Week 4: Ancient Chinese Music

It's pretty funny how the Westerners find the performance authentic, because they are outsiders and don't really have an experience to judge what is or isn't authentic. In a sense, the foreigners want to believe they've had an authentic experience, which causes them to be so easily convinced. The foreign travelers come to these remote regions in search of authenticity of ancient traditions. The musical experience is something completely different from Western music and this exotic character makes the experience seem more distant and therefore more ancient and authentic. Visitors forget that this is still a performance set up especially for them and the implications of this context. Since these performances are aimed at a foreign audience, it must differ from its origin forms. The article mentions that performance music has deviated from its rural cousins due to their need to appeal to tourists. Reese mentions that the performances demonstrate a trend towards more focus on Naxi elements rather than Han influences. This deliberate effort to create more "authenticity" for the tourists' sake, in a way, actually reduces it.

Many Western scholars criticize the loss of authenticity in modern Chinese orchestras. They say the large orchestra with its standardized instruments, which often includes a Western cello, bass, and sometimes keyboard, resembles more of Western romantic orchestras than the grass-roots traditional Chinese folk versions. I think that although these traits may make modern Chinese orchestras less like their traditional folk counterparts, these traits don't make it any less Chinese. The modern incorporation of Western influences, while maintaining Chinese elements, demonstrates the music's ability to adapt to the changes in society. Of course there is value in preserving old traditions, but there is also value in creating new forms over time. I think it is strange that the complaints are coming from non-Chinese. Despite deviations from traditional forms, non-Chinese should not be able to tell Chinese musician what is Chinese music. Chinese music is what the musician makes of it and no one should be able to discredit them.

Taiwanese Aboriginal Music Presentation

Enigma - Return to Innocence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkaY_lc_2UM

Amis - Bamboo Dance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIc1kNTEGLM

Week 3: Balinese Gamelan Ensemble

By watching the 2 videos, the importance of the context of the musical performance really stands out. If you just listen to the music, both performances were quite similar; but once you watch the video, they become more different. Although both performances were done in a quite intimate setting, the "Ratna Ayu" one had a much more official feel due to the stage and the lighting set-up. The music in both gradually increase in intensity, but I felt the first setting was more dramatic. The dancing and the costumes gave the music a different feel. The dancers drew away the audience's visual focus and made the music as supplement. Whereas in the second clip, the focus was more on the actual music being played since all the musicians were dressed in plain white and there were no dancers.

In the "Gamelan Bali Nyepi" clip, the performance was more relaxing since it was performed within the community and outside. Although the rhythm seem more strict, like it had a marching beat, I felt that the overall mood of the music was more relaxed than the "Ratna Ayu" piece. I noticed that all the performers that were visible in the "Gamelan Bali Nyepi" video were male. Were their female performers that just got missed by the camera angle? Or is it suppose to be an all male ensemble? Did the fact that it was all male have any influence on the piece of music they performed?

Week 2: Outsider/Insider

I think many people who are also bi-culture may have many of the similar experiences I have. Being an Asian American, I often feel in between the two sides and never completely one or the other. My knowledge about my Taiwanese/Chinese heritage mostly comes from my family, but growing up in such a diverse place as Los Angeles, I'm very different from other members of my family who grew up elsewhere. I get aspects of American and Southern California culture all mixed in with everything else.

I came to the U.S. when I was six years old and the first time I went back to Taiwan since I had been in America was when I was seventeen years old. My grandfather took me to the mountain to visit the aboriginal villages in order to show me a bit of the Taiwanese culture that is often overlooked. As expected, the village has been heavily commercialized as a tourist attraction. We watched a traditional harvest dance performance. The music was actually a pre-recorded track played from a CD and they did not have any live musicians. The dancers dressed in bright red skirts and vests with feather headpieces and bells strapped to their wrists and ankles. Thinking back, the ornaments attached to their outfits helped add to the music of the performance. There was also a lot of clapping and stomping. This is similar to the Oceania performances we watched in class today. The early Taiwanese aboriginals did have some connections to many other groups in the Pacific Islands.

After the performance, the dancers went around thanking the audience. I remember complimenting one of the dancers in Mandarin and the dancer was shocked that I spoke Mandarin. The whole time during the dance, I felt that this was part of my history and heritage, but when that dancer looked at me, she could not believe that I was Taiwanese like her. Even though my family moved to the city a few generations ago, we still had the same origins as the dancer. I can't believe that I felt that I was just as Taiwanese as the dancer, while the dancer looked like me as a complete foreigner. I wasn't offended by her reaction, just surprised. I still remember the exact surprised look she had when I told her I was Taiwanese and I won't forget it.

Week 1: Introduction

I am a member of the Taiwanese American Union (TAU) student group at UCLA. TAU is a cultural organization focusing on promoting Taiwanese and Taiwanese American culture on campus. Like many other culture groups on campus we have an annual culture show. This year is the 7th annual Taiwanese Culture Night and it will be held on Saturday April 28th in the Freud Playhouse. The show will include a skit, video shorts, a cappella medlies, and a rock band performance. And the show will be presented in a mix of English, Mandarin, and Taiwanese.

Even before joining a culture group, I've always been interested in other cultures. I like traveling and learning about different peoples and their customs. My major is International Development Studies with a minor in Political Science and Urban/Regional Studies. Although I'm most familiar with Asia, I'm especially interested in all regions of the developing world. I'd like to learn more about how we, as in the West, studies other cultures and how that affects the way non-Western cultures are perceived. I've learned a bit about cultural imperialism and Orientalism, so I'm interested in how ethnomusicology goes about studying other cultures without overpowering the culture's own voice.