- Here is some for you guys (please do not listen to all 3hrs). What was interesting is that my grandfather was not Catholic- he just had an appreciation for the music. 

This music is comprised of a few different components: all of the performers being male, not much harmony involved, and religious contexts. Gregorian chants were popularly developed during the Renaissance and Medieval era in Europe. Not technically required today, but I believe that the Catholic church will sometimes still use this type of music for worship. 

I'm not sure I want to dedicate this whole blog post to funerals, so on the lighter side of things, I wanted to talk about different music rituals and dancing in the Philippines. Tinikling, the national dance of the Philippines, is a specific dance that is done at festivals, weddings, parties, school performances and all. It is a happy and upbeat dance done with 12ft long bamboo sticks that are slapped, slid, and moved across the ground to accompany the dancers as they dance around, between, and over the sticks. Traditionally, women usually wear a loose skirt or dress and men usually wear an untucked shirt paired with red pants. However, at all the childhood parties I attended, performers can wear whatever they please. All performers are barefoot. Here is a photo for reference: 

                                                            Dancing at a festival 

Finally, the music is based from Rondalla music (ensemble of string instruments) that originates from Spain. The bamboo sticks are slid and tapped to the beat of the music while dancers either follow a specific step chart or freestyle. Dancers will also clap and move/link their arms while the audience continues to clap to the beat. Here are a couple videos for reference: 

                                              Traditional example done in a festival dance comp.

                                 Here's a more laid back example from what looks to be a little party. 

Fun insert: some schools now incorporate tinikling in their schools P.E curriculum.