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music composition essays
music composition essays
music composition essays
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A human being begins from one of the smallest cells in the body. We then, grow and evolve into extremely complex mechanisms made up of individual parts, such as the brain, the bones, and the heart. However, no matter how complex, a human is only one work, with individual parts working together to make it functional. Similarly, a work of art is composed of individual elements collaborating to create the overall work. Beginning with the colors chosen, to the way the artist swipes their brush in specific directions creating distinct textures, the work would not be complete without its most minute component. The same concept can be applied to musical pieces. A great musical work would not be complete without the original combinations of musical instruments, voices, lyrics, and meaning. Two examples of this idea are “Classical Gas” by California Guitar Trio and “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin.
In reference to music we can indentify specific aspects of pitch, including harmony and melody. Harmony refers to the relationship of sounds that happen simultaneously while melody refers to the relationship between sounds that occur one right after the other. “Classical Gas” has a melody, which means it has a hummable tune accompanied by a wide pitch range. Some notes are leisurely and low, while others burst into rapid, loud sounds. “Cat’s in the Cradle” also has a melody, however, its pitch range is much narrower than “Classical Gas”. It does have high and low notes, but the high notes seem to mostly come during the chorus of the song, rather than randomly throughout the piece. “Classical Gas” is mostly presented in a conjunct, or stepwise motion, however, some leaps, or disjunct motions are prominent and repeated throughout the song. F...
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...diate slight decrescendo when the chorus ends. In this case, I would argue that the instrumental background adds to the lyrics by giving it a specific beat and accentuating the sounds of the words, with sounds from the guitar or drums. The overall dynamic level in this piece is mezzo-forte, meaning somewhat loud.
“Classical Gas” by California Guitar Trio is consisted of three acoustic guitars. “’We’re kind of unique in the sense that we’re playing this progressive instrumental music on only acoustic guitars,’ [said Paul] Richards” (Cleveland). All three of the guitars combined together create a mellow, but still, exciting tone color. “Cat’s in the Cradle” includes a melodious electric guitar, as well as another string that allows the crescendos for the chorus to occur, it also includes a vocal instrument (Harry Chapin), and drums can be heard in the background.
“Then He Kissed Me” by The Crystals contains a stylistic technique of layering. In the beginning of the song, it starts out with a guitar solo and then more instruments are continuously added in one at a time, along with the singers. The sound is rich and complete with multiple instruments layering in the background, which means that doubling and/or triple rhythm sections were used. The instruments blend together to create a single effect that builds up to a climax. Near the end of “Then He Kissed Me”, each instrument gradually drops out one at a time to create a decrescendo effect in the sound, counteracting the layering technique in the beginning of the song.
“At Last” starts off with a strong harmony of a combination of strings including violins, violas, and cellos. As vocal comes in, the sound strings back off and drum kit kicks in with a classic three- fourths meter.The strings give people a
John Hollander’s poem, “By the Sound,” emulates the description Strand and Boland set forth to classify a villanelle poem. Besides following the strict structural guidelines of the villanelle, the content of “By the Sound” also follows the villanelle standard. Strand and Boland explain, “…the form refuses to tell a story. It circles around and around, refusing to go forward in any kind of linear development” (8). When “By the Sound” is examined in regards to a story, the poem’s linear development does not get beyond the setting. …” The poem starts: “Dawn rolled up slowly what the night unwound” (Hollander 1). The reader learns the time of the poem’s story is dawn. The last line of the first stanza provides place: “That was when I was living by the sound” (3). It establishes time and place in the first stanza, but like the circular motion of a villanelle, each stanza never moves beyond morning time at the sound but only conveys a little more about “dawn.” The first stanza comments on the sound of dawn with “…gulls shrieked violently…” (2). The second stanza explains the ref...
“The whole problem can be stated quite simply by asking, 'Is there a meaning to music?' My answer would be, 'Yes.' And 'Can you state in so many words what the meaning is?' My answer to that would be, 'No.'”
The first aspect of the music I recognized was the volume, or the dynamics. It ranged from forte during the climactic moments to mezzo piano during the calmer parts, but mostly remained in this range throughout the concert. There were also several instances of crescendo and decrescendo, which served to build up tension or slow the piece down, respectively.
The music in this song is so dense and is paired beautifully with the deep tone of Bill Medley’s voice. The song begins with little to none background music but by 22 seconds into the song Phil adds a tambourine. Then, almost immediately Phil adds additions of the orchestra such as the cello. By the chorus, Phil is utilizing the entire orchestra which creates a dense sound behind the lead vocals and back up vocalist of The Righteous Brothers. After the chorus, the orchestra is still being used, but he tones it down a little in order to secure the intensity of the chorus. If he was to use the entire orchestra at full potential throughout the whole song, the chorus would not have as much effect. The last verse of the song includes very little instruments in the back ground. However, the music progressively builds with the lyrics of the song in order to end the song on an intense and dramatic
The band attests an easily bent temperament when digging “Triste Beleza”, an illustrative bossa nova appointment propelled by Stryker’s luxurious acoustic guitar voicings, Stewart’s gentle brushwork, and Diaz’s fortifying conga
Many say that music has evolved over the years. This essay shall explore the elements of two versions of one song. It shall discuss the correlations and disparities of these songs and confer how it has been revolutionised to entertain the audiences of today.
Music: the art of organized noise. The blend of pitch and rhythm combined in different mediums and enjoyed by our ears. A very interpretive art, music isn’t very clearly constricted or defined by one definition. With so many varieties of music, it’s difficult to say what aspect is really the most important. Some people think music’s history and the appreciation of music are the most important aspects to take into consideration. Some think complex in rhythms and melodies make the best music. Some people devote their whole lives to studying one genre of music in order to fully understand how that genre works. While all of these aspects of music are important, none of them can truly be compared with each other on a fair playing field. Music of different genres, eras, and geographic backgrounds were written for different purposes, different people, and different settings. Still, there is still one overarching theme that applies to all forms of music new or old: the way the composer presents his or her creation. The performance and presentation of a work of music is like the icing on the top of a cake. The cake may be the best you’ve ever tasted, but if the icing on the outside doesn’t look appealing or doesn’t taste good, chances are you’ll take a different piece of cake with better looking frosting next time. The performance of music is what appeals most to people. With live performance, an artist must “sell” his or her creation. They must put smile on their face and convey to the audience that this is their music and through the music explain why it’s awesome. They must persevere through whatever the stage, the audience, and their surroundings give them and put on a good show. In today’s popular music though, this aspect of showma...
The experience that brought about the conception of my understanding is starkly fixed in my memory. I was at a concert featuring one of Schubert’s Suites for String Quartet and my lack of familiarity with the work only served to heighten my already bursting excitement. They were late getting started and the audience around me fidgeted and chattered. I ignored them, sitting still in my seat, tense with anticipation. Finally the lights dimmed and a pregnant silence took hold. Despite my expectancy I was unprepared for the sudden eruption of applause like a bomb detonating in the hall as the four black figures strode onto the stage. Reminding me of Virginia Woolf’s description in The String Quartet, the performers “seated themselves facing the white squares under the downpour of light, rested the tips of their bows on the music stand, [and] with a simultaneous movement lifted them.” I leaned forward on my seat, straining to hear the first note even before it sounded. With an almost telepathic communication from the first violin, it began. From that moment I was lost. The audience, the musicians, even the music itself was forgotten, swept away by the surge of emotions that engulfed me. As I listened, or rather encountered the exquisite performance, for it was more intimate than listening, I realized with more force than ever before, that this was what I wanted to do. I wanted to make people feel like this when I sang.
To fully understand any musical style, one must be able to analyze the various elements of music as they exist in that particular style. In this first musical close-up, we shall briefly describe these elements of music. In subsequent musical close-ups, we shall examine one or another of these elements in greater detail as it pertains to a given style or topic.
The book is divided into four chapters: 1) Humanly Organized Sound, 2) Music in Society and Culture, 3) Culture and Society in Music, and 4) Soundly Organized Humanity. In chapter one, Blacking discusses the analysis of sound. He begins by describing music as humanly organized sound. His overarching theme is that “the function of tones in relation to each other cannot be explained adequately as part of a closed system” (30). In other words, music can’t be analyzed simply by one set of rules. This is because every single culture has a different system that they use to structure and compose their music. In order to adequately analyze a society’s music we have to study their “system.” We must learn what music means to them. Then, and only then, can we accurately and completely analyze what a particular type or piece of music means to a particular society and culture.
Music is far more than the sum of its parts. It can be thought of in a highly mathematical sense, which leaves one in awe of the seemingly endless combinations of rhythm, tone and intervals that a good musician can produce. Admiring music in this way is a lot like admiring an intricate snowflake, or shapes in the clouds; it's beautiful, but at the same time very scientific, based on patterns. All of the aforementioned qualities of music have one thing in common: they can be defined with numeric, specific values. However, the greatest aspect of music lies elsewhere, and cannot be specifically defined with words. It is the reaction that each individual has when they are confronted with their favorite (or least favorite) kind of music.
Music, a form of art, made up of unique and special sounds containing elements of pitch and rhythm can powerfully soothe one’s soul. Firstly, there are different types of music, and each has its own features. These sounds and features are what I admire in music because to me it creates a new form of communication to one’s consciousness. It stimulates our mind and gives it a sense of harmony and peace through the hardships that life poses for us. As a kid, I would always listen to music from any genre, deciding which genre would complement me the most as I grew older. In middle school, I remember going on the computer and finding a website/program where I could make my own beats. From that day on, I spent countless of hours each day making sure the tune sounded proper and pleasurable for my ears. At first, it wasn’t good, but eventua...
Dobrian, Chris. "Music and Artificial Intelligence.” In University of California, Irvine Department of Music. UCI.edu,