Aboriginal people and their music

Australian Indigenous People celebrate their land, and communicate with ancestors and spirits by performing ceremonies and corroborees.A corroboree consists of many short songs known as a song cycle.Music performed by Aboriginal people is passed down by word of mouth. This is known as oral tradition. Ngarrag Aboriginal Ceremony, Numbulwar Australia Characteristics of Aboriginal Music A core ensemble of one or two singers or a group of singers, each with a percussion instrument (usually clapsticks) and a didgeridoo player;Short melodic sections, often descending in pitch;A regular pulse or ostinato (repeated rhythm) is kept by the percussion (clapsticks, boomerangs or handclaps);The underlying drone of the didgeridoo (a drone is a note, or notes, of fixed pitch that continues through a piece of music);Thin texture – usually only three layers. Features of Australian Aboriginal Music The characteristics you have just read and heard are significant for a composition you will be creating. Complete this task to confirm that you know these important characteristics: Short melodic sections Usually descending in pitch A core ensemble of singers Each has a percussion instrument (usually clapsticks) and a didgeridoo player A regular pulse or ostinato Played by percussion (clapsticks, boomerangs or handclaps) Didgeridoo Plays the underlying drone A note, or notes, of fixed pitch that continues through a piece of music A drone Usually only three layers Thin texture The Didgeridoo The Didgeridoo is the most well known Australian Aboriginal instrument After watching David's video, describe to me how to make a sound on the didgeridoo. Type a response in the discussion below. Discuss the use of 'recycled breathing' or circular breathing. What are it's uses and challenges?What other instruments or situations do you think circular breathing could be used? What animals does David Hudson indicate can be represented by using the voice box whilst playing the didgeridoo? Kangaroo Horse Kookaburra Brolga Frog Emu Mopoke Wolf Dingo Other Instruments Other instruments include clapping sticks, boomerangs, hand clapping, body percussion, bull roarers, drums and rain sticks. The voice is also very important. Bull Roarer Go online and look up 'bull roarer'. In your own words (do not copy and paste!) describe what this is. The Dreamtime Dreaming stories pass on important knowledge, cultural values and belief systems to later generations. The dreaming stories are expressed through song, dance, painting and storytelling.Aborigines have maintained a link with the Dreaming from ancient times to today, creating a rich cultural heritage. In most stories of the Dreaming, the Ancestor Spirits came to the earth in human form and as they moved through the land, they created the animals, plants, rocks and other forms of the land that we know today. Because the ancestors did not disappear at the end of the Dreaming, but remained in these sacred sites, the Dreaming is never-ending, linking the past and the present, the people and the land.Our story is in the land ... it is written in those sacred places ... My children will look after those places, That's the law.Bill Neidjie , Kakadu elder. Dreamtime Story Dreamtime Story Find a Dreaming Story online and outline it here.What do you like about this story - why did you choose this one? The influence of Aboriginal music on popular music. In recent years the Aboriginal culture, outback Australia and the environment have become a focal point for many rock bands. Important bands who have done this include: Midnight Oil, The Saints, Crowded House and DIG.Aboriginal Bands include: Yothu Yindi, Saltwater Band, Tiddas and Goanna. Yothu Yindi - Treaty Fill in the blanks. The traditional aboriginal music features I can hear include claps sticks playing an ostinato, aboriginal language being used with a descending melodic line, and a drone being played on the didgeridoo .The more modern features include the guitar, a drum kit, singing into a microphone and the song has typical verse-chorus structure.