About
- Oceania and AustraliaOceanic music has undergone extensive change through contact with outside groups. Christian missionaries, for example, zealously suppressed indigenous singing and dancing, substituting European hymn-singing in its place. In 19th century Polynesia, the well-known popular "island music" style developed and spread rapidly with the advent of brass bands, accordions, and mouth organs; and in present-day urban Melanesia, traditional music has been largely displaced by new idioms derived from hymn-singing, cowboy songs, and rock music. In more isolated areas, the older traditions have survived almost unchanged. There remain parts of New Guinea where missionaries have not ventured and where European contact has been minimal. Tribal life also continues unabated in the remoter desert regions of Australia. The following discussion is largely concerned with extant nonacculturated styles of music as practiced at the time of first European contact. For Western art music, see Australia, NewZealand.
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Books
Austronesian Soundscapes
In Austronesia--the region that stretches from Madagascar in the west to Easter Island in the east--music plays a vital role in both the construction and expression of social and cultural identities. Yet research into the music of Austronesia has hitherto been sparse. Drawing together contemporary cultural studies and musical analysis, Austronesian Soundscapes will fill this research gap, offering a comprehensive analysis of traditional and contemporary Austronesian music and, at the same time, investigating how music reflects the challenges that Austronesian cultures face in this age of globalization.
Community Music in Oceania
Community Music in Oceania: Many Voices, One Horizon makes a distinctive contribution to the field of community music through the experiences of its editors and contributors in music education, ethnomusicology, music therapy, and music performance. Covering a wide range of perspectives from Australia, Timor-Leste, New Zealand, Japan, Fiji, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Korea, the essays raise common themes in terms of the pedagogies and practices used, pointing collectively toward one horizon of approach. Yet, contrasts emerge in the specifics of how community musicians fit within the musical ecosystems of their cultural contexts. Book chapters discuss the maintenance and recontextualization of music traditions, the lingering impact of colonization, the growing demands for professionalization of community music, the implications of government policies, tensions between various ethnic groups within countries, and the role of institutions such as universities across the region. One of the aims of this volume is to produce an intricate and illuminating picture that highlights the diversity of practices, pedagogies, and research currently shaping community music in the Asia Pacific.
Intersecting Cultures in Music and Dance Education
This volume looks forward and re-examines present day education and pedagogical practices in music and dance in the diverse cultural environments found in Oceania. The book also identifies a key issue of how teachers face the prospect of taking a reflexive view of their own cultural legacy in music and dance education as they work from and alongside different cultural worldviews. This key issue, amongst other debates that arise, positions Intersecting Cultures as an innovative text that fills a gap in the current market with highly appropriate and fresh ideas from primary sources. The book offers commentaries that underpin and inform current pedagogy and bigger picture policy for the performing arts in education in Oceania, and in parallel ways in other countries.
Oceania Bora Bora South Sea Music
- Oceania Bora Bora South Sea MusicPolynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than a thousand islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians, and share many similar traits including language family, culture, and beliefs.
Fusing Cultures
- Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
George Telek of Papua, New Guinea works with Australian musician David Bridie, fusing ancient ways with state-of-the-art technology. His compositions incorporate sounds from the natural world with stories about his life in New Guinea. A National Geographic Production.
Are'are Music
- Kanopy This link opens in a new window
For the 'Are'are people of the Solomon Islands, the most valued music is that of the four types of panpipe ensembles. With the exception of slit drums, all musical instruments are made of bamboo; therefore the general word for instruments and the music performed with them is "bamboo" ('au). This film shows the making of panpipes, from the cutting the bamboo in the forest to the making of the final bindings.The most important part of the work consists in shaping each tube to its necessary length. Most 'Are'are panpipe makers measure the length of old instruments before they shape new tubes. Master musician 'Irisipau, surprisingly, takes the measure using his body, and adjusts the final tuning by ear. For the first time we can see here how the instruments and their artificial equiheptatonic scale--seven equidistant degrees in an octave--are practically tuned.
Polynesia South Sea Music
- Polynesia South Sea MusicPolynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than a thousand islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians, and share many similar traits including language family, culture, and beliefs. Historically, they had a strong tradition of sailing and using stars to navigate at night. Internationally, Polynesian music is mostly associated with twinkling guitars, grass skirts and beautiful relaxing sounds, Hawaiian hula and other tourist-friendly forms of music. While these elements are justifiably a part of Polynesian history and Polynesian culture, there is actually a wide variety of music made in the far-flung reaches of Polynesia.