Music Essays (Examples)

Music

What music do you associate with childhood? How did/does this music make you feel? How do your choices reflect your childhood experiences?

Music that is associated with childhood has special significance as it not only contributes to the mental development of the child but also reminds one of the happy memories of the childhood. Even the research shows that the music that a child hears has influence on him throughout his life and introducing children to various rhythms can make their experiences positive. (ilhartz, ruhn and Olson, 1999) The music that we hear mostly during our childhood is rhymes and lullabies. The one lullaby with which I associate my childhood is "Twinkle Little Star." Its music sounded very sweet and always cheered me up and still brings back memories of the happy days of my childhood. One important part of my childhood involves getting introduced to the stars in…

In other words each music performance is different and the impulsiveness of each performance confirms the concept of indeterminate music.

6) Describe an Indonesian Gamelan. (Textbook p. 282-283)

It said that Debussy, when he heard the Indonesian ensemble called gamelan was surprisingly delighted at its diverse and delicate timbers, and decided to use the elements in the impressionistic sound which he was working at developing.

The gamelan, a distinctive Indonesian orchestra consisting mainly of percussion instruments, primarily metallophones (metal keys suspended over a bronze or wooden frame and struck with a mallet) gongs and drums. Accompanied by string and wind instruments for good effect is a widely respected theme. With drums regulating the tempo and rhythm, while a part of the instruments engage in playing melody, others add finesse and the gongs intervene methodically at phrase and section endings to notify the formal structures of a composition. The visually spectacular…

Music & Cognition

Music is a fundamental element of human culture that has been in existence nearly as long as humans have existed. Most people who listen to and appreciate music can personally attest to the power or influence music has. We listen to certain songs or types of music to reinforce or change our moods. Each person knows what songs will bring on a rush of memories or sensations that are unique to that person's life and experience. What many people may not be aware of is that the influence and power of music is more than affective; the effects of music on the brain and on people generally have been proven to be scientific. There is substantial scientific research, both from the social sciences and the hard sciences that clearly demonstrate the power of music on the brain, with specific respect to cognition. The paper will explore and…

Music

Anastasia

The Music in "Anastasia"

Movies are remembered either for their stories, plot, characters or music. It is the challenge for the director and producer of the movie to make effective use of as many aspects of the movie as he can. The cartoon and animated movies normally are remembered for their graphics and fantasy. Music adds to the fantasy of a movie. Anastasia is one such movie that offers a complete entertainment to children. While some think that the movie did not end well (Anastasia (1997) plot summary, 2012) others believe that despite the fact that the movie fantasizes life a lot, it can be recommended to the children so that they can differentiate between life and a movie.

Anastasia

Anastasia is a fantasy as a princess as well as the movie. Her story has a great impact on the movies as well as the ussian culture. Although…

Music has always been an important part of my life. From the time I was a little boy into my adolescence and through my teenage years, music was my companion whenever I could put my headset on and not get in trouble for listening to music. My good times were accompanied by music and just like my friends, music was there when I wasn't doing so well. In fact music does connect a time and a place for me in my life.

Music I associate with my childhood: Mostly I was into hip hop as a kid. My parents were into various music, some standards like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, and they were into some rock music from the sixties and seventies. But when I was nine years old I remember listening to a hip hop tune by 2 Pac called "Keep Your Head Up." The beat of course…

Music Voice Borders

John Coltrane's Innovation Exemplified in the piece "In a Sentimental Mood"

"John Coltrane's brief career was one of constant evolution and the innovations of each period of his development have had ramifications for the playing of virtually every contemporary jazz player;" Coltrane's level of innovation was unprecedented, and still is to this day (Baker 1990 p 11). He is now one of the most well-known artists in Jazz music in general, yet he did not always embody the traditional styles of his day. Although there are some clear similarities between "In A Sentimental Mood" and the overall genre, the piece most often stands out as one of great innovation and change; Coltrane's implementation of complex chord changes and progressions, along with incorporating international themes within the piece, prove the song to be incredibly unique when compared to the overall genre in general.

The song itself is am…

Music therapy as a formal discipline emerged soon after the Second World War, when veteran's hospitals across the United States started to host musicians to improve quality of life of patients. Since then, a wealth of scientific literature has emerged about the efficacy of music therapy. Nearly every patient population seems to respond to music therapy, including animals. Music has been shown to have anti-anxiety, pro-immunity properties and can raise dopamine levels in the brain (Landau, 2013). Moreover, music therapy is a tool that also can be used with patient populations from different age groups and cultural backgrounds. Music therapy has proven especially promising in helping children with autism because of the way music transcends language and enables a more direct and authentic expression of emotional and psychological content (Laudau, 2013). The elderly have responded well to music therapy, too, and so too have patients with Alzheimer's disease. Music therapy…

In his book Lynskey notes that during George . Bush's administration, when Bush made anti-war people angry by invading Iraq, Neil Young sand "Let's Impeach the President." Earlier in his career Neil Young responded to the killing of four students (by the National Guard) in Kent State in 1970 by writing the protest song, "Ohio," which was performed by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Lynskey called it a "masterpiece" or protest that was full of "…fury, grief, and topical precision" (ilentz, p. 3).

Lynskey contrasts the protest songs of Bob Dylan with Phil Ochs, which involves a massive amount of lyrics and music from the Sixties and Seventies. The author explains that Ochs was more of an in-person activist than Dylan, showing up at various anti-war rallies, and while Dylan's classic protest songs like "Masters of ar" and "Only a Pawn in Their Game" far surpassed Ochs' "preachier material," Ochs…

Music

A pioneer of electronic music and the godfather of ambient, Brian Eno has always recognized the importance of the studio as a compositional tool. In 1979, Eno delivered a lecture entitled, "The Studio as Compositional Tool" at the New Music America Festival in New York City. Since then, Eno has written about the subject of the role of the studio in musical composition as well as recording. For Eno, the studio is not necessarily a static entity. Eno reportedly set to sell his studio in 2005, because he was "fed up" with it because, in his words, "all this equipment is sitting around looking at me and expecting me to use it," (Eno, cited by Tingen, 2005). The statement may seem ironic, given Eno's celebration of the studio as a compositional tool. However, taken in context of Eno's career and his being influenced by minimalist composition, Eno's assertion that…

Music or Musical Theatre

Like the Rising Sun

Although in conventional times and among younger people jazz music is disparaged as boring 'elevator music', true jazz music is anything but. I reached this conclusion after listening to some excellent concert jazz albums of live music. The work of jazz that I am largely basing the aforementioned thesis on is Charles Lloyd's Forest Flower, which was released in 1966 when jazz music was at the height of its popularity, and before it became diluted into the Kenny G, elevator music that it is largely known as today. Therefore, this paper will largely explain how true jazz music is raucous, "improvisational" (Baraka 262), even revolutionary music -- before it was tamed and delivered to the mass media for safe consumption. I will explore this theme by presenting a response to Forest Flower, as well as an interpretation and an evaluation of this…

Music

In early childhood, I watched the shows on PBS like Sesame Street. I can still remember the songs that permeated my living room, teaching me how to count and spell. I do not know all the formal titles of the songs, but I can sing them almost all by heart. Elmo's songs, the alphabet songs, songs about everyone making mistakes that is okay: Sesame Street taught me a lot about social norms, music, counting, spelling, and words in Spanish, too. These early childhood lessons were instrumental in helping me grow as a person. Although I rarely if ever hear these songs now, I feel warm and happy inside when they come to mind. The Sesame Street songs reflect my childhood experiences because I had a happy childhood, in which learning was encouraged by my parents. Watching educational shows was a big part of my childhood.

During adolescence, it was…

Lyrics like these could be depressing but are instead used to convey a strong message of personal growth and empowerment. The repetition of the title line, "I will survive" suggests increased self-esteem. Ultimately, the lyrics of "I Will Survive" encourage self-actualization, the peak of Maslow's needs hierarchy.

Getting out of an abusive relationship does require a great degree of courage. The individual had once invested his or her self-esteem into the relationship, depending on the other person not just to meet the needs of sexual intimacy but also love, approval, and even financial security. Breaking free from the bondage of abuse is a step towards self-actualization, an empowering moment that affirms independence and personal power. Beyond the theme of abusive relationships, "I Will Survive" can apply to almost any life situation, which is why the song has uplifted so many listeners. Even those who do not listen to all of…

It has been established that in fact the infant is aware of sound from the 24th week. " in the sonic foreground of this sound environment is what has been described within the literature as a 'rhythmic "swooshing" of the blood as it rushes through the placental vessels" (Collins and Kuck, 1990, p.24).

Some of the most significant findings about the affect and importance of music on the human mind can be gleaned from research on early child development and the role of music. This can also be extended to research into the "... relationships between an adult's personal history and musical preferences" (unt, 1994, p. 131).

There are many studies in the field of child developmental psychology that link music to growth and development of the young mind. Van Der Linde, (1999) notes that "Plato remarked as early as 300 C that music was the most powerful educational aid...…

Music & Pesonality

Music has been acknowledged to be a univesal fom of communication. Even with the baies of language, music allows the shaing of feelings, thoughts, and meanings. Reseach is finding that it can be an invaluable tool of communication, education and theapy fo those with special needs o disodes. Music is ecognized to be able to evoke pofound emotions, but moden technology is only just discoveing how many of these esponses ae actually a esult of poweful physical and physiological effects vaious aspects of music has on the human body. (Hageaves, 1997, 1999)

The impotance of music also stems fom the fact that it plays an inceasingly significant ole in the lives of the aveage moden individual. Each of us is suounded by music tageted at us fom adio, television, films, advetisements, the intenet, and vaious othe commecial devices poduced by technology. It is no longe a distinct…

The two aspects that were least convincing were: one, the highly technical passages (241) that explained in esoteric narrative how the brain functions (e.g., it didn't offer coherence to the study at hand to learn that "…the general neurobiological centers for sensory pain are the sensory cortex and the thalamus"); and two, explaining that because only 52% used music to both relax and distract themselves from the pain it must be because "most participants had developed their own ways of listening to music" was a very obvious and simplistic statement (everyone everywhere has his or her own style of listening to music).

This research article relates well with Oliver Sacks' story of Dr. Tony Cicoria (pp. 3-6) who began craving piano music following the lightning attack he had endured. The power of music to heal people -- and move people into new and friendlier consciousness -- is not a new…

W. Bardeen.

Johnson, . (2006) What's New in Pedagogy esearch? The American Music Teacher v.

Lecanuet, J.-P. Granier-Deferre, C., & Busnel, M.-C. (1988). Fetal cardiac and motor responses to octave-band noises as a function of cerebral frequency, intensity and heart rate variability. Early Human Development, 18:81-93

Lorch, C.A., Lorch, V., Diefendor, O and Early, P.W. (1994). Effect of Stimulative and Sedative Music on Systolic Blood Pressure, Heart ate, and espiratory ate in Premature Infants. Journal of Music Therapy 31: 105-18

Lynch, M.P, Short L.B, and Chua, .. (1995): Contributions of Experience to the Development of Musical Processing in Infancy. Developmental Psychobiology 28

377-98.

Malyarenko, T.N., Kuraev, G.A., Malyarenko, Y.E., Khvatova, M.V., omanova, N.G., & Gurina, V.I. (1996). The development of brain electric activity in 4-year-old children by long-term sensory stimulation with music. Human Physiology, 22: 76- 81.

Schellenberg, E. Glenn. (2006) Long-Term Positive Associations Between Music Lessons and IQ. Journal…

During the 1960's and 1970's, this would influence how the public was viewing various political events as well as their underlying meanings. This is significant, because the questioning of society would play a role in helping to redefine the issue of: civil rights during the 1960's and the meaning of equality. As this was a medium, for helping to push these changes from within. This is when tremendous shifts occurred, with most people supporting the views of the music they listen to. (erkin, 2009, pp. 678 -- 679)

Cuba

Cuba is a combination of different forms of music including: Spanish and African. This is because the country is a mixture of both cultures. As a result, it is often seen as form of entertainment and pride. While at the same time, it is used as a way to illustrate various political, social or economic changes that need to occur. An…

Music Violence

The violence in music debate rages on across the mass media of America. Television, magazines, newspapers, and of course the radio blast the commercial marketing of popular music with one wavelength, while simultaneously reprimanding the creators and listeners of this music for their negativity. It is a violent world that we live in, and this violence is reflected in the art that we create. Some people argue that the world today is significantly more violent now than it was in decades and centuries past. It is also said that the violence in our art may in fact be the root cause of the violence in our society. oth popular and alternative music is filled with lyrics about violent events, and the music itself, according to some people, causes violent reactions in the brains of certain people. However, history has shown that it has always been a violent world,…

Music in High Schools

Psychology Research Project

Examining the Effects of Music Education in Various Students

Children are often encouraged to undertake creative activities in order to improve their imagination and achieve a balance between studying and relaxing. One creative activity is to partake in music education. Music is one field in which a student can be as creative as he or she desires, for there is no limit placed on how much or how loudly one can play his or her instrument. Music classes, though structure, encourage these facets, and keep students on their creative toes, and therefore are vitally important for the development of children.

There have been many studies on this topic, especially in light of many schools cutting their music education programs. Most of these studies have proven, beyond a doubt, that music education helps students in many ways, including with development of certain parts of…

Music in Society

The impact of music on the presidential campaign song

Music has influenced both written and verbal forms of discourse in our society since our nation was founded. The most significant of these has been music's influence on political campaigns and speeches. The advent of the 'campaign song' has had a tremendous impact on political campaigns since President ashington was in office.

The political sect of our society is often demonized. Music has made politics more fun, enjoyable, and at times humorous. Music is a universal language all in its own. Despite ones career, education, or place in society, everyone in our society is familiar with certain traditional songs - such as "Row, Row, Your Boat."

The political world has simply capitalized on the fact that people are fond of songs. Even people who do not enjoy politics like songs. Music is used to communicate ideas to the…

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From there, Franklin's career skyrocketed. Her notoriety and status as "Queen" is evident in the high-profile performances she made at events like the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., where she sang "Precious Lord," a Gospel song ("Aretha Franklin," n.d.). She sang at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the funeral of fellow gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, and at two Presidential inaugurations: those of President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama. President George W. Bush gave Aretha Franklin the Presidential Medal of Honor (ock and oll Hall of Fame, 2013). Her music has appeared in movies, too. Aretha Franklin has gone on to win nearly twenty Grammies, and yet her tenure as Queen is independent from mainstream recognition. She would be the Queen of Soul if she won no Grammies at all.

Aretha Franklin has reigned supreme with the undisputed title of Queen of Soul; there is no other…

The jazz and gospel standard “When the Saints Go Marching In” lends itself well to musical reinterpretation, and is adaptable to many different styles or genres of performance. With strong cultural and geographic ties to New Orleans, the song naturally made its way into the repertoires of musicians the likes of Louis Armstrong, who helped cultivate the early jazz scene. Louis Armstrong himself performed the song in a number of different ways, and was the first to bring “When the Saints Come Marching In” to a wider American audience. Two of Armstrong’s recordings of “Saints” include a big band-style live performance with Danny Kaye, as well as a more classic New Orleans-style swing version with a full jazz band including trombone, clarinet, bass, drums, and Jewel Brown accompanying on vocals. In the 1970s, the godfather of soul, James Brown offered a version that, while unique, exemplifies the commercialization of funk…

Discuss an example of technology shaping the creation or experience of music.
Technology has shaped the creation and experience of music throughout time, even prior to the discovery and manipulation of electricity. Every musical instrument can technically be considered a piece of technology. However, electronics have more dramatically altered both the creation and the experience of music. First, the phonograph allowed music to be recorded for the first time in history. Recording music was revolutionary, because prior to this point, all music would have been encountered live. Recording music took away its temporal component, allowing people to listen to music anytime they wanted, anywhere they wanted. Subsequent changes to recording technology have enhanced both the quality of the recordings and the portability of recordings. Currently, digital recordings have revolutionized music because they barely require any equipment at all.
Electronics have also changed the way music is created. Through electronic instruments,…

Part One
For better or for worse, “interest in being a film composer is at an all time high,” (Kendall, n.d., p. 4). The only way to succeed in a competitive environment like the music and film industry is through the cultivation of psychological resilience and social intelligence. My goals as a film scorer are tempered with the realism that this is a long and difficult path. I know what I need to do in terms of networking and learning from other people. Composing the music is the easy part; marketing myself, making myself hirable and easy to work with, and being interested in working with a team are the prerequisites for success.
My short term goals are simple: to acquire a strong and varied education, to get my feet wet by working on student projects and internships, and to build up my list of contacts in the film and…

Part One
For better or for worse, “interest in being a film composer is at an all time high,” (Kendall, n.d., p. 4). The only way to succeed in a competitive environment like the music and film industry is through the cultivation of psychological resilience and social intelligence. My goals as a film scorer are tempered with the realism that this is a long and difficult path. I know what I need to do in terms of networking and learning from other people. Composing the music is the easy part; marketing myself, making myself hirable and easy to work with, and being interested in working with a team are the prerequisites for success.
My short term goals are simple: to acquire a strong and varied education, to get my feet wet by working on student projects and internships, and to build up my list of contacts in the film and…

The music tradition in Tijuana is rich and deep. However, the Nor-tec music and the evolution gives a clearer picture of music evolution than any other. It articulates three well differentiated musical traditions that have been appropriated for decades by the Mexican Northerners. These are the Nortena, banda sinaloense and the Onda grupera. Historically, these music traditions were associated with the lower class who resided in the unsophisticated countryside and the banda and Nortena specifically were associated with the older generations.
The development of nor-tec was shaped by aspects of class, ethnicity, race as well as nationality. The particular artistic and musical styles in Tijuana expressed the local desires and this also informed the development of Nor-tec style. The nortena music was a way of identity for the northeastern Mexicans who used it to distinguish themselves from the Mexicans from the centre of the country. The towns, neighborhoods that were…

Chapter 5I. 1940s-1950s: Post-War Worlda. America is the strongest military, economic, and industrial forceb. The Cold War brings tension, howeverc. Rapid technological change is everywhered. National security is a top concernbut so too is education reformII. Proponents of Reforma. Admiral Hyman Rickover relied on an educated population to support his programi. He saw American schools as weak compared to European schoolsii. He saw some students as more gifted than others and did not see equal treatment of all students as efficient or effectiveb. Dr. James Bryant Conant, former president of Harvardi. Stressed stronger academic preparationii. With Rickover, he wanted more attention on science/mathc. Woods Hole Conference--1959i. Leaders became concerned about educationii. Federal government got involved1. American Association of School Administrators issued statement calling for curriculum reform2. National Education Association did the sameIII. 1950s-1960sa. Society evolving rapidlyb. No room for a 1930s music curriculum in a 1950s classroomc. Fast and radical…

Introduction
Music has the power to generate different kinds of emotions in human beings. Even in animals sometimes people see changes in mood when they play music. The type of emotion music evokes depends on the type of music. Feelings than can be generated by music include fear, sadness, and happiness (Goycoolea et al. 2013). Therefore, the mood-altering effect of music can either be positive (happiness) or negative (sadness). However, how music exactly affects emotion or mood is not so straightforward. While some music generally evokes same feelings in most people, many times individuals are affected differently by music (Rana et al. 2011). In the case of this paper, music refers to any singing, playing of musical instrument, pre-recorded music, and live music. Whether one chooses to play music, sing, or listen to music, there will always be mood altering and several other effects. And one of the most often…

The Influence of Afro-Cuban Cultural Forms on Cuba’s Music from Slavery to Present
Introduction
Both Spain and Africa have played an important part in establishing the cultural forms of Cuban customs and heritage, and as such each has impacted and influenced Cuban music in a big way. However, because no culture is static, changes to Cuban customs and culture have occurred and these too can be reflected in Cuba’s music. Examining Cuba’s music over time from the days of slavery to now can reveal a story in and of itself of the history of Cuba. This selection of songs from the Cuba’s rich library of music will show how Cuban music has been influenced by Afro-Cuban cultural forms from slavery to today.
Esteban Salas y Castro
Born on Christmas Day in Cuba in 1725, Esteban Salas y Castro composed religious works for the Church. His Baroque style owes more to…

Cuban music is mainly a mixture of influences from both Africa and Spain. The Spanish conquistadors were the ones who introduced their own European styles into the area, and the slave trade from Africa left its mark as well. Getting a little deeper into this mixture, one can focus on the rhythms and melodies that help to show how these influences are at work. For instance, in Cuban music the drums are effectively talking to one another, which comes from the African tradition. Arabs from the Middle East spread into Africa and Spain thus serving as a further influence while simultaneously uniting these different cultures. Berber culture took root in Andalucia, Spain, and Rome and Germanic influences also shaped the history of the Iberian Peninsula. Afro-Cuban culture was a rich mix of Catholicism, African heritage and Spanish customs, and the music that poured out of that mix was based on…

Middle Ages Music Known as Plainchant aka Gregorian Chant
Pope Gregory I is famous for, in the 6th century AD, standardizing the form of monastic choral music known as chant. This form, known as plainchant or alternatively as Gregorian chant, essentially served as the standard vocal music for church services (mainly Masses or for the Divine Office) held throughout the Church (mainly Europe) for the whole of the Middle Ages. Plainchant consisted of Scriptural verses chanted by the members of the choir, usually monastics. Plainchant was a single line of music, no overlapping lines as in polyphonic music. It was monophonic but could consist of lines of great range and variation. From simple melodies with a single pitch to highly elaborate melodies consisting of long, flowing lines plainchant was anything but plain and boring. In fact, it was considered one of the greatest expressions of human art and helped to…

Pandora Music
Pandora Radio was launched in 2000 under the name of Savage Beast Technologies. The idea was essentially the same as it has always been: to offer users a personalized listening experience with music that was in line with their tastes and preferences. After running into funding issues, the company re-launched itself in 2004 as an ad-based free streaming music radio site that still used the customized radio model to attract listeners. The idea clicked with listeners and by 2011, the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange. By 2013, it had 200 million users, about 70 million of whom were active monthly listeners. Pandora attracted listeners via its free ad-supported customized content but also gave listeners the option of paying a fee to listen without commercial interruptions. This paper will discuss how Pandora used the Internet to become a disruptive innovator in the music industry by…

Jazz music objectifies America as it provides a unique way for understanding the American culture (Waja100, 2013). The real power and innovation of this genre of music is it’s demonstration of how a group of people can come together and create improvised art. The context of the creation of jazz music is millions of negotiations between different people in the United States. The dynamics of jazz music range from its roots in the blues as a rich tradition to its own new rules that make it brand new every time. Throughout history, jazz music incorporates different instruments like aerophones, chordophone, idiophones, and membranophones. Examples of these instruments used in jazz music include saxophones, guitar, xylophones, and drums respectively. 
In its initial years, jazz music was filled with complex rhythms as slaves were allowed to sing and dance every Sunday in Congo Square. As slaves from West Indies and the Caribbean…

Black Southerner’s World in the US Before Civil Rights
Part 1 A Conversation with Amari Baraka
A I agree that blues is a non-diatonic music and does slur and slide the notes, which is the style that came from West Africa—but I also think that the blues is more than just that. There are a lot of things happening in blues and a lot of different styles that are incorporated into it, such as the style of gospel music, the harmonies of the southern church choirs and spirituals were incorporated into blues music. The black southerners turned these gospel songs into spirituals along with the instruments of the time such as fiddles and guitars, which they would use for its strings as well as a type of drum on which they would tap out the rhythm of their songs. Or there was Buddy Bolden with his brass instruments, infusing the…

Music ImpressionI would say that the standout for me this year was hearing Dvoraks The New World Symphony, also known as his Symphony No. 9 in E Minor. I can honestly say that there is not one moment in this symphony where I was bored: the entire thing is interesting, exciting, moving, and dramatic. I could close my eyes and picture myself in a sweeping epic of beauty and nature. This symphony literally sounds the way you would expect a new world to soundpristine, pure, grand, inviting, dangerous, yet sublime and inviting. For this piece, the presentation is a YouTube video performance of the Gimnazija Kranj Symphony Orchestra under the baton of maestro Nejc Be?an in 2018 (Zevnikov, 2020).First of all, let me give some background on this piece. Dvoraks New World Symphony is indeed a work that is elegant, moving, and masterful, and one that has stood the test…

Blind since birth, Stevie Wonder went on to become one of the world’s most renowned musicians. Steveland Hardaway Morris (nee Judkins) was born in 1950, and by the age of eleven had already signed with Motown Records. His fate sealed as a child prodigy and a budding soul, rhythm and blues star, the next several decades of his career brought “Little Stevie Wonder” increasingly into the mainstream spotlight. By the 1980s, Stevie Wonder had become a fully-fledged pop star, with more than twenty Grammy awards under his belt, an Academy Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award, and an induction into the Rock and Roll hall of fame (“Famous People with Visual Impairments,” n.d.). Being blind did not make Stevie Wonder any more famous than he would have been otherwise, just as being blind would never have prevented him from making his mark on the world.
Early Years
Stevie Wonder was born…

Peking Opera and Its Influence
Peking Opera is a form of conventional Chinese theatre whose origin can be traced back to the late 18th Century.  In comparison to the other kinds of Chinese theatre that existed at that time, Peking Opera was a relatively new style of drama.  This theatre involved the combination of music, dance, and acrobatics that was presented in a lively and colorful way (Gao par, 1).  During this ancient times, dancers would perform Peking Opera at religious ceremonies and feudal lords’ festivals.  While Peking Opera emerged in the late 18th Century, it became completely developed and recognized by mid-19th Century.  Since its inception, Peking Opera has played a crucial role in sharing the Chinese culture across the globe.  Peking Opera conveys a national spiritual essence that is accompanied with elegance and beauty.  Peking Opera has developed to become a tool of transnationalism and acculturation through conveying…

Women have always been part of hip hop, even though their accomplishments and impact have been understated and unsung. Yet any cursory examination of the history of hip hop reveals countless female musicians and performers. Some, like Queen Latifah, Missy Elliot, Salt-N-Pepa, Lauryn Hill, and Nicki Minaj, become household words. Hundreds of others remain behind the scenes, known mainly to audiophiles or serious music historians. Tracing hip hop back to its roots shows how the musical genre and its ethos evolved as the counterpart to a broader movement for social and political change. Women have remained at the forefront of the cultural revolution that is hip hop, ensuring that feminist values and ideals become mainstream while also making sure that feminism does not become whitewashed. Patriarchal social norms have prevented the women of hip hop from receiving the accolades they deserve, but the artists who have made it their business…

The Sixties and the Seventies were a complicated era. On the one hand it was the height of the Cold War. On the other hand, it was the height of the peace and love movement. It was an era in which the culture of America was being shaped from that point on. Feminism sparked in the 1970s, but so too did the punk movement. Before that rock ‘n’ roll had deviated into hippie music with artists singing about wearing flowers in one’s hair. The punks would spike their hair to look menacing in response to the flower people. The era was like a pendulum swinging back and forth—an action here being met by a reaction there, back and forth, on throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

When Kennedy was elected in 1960, the Cold War was underway and communism in Cuba was viewed as a threat by some—though not by all.…

Music and Gezi Park Protests
When the mayor declared the destruction of the historic park in the heart of Istanbul to build a shopping mall, local people began camping there in order to prevent heavy equipment vehicles from entering. Following the attack of the police, protests spread throughout Turkey, specifically in Ankara and Izmir (Aknur). Although such events have become the routine in recent years, the Gezi Park Protests were not the usual kind. It was the first time that a huge amount of people experienced police violence in a big city. And for the first time people from various ethnic backgrounds, different religious beliefs, and different political views were united as one group in “capuling”—a reference to Prime Minister Erdogan’s belittling characterization of the protestors as “marauders,” a term the protestors happily embraced, just as anti-Clinton crowd in America embraced their characterization as “deplorables” during the 2016 U.S. presidential…

Political Songs and Government
Born in the USA was written by Bruce Springsteen in 1981 after being inspired by a movie script sent to him called “Born in the USA” (Konow & Mercurio, 2015). Springsteen’s song was written with the Vietnam war in mind and the plight of the Vietnam Veteran and average working class kid being sent off to war. The song starts off talking about being “born in a dead man’s town”—a line that could symbolize two things, a town named after a long-dead person or a town that is literally a dead end for hopes and dreams. The song proceeds to describe how hard life is for someone growing up in a dead town—everyone goes around like a beat dog, just trying to survive. Yet the country is so cruel that when one gets into a little trouble the punishment does not fit the crime: the singer…

The piano plays quick octaves and the urgent bass motive portrays an intense wild ride. This strong galloping is also being formulated by the piano's triplet rhythm which allows for the development of the dramatic storyline's urgency.

5. ) There are four different characters in this piece: the Narrator, the father, the son, and the Erlkonig. Although Schubert uses one singer to portray and sing all of the four parts of the characters, the listener is able to quite clearly differentiate them from one another. The son is sung in the high register in a minor key with dissonant harmonies. On the other hand, the father is sung in low register while the Erlkonig is sung in a coy with pleasant and soft melodies in the major key.

6. ) There are two ways that Schubert builds momentum in his piece. The first way is by using the bass as…

Music in the 21st century was accused of being increasingly derivative and irrelevant. Interest in individual performers, in the era of iTunes, was being relegated to the sidelines as teens assembled their own 'mixes' rather than sought to embrace the output of an individual artist. It was said that the era of the great soloist and the great musical concept album was dead. ith her first album The Fame in 2008, Lady Gaga changed all of that and silenced the industry's critics. Yes, she is frequently outrageous and provokes controversy for her attire as well as her voice. But underneath all of the glam and glitter, Lady Gaga has proved that she a unique mix of vocal talent, showmanship, and social activism. She has also generated a huge following on Facebook and Twitter. Lady Gaga's fans do not simply download "Poker Face," "Telephone" and "Born this ay" online. They love…

From the research I know he was a ladies man. In Joan Peyser's book (The Memory of All That: The Life of George Gershwin) it is 1927 and Gershwin is discovered in bed with one of the attractive women from a show he and Harry Richman were working on. Caught with his shirt and pants still in his hand, Gershwin offered: "Mr. Richman, what can I say to you? I'm waiting for a streetcar?" (Peyser, 2007, p. 136).

Question #3: Music is far, far more than entertainment. A soft playing of Pieces (8) for Piano, Opus 76, by Johannes Brahms is the healing salve that helps a widow relate to the passing of her 88-year-old husband of 58 years. The Piano Sonata in E Minor D. 566 by Franz Schubert is the ideal theme to be played respectfully in the background as a new artist shows her latest abstract art…

..it has to affect people in predictable ways regardless of particular circumstances" (Linton pp). However, music, says Linton isn't like that because one listener might hear the opening E-minor chorus of the St. Matthew Passion and become grief stricken, while someone else might become bored, and another might find that piece incomprehensible (Linton pp). According to Linton, listening to a particular kind of music does not throw listeners into a trance any more than heavy metal music turns its listeners into sociopaths (Linton pp).

However, even Linton back-stepped a bit when he revealed that there was one area of life in which music apparently had the ability to affect people's behavior, grocery shopping (Linton pp)! Several studies reveal that faster paced music tends to make American shoppers walk down the aisles more quickly than slower paced music (Linton pp).

Apparently Holloway believes that society can be transformed by the cultivation…

Music Producers

Biographical Introduction: Teo Macero

Producers work behind the scenes and are the unsung heroes of music. While some producers receive public notoriety like Brian Eno and George Martin; others like Teo Macero remain known mainly to music scholars and serious audiophiles. In 2008, when Macero died, The New York Times ran an obituary with the tagline: "Teo Macero, 82, ecord Producer," as if readers would need that crucial bit of vocational data. Indeed, Macero is best known for his work on Miles Davis's masterpieces Kind of Blue and Bitches Brew. He was also a composer, whose approach to music takes into account the big picture rather than attention to minute detail.

Macero was ahead of his time. He incorporated electronic effects and electronic media in ways that made Bitches Brew as momentous and groundbreaking an album as it is. The embrace of new technology is therefore a hallmark…

I especially appreciate the opportunity to place musical compositions and composers within a historical context. Placing music within a historical context illuminates some of the variables that characterize a piece like "ite of Spring." Understanding the cultural, political, and military events taking place during the composer's lifetime is essential to understanding the music. Although analyzing classical pieces can prove difficult because of shifting time signatures, counterpoint, and layering of sounds, I am now much more able to distinguish between different styles and composers. The course content has awoken my mind and my ears to rhythms and melodies and I look forward to exploring Western classical music more in-depth. For example, pieces like "ite of Spring" have made their way into movies and therefore continue to have an impact on musical culture.

eferences

Alsop, M. (2008). "Getting Hooked on the 'ite' Sound." NP MUSIC. etrieved Dec 19, 2008 at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9041627

Kelly,…

In "The Times They Are a-Changin'," released in February 1964, he encapsulated the spirit of the times, and issued a timely warning to the older generation to accept the changing times or be drowned in a youth-inspired social revolution. (Mcilliams, 32)

hile Dylan was introducing protest folk music in the mainstream popular music in the early 1960s, bands such as "The Beatles" had captured the imagination of the estern youth on both sides of the Atlantic. By accepting the influence of each other's music in their work, these artists revolutionized estern popular music. The power of such music in shaping the direction of the youth culture was immense. It spread the message of peace, love, racial and gender equality and challenged the hypocrisy of the existing social order.

Not all aspects of the sixties music were positive. Many of the sixties rock musicians adopted a hedonistic lifestyle and indulged in…

Music Association

Music and Personal Association

What music do you associate with childhood? How did/does this music make you feel? How do your choices reflect your childhood experiences?

There is not much that I can recall about my childhood in detail. My memory tends to be unreliable at best. That is why I find it so incredible that the music of the Beatles remains a vivid and constant presence in my memories. Indeed, even before I remember knowing that red means 'stop' or green means 'go,' I knew all the words to "Yellow Submarine." It was almost as if I was born with the melody to "Hey Jude" in may head. In fact, since my parents were such devoted listeners to the Beatles, I have little doubt that this was the soundtrack to my gestation.

The constant presence of the Beatles would have an indelible impact on me. There are…

Suddenly Western Music no longer needed to follow all the old rules. Just as the abstract painters dispensed with the traditional canon of art at just the same time, so also men like Bartok and Stravinsky take a fresh look at what constituted good music.

According to Bartok, the aesthetic success of this new homophonic-polyphonic music would depend upon the "harmonic entity" that results from the rise and fall of the "horizontal line" formed by the many discrete tone patches.... "an architectonic or similar scheme is not absolutely necessary; the construction of the line born out of the different degrees of intensity that are inherent in the tonal succession would be completely satisfactory," and by his likening of such constructions to works written in prose rather than verse (Gillies, 2000, p. 55)

Stravinsky too made his own way in the musical world. Working alongside Diaghilev and his Ballet usses he…

Music eport

Archaeological finds show that prehistoric man had already played music. Music and dance are the humans' most natural and original forms of expression. Berendt said of modern generations: "Nada brahma - all is sound," in nature. Stones, bones, pieces of wood, hollow vessels and cups make sounds when pushed, beaten or rubbed together. Stretched hides bang, the buzz of the arrow whizzing off the bow can be imitated with fingers and the murmuring, roaring and whistling of the wind can be caught in reeds, bone pipes or hollow branches.

Today, numerous types of different forms of music are played across the world. Because humans are so diverse, it comes as no surprise that people like different types of music. For example, there are many adults, many of them older, who do not particularly appreciate hip hop and rap. Part of this has to do with the slang language,…

Since the valuation of a God had been essentially devaluated, what was to be the source of revaluation in the modern world? No answer could satisfy Ives, for his society saw no return to the societal standards and beliefs of the age of Bach, which gave explicit valuation to all things, especially music -- as seen in Bach's mastering of counterpoint. Schoenberg's inverted counterpoint is the antithesis of that old world Germanic culture -- and it is no surprise that Schoenberg settled in America -- all things being equal, and, in a sense, equally meaningless.

In conclusion, what was once considered light and understood, orthodox, hierarchical, and whole -- in terms of both estern culture and estern classical music in the time of Bach -- had, by the time of Ives and Schoenberg, drifted into a kind of relativistic self-importance/self-worthlessness that had no moorings whatsoever. Notes and attitudes shifted without…

Music Since 1900

A Survey of hree Works by Ives, Schoenberg, and Barber

In the film Legend of 1900, im Roth plays an orphan who grows up aboard the SS Virginian, where he becomes a virtuoso piano player, whose styling rivals the greatest Jazz pianists of the early twentieth century. he Italian film is supposed to represent the impermanence of art and the cheapness of capturing a live performance on a record. However, what cannot be achieved in the film is actually achieved by the film, as the New Orleans jazz artist is surpassed by the glorious skills of an orphan who has spent his entire life aboard a steam liner. What it says is that music may be recorded, but what is even greater than the recording is the music itself and the story that inspired it. his paper will compare and contrast three different works of musical art…

Fake books with jazz notation might look as if they are intended for amateurs. However, although beginners may use the simplified notation to practice music, the fake book's original intention was to provide a stepping-stone for a musician or an ensemble to create their own, unique rendering of the music. Thus jazz notation reflects the stress in this musical tradition upon the musician or the band's individual style. The musician, rather than the composer is the star, when using jazz notation. Rather than attempt to slavishly recreate a performance from the past, which is impossible, as every audience, every musical context changes from night to night, jazz notation empowers the musician to create a living and vibrant performance on the stage, with his or her fellow musicians. ("Fake Books," ikipedia, 2006)

Fake books and jazz notation originated with illegal transcriptions of overheard music, although most fake books today copyrighted with…

Music

Few popular music stars today are as colorful as Lady Gaga. Recently on tour, Lady Gaga is again making the headlines. In South Africa, a group of churches has been organizing protests against Lady Gaga's performances, and even just her presence, in the country. Among other complaints, the South African Council of Churches claims Lady Gaga's visit "could lead to an exponential growth of Satanism," (Engelbrecht, p. 1). For others, Lady Gaga is a welcome presence in the popular culture because she spreads the message of gender equality and positive gender "performativity," (Horn, p. 1). Lady Gaga is like a female "drag queen" and therefore sends a good message about tolerance of gender and sexual identities. Finally, Lady Gaga exemplifies the way social media can be used to promote popular culture and allow for greater fan interactions and control over content. Given that Lady Gaga is associated with Satanism,…

Music

Since the band exploded onto the scene in 2005, the White Stripes have wooed casual listeners and hypercritical audiophiles alike. Founded by Jack White, the White Stripes have received much critical acclaim and the most affectionate form of flattery, too, which is imitation. For instance, Vancouver, Canada band the White Blood Cells is "a pair of balding Irish guys who only play White Stripes songs," (Lucas, 2012). Usually cover bands are tributes to rock's greats such as Led Zeppelin. The fact that the White Stripes already have cover bands dedicated to them shows how much of a mark they have made on music. Yet it has been difficult to classify the music of The White Stripes. Using the term "rock" music is overly general. Therefore, the best classification of The White Stripes has been, to date, the term "garage rock." Garage rock refers to a sub-genre of rock music…

Because of the enormous popularity of Snoop Doggy Dogg's "Gin and Juice" single, the proposed video will be based on a similarly styled rhythm and blues-based hip-hop song entitled "The Power of Youth." Thematically, "The Power of Youth" will not resemble "Gin and Juice," but the overall rhythm and style will. Vocals will include a choral background and familiar song structure that will grab young listeners and include all demographics. Instead of gangsta rap lyrics, the lyrics of "The Power of Youth" will concentrate on life on the streets, poverty, gender inequity, and other issues relevant in the upcoming election.

Visuals used in the music video will parallel the lyrics and theme. Instead of scantily clad ladies, ordinary women will be featured to promote Barack Obama as president. Skillful editing will interject footage of Barack Obama working in Chicago with disenfranchised African-Americans into the music video. Revealing the roots of…

However, at the same time, the Dominican Republic is also a Hispanic speaking island and thus the Latin influence is also heavy in their version of Reggae and other musical tastes. Finally, as the band grew up in the Bronx, their musical background was also heavily influenced by the growth of American style hip-hop, which grew up out of the Bronx area. This diverse, mixing pot of musical heritage was combined by the band Aventura to create the unique musical character of Bachata.

Overall, I found the Avnentura Kings of Bachata concert to be of high quality and highly entertaining. Watching the band perform on stage shows you how much they care about their music and how much they enjoy performing it for their fans. These facts bring a high level of energy to their show, which I found captivating. The band played their songs at a fast, energetic pace…

What is this?" I finally asked my girlfriend, who looked like she was in rapture. Her eyes were closed as she swayed to the music.

She smiled and opened her eyes. "It's Celine Dion!"

Really?" I had heard of the Canadian superstar but had never heard any of her songs. I also closed my eyes and let the music wash over me while we danced. I listened closely to the lyrics: "Somehow ever since I've been around you / Can't go back to being on my own / Can't help feeling darling since I've found you / That I've found my home." Like most of the songs being played by the band, the lyrics reflected the romantic mood of the moment and of the momentous occasion. I looked over at my cousin and his new wife. They were smiling at each other and I could almost see the love flowing…

Music, Art, Literature Trends

From impressionism to pop art, jazz to hip hop, science fiction to beat poetry, artistic, musical, and literary expressions have varied considerably between 1870 and 2005. The period between the end of the nineteenth century to the current day can be generally described as the modern and postmodern eras. The beginning of the modern era, during the final decades of the nineteenth century, coincided with the Industrial evolution. Along with fascination with modern technology and optimism for the future came simultaneous disillusionment. However, modern technological advancements have made such widespread creativity possible. Social and political trends have also influenced creative endeavors, and vice-versa. Art, music, and literature are more accessible and more possible to create than they ever were in the past. The modern era has been characterized by an overall flourishing of the expressive arts, but some trends have a more lasting significance than others.…