My Global Music Autobiography
My
Global Music Autobiography
I’ve only been to a couple places outside of the United States and I’ve been all over the East Coast but it stops there when it comes to my travels in life. I plan to travel more in the future to acquire more cultural awareness and to adventure what else is around the world. Even though I have not been to many places globally I’ve still had my fair share in different types of music from my parents and people I have met over time.
My
senior year of high school I traveled to a small island outside of the Bahamas
called Bimini Island. One half of the island is where the tourists stay and the
other half is where the residents stay. When we went over to the Bimini
resident side of the island I got to experience their culture and got to talk to
many Bahamians. I remember traveling through their town hearing their music
which was a mixture of traditional African music and colonial European music,
which they called it Goombay music when I was there. Their music was created
with large drums and their voices you could hear them making music on the other
side of the island at night (it’s a very small island.)
Three
years ago my family and I traveled to Jamaica which their music was one of the greatest sounds I’ve ever heard. Most of everyone probably knows about Jamaica’s
reggae, when we were there reggae artists performed at our resort one night
and he played reggae music but incorporated it into dub music which essentially
created a remix type of music. This music had everyone dancing out of their
seats. Another night a group of three teens came out on stage and introduced them
as a dancehall group, which I had no idea what that was at the time. The three
guys started to begin to rap almost with a really fast passed beat behind them.
Then they broke out into a dance called the sweep. Everyone got out of their seats
and joined them while they were creating a movement and massive sounds. Here's the "sweep" dance they performed.
I have not yet been to Germany but
I have a background in German music because my dad was deployed there multiple
times and always comes back with new music. Also, I had a teammate who was
from Germany and she kept me updated on all the new music. My friend listened
to a ton of hip hop and pop music from Germany. When she showed me the music
she would translate the songs for me. From what I heard without knowing the
meaning was that German music is very similar to American music when it comes
to their beats.
I have yet to be to the Bahamas, but I do want to go. I love the culture and their music and I want to experience it in person...so I am very jealous that you have been! You have also been to Jamaica which also makes me jealous because...again, I want to experience their culture and music in person. There's just so much in the world that can't be explained over the internet. There are things you just have to experience in person and I believe that music is one of those things. Sure, you can have recordings and videos, but that is not the same as living it. I'm glad that you got to experience the Bahamas and Jamaica in person.
ReplyDelete-Katie Edge
Like you I have not had many experiences outside of the United States, but I also hope to be able to have the opportunity to travel, and learn about cultures outside of my own. Those type of experiences are pretty life changing, and you can tell how they really affected positively based off of the way you wrote about your trip to the Bahamas and Jamaica.
ReplyDeleteI have never been to the Bahamas or Jamaica but the music sounds so fun and easy to dance to. I like reggae music and like to listen to it sometimes but I want to be able to experience it first hand being played.
ReplyDeleteJamaica and Germany would be great destinations of travel that I think I would enjoy. I like the Jamaican accent and thought the "sweep" dance was very interesting. Germany has some awesome cathedrals I would love to see in person like the Converse music students experienced during the fall semester.
ReplyDeleteI also went to the Bahamas in high school! Though I did not get to experience much of their music, reading about this and your trip to Jamaica reminded me about how much reggae I listened to as a kid; Bob Marley was the only thing my father would play on his radio for a good while. Each time I read one of these blogs, I realize there were more cultural influences in the music I listened to than I ever realized. I'm glad you got to expand your horizons so much with your travels!
ReplyDeleteI love Jamaica! It is such a beautiful place and it is so much fun to travel there! The reggae music is incredible. Sometimes I like to listen to it, especially Bob Marley, because it is so uplifting and happy.
ReplyDeleteYou would love Germany!!! I have always loved listening to reggae music, it has such a spiritual yet relaxing vibe. I am very envious of your tropical vacations and would love to go to Jamaica!
ReplyDeleteI love the sound of the Bahamas and the fusion of cultures in that area of the world. I've never been there, but I hope to someday to experience the different culture, music and the food! I have been to Germany though and it is amazing! 12/10 would highly recommend! Surprisingly though, a lot of the music I heard on my trip was either classical or American pop, which according to the locals is very popular. They said that if any German wanted to be a pop star, they had to learn English which I thought was interesting.
ReplyDelete