Sierra's World Music Playlist

  Hello everyone! I'm so glad you came by because now I have a chance to share my guilty pleasure music. I love oldies but goodies and doo wop music is just that. With that said, let's go! How did Doo Wop get started? Doo wop music was created in the 1930's and 1940's but it didn't become mainstream until after World War II when they appeared on records in the 1950's and the 1960's. It started along the east coast in black communities in big cities like Philadelphia and New York, but then soon spread to Chicago and Detroit, then to the west coast. It is a sub-genre of jazz which originated from the blues. Doo wop also takes musical elements from gospel music such as the harmonized group singing and rock and roll like the energetic vocal deliverance, making it a very syncretic type of music! For some people at the time, this is rock & roll. It was very easy for young enthusiasts of the music to make their own songs or sing existing ones since doo-wop is ...

 Welcome back everyone! I hope all of you are enjoying the cooler weather and watching the leaves change colors. Today we are going to be talking about sub-Saharan Music and Culture. Despite what we see on the news, Africa is a place of color, music, dancing, singing. From mbiras to African Dance, come with me to explore the world of music below the Sahara.    Mbira I really wanted to do a section on mbiras (or kalimbas if that is what you call them) because I love listening to sound of them. In the Google Doodle video, the sound is described as somewhere between water and air. I describe it as the twinkling of the stars. A mbira is an instrument with 22-28 metal keys on a soundboard called a gwavira. While playing the mbira, you will here a metalic buzz. This buzz adds depth to the sound and is also said to clear the mind of thoughts and worries so that the music can fill your soul. In Zimbabwe, the mbira is said to have healing properties and the Shona people say that i...