Music and Us

 Hello again!! 


From my last vlog, I was inspired to look into some other countries where music may differ from what I am used to. I have been dying to look more into Egypt and Japan. Egypt is located in Northeast Africa, and Japan is located in East Asia. I will also be looking into Poland and Sweden, which are both located in Europe. 


First, I would love to start off with Egypt. Egyptian culture and traditions are very particular and provide a unique experience for each traveler. In Egypt, it is common to find larger families and see three generations living under one roof. Onto food. Egyptian food is warming for the heart and flavor, and seasoning isn't something they're afraid of. Some popular dishes you may see are Koshari, Ful Medames, Lintels, Molokhia, and Aish Baladi (bread). Tea and coffee are also essential parts of their lives. Music is highly ingrained in their culture as well. They sure do love to celebrate. Traditional music dates back to 3100 BCE. In Egypt, music can be found in temples, palaces, battlefields, farms, etc. Percussion was highly used, including hand-held drums, bells, castanets, sistrum, and rattles. 

Here is an example...




Next up, Japan. 

In Japan, it is common to hear them speak of their country and call it Nihon or Nippon, which translates to "sun's origin." That refers back to the fact that it is the first place in Asia to receive the sunrise each passing day. In their culture, calligraphy, illustration, painting, flower arranging, and garden design are ways they like to express their unique talents. While they love the arts, the thing they love most is music and dancing. The traditional form of Japanese music is called hagaku, which means home country music. There is a diversity in the scale system of Japan, but the most used scales are the ryo, ritsu, yo, and in. There are various tempos in Japanese music, but overall, the beat has a freeing feel to it. Here is a little taste of their traditional style of music. Before the dancer and instruments appear, there are some words shown at the beginning, but if you do not like to read them, then skip to 0:42.





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