Different Aspects of Australian Culture-Myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Choose two contrasting Australian pieces of any genre and describe how the performer/composter uses the musical element to portray an Australian Identity: 1.Introduction 2.Piece 1 3.Compare 4.Conclusion Answer: 1.The music of a nation gives away many facts about the culture of the country, its language, speech qualities and the various aspect of its life. Every culture has its own music and the country of Australia is no exception in this case. This essay is going to focus on two particular Australian songs, which are very different in their basic qualities and also focus on how both of the songs, though contrasting in nature, portray the different aspects of Australian culture. 2.The first song that the essay is going to focus on is The Dreaming by Vyanah. Vyanah is an Australian musical artist who is recognized for creating soothing music that helps to relax. The song The Dreaming falls in the same category of soothing music. The song is based mainly on the musical instrument called didgeridoo. It is a wind instrument, which had been developed by the indigenous northern Australian citizens[1]. It had been invented almost one thousand five hundred years ago but still is widespread and popular. Musically the instrument is classified as brass aerophone[2]. The song The Dreaming is mainly based in this instrument only. It is almost a six minutes long song, which soothes the nerves and helps one to relax and unwind himself. The use of didgeridoo gives the song a complete Australian essence as the instrument is one part of the Australian culture. The song takes the listeners through a spiritual journey. This song mainly has the essence of the aboriginal Australi ans as the instrument used is of aboriginal origin. The song brings out the soothing aspect of the Australian culture and gives a picture of Australia as a land of peace and comfort. The second song that the essay is going to focus on is completely different from the first one and falls in the category of rock music. The song chosen is Solid Rock, which is a song by the Australian rock band Goanna. Goanna was formed in the year of 1977[3]. It is a folk rock group with members belonging from Australia only. The song Solid Rock was in the album called Spirit of Place that came out in the year of 1982[4]. The song though belonging to a rock band talks about the crisis that the aboriginals faced in Australia due to over taking of the land by the whites[5]. It is almost a song that is first of its kind as it talks about the issues faced by the aboriginals as well as the Australian genocide. Another special factor of the song is the use of a didgeridoo in a rock song. The didgeridoo being an invention of the aboriginals of Australia gives the song an essence of their culture. The song had its origin at Uluru as the lead singer of the band Shane Howard got the idea of t he song while visiting an aboriginal festival at that place[6]. 3.The main contrasting factor of the two above discussed songs lies mainly in the genres they belong to. While The Dreaming belongs to the genre of soothing and relaxing music, Solid Rock belongs to the genre of rock music. However, both of the songs successfully give out a picture of the Australian culture mainly basing on the aboriginals[7]. While the The Dreaming uses a musical instrument developed by the aboriginals only, Solid Rock talks about the issues faced by them and also uses the same instrument as used in the soothing song. Despite having no lyrics and only music The Dreaming successfully brings out the picture of the culture of the country. In case of Solid Rock, it gives a clear picture with the lyrics written by Shane Howard himself. The song shows the troubles that are faced by the aboriginals because of the lands being taken over by the whites, which actually rightfully belong to the aboriginals only[8]. The songs even after belonging to two completely different genr es bring out the cultural essence of Australia beautifully. Both the composers of the song have used their music in order to bring out the Australian identity. Both of them, one with the help of lyrics and one with only music have successfully given out the cultural identity that defines Australia. 4.The essay can be concluded by saying that the two chosen songs justify the idea that songs can bring out the essence of the culture of a country. The songs, being contrasting in their respective genres proves that genres do not matter when it is about bringing out the identity of belonging to the nation. Bibliography: Cain, Melissa. "Musics of The Other: Creating musical identities and overcoming cultural boundaries in Australian music education." British Journal of Music Education 32.1 (2015): 71-86. 'Goanna - Solid Rock Lyrics | Songmeanings' (SongMeanings, 2017) https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858569665/ accessed 18 November 2017 McFadyen W, 'Rock Revival' (The Sydney Morning Herald, 2017) https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/rock-revival-20120921-26ap0.html accessed 18 November 2017 Mitchell, Tony. "World music, indigenous music and music television in Australia." Perfect Beat 1.1 (2015): 1-16. Sloane, Jane, and Shane Howard. "Shane Howard: Spirit of place." AQ-Australian Quarterly 87.2 (2016): 26. Taylor, Timothy D. Strange sounds: Music, technology and culture. Routledge, 2014. Cain, Melissa. "Musics of The Other: Creating musical identities and overcoming cultural boundaries in Australian music education." British Journal of Music Education 32.1 (2015): 71-86. Mitchell, Tony. "World music, indigenous music and music television in Australia." Perfect Beat 1.1 (2015): 1-16. Taylor, Timothy D. Strange sounds: Music, technology and culture. Routledge, 2014. Sloane, Jane, and Shane Howard. "Shane Howard: Spirit of place." AQ-Australian Quarterly 87.2 (2016): 26. 'Goanna - Solid Rock Lyrics | Songmeanings' (SongMeanings, 2017) https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858569665/ accessed 18 November 2017 McFadyen W, 'Rock Revival' (The Sydney Morning Herald, 2017) https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/rock-revival-20120921-26ap0.html accessed 18 November 2017 Mitchell, Tony. "World music, indigenous music and music television in Australia." Perfect Beat 1.1 (2015): 1-16. Cain, Melissa. "Musics of The Other: Creating musical identities and overcoming cultural boundaries in Australian music education." British Journal of Music Education 32.1 (2015): 71-86.