The honors seminar that I signed up for as my second honors experience was a class called Music of the World, or Social Life of Music.  I decided to take this class because music has always been an important part of my life, and I was interested in learning about the significance and uses of different types of music throughout the world. During the semester, we explored the musical and artistic forms from a variety of regions of the world, including Peru, India, Zimbabwe, and the United States. 

 

     Most of the information was covered in lectures during class, though there were also several lecture-demonstrations and in-class group performances that helped to reinforce the lessons. There was one demonstration on Indian classical music featuring a sitar and tabla, and one on the Chinese erhu, as well as a class “field trip” of sorts to a contra dance night in Wyoming, Ohio. Additionally, each different location of music that we learned about had its own set of indigenous instruments, some of which we performed in class. The students were able to connect musically through listening and communicating with each other while playing unfamiliar instruments in a group. We also performed around CCM during the class time after learning and practicing tunes on tarka flutes of the Peruvian Andes, as well as Indian dol and damau drums

 

     In the end, I am really glad that I took this honors seminar. I found it to be very enlightening, to learn about and experience how so many different cultures around the world use music. It was also very intriguing to see how these geographically separate cultures can have outstanding similarities in their music practices. This class has made me so much more aware of how music functions in different parts of the world, and I’d recommend it to anyone who has an interest in expanding their musical horizons.