Native American Music Caroline Mosher

Modern Ceremony In modern ceremonies native Americans hold these gatherings called powwow’s. Powwow: is a ceremony that can be either tribal or intertribal gathering in the twentieth century where they celebrate native American culture with both modern and traditional native American music and dance. Tribal is when native Americans in the same tribe get together and celebrate by doing traditions from their own tribes. Intertribal is when tribes celebrate using dances and music that is shared between tribes. In the powwows there are drummers that are sitting in a circle facing each other that play consistent beats. Then men and women enter into the circle with the beat the men wear brightly colored feathers and cloth while the women wear long dresses with colored beads an cloth that are a lot more modest than the men’s outfits. There are never any couples in these dances. The men dance usually by them selves some of the women might slowly group into groups of 2 or 3

Modern ceremonies/Other music events These ceremonies can last for hours with the interchanging of songs with brief mourning periods of the dead. As well as traditional dances like the Owls dance. Though powwows and dance events are the main stage when it comes to Native American music there are many events that native American also use music for. There is a gambling game where there are two teams. One team will hide a bullet of a stick in a hunt for the other to find. While the one team hides the item sing songs that only have two brief phrases in them. (The style is considered more relaxed then the high paced powwow music) The Native Americans use music in many events that they do. Some of these are rodeo games, gambling games, traditional dances, modern dances, and western music sung by native Americans. In todays culture seem to have a life separate from the rest of the population but music helps them stay connected to the main stream culture.

Older Ceremonies A native American song is usually considered very short. (It is like comparing it to a nursery rhyme). These songs and rituals though are presented in elaborate settings and large groups. Some religious rituals can last for a couple hours or days with these short songs. There can be stricter rules when it comes certain rituals. In the Peyote ceremony: Each singer must sing 4 songs in order, but they can only be sung at specific times during the ceremony Another ritual that has a strict set of rules is the Hako, which is performed by the Pawnee tribe. This ritual is one of the religious ceremonies they have that usually takes up a couple days and about 100 songs are played Hako more specifically takes four days where they play 100 songs that happens for the general welfare of the tribe as well as the world.

Tribes Distinct Music Although there are many distinct ways of singing when it comes to different tribes all tribes like to use pulsations when they are carrying out long notes. As well as the intense sound they like to bring to the music. Many of the Native American songs sound similar, but if you listen to them hard you can see each tribe has their own styling's. Though tribes can be very different in music styling there is sometimes where musically two tribes can be similar and this is the Music Area. Music Area: is where roughly two tribes share similar music styles that sort of correspond to the cultural areas. (but not in language) There are seven Music areas (1) Plains (2) Eastern United states (3) Yuman ( South west as well as southern California) (4) Athabascan (Navajo/ Apache also south west) (5) Pueblo (papago: South west) (6) Great basin (Nevada/ Utah) (7) Northwestern cost (Oregon, Washington and sometimes tribes in Alaska)

Tribes Distinct Music The plains music is the most distinct as well as the most different from western music. Usually a song is made up of a short line repeated a couple of times that is followed by three or four lines that usually end in a low flat cadence. The the long section which is the three to four lines is repeated again. The Eastern Part tribes have a more rounder and more relaxed song style. The rules are more relaxed and usually have the leader usually singing a line and having the group sing a line back to him. The Yuman tribes have a specialized form of singing. This is where one section that is made up of a short phrase or a group of phrases that is repeated over and over again. The difference though is during the phrases they are interrupted by higher pitched separate sections. The Athabascan style: (Navajo/Apache) have a large vocal range and can be described as nasally sounding. Most of the songs can only be written in quarter and eighth notes.

Tribes Distinct Music The Pueblo Native Americans are very similar to the plains and the Athabascan tribes, but they have low, harsh, pulsating vocal styles that are paired up with long complex forms. The great basin tribes have songs with small vocal ranges and each phrase is at least repeated once. North west tribes share a style where there are complex rhythms. The tribes are also known for the riches wind instruments and is the most documented music traditions.

Native American Music and Instruments In Most native American tribes many Native Americans think songs come from the cosmos and brought into existence from many tribes peoples dreams. In other tribes music comes from a supernatural world where it needs to be unraveled by humans in their dreams Except for more modern music the native American artist is never given credit for creating a song because it came from somewhere else. The songs that are played by each different tribe reflect on the activities and culture that tribe has. There is a separation between men and women when it comes to singing songs. Mostly men sing different songs than women but sometimes women can join in on some male songs. The major divisions in the societies of these tribes is also a thing in their singing as well.

Native American Music and Instruments Most Native American music is sung. A lot of the instruments that are played are drums and it is quite rare that there is ever a solo drummer. There a two headed drums, kettle drums and rattles. These are mostly made up of deer hides, turtle shells, hooves and gourds. There are few wind instruments played by tribes. These instruments are the flute and the trumpet, which if ever played by tribes are usually the north western tribes.

Modern Music Since the coming of the white people Native American music has been studied and well documented for future reference. Though since many tribes were wiped out or moved there had become less Native music and more western music as The native Americans tried to become more western. So in the plains instead of saying music was made supernaturally they then took up the idea that music was now human made. Though there was tragedy when a lot of native American music began to vanish. The Natives took the western music they learned and used it to fight back against total absorption of their culture. The Native American in the 1950s then came out with a record label that produced Native American music called North American Sound chief Though Native American popular music today does not differ to much from western music its content brings up social, economic and political issues native Americans face today.