The Music of Norway

 The Last Beginning

    We're here. The very last blog. What a wild ride we've had through various cultures, sounds, and countries. I've learned a lot from class and everyone's blogs. So now I hope to teach all of you about the lovely music of Norway. Don't even think about the classical music. Wipe it from your brain! Also I apologize for any disorder, this was a really cool topic and it was hard to pick and choose what to include. Now, without further ado, let's get this show on the road!

The Joik and The Sami People

    What the heck is joik? Well for starters it is a noun and a verb. Joik is a type of music that requires singing through a constricted throat. When I first read that I assumed it was throat singing, but in reality it is a soft, peaceful sound. Beyond the constricted throat, the singer's mouth is only slightly open. Additionally, in order to joik, one must employ circular breathing! If i were to describe the music, I would say it's a mix of yodeling and muslim recitations. Not two things you would typically pair together. You may hear something different! The joik is a chanting song of the Sami people of Scandinavia. Traditions of the Sami say that joik was learned from the fairies and elves of the Arctic. Today about half of the Sami population resides in Norway. Traditionally, Sami people survived from farming, hunting, and fishing along the coast, river, and fjord. Today, most Sami either do not live on their traditional land, or work modern jobs to support their families. Interestingly, there are multiple Sami languages, most of which are spoken in a variety of places. Back to the joik. Joik is one of the oldest song traditions in Europe. The songs are typically dedicated to a person, animal, or place. The object of the song is represented by the harmony, which is meant to capture characteristics of the song's subject. Before I get distracted and keep rambling here is a collection of five Sami joiks recorded in the 1950s:

    I actually did listen to a few different videos. I decided to include this one because of the variety of people singing. In so many cultures we've covered we've seen just men, just women, or even just adults. Joik can be sung by anyone and allows for an individual to express themself while also highlighting the importance of their culture. Before moving on from the Sami people and the joik I would also like the address their fashion. If you look below my introduction you will find the final appearance of Sammy, who is wearing traditional Sami clothing. Behind the cat, you can see the bright colors and intricate patterns of the jackets, pants, and boots. I'm not sure if the clothing was traditionally so brightly colored, but creating designs and embroidery are displays of the craft (duoddji) of the Sami. There was so much more about these people and their music that I could include, but we really should be moving on. I highly recommend reading some of the links above as they were really simple and informative. 

Kulning

    Now as always I had to go find the hardest thing to research in a mountain of information about a country. The Sami were just too easy I suppose. So what on earth is a kulning? Maybe you've heard of it as lokk, kulokk, laling, lalning, etc? Basically this has a lot of names depending on who you're talking to. With all those names it must be something really cool right? Right? Well I'll leave that up to you, but it's not a special ceremony, or a cool instrument, or some long lost language. A kulning, or any other word you choose to use, is a high-pitched herding call. The purpose of this song is to call animals from long distances away using a sound that will carry. Though the main purpose was to call livestock, it could also be used to communicate with other people or to scare off predators. Beyond its practical use, kulning is also used to portray emotions, typically of sadness. The sad connotation is due to the use of half-tones and quarter-tones, which are known as "blue tones." Now I could not tell you what makes a tone of half-tone or quarter-tone, but because of these notes most of the songs are sung by women. Can men sing it? Sure! When men sing these blue tones, they use falsetto. Once again I can't tell you what that means, but I've heard the word before. I can sit here and try to explain it away or I can just show you the dang thing, so here is a lovely example of kulning:

    This lady clearly loves her cow and it makes me happy. The caption on YouTube is really sweet if you're interested in hearing about the cow. This shows the song in its rawest form: herding. Since I think that video puts more focus on how cute the cows are, here is another example of a more musical kulning:

    The sound is almost magical. While this was hard to find and there were very few sources that weren't just the music or Wikipedia, I'm glad I picked this tradition. It has a mystical quality that it brings to the every day life of Nordic people. Now obviously it isn't as widely used today as it was in the past. Times change and traditions are often lost. Though the use is largely different, the style of singing remains and can still be taught as a way to express emotions.     

Because it's cool...

    This was something I found during my research that I didn't feel I could do a full section on, but I wanted to share because it's cool. This is a video showing a band playing the oldest Norse song from a mediaeval manuscript. The website shows the lyrics in old Norse and English. In the video the band sings in old Norse, but if you'd like you could follow alone on the website. Or maybe you can speak old Norse. There's always a chance right?  

Seljefløyte

    The final topic of the final blog. I'm not going out with a bang though. We're going to end on an instrument, the seljefløyte. The seljefløyte describes a wide variety of flutes and whistles that are traditionally made from bark. The word means "willow-flute," which describes the typical type of tree used to create the instrument. Due to the materials used to create the flute it could only be played during spring, which led to the flute being known as the instrument of spring. However in the 1960s, Egil Storbekken created a plastic variation of the instrument, which allowed it to be played year round. The willow-flute is still present in modern Norway. A Norwegian scout organization covers information about how to create a willow-flute for children who would like to make their own. Additionally, it is used in folk music. In addition to creating new variations of instruments, Storbekken was known for his help in spreading information about Norwegian folk traditions of music and crafts. As a result, the traditions of Norway remain preserved by musicians, youth organizations, and others. But enough of that here is a sample of someone playing the willow-flute:

    Notice that there are no finger holes. If that's incorrect terminology I apologize, but you know what I mean. The simplicity of the instrument is evident in the appearance and construction, but the sounds still possess a level of complexity. Like all the other Norwegian folk music we've listened to in this blog, it has an almost haunting quality that evokes a lot of emotion for me. The magic or Norwegian music is something I did not expect to find. All the sounds are similar and yet distinctly different all at once. Now if you were curious about how to make one of these flutes and reading the instructions for a scout aren't really for you here is a video of the gentleman above making his own:

To Wrap it Up

    Thank you all for reading my blog. I really appreciate all your feedback and commentary and I hope this last blog lived up to everyone's expectations. Norway was a really cool country with some real cool cultures and sounds. Remember if you try to make that flute be careful! I don't think we have willow or roe trees here though. Anyways have a lovely holiday season and best wishes from me and Sammy. 

Works Cited:

Bjerke, Unni. “Seljefløyte.” KFUK-KFUM-Speiderne, 1 Feb. 2016, 

https://kmspeider.no/aktiviteter/seljefloyte-article637-871.html. 

“Eli Storbekken / Maros - Folkelarm.” Folkelarm 2019,

 https://www.folkelarm.no/eli-storbekken-maros.4810581.html. 

Kimpton, Peter. “Word of the Week: Kulning.” Song Bar, Song Bar, 6 Aug. 2019, 

https://www.song-bar.com/lyric-word-of-the-week/word-of-the-week-kulning. 

Ledang, Ola Kai. Revival and Innovation: The Case of the Norwegian Seljefløyte, Revival and 

Innovation: The Case of the Norwegian Seljefløyte. 

Mandal, Dattatreya. “Listen to the World's Oldest Known Secular Norse Song from Codex

 Runicus - a Medieval Manuscript Written in Runes.” Realm of History, Realm of History, 

13 Oct. 2017, 

https://www.realmofhistory.com/2017/08/02/oldest-norse-song-codex-runicus/. 

“Norwegian Music: World Music Central.org.” World Music Central.org | Your Connection to 

Traditional and Contemporary World Music, Including Folk, Roots, Global Music, Ethno and Crosscultural Fusions, 31 Aug. 2020, https://worldmusiccentral.org/world-music-resources/musician-biographies/norwegian-music/.

“The Rebirth of the Joik.” The Rebirth of the Joik | Sami Culture | Music and Traditions, 

https://www.visitnorway.com/typically-norwegian/sami-people/rebirth-of-the-joik/. 

“The Sami People - Indigenous People of the North - Northern Norway.” Visit Northern Norway, 

12 Jan. 2021, 

https://nordnorge.com/en/tema/the-sami-are-the-indigenous-people-of-the-north/. 

Seljefløyte, http://www.naturinstrumenter.no/Instrumenter/Seljefloyte/Seljefloyte.htm. 

Ukjent. “Egil Storbekken.” Store Norske Leksikon, https://snl.no/Egil_Storbekken.