Native American Culture - Essay Example

Vocals were very important and were the anchor of the Native American music (Pritzker, 1998). Singing and percussion was crucial and songs ranged from solo to responsorial and multipart singing (Barreiro, Akwe: kon Press. & National Museum of the American Indian ,2004). Music was mainly done by groups of people and hence there was no musical harmony and the rhythms were irregular. The people who sang songs were very passionate and spiritual and when they sang, they did it to involve spirits, make rain or heal the sick.

Music form different tribes differed in terms of vocals and dancing styles. A common characteristic in all Native American music is that while dancing, men danced round in circles while the women danced in one place. Native American music is very intricate and complex due to the combined vocals and varying sounds from drums and flutes. The music began at a lower note and gradually grew faster and more emphatic both in vocals and sounds from the musical instruments. The natives were from very many tribes ad each tribe had a unique dancing style and hence the Native American culture in music is so rich.

Tribes such as the Eskimos produced simple music and simple dancing styles while other tribes such as the Zuni and Hopi are characterized with very complex music comprising of different vocals and many dancing styles. The Native American music has not been replicated in the modern music, but the folk dances of the present day resemble those of the past. Music played a vital role in the Native American communities was simply unavoidable (Barreiro, Akwe: kon Press. & National Museum of the American Indian ,2004).

Music was played for historical purposes, for education and for passing of information from one generation to another. Most songs contained information that the different tribes wanted to keep and hence such songs were often played. Ceremonial music was respected since it was said that they originated