Cynthia Gengler's blog

 "Culture - the way we express ourselves and understand each other - can bind us together as one world." - Yo-Yo Ma Early life and career:  Yo-Yo Ma was born to Chinese parents Dr. Hiao-Tsiun Ma and Marina Ma on October 7, 1955 in Paris, France. Dr. Hiao-Tsiun Ma was a violinist and music professor. His mother Marina was a opera singer. Father studied at a university in Paris and worked a low-income job until he finished his education. Yo-yo's life was very difficult at this time. Yo-Yo was surrounded by music so it was very easy for him to pick up. His older sister played piano and violin. Parents played classical music for their kids often. At Age three Yo-Yo learned how to play the piano and violin. One day his father took him to the local university and he saw a double bass. At that moment Yo-Yo told his father "That's what I want to play!" He told his father that he didn't like the sound of the violin. His parents bought him a cello because a double

   Russian folk music has a very unique sound that portrays their culture in a way that's hard to describe. When I hear Russian folk music it puts a picture of a winter scene with a babushka walking down a road holding wood or children practicing their native dance. What really makes their music unique is the instruments they play. Russian folk music mostly has instruments like Russian Spoons, Treshchotka, Zhaleika, Balalaika, and Dorma. Each instrument brings a different element to the music. The Balalaika brings a warm, rounded sound; the Zhaleika has a piercing, nasal, sad, and compassionate sound. While the Treshochotka has a crackling, thundering, racket sound, the Dorma has toner vocal sounds, and the Russian Spoons bring the clacking, slapper, and rattles element.     Russian folk music typically uses Octatonic scales, with whistling or harmonization in the background of the main lead. The instruments also blend together insanely well, which doesn't make sense. The melod

                                                                    The Kalimba Introduction and Background:     I first learned about the kalimba from a girl I met in a native camp held one hour down the river from Manley, Alaska. The girl I met, my bunkmate, brought her kalimba to the camp and would play it every night. She would play breathtaking music every time. What intrigued me the most was the warm sound which made any chords sound like a lullaby. It is also a straightforward instrument to play, which I found to be one night when the girl allowed me to play her "thumb piano". Later for my eighteenth birthday I bought my own kalimba and have been playing it along with my ukulele and piano practice.      The kalimba's evolution primarily involved the transition from purely plant-based materials like bamboo to metal tines, with the most significant innovation being the adaption by ethnomusicologist High Tracey who modified the traditional African 'mbira' to c

"It's a Good Day" by Ice Cube is at the top of my playlist along with many other songs from him when I am having a bad day. The song has been described as bittersweet, soothing, atmospheric, hypnotic, peaceful, and melancholic.  @mr.moseby2456  -2021  stated in the comment section of  YouTube   " This sampling is one of the best of all time. The beat is steady and relatively calm, and it can invoke both a feeling of genuine joy but also at other times melancholic feelings similar to a passed memory."   Ice Cube has been a successful artist since the 1980s. He has dealt with many hardships of life from growing up in Los Angeles California. Dealing with crime, and not the best home life he knows what hardship is very well, but he still chooses to keep his head up and give it his best shot in life, which we see in this song. Thomas Galindo stated in his article   "Sometimes it just feels good to have a good day. While surrounded by violence and injust

  I pick the song Never Enough  from the musical The Greatest Showman . I chose this song because it is one song that I absolutely love to play. From the lyrics to the dynamics and accents, it is a beautiful piece showing the character's emotions. The song was written by Pasek and Paul and performed by Loran Allred. The song is known to be hard to sing due to the wide vocal range. But still brings gladness to its listeners. Here is a direct link to the song-  Never Enough- Greatest Showman- 2017  -USA Dynamics    Who doesn't love energy in their music? When you can feel the passion of the lyrics when you hear the instruments play certain dynamics? Well, that is what the song Never Enough  does for me. When I listen to the song I can't help but be overcome with joy.    The song's opening measures start sounding like a lullaby, and then it builds a sentimental atmosphere when the first verse starts. We begin to see more energy build up as the chorus goes on, and the chara