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All Around This World class in action

All Around This World is a unique, interactive global music and world cultures program for children 0-9 years old that encourages children and their families to explore the world by enjoying global music, rhythms and movement. Jay Sand, guitarist and children’s music teacher, world traveler and dad of three girls developed All Around This World with his girls as a way to introduce them to the countries he’s already visited and the many more he plans to visit with them.  Through  dynamic online classes,  CDs, concerts and workshops, engaging homeschool and classroom lessons, “musical maps” and participatory parent-child music-making Jay hopes to make the world a bit smaller one song at a time.

All Around This World is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of All Around This World must be made payable to “Fractured Atlas” only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Donate here.

How to sing with Jay each week in your home or classroom Support All Around This World on Patreon Enjoy interactive All Around This World lessons in your home or classroom

ALL AROUND THIS WORLD NEWS

UPCOMING LIVECAST CLASS — JULY 24

Jay teaching Livecast classes

Join ALL AROUND THIS WORLD for awesome LIVECAST CLASSES.

When you click the link below you’ll be able to put an event reminder on a Google Calendar. If you’d like to come to class in Zoom, CONTACT ME FOR THE LOGIN INFO. Ideally we’ll communicate before the day of class, but I do try to check my messages before my first class each day.

All times are U.S. Eastern Time, UTC-4.

SATURDAY, JULY 24th:

10am: “Connecting the Dots — West Asia and the Middle East”

If you can’t log in, watch via Facebook Live on All Around This World’s facebook page.

If you’d like to come to class on a regular basis and get lots of information each week about the countries and cultures we’re exploring, REGISTER HERE.

To enroll in amazing online courses that take your family on a musical tour of the world: EXPLORE EVERYWHERE!

Seeking schools for pilot program — global cultures curriculum for kids

Your favorite interactive global music and world cultures project is currently seeking schools for an innovative international pilot program! As you know, All Around This World introduces little children (infants to 9) to the world with over 300 interactive, multilingual songs and cultural experiences. Starting in September I’ll be offering international schools live online classes (with an in-person twist), dynamic cross-border projects, and access to the entire curriculum. The pilot project has already received interest from schools in Tanzania, Laos, Austria, South Africa, the Philippines, Turkey, Germany, Portugal and more. Full scholarships area available. More info: https://www.allaroundthisworld.com/Schools.

We don’t say Sayonara

Rather than say Sayonara to this season of songs from East and Southeast Asia, we acknowledge recent research finding that 70% of people in Japan rarely or never use the phrase to say goodbye. Instead of Sayonara, let’s say, “Otsukaresama desu,” which means, “You must be tired, thank you for your work!” Other new favorites, according to JapanToday, are:

— Ja ne. (See ya)
— Mata ne/kondo/ashita/raishuu. (See you later/next time/tomorrow/next week)
— Shitsurei shimasu. (I’m sorry for having been rude – on ending a phone call, leaving work, etc.)
— Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu. (I’m sorry for rudely leaving before you [at work])
— Gokigenyou. (Fare thee well – if you want to sound fancy)
— Bai bai. (If you want to sound cute)

Bai bai, music of East and Southeast Asia!

Mahori isn’t just for men

Traditional Thai mahori court music ensembles consist of gongs, xylophones and strings, though not oboes, which are central to piphat, another classical genre from Thailand. Centuries ago in the Kingdom of Siam, performing mahori on these gongs, xylophones and strings — but not oboes! — was exclusively the task of males, though bit by bit women from royal families trained as classical musicians and were welcomed into the ensembles. In the mid-19th century the Siamese King Rama IV decreed that women would be permitted to not only perform in the mahori ensemble but could act onstage as well. Initially many women left mahori ensembles and chose to act rather than make music…but why? Look at this video of a performance of a mahori ensemble from Bangkok’s Ramkhamhaeng University. How could anyone ever choose to act instead?

Chak chak chak chak chak chak chak chak

The Ramayana Monkey Chant, also known as the Kecak (ketjak), originated as a “trance”/exorcism chant in Bali that only became internationally known after German artist Walter Spies, living in Bali, Indonesia, in the ’30s, helped develop it into a performance depicting a battle described the Ramayana, an ancient Sanskrit epic.
Today the Monkey Chant is a tourist-friendly Balinese spectacle during which over a hundred male performers wearing checked waist cloths, chanting “chak chak chak chak chak!,” gesturing boldly with their arms to act out the tale in which the monkey-like Vanara aids Prince Rama in his fight against evil King Ravana. Whatever the origins of the Ramayana Monkey Chant, it sure is spectacular.

 

Leaving East and Southeast Asia

All Around This World East and Southeast Asia "Everywhere Map"

Oh, so sad…this week we said goodbye (Sayonara! Selamat tinggal!) to East and Southeast Asia. For the last three months we’ve been traveling around the region in the virtual way we do, appreciating ancient court ensembles (Piphat!), celebrating our ancestors (Obon!), dancing like dragons (Happy Chinese New Year!) and rocking out (Dangdut!). Let’s take a few more days to enjoy some songs and musical bits we missed before we must sigh, bow to each other one last time, and move on.

We sing goodbye to East and Southeast Asia

Enjoy this week’s live class! If you want to join the fun, check out the livecast class schedule and contact me to be “in the room” on Zoom. If you can’t make it to Zoom, watch live classes, or watch anytime, on All Around This World’s facebook page. This week in class we sang “Gili Gio,” “We Are Happy,” “My Rickshaw,” “Kappa Boogie Woogie,” “Village Festival,”and “Ti Oh Oh” to wind down our season. Come to class Saturday for a new series of songs.

The King of Dangdut

Let’s meet Rhoma Irama, “the King of Dangdut.”
Dangdut music emerged in the mid 1970s from the poorer areas of Jakarta as a politically astute style that blended Islamic, Indian and Malaysian traditional musics with American rock. After developing a decent career performing light-hearted songs, in the mid ’70s Rhoma Irama began expressing his Islamic faith and conservative morals through his lyrics, even as his music veered more toward American rock. National Geographic describes Irama’s stage persona at the time: “the King of Dangdut, dressed in a tight black tanktop, headband, leather pants, gloves and boots, and playing a black flying-V guitar, sweatily glistening in heavy-metal dangdut glory–certainly a far cry from the bubblegum, coy flirtatiousness of the heavily made-up teen dangdut singers of the genre’s early years.” The government of Indonesia feared a politicized, primarily poverty-stricken dangdut audience would become a threat, so they banned Irama from appearing on state television.  Irama has continued to be famous, musical and moralistic, using his music to sway elections, even while being mired in controversy.

Bengawan Solo

Kroncong is a style of music that started in Indonesia when Portuguese settlers in the 17th and 18th centuries shared their Western instruments with local musicians.

The genre only really took off in the 1930s when the film industry in Indonesia transformed it from working-class urban music to music from the cinema. In the 1940s independence movement activists adopted Kroncong as a national form, Gesang Martohartono’s “Bengawan Solo,” written during the Japanese occupation during World War II, which we hear performed in this video, is the genre’s most famous song.

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