Tag Archives: music

Rock and Roll and Trap Shooting (Troy Burkhart)

Title: Rock and Roll and Trap Shooting

General Information about Item:

  • Magic (Sympathetic) object Superstition, song, bullet placement
  • Language: English
  • Origin: Massachusetts
  • Informant: N.S.
  • 10/5/2021

Informant Data:

  • N.S. was born in Newton, Massachusetts in the year 1999. He participated in trap shooting at Dartmouth in the past. He described himself as a very neat and organized person. His family background is mostly European with family origins in Ireland, Poland, Germany, and French Canadian.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Trap shooting is an American sport that was created as a very popular alternative to using real birds which was a big factor in its widespread popularity. At trap competitions, all competitors line up in a row and signal for a single clay one at a time which gives each shooter time in-between rounds to prepare.
  • Social Context: According to Ned, many of the participants are very nationalistic and pro-America. Practices, competitions, and other events are mostly focused on competing within the team and outside, however, having after all these events the team will have socials and other entertaining events that create a team bond.

Item:

  • (Non-folklore superstition, just interesting) At trap competitions, all competitors line up in a row and signal for a single clay one at a time. They shoot and then have until all other competitors to reload their gun. During this time is when N.S. pre-game/pre-round superstition comes into practice. His personal superstition is that would always load the special Western bullet into his gun with the words facing upwards.
  • (Team folklore superstition) N.S. trap shooting team had a folkloric superstition of listening to music only by AC/DC leading up to trap shooting events. While they are in the bus or locker room, AC/DC is the only music allowed. He does not know when this folklore was started but thinks it was because AC/DC makes rock music is an American genre of music which matches the American origin of trap shooting. Listening to AC/DC hypes the team up and prepares them to shoot at competitions. Their favorite song that they always end with is Hell’s Bells.

Associated files/pictures:

Ac / Dc - Hells Bells - metalmailorder.com
A hand holding a couple of coins

Description automatically generated with low confidence

Transcript:

  • “Everytime I load my break-open shotgun, I must place the logo, that is imprinted on the brass bottom, upright in the chamber. If the logo is not upright, my shooting accuracy decreases because all I can do is focus on the fact that the bullet is loaded incorrectly.”
  • “To hype ourselves up for competitions, it is a team rule that we listen to only AC/DC’s music during bus rides or in the locker room. I am not sure where this came from, but it is very effective.”

Informants Comments:

  • He recommends listening to AC/DC’s music, as it is very catchy and popular music back in the day

Collector’s Comments:

  • The personal superstition of bullet placement is really interesting. It is very specific and precise in nature. Both of these superstitions are also very intriguing to me because I had never really heard of trap shooting before talking to Ned.

Collector’s Name:

  • Troy Burkhart
  • Dartmouth College ’23
  • Russian 13 Fall 2021
  • Professors – Gronas, Apresyan

Tags:

  • Trap Shooting
  • Dartmouth
  • Music
  • AC/DC

White Boy Wednesday (Donald Carty)

Title: White Boy Wednesday

General Information about Item:

  • Customary Lore
  • Place of Origin: Hanover, NH
  • Informant: Luke Gagnon ‘23

Informant Data:

  • Luke Gagnon is a 21-year-old male. He is a member of the class of 2023 at Dartmouth College, where he is a member of the football team. Luke is from Charlotte, North Carolina, where he played football at Charlotte Catholic High School.

Contextual Data:

  • Dartmouth football has a relatively diverse roster, both racial/ethnic diversity and geographic diversity. One way people share their cultures with the team is by playing their music on the locker room speakers. The locker room speakers are usually playing rap music, except for one notable day every week.

Item:

  • Every Wednesday, after practice or lift, the team has what is called “White Boy Wednesday.” Whoever plays the music in the locker room as the team changes plays what is stereotypically thought of as “white people music”. This usually consists of rock, pop, and country favorites from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Some of the favorite artists that Gagnon mentioned were Smash Mouth, NSYNC, Vanilla Ice, and Oasis. This tradition serves to foster camaraderie in the locker room as well as share musical favorites across cultures.

Informant’s Comments:

  • “It is super fun having a day where the whole team jams out to music that some people may not normally listen to. One of the best moments of the season so far was when the whole team was screaming the words to “I Want it That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. It really just brings the team together.”

Collector’s Name: Donald Carty

Tags/Keywords

  • Customary Lore
  • Music
  • Locker Room Traditions
  • Football

Same Song

General Information about Item:

  • Ritual / Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: USA
  • Informant: MS
  • Date Collected: 11/6

Informant Data:

  • MS is a ‘22 from Florida on the Track & Field team. He has been on the team all 4 years and participates in the hammer and weight throw events.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Music has been used throughout the ages to prepare people for all sorts of events. Whether it is used before a calm event or an intense event, there is a song for the occasion. Athletes constantly use music to get read for the game/event they are about to participate in.
  • Social Context: Before a meet/event, there are people who like to listen to music with the team and others who like to listen to their own music. Listening to music as a team can start to get people in the right mindset and act as bonding time. However, some people prefer to be with their own thoughts and listen to their own music before an event. 

Item:

  • MS always listens to the same two songs immediately before his competition. These two songs are “Pretender” by the Foo Fighters and “Do I Wanna Know” by the Arctic Monkeys.

Associated Audio Recording:

Informant’s Comments:

  • MS has continued to listen to these same two songs throughout the years because they were his favorite songs around the time his track career started to take off. While he still enjoys these songs, he will avoid/skip them if they come up at any other time besides right before he competes. He also added that, if one were to check his top 100 songs every year, these two would definitely be there solely because of this pre-meet ritual. 

Collector’s Comments:

  • While I don’t have specific songs, I do have a fairly similar ritual with big events such as tests, interviews, etc. While getting ready or walking over to the event I always listen to the punk rock genre. For some reason, I always feel like I do better on whatever it is if I listen to this kind of music.

Collector’s Name:

  • Jonah Kahl

Dartmouth Superstitions

Title: Dartmouth Superstitions – Lotti Odnoga

General Information about Item: 

  • Customary Lore, Magic Superstition 
  • Language: English 
  • Country of Origin: Hungary 
  • Informant: Lotti Odnoga
  • Date Collected: 11/16/21

Informant Data:

Lotti Odnogais a 22 years old senior defenseman on the Dartmouth Women’s Ice Hockey team and also plays for the Hungarian National Team. She was born in Gyor, Hungary on January 19, 1999, she went to play for Vermont Academy in Vermont in her sophomore year and has been living in the US since then. 

Contextual Data: 

  • Cultural Context: The cultural context in Lotti’s superstitions is that many players among the Ivy league schools put their gear on in a certain order or listen to music before a game to get them ready to play.
  • Social Context: The social context of Lotti’s superstition is that when she rings the bell she sends the whole team off to have a good game. If she doesn’t ring the bell it results in a bad start therefore a bad game for her team. 

Item: Putting on her gear in a specific order and listening to the same songs is a customary type of folklore that falls under the genre of  magic superstition. Lotti performs her rituals before every game.

Transcript: “I have to listen to the same three songs before every game. Those songs get me dialed into the game. If I don’t listen to them my thoughts are all over the place and I can’t focus on the game and therefore my performance will be bad. The only superstition I have when I am getting dressed is that I have to tie my left skates before my right and then I have to step on the ice with my left feet first. A tradition that was passed down to me from a previous DWIH player is that before we step on the ice for the first time in a game I have to ring the bell that is on the way to the rink from our locker room. I am not really sure when this tradition has started, but I am pretty sure it has been more than 10 years. This superstition sends the team on the ice with good luck and to have a great game.”

Collector’s Name: Lotti Odnoga 

“Bring Sally Up”

Dartmouth Climbing Music Folklore
“Bring Sally Up”

Sarah Jennewein
Hanover, NH
May 22, 2019

Informant Data:

Sarah Jennewein is a sophomore at Dartmouth College. Sarah grew up in Tampa, Florida with her two brothers and sister before coming to Dartmouth. Sarah only began climbing when she got to Dartmouth. She was a member of a Hike and Climb freshman trip. While she initially found climbing at Dartmouth to be intimidating, after going on a climbing trip with Dartmouth students during a break freshman year, she fell in love. She now climbs and attends mountaineering events regularly. She is a member of the Dartmouth climbing team and has the designation of a leader in the mountaineering club for sport climbing, ice climbing, and top rope climbing. Climbing has made Dartmouth feel like home for Sarah.

 

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: This piece of folklore was collected via a video interview with Sarah Jennewein while at Dartmouth College. Sarah learned about this piece of folklore as a freshman on the Dartmouth Climbing Team. The idea of doing push ups to “Bring Sally Up” was not started by the Dartmouth Climbing Team, but the tradition of the Dartmouth Climbing Team routinely performing push ups to the song has become an integral  method of training and bonding. The song was brought to the Dartmouth Climbing Team by senior Matt Rube. The tradition is typically performed in the climbing gym at Dartmouth, but members of the team perform it at various locations whenever they are with teammates; for example, the activity has occured at airports traveling to and from climbing activities as well as at crags. Typically only climbers participate. The tradition at Dartmouth began as a method of conditioning during recruitment for the climbing team. The song is still used for conditioning purposes, but it also serves as a fun way to encourage friendly competition. The informant said it has become a great bonding method for the team.

 

  • Cultural Context: Despite common misconceptions, climbing is a social sport. The Dartmouth Climbing Team competes in competitions where each member’s score will contribute to how the team as a whole does. The climbing team trains together and will give feedback while climbing on how best to complete a climb. As such, team bonding and joint training is integral to a successful team. The social nature of the “Bring Sally Up” competition fosters team bonding and a collaborate urge for improvement. Additionally, climbing requires incredible physical strength; quite often, climbers will need to pull themselves up with only their arms without a foothold. Arm strength training, as practiced in the “Bring Sally Up” tradition, is essential for successful climbers.

 

Text:

(While i have recorded the Dartmouth climbing tradition of “Bring Sally Up” as closely as possible to Sarah’s exact words based on notes taken during the interview, this is ultimately my own phrasing of Sarah’s words.)

“Bring Sally Up” refers to a tradition of doing push ups throughout the duration of the song. Each time the song says ”Sally Up”, the teammates push up, and when the song says “Sally Down”, the teammates hold the downwards position of the push up until the song says to go up again. The song is three and a half minutes long, and 31 push ups are performed throughout the song. The tradition was brought to Dartmouth by senior Matt Rube. The song is officially called “Flowers” by Moby. The main lines of the song are “Green Sally up and green Sally down

Lift and squat, gotta tear the ground”, which are repeated multiple times. Occasionally throughout the song other lines such as “Old Miss Lucy’s dead and gone

Left me here to weep and moan” are added, causing the participants to have to hold themselves in the downward push up position until the song again instructs them to rise. Many participants, including my informant, often substitute the word “Green” for “Bring”, thereby interpreting the song as a more direct order for when to do the pushups. It is very difficult to complete all 31 pushups, creating friendly competition over who is able to do so.

 

Kelly Peterec, Age 20
Hinman Box 3552, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
Dartmouth College
Russian 13
Spring 2019

 

Kipsalana Chant

General Information about Item:

  • Text/Music Folklore – Chant
  • Children’s Folklore – Draznilka
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Henry Senkfor
  • Date Collected: 02-19-2018

Informant Data:

  • Henry Senkfor was born in Cleveland, Ohio on May 15, 1996. Henry lived in Cleveland his whole life and has never moved. Henry started swimming when he was 7 years old because his parents made him do it. He is a senior at Dartmouth. He was captain of the swim team but just finished his swimming career a day ago.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The cultural context of this folklore represents something that many teams do before games or races; a cheer. A cheer/chant is preformed across almost every sport, whether it be saying the team name, or a bunch of random words put together and cheered before the games.
  • Social Context: The data was collected during a one on one interview in Andres Hall. Henry described a ritual of folklore that was passed down to him when he entered Dartmouth as a freshman. The ritual has been passed down from members of the team since before 1976. The ritual gets the team excited and ready.

Item:

  • Henry talked about the men’s team cheer, Kipsalana, which the team chants before every meet. This chant has been passed down for as long as people can remember.
  • Kipsalana Cheer: “Kipsalana,Kapsalana Squish Squa. Tie hi Silicon Sku Cum Wa. Mojo Mummik. Muka Muka Zip. Dartmouth Dartmouth Rip Rip Rip. Tie Hi Sis Boom Ba. Dartmouth Dartmouth Rah Rah Rah.”

Video of the Men’s Swim Team Performing Kipsalana:

IMG_4315

(Download to Play)

Transcript:

  • “The folklore that came to my mind is our team cheer, ‘Kipsalana’. This cheer is something that we do before every meet, exclusive to the Dartmouth men’s swim and dive program. The tradition was started way back before any of us were even born, and maybe before our parents were born as well. No one knows where the cheer comes from or what it means, as it is a bunch of random words. But since it was created, Dartmouth men’s swim and dive will, and has done this chant before every meet.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • The nonsensical lyrics and sing-song rhyming of this chant seems to mirror the Draznilkas of Slavic folklore. This similarity to children’s folklore may be explained by the fact that many young college swimmers are going through a liminal stage, transitioning from home and childhood, into an adult competitive environment, and so rely on these childhood tools to better explore their situation. Furthermore, Kipsalana reflects the initiation ritual purpose of children’s folklore, with the repetition and silly lyrics being an important tool for new members to join the team’s culture.

Collector’s Name: Matthew Luciano

Tags/Keywords: Music Folklore, Children’s Folklore, Draznilka, Swimming

Origin of Kipsalana Chant

General Information about Item:

  • Text/Music Folklore – Chant
  • Etiological Myth
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Asst. Coach Eliot Scymanski
  • Date Collected: 02-25-2018

Informant Data:

  • Eliot Scymanski was born in Hamden, Connecticut. He attended Franklin and Marshall, where he swam there and graduated in 2012 with a degree in environmental studies. Eliot began assistant coaching at Dartmouth in 2015, and has just completed his third year of coaching. Eliot is taking a break from coaching to pursue his dream of being a professional tri-athlete.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: This chant is one of the oldest, most binding traditions of the Dartmouth Swim & Dive Team. It has been lead by coaches and team leaders for a long time, and has helped the team bond, not only with its immediate teammates, but across generations.
  • Social Context: Eliot reported on rumors that he has heard while coaching the Dartmouth Swim Team, especially about the supposed origin of the team’s famous chant, in a one-on-one interview.

Item:

  • The Dartmouth men’s team cheer – “Kipsalana” – and its mysterious origins and creation.
  • Kipsalana Cheer: “Kipsalana,Kapsalana Squish Squa. Tie hi Silicon Sku Cum Wa. Mojo Mummik. Muka Muka Zip. Dartmouth Dartmouth Rip Rip Rip. Tie Hi Sis Boom Ba. Dartmouth Dartmouth Rah Rah Rah.”

Video of the Men’s Swim Team Performing Kipsalana:

IMG_4315

(Download to Play)

Transcript:

  • “I heard that the Men’s Team cheer, ‘Kipsalana’, was created the first year that the program was created, passed down all these years. Whether this is true or not, no one alive knows, it is just rumors I have heard. There is also supposedly a secret meaning to the cheer, however no one knows for sure.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • I haven’t been here quite long enough to totally understand some of this team history.

Collector’s Comments:

  • Kipsalana is so old, no one really knows the origin of the chant, yet everyone seems so committed to preserving it.

Collector’s Name: Matthew Luciano

Tags/Keywords: Music Folklore, Etiological Myth, William Bascom, Swimming

Miley Cyrus – “Party in the U.S.A.”

General Information about Item:

  • Music Folklore – Song
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: Ziqi Wang
  • Date Collected: 02-23-2018

Informant Data:

  • Ziqi Wang is a male student in the Dartmouth College Class of 2018.  He was born in China and emigrated to the United States when he was 9 years old; he has spent most of his life in the Hanover, NH area, having attended Hanover High School. He studies economics and environmental science at Dartmouth, and intends to pursue a career in business in Boston, MA after graduation. Ziqi has been an active member of Dartmouth’s Club Swim Team since the fall of 2014.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: In order to bolster team spirit and unity, the Dartmouth Club Swim Team has a variety of fun traditions which engage the members in play. This particular ritual has the members of the team sing an adolescent pop song, which has ironically gained fame with the college community, allowing the team to mutually engage in an absurd, almost child-like song. This bonding through humor and adolescent fun helps to solidify the team.
  • Social Context: This musical tradition was explained in a one-on-one interview with the informant at Baker-Berry Library. It is performed before meets, allowing team members to channel any anxiety they may be feeling into a care-free, child-like exercise, relaxing them.

Item:

  • Before meets, members of the Dartmouth Club Swim Team get together to sing Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.”

Music Video for “Party in the U.S.A.”:

Transcript:

  • “Before meets, people like to sing this Miley Cyrus song – ‘Party in the U.S.A.’ I forgot exactly how it goes, but it’s a fun, easy way for people to shake off the nerves. They know like, maybe half of the lyrics. It’s such a silly song.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “It’s a great song, I love it.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • This song is quite catchy

Collector’s Name: Ashwath Srikanth

Tags/Keywords: Music Folklore, Ritual, Miley Cyrus, Swimming

Singing Samples

Singing Samples

The following five recordings are not folklore. These are video and audio recordings sent in by parents of either their children or them singing to their children.

Informant Information:

Mary Kate resides in Andover, Massachusetts. She has a daughter who has an undiagnosed developmental disorder. Her daughter is nine years old and participates in the” My Own Voice” choir, a choir for children with special needs in Andover.

Pam is from Andover, Massachusetts. She has a seven-year-old daughter with Down Syndrome who participates in the “My Own Voice” choir, a choir for children with special needs in Andover.

Linda is from North Reading, Massachusetts. She has a thirteen year old son with autism who has been in the “My Own Voice” choir since its very founding four years ago.

Type of Lore: Not Applicable

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States of America

Social/Cultural Context: 

The following recordings show how music is used in typical home life for these children and their families. The first demonstrates a mother singing her daughter to sleep, a lullaby is not an uncommon practice, but typically is not performed when the child is nine years old. The singing of the lullaby helps Mary Kate to connect with her daughter, who is non-verbal. The second demonstrates a child singing to her mother before bed. This girl with Down Syndrome is able to use the music to express herself, which is typically difficult for her to do with conventional language. These two recordings share the aspect of being popular songs.

The last three recordings are of Linda’s son, he over the years has found a way to express himself through songs that he writes himself. They do not have particularly advanced tunes or lyrics, but it allows him to be creative with his own thoughts when typical communication is difficult.

Sample 1: Mary Kate singing her daughter to sleep (2016)

Sample 2: Pam’s daughter singing to her at bedtime (2016)

Sample 3: Linda’s son experimenting with Rap part 1 (2014)

 

Sample 4: Linda’s son experimenting with Rap part 2 (2014)

 

Sample 5: Linda’s son’s Mother’s Day video (2016)

Collector’s comments:

While as we said before these videos are not recordings of folklore, we think that these exhibit very important examples of these children trying to both make sense of their surroundings and communicate in their own individual ways. This is especially seen in the last three clips. These videos were taken a few years apart, and it is apparent how much progress that Linda’s son has made in creating his songs. The last clip is especially touching, it is a song that Linda’s son wrote for her for Mother’s Day, a truly unique gift that he made in an attempt to express his gratitude for her.

Tags/Keywords: Special Needs, Autism, Down Syndrome, Music, Songs, Sleep, Communication, Family

Music as Communication among Peers

Music as Communication among Peers

Informant information:

Mary Kate resides in Andover, Massachusetts. She has a daughter who has an undiagnosed developmental disorder. Her daughter is nine years old and participates in the” My Own Voice” choir, a choir for children with special needs in Andover.

Type of lore: Customary

Genre: Children’s Folklore

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States of America

Social / Cultural Context:

Mary Kate and Neal’s daughter cannot speak even though she is now nine years old as a result of an undiagnosed developmental disorder. Among the challenges this presents, she often has a difficult time connecting with her peers. This video captures how she and her peers created a methods of sharing a common act on a daily basis.

 

Informant’s comments:

The “typical” girls that [our daughter] is friends with at school also use music and songs to connect to her. They make up dances to show the teacher and even have a secret handshake which is really an elaborate high five routine with some dance moves and a sing songy recital of the moves. I would say this is the most included that [she] has been in the classroom in a long while and it is through music and movement.

Collector’s comments: 

This seems to be a piece of true children’s folklore, the girls work on songs, dances and routines like this together. What makes this particular one special is how it is in an effort to communicate with the girl who has special needs in a way that she is capable of reciprocating. At the end of the video one girl raises her hands and begins to shake them, which symbolizes applause in American Sign Language.

Tags/Keywords: Music, Communication, Custom, Special needs, Children, Dance, American Sign Language