Blog 7: Latcho Drom

Today in class we watched the film "Latcho Drom" by Tony Gatlif. It was a very interesting film and also an exciting one too. I thought it was neat how they made their musical experience such a communal one. It seemed like they included people of all ages, as well as their animals. The instruments they played were all sorts of different ones. I thought it was neat how they used some tools as instruments as well. All of the instruments blended together very well and made it sound completely natural. It looks like the people in this culture take a lot of time to prepare for their music playing. They seem to put everything they have into their music, including their heart and soul. I noticed how they spent tons of time on their outfits. All of the women had tons of "jewerly" on, and they also had other elements to make their outfits look very elegant. Another thing I found very neat was the fact that they were singing in a different language because they are from a different culture. The reason I thought that was neat was because it made me realize other elements they added to the music. I wasn't just focusing on the words of their pieces. I was focusing on all of the other elements I mentioned earlier. At some points during the film it was like I did not even notice they were singing in a different language. I believe this film was a great one to show because it exposes us to other culture's meanings of music.