First impressions and their psychological effects

¶ … Impression

Describe the total environment of this performance: This is a video with nomadic gypsies making their raw, unusual kind of music. They are traveling barefoot in what appears to be a desert environment. A cart overflowing with families and children is being drawn by two white cows, and behind the cart a donkey is carrying children. Others are walking behind the cart. The gypsies have colorful headwear and jewelry. It is clear they are going where there is water, and once they arrive at a well, everyone gets a good long drink, including the cattle (including a goat) and a dog. The young person leading the group is singing about going home to family.

Once the group reaches an oasis where other gypsies are pounding on white-hot steel shafts (making knives), a new dancer in a multi-colored flowing dress dances and twirls to the same voice as heard earlier, performed by the young person with the castanets. The music now includes a stringed instrument that looks like a large violin and is played with a bow; the castanets are still heard. It features a modified Congo drum accompanies the music a horn of some kind is also part of the ensemble. While the women braid their hair, they sing together.

Who are the people making this music? Clearly they are desert inhabitants because they seem totally comfortable walking in the sandy soil. There is no audience. Do people conduct themselves differently & #8230;than you are accustomed to seeing? Yes, the young girl dancing to the music swirls very rapidly so that her full skirt makes a perfect circle in the air. It is quite beautiful and striking; it is odd that she doesn't get dizzy swirling around so fast for so long.

Are their instruments being played? In the opening part of the video a young person is singing repetitiously (as he leads the group), and playing hand-held percussion instruments that use a loud clicking sound to keep the cadence for the singer. They may be considered a kind of castanet, one in each hand, clicking in rhythm.

Consider 'timbre' (tone color): The timbre of the young person's voice is raw and high-pitched. The voice reminds a listener of a Middle Eastern voice that trills on the high notes. The singer has a strong voice and smiles while she sings.

A third of the way into the video the voices of perhaps 12 children are heard as a ceremony is being prepared. Castanets and that stringed instrument accompany the voices, which are not harmonious, rather they are monophonic is texture. They have a tempo that is upbeat, driven by the drum and by the beat of several castanets being shook together.

A male adult voice now is the leading voice in this ceremonial choir; the ceremony is being performed before a meal. The male voice is almost shouting his coarse music. This goes on for a long time. He is quasi-operatic in his improvised and loud singing.

The participants are dressed in colorful clothing with beads and other adornments in plentiful supply for the ceremony. Women had what looks like silk dresses, with hoods over their heads and earrings, bracelets, and necklaces sparkling and shining as they participate in the music ceremony. There is music as the caravan continues and moves to the next venue, which is a village with clapping and singing and a whistle keeping time with the clapping hands.