Traditional Montagnard Instruments

My term in DMA wraps up with my very first documentary! I researched through-out this term on the ethnic traditions of the Montagnard music and their instruments. I had the privilege of meeting with and watching Dock Rmah here on the campus of UNCSA speak about his heritage and put on demonstrations with handmade Montagnard instruments. Dock Rmah is very well known in his community for continuing an education of the "Jarai" traditions of Vietnam. I feel the knowledge I've gained of the Jarai ethnic traditions putting together this documentary will be very helpful to me in my Major down the road.

Below is my documentary, I hope everyone enjoys it and can take away some new insight on the musical side of the Montagnards!

The Arts and Artists in the Digital Age

    Regardless if you buy into the "digital arts" or not in society, it's STILL there & thriving... You have up and coming artists in schools studying and practicing hours upon hours in tiny practice rooms to become great musicians whether it be in a concert setting or broadway musical, and you have your "basement" artists that still put in practice time but don't necessarily need to spend the endless time in classrooms or practice rooms all to be successful because most of that "educated" talent is purchased through a digital mechanism.

    This expands out to more art classifications rather than just music. People who have no school education in photography can easily learn to "Photoshop" or edit pictures with the push of a button or a few minutes of an online tutorial on how to use software to create artwork for you. But, music is my main field of focus, so I don't wanna branch to far into the photography and painting realm...

    Below are a few examples of artists in the digital arts scene of this era. Don't get me wrong, there are some artists out there that truly have been educated in college or conservatories and are really great musicians, but there are still those people that are out there that have just sat in their parents basement with more time on their hands than they know what to do with and have read and watched tutorials on how to make and produce music. And they're sneaking into jobs that normally would've been given to a well rounded musician.


Steackmike One Man Band - http://youtu.be/EdDPq7ulYNM

Imogen Heap - http://youtu.be/25VGdNU3nrU

Is Digital Media bad for us and our society?

    With the path that digital media is taking right now, I can't see where it could be "bad" for our society. It's given all of us a way to communicate with each other here in our own country as well as over seas. We can use digital media to express our own ideas, thoughts, and emotions. Digital media is also a great source of advertising for those of us who can't exactly spend a lot of money on newspaper, magazine, TV, or even billboard advertising.
    Our educational providers can use digital media to expand children's exposure on events that are not only happening states away but countries away also... Our children and ourselves can literally explore other countries and nationalities to learn about their culture, religions, etc. by just sitting in a classroom or the convenience of our own home. With the invention of iPads, companies shouldn't even have to worry about the over-use of paper for text books and our country can keep on with the fight of "going green". Especially since most digital media is so easy to use, even elementary kids could start learning through these devices.

DMA Remix project - Then and Now (Traditional to Contemporary)

  

  
    My traditional to contemporary remix project is based on the evolution of percussion in DCI (Drum Corps International). In the beginning of this activity percussionist carried all the instruments they played, from the keyboard instruments to the Timpani. In the 70's DCI's Championships became viewable on PBS allowing fans who couldn't be there in person to see the top Corps in the country compete. Even in this short video  you can't really grasp the evolution of how far along the percussion sections have come in DCI. For that matter, the whole activity has evolved in leaps and bounds... but, my focus is just the percussion at this point.
    Besides marching all the instruments, most of the uniforms were pretty plain and simple, the ensemble would usually stand still and play their feature - referred to as "Park and Play". As time went on ensembles placed all the keyboard, timpani, and auxiliary percussion instruments at the front of the field in a stationary set across the front sideline of the football field. This would then split the percussion ensemble into two sections. The marching drums on the field would be called the "Battery" and the other on the front sideline would be called the "Pit" or " Front Ensemble". Some uniforms would drastically change and some would stay the same for historic value. Ensembles would also start to add some visual movements to their featured "solo" sections instead of just standing still.

Project Brief

Some links to Montagnard music in ceremonies & dance:

1. http://youtu.be/DGA_CBJxuDk

2. http://youtu.be/ZxveWKne41s

3. http://youtu.be/LnET-hl9tlo

4. http://youtu.be/nT1VChy35DU 

Framing in our Society

  Framing almost seems a little "Matrix" if you really think about it... with the idea of using words and/or phrases to lead your mind to think differently about things in everyday life. The internet, news, blogs, etc. can drastically twist a persons outlook on a current situation in the world simply by framing the event. This one simple act of framing something affects people who really depend on just the news or internet to inform them of what is happening instead of researching what is happening or has happened to gain a deeper knowledge of the situation.


A segment taken from an article by Doyle Canning & Patrick Reinsborough speaking on how Framing can bring upon change simply by how society passes stories along.


"Gulf Oil Spill vs. BP’s Blowout Disaster 
Iraq Draw Down vs. Ongoing Occupation 
Illegal Immigrants vs. Migrant Workers’ Rights
Ground Zero Mosque vs. Religious Freedom


This is the critical and often invisible work of framing, and of making memes—the viral frames that spread from person to person and shape the narratives that define our political landscape." 

There obviously is and will always be some type of media outlet in the world for people to use Framing to persuade the rest of society into changing their beliefs or stances on certain situations happening in the world. Some questions are:  How much more will these outlets change/evolve? How much easier will it get for ANYONE to gain access to use these outlets? Could there be anymore simpler devices created for society to use Framing with than your typical cell phone?

Family Name

Over the past several years I believed my family name to be derived from German descent. After some research on the internet through several different databases, I found that not to be true...

Apparently my family name is derived from an English background starting in England and of course reaching out through-out the majority of Europe. I've placed a picture of myself and my daughter in front of Big Ben on here so that when she gets older and asks where the picture was taken, I can explain to her its significance in our family's background. This will also give me plenty of time to decide if I want to tell her this is photoshopped as well!

About Me

Hello. My name is Teddy Holcomb,  I currently reside in Winston-Salem, NC and am in my third year serving as the Director of Percussion for Athletic Bands & Adjunct Faculty for the Music Department at Wake Forest University. I'm attending UNCSA to finally get a music degree with a focus in percussion and help expand what's happening in the percussion scene not only at Wake Forest University, but in the Triad as well.


I'm originally from Troutville, VA, somewhat located in central Virginia I guess you could say... I lived there all my life until I graduated high school. I basically put college on the shelf when I graduated high school in order to march/teach in DCI (Drum Corps International - www.dci.org). I marched with the Crossmen Drum & Bugle Corps ('97) - then based out of Newark, DE and The Bluecoats Drum & Bugle Corps ('99) based out of Canton, OH. Once I aged out from being able to march I began teaching in DCI with Carolina Crown Drum & Bugle Corps from 2001 until 2004 based out of Fort Mill, SC.

During my time in Drum Corps I was also very active in the Indoor Drumline scene with the governing organization WGI (Winter Guard International - www.wgi.org). As a performer I marched with Music City Mystique ('99 - '00) in Nashville, TN. Since that time I have taught, written, designed, and consulted for many different percussion ensemble all over the country.

I am currently the Executive Director of the Wake Forest Independent (WFI) percussion ensemble based out of Winston-Salem, NC under the umbrella of Athletic Bands at Wake Forest University.

I've been married now going on 3yrs. to my beautiful wife Anna. We have an amazing little 19th month old girl (who acts like she's going on 3...) named Jett Faelyn and another little girl on the way, due this August around the 20th! I am in current construction of my own "man cave"...