Interview with Ammi (My Mum)

Me: What kind of music did you listen to as a child?

Mum: The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones and some rock n’ roll music

Me: What about as a teenager?

Mum: George Benson, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson…

Me: How about the singers you have seen in concert?

Mum: I have seen about 10 artists live, including George Benson, Lionel Richie with the Commodores (he was in a group during that time), Freddy Fender, Cliff Richards, Rod Stewart...

Me: Since you lived in New Zealand for 8 years of your life, were you exposed to any traditional “kiwi” music?

Mum: Yes when I was living there I was exposed to some native Maori music.

Me: Could you describe to me what it is like? Does the music involve singing and dancing? Any percussion instruments used?

Mum: It mainly consists of singing and dancing. I don’t think they used a lot drums. The Maori music that I heard also had harmony in it. The singers harmonized with each other. One of the dances they do is called the “Poi”. This dance is done while they sing and they hold balls connected to strings which they spin around using their hands. The usually both sing and dance together.

Me: Have you ever seen them just singing, or dancing to some kind of instrumental music?

Mum: I have mostly seen them just singing and dancing together.

Me: Ok. What about the role that women play in Maori music? Do the men and women dance together or have you seeing them doing things that are different to each other?

Mum: I have mostly seen the women sing and dance. The men do the traditional welcoming of an important guest or guests at an event. This is called the “Haka”. After performing the “Haka” to welcome a guest they rub their noses together. That is how you greet somebody. Like when Prince Charles visited New Zealand he was greeted with a “Haka”.

Me: It would be really bad if someone had a cold or a runny nose

Mum: *laughs* yes!

Me: Do you think you could describe what kind of tone they have when they sing? Do they have a nasal tone or does it sound more rounded?

Mum: I would say they have a nice rounded tone. Some of them sound like choir members of a western choir.

Me: That’s interesting. Going back to music in general, when you listened to music, what technology did you use?

Mum: Mostly LP records, I had a walkman (a portable cassette player), the radio

Me: Did you see in any music videos on TV?

Mum: They didn’t have so many music videos on TV back then. I also saw two musicals in New Zealand. Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ipi Tombi which is musical based on traditional South African music.

Me: Wow. That’s really neat. We just learned about South African music in class. I need to check that musical out.

Mum: Yeah, it was amazing. There was a man who did a dance with his stomach! It was incredible.

Me: What sort of environment did you listen to music in?

Mum: At home, in concert halls, Rod Stewart had his concert in the rugby grounds

Me: What about church music?

Mum: Not much of church music

Me: How did your parents feel about the music of your choice?

Mum: They were both flexible. Your grandfather took me to some of the concerts I mentioned even though he is really a fan of classical music.

Me: Did you play any instruments or sing?

Mum: Well, I would sing for fun and I did play the piano.

Me: How was that for you?

Mum: I enjoyed playing the Piano very much. I had an amazing teacher in New Zealand who would arrange any pop songs I would like to learn on the spot. He would write the notes down for me and I would learn something new at every lesson. He was fantastic.

Me: Why do you listen to music?

Mum: I enjoy it very much. It is a form of meditation and relaxation. It definitely keeps me company sometimes. It is a form of therapy.

Me: You were exposed to a lot of music from the western tradition and some traditional music from New Zealand. How about music of your country, Sri Lanka?

Mum: Definitely. I think we are all exposed to more traditional Sri Lankan music than we realize back at home.

Me: Were there any situations that caused you to turn to certain kinds of music?

Mum: Hmm… sometimes maybe. But it’s mostly for enjoyment and relaxation.

Me: Which music culture would you say you feel connected to the most?

Mum: Both Sri Lankan music and music of the Western tradition. South American music too; such as countries like Puerto Rico. I think some of those rhythms are similar to ours.

Me: Ok. It is very interested that you were exposed to western music from such an early age. I would have thought the Sri Lankan music would have come first. It was also neat to learn more about traditional music of New Zealand and the Maoris. Thanks for the interview, Ammi!

Mum: Sure, that was fun!