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Hawaiian Music

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Final Blog about Hawaiian Music by Rita Dunn What would be your ideal place to visit for a fun get-away destination? Well, many of you may have thoughts like “Hawaii” especially after seeing these pictures of beautiful Maui, Hawaii. As I mentioned before I am part Native-Hawaiian, and my grandmother grew up on the Big Island of Hawaii. My grandfather was in the Air force and was stationed in Hawaii where he met my grandmother (or what I call her “Tutu” meaning “Grandmother” in Hawaiian). They married and traveled around the world then came back to North Carolina where he lived (before his military life). Even though we do not live in Hawaii, we still enjoy staying connected to our relatives. (Some relatives live on Oahu, Maui, Molokai, and the Big Island.)  Picture of my O'hana (or family) and me I absolutely love the Hawaiian culture, and so I am excited to share a bit about music and dance in Hawaii. Before Hawaii became part of U.S territory, Kings and Queens once ruled the isla...
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  Music and Family I am so happy we have the opportunity to ask a family member certain questions relating to music. Whether or not a relative plays an instrument or not, music is part of everyone’s life even though they may not realize that fact. I decided to interview my Mother because she is the closest family member to me (besides my twin), and I know she absolutely loves music, and it is definitely part of her life. In fact, she was my piano and ukulele teacher growing up, and she would help me prepare for gigs and drive me to performing events when I was little. She is truly someone I look up to, and I want to make her proud since she put so much time into me. I interviewed my mother for thirty minutes at our kitchen table, and she enjoyed talking about music from her past and present. I will share the interview starting off with the questions I asked followed by her answers. Question 1. What is your earliest musical memory? Answer: My mother said her earliest musica...
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  Swing Music   In addition to the genres of music I have mentioned I enjoy, I also like listening to Swing music. I think the Swing music sounds so exciting, and   I almost feel like I am stepping back into time when I listen to songs from the Swing era.   The Swing Era started between late 1920s and 1945 but was popular mostly in the 1930s. (I read another article which states the music was popular during the Great Depression and the ending of WWII.) The genre developed from jazz and got its name based on the musical idea for musicians to swing the note or emphasize the off beat. The style of music was also supposed to “swing back and forth with the melody.” The style featured soloists who improvised the melody with the accompaniment. However, in big band groups, Swing music had an emphasis on written out arrangements, and less improvisation since big bands were more orchestral style. Big band music had strong, anchoring rhythm sections in support of more lo...
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Music and Gender Blog by Rita Dunn

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  Music and Gender   I must admit how much I have enjoyed the Music and Diversity class- especially since we have talked so much about the harp and how the Indigenous people commonly played the instrument. The harp truly is versatile because many countries have played different versions of the harp. In my last blog, I mentioned how the harp is an instrument from Ireland (Neat fact, the harp is the national symbol of Ireland which is why the harp is imprinted on their Irish currency.).   As a classical harpist, I thought I would write about the Concert pedal harps in France and the gender identity with the instrument. What gender do you usually imagine when you hear the harp? You probably visualize a beautiful ethereal angel or girl with long blond hair performing lush rolling chords and glissandos! Well, this is the concept many Americans have or associate with the harp. However, the most prestigious and famous French harpists in the world were men! For instance, ...
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