As you walk the streets of New Orleans, you will hear music. Jazz, Funk, Dixie Land, Modern Jazz, Rock ‘N’ Roll, Blues are just some of the many different types of music. When you listen to the music in the city you will hear singing, or a solo instrument, or even a band. As I have walked the streets of New Orleans I have heard so many types of music. Jazz being one of them, which is also very popular in this city. Milton our guide for our music tour, showed us many different popular songs as we walked through the streets. Songs like I wanna be like you by Louis Prima that can be heard in a popular Disney movie, the Jungle Book. He also played the song The House of The Rising Sun. As he played this one he showed us what was supposedly the house of the rising sun. The house is said to be in New Orleans, but there are a few houses that the song is said to be about. Below is the house Milton showed us.
As you step onto Frenchman street, there will be a large variety of music playing from different clubs. I went into the Maison on Frenchman street to check it out because I saw that they had a band playing. There were five guys in this band, and they all had a different instrument. The music was very upbeat, and made you want to dance. Below I posted a video that I took during their performance. The guy who plays the trumpet had a minute solo, and everyone in the crowd when crazy. The trumpet sound was soothing, yet upbeat. I found that I really liked this sound.
During my time here in the city I was fortunate to hear lots of the locals play their instruments and sing their songs. One in particular was two young boys tap dancing to make music. These boys didn't have tap shoes, but they used smashed up pop cans attached to the bottom of their shoes. These boys looked to be pretty young, but they were very talented. They used the limited resources they had to make music, even if it meant turning a pop can into tap shoes. The music they made was a pleasant sound. It was better than just the sound of tap shoes, and it was very unique. It just went to show you can be any age and be rich or poor but music is something that you can always have and always make.
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| House of the Rising Sun |
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| Jazz Band at Maison |
Inner Journey- When the band at Maison played, I was amazed that I had never really heard this type of music before, at least not in person. I loved it and I fell in love with Jazz while being in the city. The instruments they played just flowed so well together. I found myself wishing we had more of this type of music in clubs back home. While being in the city I soon learned how important music is to everyone there. Some people used music to make a living. I saw so many talented musicians playing on the street in the French Quarter. Most of these people would have a hat or box to place money in. I realized this is what lots of people do for a living here. No they aren't famous, but some of them really should be. One of the musicians that stood out to me was a young boy playing a violin. I saw so many people stop to listen to him, me included. I found myself wishing later on that I had recorded him and his beautiful music. Someone like that I thought shouldn't be playing on the street, but at a venue where more people could appreciate his music. Now I have always been a person who loves music, but Jazz was something I had never been super interested in. I haven't heard much Jazz in my life time but I also never tried to venture out of my usual music taste. This city makes you appreciate all types of music.
When I visited with my aunt on my free day I noticed that she was playing the Jazz station in her car. I was surprised by myself when I was wanting to know what stations Jazz music plays on and what each song was called. It made me bond with my aunt more in my opinion. I would ask her some of her favorite music and favorite places to listen to music. She said it was hard for her to pick just one but she recommended me going to Frenchman street to listen to some of the best Jazz. I agree with her when she said that Frenchman Street was the way to go, because that's where I heard some of the best music in the city.
I decided to share my new love for Jazz with my family back home. I have been taking notes on my phone of popular songs that I have heard while in the city. One of the songs my mom has heard was the Saints come marching in by Louis Armstrong. Its a popular one known by most, but I have never heard the original song by Louis until we were on a tour of the city. I decided the Louis Armstrong was one of my favorite because I loved the way he played the trumpet. The trumpet is an instrument you don't really hear anymore in modern day music. The only time I hear the trumpet is in marching bands. It's an instrument you really start to love when you listen to Jazz.
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