Introduction
In Native American drumming, the dancers keep pace to the sounds of the drums and the beats but celebrate the dance in individual style. In some cases, physical drums do not have to be present as the dancers rely on already pre recorded music. In the powwow category of Native American drumming, there are multiple forms of music. The focus of this study will be on two approaches to drumming which includes the veteran honors and sneak up drum dance. It is worth noting that a northern style drum involves the process through which groups engage in singing within a group in the styles of the Northern plains. It is worth noting that drumming in the country was highly employed in celebration of heroes in the country in the past as compared to the current use on mainstream music.
Historical context
The Native American drum is a store telling dance that makes use of the drum. and has many origins. It was highly used in the Wild West shows as early as 1800. It was highly enhanced as a form of veteran honoring song after the end of the First World War. The indigenous music in North America includes the Native American music and Indian music. The native America drumming was thus not only done by the Native Americans but also by the Indian natives in North America. One of the styles of drumming in North America is the Powwow drumming style as well as singing (Drum hop, 2017). The use of drum in America dates many years ago. Through out the 20thn century, drums have been significantly enhanced to indicate social cultural and music changes in the society. Drums in the country had differing shapes and sizes depending on use.
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Analyses of musical selections
Veteran honors
Purpose
Veteran drumming songs follows the flag song in its presentation. There are many veteran songs in different parts of the song but they are all geared towards honoring of the veterans. Veterans are honored in this drumming as they are important people in the society due to their ability to honor them. The American veteran fifer is usually difficult to master and very few corps can easily master them.
Rudimental drumming
For the drummers, the full corps favorites are the quicksteps in rudimental drumming. The individuals do not necessarily follow the traditional military approach to drumming. Man y corps engaged in contests in playing of the veteran drum honor songs. Drumming was thus employed not only as part of entertainment, but also as a way of honoring the veterans as well as fallen soldiers.
Beats
While the drum beats were well organized, the people engaged in the drumming process enjoyed the dances according to individual decision on the style. The beats are used in a manner that depicts the emotional strength of the words that are sang.
Dancers
In spite of this, all of the dancers, irrespective of the moves that they were making were expected to operate as per the beats of such drums. It was thus important for those who sought entertainment from such drumming top maintain harmony in their dances especially when it comes to following of the beats. Different words were used n delivery of the drumming process and were dependent on the intended veteran honors (Matthews, 2016).
Sneak up dance
Purpose
The sneak up dance is mainly a scout’s dance. It is song after veteran’s song within the powwow. The song indicates how warriors would scout out in an enemy’s territory.
Beginning
It starts with a rolling beat as the dancer’s attempts to sneak up on their targets. The song is then followed by a fast and steady beat. Dancers need to stop by the beat or retreat and try the beats again. The singers continue two more time when the song is being delivered before retreating. The sneak up dance follows a very definite pattern of drumming.
Beats
Drum rolls are presented in the first half of the four renditions as well as standard Omaha beat (Powow, 2017). In the beginning of drum beats, the dancers rattle their bells in a depiction of the spiritual power of thunderstorms. This process is important in ensuring that the song has clear depiction of a war mode. The symbolization of thunder indicates the strength possessed by the warriors in their pursuit of the enemy.
Dancers
The dancers shake bells and make gestures of preying and seeking the enemy the dancers sneak up towards the end of the song and maintain harmonious drum beats during the songs. In the song, the fourth rendition does not end as first as the other three renditions takes. It continues with up to four or three renditions. During the dance, dancers lower themselves to the ground when the beats start increasing in volume and pace in the depiction of hiding from the enemy. This depicts the actions that the warriors and veterans undertake in their seeking of cover against enemies. The song does not have traditional music ending but its end is done through the manipulation of words (Horn, 2017).
Conclusion
From above presentation, it is evident that the North American drum is an important element in the society. It enables the singers to coordinate the beat with words that are relayed in the drumming process. It is clear from above presentation that the drum is employed in music with different goals. While some are used in praise of veterans, others are used in the praise of warriors. The drum thus plays an important role in influencing music in the North American context. The use of drums has increased the ability of the North American society to enjoy music entertainment in different occasions. The use of drums and the drumming style is highly influenced by the kin of song and occasion in which it is employed. The above study thus clearly indicates the usage of drums in the American society, and the long history of the drum as a musical accompaniment.
References
Horn, G. (2017). Spirit drumming: A guide to the healing power of rhythm . Sterling Ethos. New York: McGraw Hills.
Matthews, M. A. (2016). Naamiwan's drum: The story of a contested repatriation of Anishinaabe artefacts . New York: McGraw Hills.
Drum hop (2017). Song structure. Retrieved from http://drumhop.com/structure.php
Powow (2017). Sneak up dance. Retrieved from http://www.pow-wow.org/211/sneak-dance/
