Alycia in Musicland

I have chosen to interview my mom for my blog. I chose her because I wanted to see her perspective on music since she grew up as a Jehovah's Witness and I know how that's affected her life. I'm going to do my blog in a dialogue set up because it's not quiet enough at my house for a video or voice recording.  Alycia: So where did you grow up? Mom: I guess North Hollywood and Fresno, California. Alycia: What decade did you grow up in? Mom: The 80's and 90's. Alycia: What's your first memory of music? Mom: I remember my parents dancing to old schools. Alycia: What genre of music did you like or dislike? Mom: I didn't care for rap because I was never allowed to listen to it so it just never appealed to me. It still doesn't appeal to me. I like R&B. I'm into some of the girl rappers now, but I don't live my life by what they let out their mouth. Alycia: What role did music play in your family?   Mom: Hmm I don't know. I think that as I was...

     Tejano music holds a special place in my heart. As a child, I rejected my Mexican heritage. My father tried to teach me Spanish and I would yell " Don't talk to me like that!" Whenever he played Tejano music on long car rides, I remember being extremely upset and telling him to change the radio. I'm not sure why I rejected my Mexican side as a child, but I did. I have a deep appreciation for it now that I've experienced things like being apart of a quinceanera, learning Spanish, and celebrating Mexican Independence day. That is why I have chosen Tejano music and I'm excited about presenting my findings.      In my research, I started with typing in Tejano music origins. It led me to a Britannica article on Tejano music. Tejano music gets its start in the 1800's and overtime it transforms. Tejano music got its start in northern Mexico and Texas. It says that Tejano music has Mexican, European, and U.S. influence. I didn't expect to see European...

Last year I took an introductory course to African history. The class made me familiar with Africa and so this is an exciting topic for me. The place I want to explore is Botswana. I don't remember much about it so I thought it would be fun to dive deep into the music from Botswana. The first thing I typed in was traditional Botswana music. The website, musicinafrica.net, had information on popular genres in Botswana such as dithlaka. The website explained how dithlaka music is played on a copper or aluminum pipe. The twist is that there are multiple people playing the same instrument and playing the same notes in different octaves, but they're holding the notes for varying time lengths. The sound reminds me of the recorder we all played in elementary school. The next thing I was interested in was female artists from Botswana. An incredibly talented artist I came across was Samantha Mogwe. Her voice is soothing like your mother singing you a lullaby to sleep. My mother didn...