Contra-Dance Time!!

The contra-dance we attended actually made me feel very comfortable and somewhat free. It was like nothing that I have ever participated in before. I thought it would be awkward dancing with all of the "strangers" there but it wasn't a big deal at all. In fact, switching from partner to partner made it much more interesting than the dances I was used to. There was never a dull moment, I was constantly listening for the next call and would try to remember what each meant. One could say that it was quite easy for a beginner dancer to experience a state of flow during the Contra-Dance. This music, however, was so much different than mainstream music making and dancing. I know that dancing is thought of as participatory, but in the world we live in now I don't think that's necessarily true. People think that they have to form to dance a certain way or else it's not, "cool." Many of the dances I've been to allows people to either dance with the opposite sex or just stand around waiting to ask someone to dance. There is no happy medium because dancing by yourself in the middle of everyone is considered weird - unless, of course, you've got skills. Last night, however, was strictly participatory in the sense that you were always encouraged to dance and their was always a partner for you to dance with. The music came from two live performers that constantly kept the beat going with their shoes stomping the ground. I don't think I've ever been to a club where live bands were playing and people could dance. Clubs now a days are mostly studio audio. The people there were so nice and never criticized one of us if we were doing it wrong. Everyone was so helpful and happy.

I would definitely attend this event again!! I can't say that I would go by myself but if I had a couple of friends with me on a Wednesday night I would be more than happy to take them to the Contra-Dance. A good thing about taking this class and being in IFS is that it has made me so much more aware of the campus of IU and it's surroundings and I feel like I have a head start. So by showing my friends around to places like the Runcible Spoon or the Contra-Dance would be very interesting in my opinion.

The benefits of participatory music making and social action include the coming together of everyone (communitas), the level of flow that can be reached, and the motivation that is brought upon everyone from being encouraged to join. Without this event being participatory, I would have never joined in. I would have been way too nervous! But, with the help of all the experienced dancers and their congeniality I had an absolute amazing time. I think it's sad how much the practice of participatory music making and dancing in America has dissipated. America has this view that everyone has to conform by to be considered "cool" and that really shouldn't be the case, as learned in this two week course. I feel like I am so much more socially able to participate in events like that now. There is no way in hell I would have ever danced at the farmers market to the West African drums. This class has changed my view on a lot of aspects and I do believe that the benefits of participatory music making and dancing are infinite when it comes down to it. Awesome night, and awesome experience!!

For Love or Money

To be a productive and engaged global citizen means much more to me than what it did before I took this class. Before, I would answer this question by saying donating money to charities and community service. Those are still all true but I have opened up to so many more ideas. To be a productive and engaged citizen to me now means to participate in community events such as the Bloomington farmers market and to buy locally. By buying locally you are not only helping yourself out by getting fresher and healthier foods but by also putting money back into your community - an investment, really. It also means to be globally aware of the problems you could be contributing to by buying from huge corporations. The example demonstrated in class was Nike; people would buy their shoes that cost them much less to make because of there not being any labor laws in some countries where there factories are set up. This makes people's life in harsh countries worse because they are dependent on the factory that they work for and leaves hardly any room for confrontation.

Musical practices influences society in so many different ways. Music is a way of communication, a way of coming together, and is an interpretation of society as a whole. In Indonesia, for example, punk music was popular to some which lead them to not participate in the drug wars and to conform into something that wasn't the norm. It was an escape from the real world. When music is participatory, people get involved and come together. Last night when attending the Runcible spoon the playing of the Irish music had not only gotten the performers together, but also the class and everyone attending the restaurant. Music influences everything it touches.

We can learn much about a society based on their music. For example, with Indonesia, by assessing their punk music interests we can conclude that they are very confrontational, or perhaps dysfunctional in some way. We hear of this being true when we saw the movie and everyone living there had very harsh living and working conditions. Another example was after the terrorists attacks on 9/11. There was an uproar of country music stars such as Toby Keith making statements such as, "we'll put a boot in their ass" in songs. One could conclude from our popular music back then that the country may be going through some crisis involving a war. Music is a great way of unraveling clues about society and really digging deeper.

To be a global citizen means to be aware of what you're doing in your everyday life and how it effects everyone else globally. For example, many of the places we eat or shop at don't pump back the money into the community. Very little goes to the workers and the rest of the profit goes to the corporate which is then dispersed among very high paid professionals. In fact, a lot of the stuff we buy doesn't even stay in this country; it's dispersed among many other countries who most likely have zero labor laws in order for big companies to come in and make profit easily. Being a global citizen is essential in keeping the community a nice place to be.

Some ways that a global citizen can be manifest locally is from buying in your community. By eating out at a local restaurant, going to the farmers market, or anything that involves buying locally is a great way of investing in your community. The money stays in the community and therefore circulates within, rather than being exported to some high paid professionals or even a different country.

The responsibilities of being a global citizen is mainly recognizing what you're doing and how you can help others. Being a global citizen requires many of your self interests to fade while letting public interests take over - in a way. The major responsibility is to just be aware of what you're doing and by taking this class I think that's one thing I've really learned. You really have to prioritize what is important to you though. Many of the decisions we make will affect our community so by prioritizing we can at least contribute a little bit. By setting an example other people can contribute, including our children, and so on and so forth. By taking this class I have opened up my mind to many new things and am now aware of the things I'm doing. I can't say I will never have Chipotle again or any franchise restaurant, but I will definitely limit the amount. This class has taken me to a higher level of thinking and I am so much more aware of everything I do now so I guess you could say I'm somewhat of a global citizen now.

The Punks Are Alright!

After watching "The Punks Are Alright" I can analyze the role of Punk music in Brazil and Indonesia to be extremely important to some of the people. It was a way for the people there to create some control and new ideas outside of their capitalist framework. It was also an escape for them. I found it interesting because I thought punk would be related to drugs, alcohol, etc. when actually it did the exact opposite. The movie talked about people who performed punk music would practice all day inside which kept them off the troubled streets that contains the big issue of the drug war. It was also interesting to hear them talk about their religion. Nobody ever clarified exactly what they thought, and some replied with, "no comment" because of the extremists there. One really big issue I had was when Henrike was talking about going to church and some ladies passed by him and symboled the cross over their selves. People like that are too consumed in going to church and not really understanding the true meaning of Christianity. The people at the church should welcome him but yet they essentially judged him, which is what they aren't supposed to do. So by being involved with punk music, you are viewed religiously as someone who could potentially be a threat to the church when really you aren't. As for politically, punk music is the most confrontational type that there is. Our economy, in terms of the big businesses and such, can be depicted as very capitalist-like. As discussed in class today we all know that a majority of huge corporations have factories in separate countries because of there being hardly any labor laws. Nike, for example, placed its factory in Indonesia where Dolly earned only $2.65 a day. Not only was he working with harsh hours and conditions, he also traveled to and from work each day which was a total of four hours. Punk music, being confrontational, is completely against the norm in that country. Punk music is against everything including the harsh working conditions in the countries.

The movie has completely changed my perception of the youth in the two communities. I had no clue how harsh of conditions the children had. It saddens me to hear about how even at young ages children are involved in the drug wars and die on a daily basis. I would way rather have them involved in punk music and keep them off the streets rather than dealing with drugs.

I can relate to the life ways of the artists in the movie in the sense that I have been confrontational too. I have never been in a band consumed of punk rock nor have I been the one to be extremely confrontational, but I have in little ways. Ranging anywhere from speaking my mind to my dad, listening to the music I want or even voting who I want to vote for is confrontational. But, I wouldn't say that anyone in this class can actually relate to the people of these two communities. We have it too good here and can't completely relate to their harsh conditions that they have to go to.

Our lives intersect very directly, believe it or not. The Nike shoes I buy circulates money to the places like Indonesia where Dolly is then paid. But unfortunately, since big businesses like Nike are very capitalist people like Dolly don't receive very much of the profit made. The circulation of money really effects places like Indonesia in all three aspects of cultural, political and economic influence. Since Nike is using Indonesia as a place for easy labor, the government doesn't allow any labor laws.

Bloomington Farmer's Market

I had a more than expected great time at the Bloomington farmer's market yesterday. I've been to one or two in my hometown with my grandma which resulted in a hot, miserable and boring experience. The one here, however, was much larger and much more passionate than the ones I've ever visited. Everywhere I looked there was something going on, there was never a dull moment. When first arriving music had a dense texture effect. Everything was mixed in together and you could feel the sense of communitas in the air - it was very unique. As I walked around the place I saw many things for sell which included anything from arts and crafts to produce to even soap. All of the stands seemed to be owned by family members and they were all very proud of what they had made. This one lady I had visited made clay sculptures where she would get a base clay and then use toothpicks and needles to put the remainder of the clay on the base which ultimately was the object she was trying to sculpt. Some, such as the tree she showed me, had every individual leaf put on it which would obviously be very time consuming. She also shared some important information with me. She stated that there are five categories that you can enter into to be chosen for her part of the farmer's market - these include jewelry, clay, woodworking, sculpture decoration, and glass painting. There are usually 300 applicants who pay ten dollars to apply but only about 50 actually get in. The jury ultimately decides who can have a spot there by looking at pictures of work sent in from the applicants. I also found out that the farmer's market is the second Saturday of each month. She stated that she has been to several other farmer's markets and when asked the difference between them she said that this is the only one where musicians really perform, which sounded like an important observation. Also, she said that this one is much more busy and people seem so much more passionate about it. I think this comes from the music, honestly. I was not excited to go to the farmer's market at first but after walking around for what seemed like 15 minutes turned into an hour, and I was so much more knowledgeable of everything there. One of the most interesting things I heard that day was from the West African Ivory Coast drummer. He was so incredibly passionate about his drums and that way of life. Joe and I joined in with the dancing upon first arriving as to only have a good time and for the laughs, but after listening to the man talk it sounded so much more meaningful then. He had been playing the drums since he was 13 and his teacher, Dr. Djo-bi had taught him many things about the West African culture. An interesting topic he talked about was the amount of kids in that area who move from the rural life to go to the cities. The culture was slowly diminishing but he said people like him are being sent from all over into West Africa to play the drums and to keep the culture alive. After talking to the man I took one last walk around the market and wasn't so narrow in my thinking. I didn't just observe what they were selling, how long they had been there and what drives them to come there year after year, but I sort of got the bigger picture. Everyone there seemed to be having a good time and stand after stand seemed to be communicating with each other and helping one another out. It was like the competition there wasn't anything extremely important to them, but more of getting there to show what they had and be proud of it and just get together and enjoy the day. Nobody was uptight and many stands were handing out samples of their products.

The market had all different kinds of music. The West African Ivory Coast music attracted the most people, but all the rest just made people gather around and enjoy the day and possibly buy some things. There was also Indie folk, hill billy country, and anything you can think of that can be played with guitars, drums, and a fiddle. All of the music there was presentational except for the West African music. They all played to the crowd but nobody contributed. The West African drums, however, had many people including myself singing and dancing along which created the participatory music aspect. Also while I was there I bought a peach, which lead me to contribute some of my money to the farmer's market. This relates to participatory music in the sense that I gave part of myself to keep the culture (farmer's market) alive, unlike the kids who don't enjoy participating in the West African culture. Everyone there buying and enjoying the day contributed to this participatory event.

This is the map I drew of the farmer's market

Four Fields of Music

This video of a drum circle is an example of participatory music. The reason for it being participatory is because everyone is invited to participate and join. The potential of this is that it can attract anyone and they can all join in or just simply dance. Their is much potential in participatory music. There are some limitations, however, in the sense that virtuosity is not highly valued in participatory music so the quality of the sound usual suffers, or doesn't matter. The value of participatory music is the level of participation. Everyone is invited and expected to join. The expectation is that everyone who can participate will.

This video of the Drake concert is an example of presentational music. The reason this is presentational music is because the artist (Drake) is performing for everyone else and there is a clear separation between him and the audience. The potential and limitation for this is that Drake is able to present his skill to everyone but not everyone can participate. There just isn't as much participation as participatory music. Mostly, not everyone will join but usually there is some social interaction if the performer is good. The value and goals of presentational music is that the performer must sustain interest in the people he/she is performing for. The expectation is that the performer should entertain the people and bring good music. This is the way people liked to hear music before times like now where people prefer recorded music a lot.

This song is an example of high-fidelity music because it represents what Bruno Mars would do in a live performance. The potential and limitations of this song is that the quality of the music will sound good but there just isn't any interaction between the artist and the audience. The value of high-fidelity music is that the artist can have a little more creativity with the music and the sound quality is usually a little bit better, which are the expectations.

This piece of music is an example of studio Audio art. It is recorded music and there is no expectation that it should or even could be performed live. The potential and limitations of this type of music is that nobody could join and there is virtually no performer - just the DJ. The goals and values of studio audio art are abstract sonic artwork, which this achieves, and also maximum control over the finished project with very little human interaction.

Not a Worry in the World

I can remember the night clearly. It was my freshman year in High School and a week before Spring Break, which means a ton of crammed tests from teachers all at the same time. Having good grades for the first semester, I wanted to also excel in my second semester because as a frosh I was nervous as to what kids and teachers thought about me. Anyways, the next day I had a biology and geometry test. I was so overwhelmed that no matter how much I studied there was no holding it in my head. The stress poured on minute after minute, hour after hour until finally I got my iPod and headphones out. That really only created another problem. No song was right, and it didn't help me study at all... in fact, it made it even worse! As I let my iPod shuffle song after song eventually Alan Jackson's song "It's Five O' Clock Somewhere" came on. The song alone can relieve stress, but the fact that it had reminded me that in less than a week I would be on Spring Break made everything even better. This was not the first time I had heard the song, but definitely one of the more meaningful times. It completely relieved all the stress I had. I didn't even really care about my studying anymore which was funny, because I actually had learned a lot more when I had no stress. It ended up being a pretty successful night of studying. You could say that while I was listening to the song and studying at the same time I was in a state of flow. Speaking in Piercian's terms, the sign in this experience was the song and the object was a feeling of carefree and freedom. You could also describe it as the Swahili term, "Hakuna matata."Having said that, the interpretant was my state of flow and how I could study and actually hold it in and understand it. It also created an indexical experience for me in the sense that in a week I would be on Spring Break without a worry in the world.

Music - About Me

Hey guys! My name is Jacob Moore and I'm from Seymour, Indiana which is approximately an hour east from Bloomington. Music is definitely one of the priorities in my life, which is why I chose to be in this class! As talked about earlier in this class during the icebreaker game, I am somewhat of a tasty guy apparently. Having said that, my taste in music would be pleasing to most people considering that there aren't many genres I wouldn't listen to. I do prefer some over others, but all music seems interesting to me and how it has changed over time. The music on my iPhone consists of rap, country, metal, pop, rock, and many more - it really just depends on what mood I'm in at the time. Below are pieces of music I feel that describe what I value, details of who I am, where I'm from, and what kind of life I wish to lead.



Small Town - John Mellencamp
This song relates to me extremely well. Mellencamp talks about how he was born and raised in a small town just like I was. I have never lived anywhere else but Seymour. Although I do enjoy vacationing in cities much bigger than mine, it's always nice to come home to a quiet place. He also talks about being whoever he wants to be and not worrying about what anyone else thinks - kind of like IU, even though it's a big campus I can truly be who I want without worrying about what other people think. But I must say, the real reason I chose this song was because Mellencamp was actually writing about Seymour, Indiana - my hometown! Seymour is where he grew up at and the music video takes place all throughout different places in Seymour - which is pretty cool!



Fly Over States - Jason Aldean
In this song, Aldean talks about people taking for granted the hard work that comes from farmers and other workers in the labor industry that others might refer to as boring, or useless. He really praises all the  rural areas of America which is what I can relate to, since I live on a farm. I first heard this song when I was in the truck driving home from a day of baling hay, so whenever this song plays I always go back to that day and think of the heat and hard work which really allows me to connect to the song - in other words, it has somewhat of an indexical meaning to me.



Lose Yourself - Eminem
This particular song doesn't necessarily relate to me literally, as I am not a rapper, but it relates to me in the way I perceive it. He talks about having one shot or opportunity to seize anything you ever wanted and how you're going to react to it. Are you going to choke and fail, or are you going to grab it and make everything of it? It's kind of like a motto to live by and I think this describes who I am and also what kind of life I hope to lead. Everyone in this class, including myself, are in college now and it's up to us as to what we do with it. It's also more than just college. Like I said, it's a motto to go by throughout my life and I hope to take all the challenges I get, grab them, and make everything of it.



Billionaire - Travie McCoy ft. Bruno Mars
This song relates to me by explaining what kind of life I hope to lead. No, I don't just want to be a billionaire and have tons of money - there's more to it then that. Although, like most people, being a billionaire wouldn't be a bad thing at all. But realistically, I hope to be somewhat of a wealthy person someday. I wouldn't necessarily want to keep it all though. In the song Travie McCoy and Bruno Mars talk about giving away a lot of their money and making sure everyone around them has what they need. They are sharing the wealth, in other words. I hope that someday I can also give back to people with what I have. I think giving back is a good and a respectful thing to do and I wouldn't ever wanna get too caught up with the money and keep it all to myself.



Anything Like Me - Brad Paisley
In this song Brad Paisley talks about a dad and his little boy and how the little boy grows up to be just like him. My dad was a single father and raised me to who I am today so this song has a lot of relativity and meaning to me. I value family and think it's very important. Family is always there to back you up no matter what and is always there for you. I think that's an important concept. I can also relate to how the son acts just like the dad. The lyrics have a symbolic meaning to me, and every time I hear this song family is brought up in my mind and how important family is.