Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Morin Khuur Links
Great picture from UNESCO. They also have a great video about the instrument, even though they pronounce the instrument horribly wrong. They say it exactly as it is written in transliterate English...they should have known that was an indication they were doing it wrong!
Link to the video:
http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?RL=00068
Link to the popular song, I will try to learn a simplified version of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-hzihk7ETc&feature=related
Link to the video:
http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?RL=00068
Link to the popular song, I will try to learn a simplified version of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-hzihk7ETc&feature=related
Monday, November 22, 2010
Back in UB
The trip was worth the 5 hour drive and quick turn around time.
I went to the Gobi Desert...again. But this time it was covered in snow.
And this changed everything.
I learned, painfully, the song "The Weaping Camel" from a very interesting character who words cannot begin to describe. This is a morin khuur (horse headed fiddle) song that immitates the footsteps of a camel rather than a horse. And because the camel rivals the horse in importance in the Gobi, this makes sense (and its own section in my research). I think if I tried to begin to describe him it would start with his hat, but I took a picture of it, so I'll save my thousand words it would equal for the other things I would like to write.
Like, for example, my final paper and my Independent Study Project paper.
As always, I'll write more soon.
I went to the Gobi Desert...again. But this time it was covered in snow.
And this changed everything.
I learned, painfully, the song "The Weaping Camel" from a very interesting character who words cannot begin to describe. This is a morin khuur (horse headed fiddle) song that immitates the footsteps of a camel rather than a horse. And because the camel rivals the horse in importance in the Gobi, this makes sense (and its own section in my research). I think if I tried to begin to describe him it would start with his hat, but I took a picture of it, so I'll save my thousand words it would equal for the other things I would like to write.
Like, for example, my final paper and my Independent Study Project paper.
As always, I'll write more soon.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Countryside Here I come...again!
Tomorrow, 6:00AM I will be leaving for Deren Soum, in Dund Govi Aimag. It's about 300 KM south of UB, so hopefully less than a bumpy 6 hour drive.
At this point I am questioning if the drive is worth the short time I will be staying there, especially since my page paper is not writing itself. But I will finally do the field observations necessary to pull everything that I have been doing together.
I am still deciding if I will bring my own Morin Khuur with me, but I'll save that until the last minute.
I will travel with a translator, and the woman and man that I am staying with. They are visiting family in UB right now, and after I met with them I said I would arrange transportation if I could stay with them and observe the morin khuur in their home.
Never think that's a fair trade before considering the presence of roads. But it is what it is, and I am excited to be leaving.
At this point I am questioning if the drive is worth the short time I will be staying there, especially since my page paper is not writing itself. But I will finally do the field observations necessary to pull everything that I have been doing together.
I am still deciding if I will bring my own Morin Khuur with me, but I'll save that until the last minute.
I will travel with a translator, and the woman and man that I am staying with. They are visiting family in UB right now, and after I met with them I said I would arrange transportation if I could stay with them and observe the morin khuur in their home.
Never think that's a fair trade before considering the presence of roads. But it is what it is, and I am excited to be leaving.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Morin Khuur
I posted the video from the Morin Khuur players a while ago, but I did not fully explain the significance of the instrument.
I am learning to play it.
The morin khuur (said like "more-EEEn Hor") is the national instrument of Mongolia. I won't go into describing it, because you can see it below in the video. I will also post pictures of mine soon.
Yes, mine! I am the proud owner of the hardest instrument I have ever played. Why is it hard? First of all, the darn thing hurts to play. If you number the fingers on your left hand (pointer=1, middle=2, ring=3, pinky=4), you play 1 and 2 fingers by placing cuticle against the string, but 3 and 4 by pressing perpendicular to the strings. The slightest movement of your finger shifts the sound, thus I find myself not only exerting an unnecessary amount of force against my fingers, but also completely aware of the tenderness of the cuticle! Add sliding your fingers up and down strings, while exerting this force and aware of its pain and you’ll find yourself questioning exactly how good of an idea it was for you to learn to play.
Play a scale perfectly (after being shown only one time) and have a famous morin khuur bagsh (teacher) tell you he’s completely impressed with you, and you stop questioning.
It’s a beautiful instrument. It makes a beautiful sound. And learning to play an instrument central to a country’s culture is almost as powerful as learning to speak the country’s language, only more powerful. When I became a student of an instrument like the morin khuur I felt like I made the proclamation that I deeply respect Mongolian culture and was taking a risk by asking to be taught, a request which could be rejected. Rather than a moment’s hesitation, I was received as a student.
I take lessons twice a week, and will leave here with a total of 8 lessons.
I interviewed the morin khuur maker, finding out that the place where I signed up for lessons was in fact his own store and that Eiderbat Bagsh was his friend. I explained that I wanted to buy an instrument because of these lessons, and he offered to bring me a selection of morin khuurs to my first lesson. Sure enough, he showed up, last Thursday and he along with Eiderbat Bagsh picked out the most beautiful morin khuur…for me, an American.
I will have my third lesson on Thursday.
Every time I play the morin khuur, I feel more integrated into this culture, this land, this way of life.
…here’s hoping I can learn some songs!
I am learning to play it.
The morin khuur (said like "more-EEEn Hor") is the national instrument of Mongolia. I won't go into describing it, because you can see it below in the video. I will also post pictures of mine soon.
Yes, mine! I am the proud owner of the hardest instrument I have ever played. Why is it hard? First of all, the darn thing hurts to play. If you number the fingers on your left hand (pointer=1, middle=2, ring=3, pinky=4), you play 1 and 2 fingers by placing cuticle against the string, but 3 and 4 by pressing perpendicular to the strings. The slightest movement of your finger shifts the sound, thus I find myself not only exerting an unnecessary amount of force against my fingers, but also completely aware of the tenderness of the cuticle! Add sliding your fingers up and down strings, while exerting this force and aware of its pain and you’ll find yourself questioning exactly how good of an idea it was for you to learn to play.
Play a scale perfectly (after being shown only one time) and have a famous morin khuur bagsh (teacher) tell you he’s completely impressed with you, and you stop questioning.
It’s a beautiful instrument. It makes a beautiful sound. And learning to play an instrument central to a country’s culture is almost as powerful as learning to speak the country’s language, only more powerful. When I became a student of an instrument like the morin khuur I felt like I made the proclamation that I deeply respect Mongolian culture and was taking a risk by asking to be taught, a request which could be rejected. Rather than a moment’s hesitation, I was received as a student.
I take lessons twice a week, and will leave here with a total of 8 lessons.
I interviewed the morin khuur maker, finding out that the place where I signed up for lessons was in fact his own store and that Eiderbat Bagsh was his friend. I explained that I wanted to buy an instrument because of these lessons, and he offered to bring me a selection of morin khuurs to my first lesson. Sure enough, he showed up, last Thursday and he along with Eiderbat Bagsh picked out the most beautiful morin khuur…for me, an American.
I will have my third lesson on Thursday.
Every time I play the morin khuur, I feel more integrated into this culture, this land, this way of life.
…here’s hoping I can learn some songs!
Monday, November 15, 2010
By the way...my classroom
This is my classroom at SIT. There are two other rooms. We eat lunch, hear MANY talks, and had daily language class here.
Pictures from Homestay
These are some pictures to add to my previous post!
About to go on a 3 hour long horse treck.
My host mother.
The Lake
The Family's Store
The Wolf
Yes, a wolf.
The TREES!
About to go on a 3 hour long horse treck.
My host mother.
The Lake
The Family's Store
The Wolf
Yes, a wolf.
The TREES!