Week 12: Music and Identity (Section 1) Name: ___Julianna Ingram___________

What are the elements that define a person’s identity?

The elements that can define a person can include ethnicity, race, gender, nationality, class, sexuality, religion and more.

How do majority identities get overlooked?

Majority identities such as whitemness and maleness are often seen as the default- as the norm. It is important that these
identities are still seen as identities just like everybody else.

What was the Cultural Revolution?

A period of time in China in which Mao Zedong restricted all music that does not support the government. This brought
independent composing, performing, teaching, research, etc… to a halt.

Outline Lei Lang’s biography?

Lei Lang was born in China during the Cultural Revolution and immigrated to the U.S after the Cultural Revolution and
worked as a composer and performer with Yo Yo Ma.

Define the guqin:

A seven string zither instrument.

Listen to Gobi Gloria. What traditions influence this composition?

The traditions that show through in Gobi Gloria include elements of training in western classical music as well as the sounds
of the Gobi desert in Mongolia, like the biphonic singing.

How do those traditions come together to reflect Lang’s identity?

Lang has been influenced by these traditions throughout his life. It is inevitable that the places her has lived ad what he has
studied will come through in his composition.

Week 12: Music and Identity (Section 2)

What is the shared language of Creoles and Cajuns?

French
What distinguishes Creole people from Cajun people?
What distinguishes these two groups are that Creole people are from French, Spanish, and African or Afro- Caribbean descent
but Cajuns are French- Canadian refugees to the US.

What is zydeco?
Creole traditional music. It expresses the blend of cultures that root in the Creole religion.
Who is Clifton Chenier? What is a frottoir?
A very notable Zydeco musician. An instrument he uses is called the Frottoir; a steel washboard against a spoon or other found
metal object.

Listen to “Allons à Lafayette” and “Zydeco sont pas salé” and explain how each song relates to Cajun or Creole identity.

“Allons à Lafayette”

“Zydeco sont pas sale”

The title of the song means the beans are not salty. This is significant because there was a time in Louisiana where there was a salt
shortage. They would sing about how there wasn’t even enough salt for the snap beans. This is a shared experience that brings a
community together paired with how significant the music is to the community as well.