Jams with Julianne

       This weeks blog is going to dive deeper into the music cultures of the Middle East and Asia. For this blog I want to talk specifically about Japan and its music culture. The three main things I am going ton focus on is instruments, dances, and traditional music in Japan. Japan is a country with a very rich music culture.       There are 6 main traditional instruments in the Japanese music culture, which are the shakuhachi, the koto, the sanshin, the shamisen, the biwa, and the taiko. The shakuhachi is one of the most popular wind instruments in Japan. It is traditionally made of bamboo and has four holes in the front and one in the back. It is known as the Japanese flute. Shakuhachi music was originally used for personal spiritual enlightenment rather than public performance. Another one of the most popular instruments in Japan is Shamisen. The Shamisen is a chordophone; its neck is similar to the length of a guitar, however it does not hav...

 For this blog, I decided to interview my mom. As I have said before, I do not come from a very musical family but still thought it would be interesting to hear about the music that my mom grew up around.  Before I get started with the interview, I wanted to share a little bit about my moms background. My mom's name is Elizabeth Outlaw. She is a hospice nurse, which means she is constantly driving and visiting her patients in their homes. She is originally from Louisiana, but constantly moved around as a kid. She has lived in Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Maine, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and now South Carolina.  Me "Who was your favorite artist as a kid?" Mom "My favorite artist was Alabama which is a band that sung Country music." Me "What was your favorite genre/style of music when you were a kid?" Mom "I am not sure that I really had a favorite genre/style. We did not listen to music much as kids, we were always playing outside....

In the weeks post, I am going to be talking about the history of Western Swing! Western Swing began in the dancehalls of  small towns throughout the lower Great Plains in the late 1920s and early 1930s. It is a subgenre of American country music. It is a type of dance music with an up-tempo beat, which ultimately attracted large crowds to the dancehalls. Western swing is a combination of rural, cowboy, polka, old-time, Dixieland jazz, and blues blended with swing. In a western swing band the main instruments are drums, saxophones, pianos, and, most importantly, the steel guitar. The string instruments, especially the steel guitar, gives the music a very distinctive sound. It is the first music genre indigenous to Texas. It brought the steel guitar, which is the most distinctive sound in the genre, to country music and also brought the drums to the front of country music stages. Horns were also used in many western swing bands. The western swing dance is a ballroom dance with a west...

 For this post, I want to dive further into the Native American culture. The Native American culture is specifically important to me because I am American Indian, which if you do not know that is another term used for Native American/ Indigenous. I have recently found out that American Indian is my true race. With that being said, my family and I are part of  the Bute Tribe of Bayou Bourbeaux. One part of the Native American culture that really interests me is the traditional dances.  The hoop dance is traditionally performed for healing ceremonies in the tribal community. These events were very sacred and were to bring balance and harmony back. For this dance, the hoop is considered the most important part. Most Native Americans viewed the hoop as a never-ending circle of life. The hoop is very symbolic and is continuously seen throughout the Native American culture. For example, during the dancing in the powwows the dancers are in the formation of a circle. When the hoo...

     The type of music changes from ritual to ritual. I found that this topic really connects to what we were learning with the Native American music culture because the music played at the powwows were specific to that ritual and culture. For me personally, the music in my life differs based on the event. So the music for a wedding would be different from the music for a birthday party or a funeral.      I have attend many wedding in my life. Wedding music tends to be more elegant and slow during the actual ceremony and the music during the reception depends on the bride and the groom and is typically more upbeat. The wedding ceremony usually has the typical classical music which is often known as Here Comes The Bride. This piece is often played on the organ. As for the wedding reception, the music typically played there is more of today's hits and more for celebration and dancing. The reception is more of a party in celebration of the bride and groom...

 Hi everyone! My name is Julianne Outlaw. I am a sophomore here at Converse University. I am from Camden, SC, which is a small town about two hours from Spartanburg, SC. I have never been the person that is very interested in music and instruments. I was the typical kid that played the recorder in music class just because it was for a grade. I also tried playing the guitar when I was younger, but that did not last very long. Although I am not a very musical person, I do like to listen to numerous genres of music depending on the mood I am in.  1) If you get the chance to know me on a more personal level, you will come to find out that I love country music. Country is my go to genre of music and my most favorite. I will listen to just about any country artist. One of my most favorite country songs right now would have to be  "With You I Am" by Cody Johnson because it always puts me in a better mood when I am down.  2) A song that I connect to on a personal level would...