Beat Making Labs

Beats, sounds, rhythms, and lyrics...when you hear these what do you think of? I think of a song or the materials needed to make a song.  There is a movement called the Beat Making Lab that makes music in different countries and sings about the current health issues of that particular area to raise awareness.  PBS sponsors a mini-series of weekly webisodes about collaborating with a certain culture to connect youth of that area to a global audience.  PBS has done many of these series in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Panama, Senegal,  and Fiji.  The songs or "beats" as they call it, range from topics like building a community, maternal labor deaths, health workers, daily life, prisons in the rain forest, cocaine problems, and more.  This is a unique experiment that I have not found anything else quite like it. This series sheds light on the young adults across the world and their lives, their daily struggles, and their dreams. 

These beat making labs are basically a macbook, sound board, speakers and a mic.  It can all be stored in a backpack and make composing music portable and limitless.  The lab promotes taking elements from the culture's natural habitat with their own traditional instruments and use that to make the beats.  Then use their beats to put with the lyrics (current issues) and produce a song to share with their culture.  This type of awareness exposure is truly unique and gets people's attention.  The lab is also a place for beat makers to gather, bond, share, learn and stay out of trouble.  Many of the participants seek out the beat labs because they want to make a difference and share their trials and troubles with others.  Also, some seek out the beat labs to get away from their neighborhoods, which are filled with crime, poverty and drug use.  The Beat Making Lab is a positive outlet for cultures to voice their opinions, concerns, needs and problems on a global scale such as Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

I found these series inspirational, educational and oddly enough relatable. I use music to get me through my struggles and to enjoy listening to daily.  These people from across the world are using their own composed music or beats to share their ideas, struggles and to make new connections.  It is amazing the amount of power that music has and what music is capable of changing.  "Everyone loves music and it brings us to life."

I know that my culture's music is very different from many of the other cultures around the world.  Some artist sing about the problems of our culture and we have secular radio that promotes Christ.  But the beats from the labs of other countries have much more meaning and culture.  I would typically relate music of this nature with the African culture, Haitian culture and other cultures along those lines.  I wonder if the Asian cultures, Korean cultures, English, German and any other cultures have songs and beats like this?  

http://www.beatmakinglab.com/

http://www.beatmakinglab.com/video/