Raisin' Kane

             Finding True Regional Music

When Lau was visiting China and conducting his fieldwork there, he was captivated by a type of local ensemble music, jiangnam sizhu.  This type of music he found so very interesting he called teahouse music.  It is a regional music in which local musicians gather in a teahouse and play various types of instruments.  Everyone present has a chance to play an instrument and play the repertory along with embellishing and/or altering the melody.  He characterized the music by “its lyricism and moderato tempo” as well as having a heterophonic texture (Lau, 11). He became intrigued with this music and wanted to experience other regional musics.  He informed his host of this desire and was taken to another region, Chaozhou, and was surprised as to what he had found.  He was presented with an ensemble that was led by a conductor and the music was composed and arranged.  The way they played, in fact, resembled “Western symphonic music.”  (Nothing like he had encountered previously in the teahouse!)  He had hoped to find something more intimate and to uncover another gem of the music of China he had previously experienced but instead did not.  The explanation of this arranged music was that it was “an improvement on the music performed by the minjian music groups, voluntary amateur folk music groups that are not financially supported and musically scrutinized by the government” (Lau, 17).

                I think that a sort of “improvement” happens to regional music in the United States.  The music that regional musicians and people experience on a daily basis in coffee houses and around town in other public venues can sometimes be vastly different than what is heard and reproduced on the radio. Take the music of Raisin'Kane, for example.  This music can be thought of as regional music because it is the music that local musicians of Southeast Texas, particularly in rural areas, play, hear, and experience.  It can be compared to jiangnam sizhu in China.  The music of Raisin’ Kane is produced by amateur musicians that play acoustic guitars.  In this case, the two brothers/musicians gather and start to collaborate.  The music is not pre-composed and arranged, but instead, it is a collaboration that involves listening to the musicians who are present until they are in sync and in agreement to the music.  This music is intimate and comes from the musicians themselves; it can be improvised like that of teahouse music.  The music played is not read from a music stand like that of the orchestral hall music in Chaozhou.

                In the United States, people have the most immediate access through music on the radio and what you find on the radio is music that is made popular; it is enhanced with auto-tune and digitized instrumentation.  This music on the radio that is the most accessible is most often what you do not hear in the regional areas in local venues around town.  Like Lau, a person has to delve into the local area to discover what really goes on musically around towns, instead of what is readily presented to him like in the Chaozhou region.  If he came to the area of South Bexar County in Texas, he might find Raisin’ Kane playing in Whitehouse Café, playing with acoustic guitar in hand and singing lyrics that were written by the musicians themselves.

 

 

The Country Music Sensei

In Japan, teaching groups, ryū, formed through syakuhati players who were disciples in the teaching line of Kinko Kurosawa and also players in the Kyoto style.  To learn an instrument like the syakuhati, one must get involved into the iemoto seito which is “the traditional system for transmission of knowledge between master and disciple” (Wade, 51).  A sensei, or teacher, transmits the knowledge to the student, seito.  The lessons are described as demanding and structured, with a certain order for the exercises, practice songs, and repertoire in Music in Japan. 

                Similar to the relationship between sensei and seito, David Kemp functioned as a sort of sensei to Peter and Tim Kane of Raisin’ Kane.  In the Japanese system, the sensei transmits knowledge of the actual instrument and notation; however in this case, Kemp transmitted knowledge and experience to aspects of stage performance.  When asked about the influence Kemp had to the group, Peter Kane responded that before they met David, they were just learning their instruments and “once we started playing with him [Kemp], we started learning more about the BIG picture of playing music.”  The “big picture” included how to read and interact with a crowd, what songs to play, stage presence, and transitioning between songs.

At the very final level of the Japanese iemoto seito system, when all the pieces are learned, “the student is granted a performing license, called shihan, and performing name.  Similarly, Kemp coined the name “David Kemp & Raisin’ Kane,” and it became permanent even after Kemp left to pursue a more active music career.

The iemoto seito system is described by Wade as very structured, strict, and demanding.  She talks about how she felt overwhelmed because she had to keep up with her teacher’s pace even through difficult passages.  The pieces she had to play were mandatory pieces in which she had to master to move on to the next level.    On the other side of the spectrum, Kemp encouraged Raisin’ Kane to play songs they could relate to and to add their own sound into the music.  Their “repertoire” not only consists of their nine originals, but of approximately 40+ covers in which they add their own flavor to.  Peter Kane explains that he does not consider the band to be a ‘cover band’ in the true sense of the word  because unlike other cover bands, they do not play their songs exactly like the original, nor try to manipulate the voice in order to sound like the original artist.  For example, there is a track on their CD called “Wagon Wheel” originally written by Bob Dylan and Jay Ketcham Secor. One can hear Raisin’ Kane “flavor” through the bass line, improvisations on the harmonica, and harmony in the vocals, which is normally a major third above the melody.  The texture, like in the majority of their songs, is homophonic, with the melody dominating and the chords supporting.  The chords provide rhythmic support and harmony, but the melody is superior.  They added a harmonica on the CD version which provides additional harmony to support the acoustic and bass guitars.

Listen to Raisin' Kane play "Wagon Wheel"

Raisin’ Kane-ness  

 

This Raisin’ Kane “flavor” mentioned above can relate to the concept of “Japaneseness.”

Bonnie Wade describes how Japanese musicians wanted to get away from “the hegemony of American standards of aesthetic innovation and expressive authenticity by asserting in their music the sound of a Japanese cultural identity,” in which they label “Japaneseness” (Wade, 156).  Musicians insert “Japaneseness” into their music in a number of ways which can include mixing Western and Japanese instruments together in a work, jazzifying Japanese folk material, or keeping Japanese aesthetics in mind while writing original works; aesthetics such as ma or the importance of the seasons.

At this time, composers were concerned with keeping the music connected to their country of origin (Japan) and at the same time keeping authenticity and originality. 

Raisin’ Kane tries to keep their sound authentic by mixing genres.  They cover Country, Americana, Classic Rock, and Blues.  Yet they always keep the same fundamentals which includes instrumentation, acoustic and bass guitar, and the style to which they play the music.  By listening to their CD, Big Time Life, one can hear the relatively simple chord progressions and strumming patterns.  The melody stays within the octave in the middle register.  The vocal quality isn't necessarily a clear tone, but instead more raspy.  The vocal line occasionally slides which is typically characteristic of this music. The harmony is mostly a major third above the melody, and at the end of the song “Big Time Life” it offers a sort of call-and-response to add something different to the song.  Raisin’ Kane keeps to their roots of origin, country music, through the lyrics as well.  They are simply trying to communicate a story through the music and lyrics.  They play because of the enjoyment they get from it.  

Big Time Life

 As musicians, they are no virtuosos like Mozart or Liszt.  Occasionally, after the predominant strum patterns, you can here classical style finger work on the guitar.  However, their original works all keep the same “Raisin’ Kane flavor” because of the style they exhibit throughout their songs because they keep to their origin which was previously stated as country music.  Country music in general, specifically classic country, is teemed with emotion expressed through lyric content and the sound generated in the voice, kind of like cry singing in Tan Dun’s “The Map.”  The themes of their songs include lost love, family, and finding yourself.

While Japanese composers want to keep to their roots and play music without sounding like a tradition that is not their own such as that of the Western tradition, so too does Raisin’ Kane keep to  their roots.

Don’t “Go Away”

In one of Jeff Todd Titon’s blog entries, Classical Music’s Radio Future, Titon talks about the “going away” of classical music on radio because it is no longer popular with the majority of radio listeners.  He talks how radio was first meant to be educational; therefore, classical music was added to the program because it was regarded as music of the highest quality.  But now, because of the increasing number of radio stations, classical music on the radio has had to rely on local and regional fundraising in order to sustain this music from getting booted from the program.

Titon believes that this “going away” of classical music is from a cultural shift of the middle class. “It is that economic reality, a decline in the patron class, coupled with the media availability of so much "other music" to interest people with eclectic taste that accounts in large part for the cultural shift,” comments Titon. 

Think how this could translate to other music, not necessarily on the radio but maybe in public venues.  Take the music of Raisin’ Kane for example. Their music is played at local cafes and bars.  Easily it could be the case one day that the manager of the café or bar tells them that they’re not bringing in enough customers or favor with the public; therefore they will be replaced  with another genre or even with a radio, in other words, something that is more mainstream and can relate to more people.

Without this sort of ‘patronage’ from the café and bar owners of Raisin’ Kane music, their music gets cut off and left to exist on iTunes and streaming music on the internet unless they find somewhere else to play, on the slight chance of having that happen.  Just like the sensei in the Japanese iemoto seito system, the owners help foster the growth of this music so it can be sustainable.

Perhaps this is why Japanese composers want to embody “Japaneseness.” For the sake of sustainability, they find it necessary to maintain a tie between their music and the origin of where it came from.  At the same time, in order to prevent from “going away,” they still need to enhance or flavor their music just enough so it will not lose interest with the general public. 

A person who writes and plays music is considered a musician.  But how is their music sustainable if they do nothing with it, keeping it forever shut off from the world?  Playing in local venues, writing music to incorporate elements of the past and also of original content, playing music on the radio, and even writing this blog all relate to the sustainability of music.

We cannot let it get pushed out just because it is not a certain kind of genre.  All have merits, yet what we listen to shouldn’t be comprised of just one general thing because that in particular makes more money.

 

Bibliography

Books

Lau, Frederick. Music in China. New York: Oxford, 2008.

Wade, Bonnie C. Music in Japan. New York: Oxford, 2005.

Web

Peter and Tim Kane. “Raisin’ Kane.” Accessed 11 October 2012. <www.raisinkane.com>.

           Sonicbids.  “Raisin’ Kane.”  Accessed 30 October 2012.  <http://www.sonicbids.com/2/EPK/?   epk_id=148331#bio>.

           Titon, Jeff Todd. Sustainable Music: A Research Blog on the Subject of Sustainability and Music.  Accessed November 25, 2012.  http://sustainablemusic.blogspot.com.

            Video/Sound Recordings

           Big Time Life, YouTube video, 6:34, posted by apanchul, 2008,   http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/JzTn1vG04Kw.

Peter and Tim Kane.  Big Time Life. Raisin’ Kane, 2008, compact disc.

           Rock me mama, YouTube video, 3:12, posted by apanchul June 6, 2008, http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/HJJkg9ee_WY.

            Interview

           Kane, Peter.  Interview by Amanda Pawelek.  San Antonio, TX, November 20, 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creative Response: "Take A Listen"

 

I feel that many people belittle or minimize the worth of country music.  Perhaps the language isn't sophisticated enough or the music isn't as virtuosic as other music is for their taste. My LLM, the band Raisin' Kane, is a band who was raised in a rural area where the genre of music mostly listened to is country music.  Although it can be characterized as simple, a country song's lyrics tell a story.  This story can tell of the hurt, the joy, or any other emotion that has the power of connecting straight to the heart and moving it in a way that some music is not capable of doing.  It is important to understand that every music in which all have a worth and a value, nevertheless the "crude" or "unsophisticated" nature of it, as Lau described one view of regional music in China. This poem reflects the culture that stems from country music and tells of the story that can be expressed through this genre.

Kunqu and Jinju

One difference between kunqu and the Beijing opera jingju has to do with the melodic ensemble.  The Beijing opera that we heard in class had a brighter tone quality.  This probably can be contributed because of the jinghu, the main melodic accompaniment in jingju in which Lau points out as the “sonic marker of jinghu.” (Lau, 70)  Its characteristic sound is high-pitched and is accompanied with more plucked instruments.  However, in kunqu the main melodic instrument is the dizi which characterizes kunqu music with a mellow tone quality.  Even in “1699” the actor sings in one of his lines, “The melancholy flute troubles the heart.”

A similarity between kunqu and jingju involves the different classes of characters.  For example Li Zhenli in “1699” would be the dan role because of the vocal quality and her role as a main character in which she is emotional and romantic (some of the characteristics Lau points out as a dan having).

Lau, Frederick. Music in China. New York: Oxford, 2008.

Everything Connects and Forms an Intertext

                In order to sustain music, there has to be an effort to preserve it.  Preservation efforts include cultural tourism, school courses including music appreciation and the textbooks that go along with it, as well as music-making.  All these efforts contribute to the sustainability of music along with the various cultures associated with the music different people work to preserve.  Jeff Titon connects heritage and music in his blog with the different points of cultural tourism and conservation efforts, and provides an example of when he visited China.  Through these points, we can examine how they manifest themselves in sustaining heritage through music as well as provide an intertext to our recent studies on the nō Ataka and Bonnie Wade’s Music in Japan.

Ataka

                One way of conserving music is through cultural tourism.  Bonnie Wade begins her book, Music in Japan, by describing the festival of May in which millions of people come and engage in Japan’s culture, including the music scene.  This is more of an inward tourism, where people inside Japan’s borders travel through the country to engage in such activities.  People from all over experience culture at its finest where there are bands performing outside and also productions of nō taking place within the theatre, representing and sustaining both modern and classical music.

 Jeff Titon presents another way to look at cultural tourism in which he looks at music appreciation as a form of it.  Music books, which coexist in music courses, are meant to sustain the types of music the students are learning about.  Titon talks about how the authors of these books base their purpose for writing on acquiring culture, however they seem to leave out the principle of aesthetics and the feeling the music often reflects.  Nevertheless, the collecting of information and buying of musical materials created a market and supported the music business and its connoisseurs.  To write about different musics, one must go and explore and experience it themselves, like that of Bonnie Wade. To do this, cultural tourism must take place.  Bonnie Wade describes her experiences in Chapter 3 in which she took shakuhachi lessons and became apart of a ryū in order to experience the music and culture at its fullest.  This not only represents the effort to preserve music, in this case Japanese hōgaku music, but also remains to be an example of cultural tourism.

Jeff Titon also writes about his recent trip to China and the policy they have implemented to preserve traditional music.  He states that the government was threatening the traditional expressive culture especially during the Chinese Revolution and the Cultural Revolution.  This includes their ability to collaborate as a group and express themselves through music. Titon then writes of his experience of listening to a concert performance in the village where he was staying.  Immediately, I related this conversation with intertextuality and its link to preserving Japanese traditional music.  Ataka, the nō play, was written from an epic poem The Tales of the Heike in which Bonnie Wade describes in Chapter 4.  Different guilds/ryūs of various classes form and practice the repertoire of nō plays.  (Ataka uses characters from different ryūs.) Each ryū  comes together and meets and essentially, the knowledge of the particular group and the art forms the ryū possesses gets passed down from generation to generation.  The members are participating in their heritage that their ancestors created and are also working to sustain the music inherent in a nō play.  For example, the main character, the shite Benkei and his companion, the tsure which are the nine retainers come from the same guild of nō, while the waki  and the kokata each come from a different one.  The musical elements in nō reflect gagaku Japanese music which was the music at the time of the imperial court.  How might this relate to intertextuality? Take this picture, for example, that Titon displays in his blog of the Chinese orchestra:

Titon notes that the full Chinese orchestra consists of percussion, winds, transverse flutes, and a sheng which is a traditional Chinese mouth organ.  The sheng immediately caught my attention because it related back to the shō, the traditional Japanese mouth organ.  Although only three drums and a nōkan flute are used in Ataka, this picture drew me back to something familiar which I had learned (the shō) from Music in Japan, establishing an intertext for me personally to draw back on.  This intertext continued as I continued to read Titon’s blog and began to understand the intermingling between Japan and China.  This relates back to the first chapter when Wade described Japan whose culture has been influenced by many cultures because of its position of an island, with many people of different backgrounds coming on and off its shores.  He notes that a lot of the Chinese orchestra’s music was played in free rhythm and how the percussion did establish a pulse.  This too related to Japanese music.

                Preservation efforts such as cultural tourism through textbooks and traveling to different areas to experience music in its original culture along with participating in one’s own heritage through music-making all are associated with the sustainability of the music and the culture.  We see this in the organization of a nō play such as Ataka beginning with its origins in the script of it as well as the different ryūs the different characters come from.  All these forces come together to support this particular art form and provide awareness to others who find it intriguing as well.  Without culture tourism or the want to learn how to play a particular instrument, the music cannot be sustained and that element in the culture will eventually disappear.

 

 

Bibliography

Book

"Ataka." In Japanese Noh Drama, vol. 3, translated by Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai, 149-72. Tokyo: Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai, 1960.

Wade, Bonnie C. Music in Japan. New York: Oxford, 2005.

Web

Titon, Jeff Todd. Sustainable Music: A Research Blog on the Subject of Sustainability and Music. Accessed October 27, 2012. http://sustainablemusic.blogspot.com.

 

 

Tony Takitani

There were two moments in Tony Takitani that can best be understood if we look at Bonnie Wade’s Music in Japan.

The first moment occurred at the start of the film at 5:40.  The narrator was speaking of Tony’s father and how he spent many days in prison after being in the war playing jazz on his trombone.  Wade supports how “Japan is home to an important and highly profitable market for jazz, boasting numerous clubs, some of the best jazz magazines in the world, and a steady core of avid fans.”  (Wade, 139).  During Shazboro’s (Tony’s father) time in prison, I found it interesting how the music was juxtaposed.  One could hear the solemn, lonely music with a steady beat resembling life in the prison at the same time as the swung, flowing melody of a jazz tune.  Life seemed relentless because of how lonely he was feeling, yet at the same time he used jazz as an outlet. 

The lonely music continued throughout the movie while relating the same lonely life Tony led.  This music seemed to suggest that he was living in a prison, like his father did, because of how truly alone he was throughout his early life. However, in 26:33, the music changed to a piano playing at a freer rhythm then the steady beats played before.  Before it was a static, lonely motif that reoccurred over and over and when he met and married Ekei, his life turned upside down and he began to feel free.  He noted that he was in terror which lasted for three months of being lonely again and while describing this, the static, hollow motif juxtaposed the freer beat of the piano melody.  Japanese music as stated in Wade’s Music in Japan, had many influences from Europe.  This can be seen in the free piano music played.

 

Wade, Bonnie C. Music in Japan. New York: Oxford, 2005.

Ataka and Kajincho

The main difference I see between the nō play Ataka and the kabuki  Kajincho, is that in Kajincho, there are singers that interrupt the actors as Benkei and his men talk to Togashi, for example when the guards are questioning Benkei and his men.  In  nō, the actors interact in dialogue just between each other, while in kabuki, a phrase that would be said by the actors, is taken and sang by professional singers. (i.e. not the actors in kabuki).  However, these professional singers also act like the chorus in nō which provide a similarity between nō and kabuki.  Each time the chorus (nō ) or singers (kabuki) sing, it adds to the drama of the play.  For example, at the end of the fifth dan of Ataka, the chorus and and the singers are functioning in the same way (pgs 94-95).  "Oh, all you guardsmen,/ what are the reasons,/ Oh, all you guardsmen,/ what are the reasons,/ that you draw the swords and blades/ against so lowly..."

Introducing JAPAN

I think it is interesting to note that between these two sources, “Japan” in Oxford Music Online and Music in Japan by Bonnie Wade, have two different approaches on how to introduce this country.  Music in Japan introduces the reader to the culture of Japan and how it has been influenced by the different cultures that come in and out of its shores. On the tenth page of the book, Wade introduces the Meiji Period and how Japanese leaders attempted to modernize their country. Examples of this include universal education and changing from an agricultural economy to an economy based on industry. However, the online source introduces this concept as the very last topic!  I think the Meiji period is instrumental in understanding how Japan has come to be and how all these different cultures mesh in society, especially in the area of music.  For example, through universal education European music was taught into the school curriculum.