Pop. Traditional. Classical. These are all genres of music. These all serve a purpose. These are all important. Pop music has been used to help inform and motivate the general public during movements like environmental protection and gay rights. Traditional music has helped to guide us by telling us stories of the past from the church to the fields. Classical music has been played for royalty and help dancers spin a story. Some can be considered art while others can’t, but it often differs because the definition of art is in constant motion. The definition of art is a subject philosopher’s debate because it can be defined strictly or loosely. For the purpose of this essay, let art be defined as anything that can be touched or heard, and it causes a mental and physical reaction. Classical music is truly an art form because it invokes a mental and physical reaction from both the audience and the performers, and it has contrast to make it more dynamic. Classical music is physically moving because it causes the performers to move with the music as they play. When the Alexander String Quartet played Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A major, K. 581 with Eli Eban as the clarinetist, the string players leaned forward as the played the quiet parts while Eli Eban leaned backwards as he played the piano parts of Mozart like the beginning of the first movement. However, when the strings were playing quiet for most of the Larghetto movement, they were not leaning forward the whole time, but swaying and watching each other as they played. During the menuetto and trio I,II movement, Frederick Lifsitz and Zakarias Grafilo were nearly bouncing out of their chairs as they played bright ascending lines. When they pass around the theme of the allegro mo... ... middle of paper ... ...t that is what made it truly beautiful because it conveyed a picture. All of the pieces I heard made me think about the music itself, and wonder what the composer was picturing as he wrote. All of the concerts I went to were good. The concerts allowed me to broaden my knowledge of music and learn more about how chamber music sounds. I moved along with the music I heard, and I thought about the works as I listened to them. I saw the musicians move as they played, and I know most musicians think about how they are going to play. Classical music may be losing the younger audiences, but it is still as great as it used to be when these pieces where played for royalty. Thought and movement are reactions to classical music which is why it’s an art form, and we should continue to support it because it is growing as composers write new pieces for the modern day instruments.
Because of human intention, people have music. So I think music should be related to human intention. The next thing is about human perception. The interesting thing of music 's origin is that there is no clear record to tell the public when and how people have music. The time period, about 60,000 and 30,000 years ago, is an indecisive period and it only came from speculation. So maybe music emerged in different ways in different places, just as now in the world every country or even every city have its own musical cultures. In this perspective, music is really subjective since it is inescapable tied to culture and the experience of the audience. Hence, music is all about personal opinion, which is corresponding to perception. Even though music does have some basic component, everyone has different opinion on music. The definition of music should satisfies the subjective of music. "To be successful, a definition of music must balance these various stories, defining music in terms of its traditions"(Davis 552). The HIP approach solve this difficulty by reserving the subjective of music and balance various musical cultures and traditions in the world. This definition lets the audience judge if they think the sound belongs to music. Therefore, a successful definition of music should be related to human perception since only in this way can balance the various cultures. From the analysis
In answering the question, "Can music represent?" Scruton outlines five conditions that "describe the aesthetic significance of representation."11 Three of these are relevant to his discussion concerning music:
The first song played was from a genre that I had previously taken a test on, Sonata. The musicians played the song by the book. There were three movements and polyphonic texture. It was even fast and jerky. Nonetheless, this is the part where my rollercoaster was going down. In my opinion it was boring. Although very well played, the song itself did not interest me. I did not like the roadrunner, coyote essence of the song. The piano accompaniment would sometimes play the melody and let the clarinet follow and then they would switch. This to me seemed force instead of like the Sonatas that I listened to in class. However, apart from the musical aspect of the first piece there was a certain intensity expressed by the performers. I had never seen a
The text of The Erlking (1815), by Schubert, is a Germanic legend and is about the king of the elves. He is an evil and magical figure, who with his touch (whether you touch him or he touches you) can kill. In the text a father and his son are riding home at night and the son keeps screaming that he sees the Erlking and he was going to hurt him. The father doesn't know what to do b/c he's not sure if the son is really seeing the Erlking or if he is
Ever since humans first learned how to make music with their voices and with instruments thousands of years ago, music has been changing. Some changes took place over hundreds or even thousands of years, stunted by human isolation or by guidelines set in place by religious institutions. The 20th century, in contrast, experienced several rapid, radical changes in the popular genres of music. This made the 20th century a very rich time period for musical culture. These remarkable genres--including, but not limited to jazz, rock and roll, and the music of the “British invasion”--all influenced one another, and all influenced the culture we still live in today.
Music has been ingrained in the American heart for generations. From African American slaves singing songs to boost the overall happiness of the people they worked with (Songs in Slave Society, 2009) to the Beatles performance on The Ed Sullivan Show that was seen by 73 million people, or 40 percent of the U.S. population. (Lule, 2012) With the explosion in the popularity of owning a home radio, it has further shaped American culture and its values. In 1922 there were 60,000 households in the United States with radios; by 1929 the number had topped 10 million. (David Marc, 2000) When radio stations started, creating programming, it started breaking down racial bonds, not immediately there were still white only radio stations, yet Black radio became more common on the AM dial. (Lule, 2012) With varying musical styles that could be picked up on any radio by any race, enabling people to gain insight into different cultures, bringing with it, acceptance of those differences. Early Black disc jockeys even began improvising rhymes over the music, pioneering techniques that later became rap and hip-hop. This new personality-driven style helped bring early rock and roll to new audiences. (Lule, 2012) Between the years 1960 and 1966, the number of households capable of receiving FM transmissions grew from about 6.5 million to some 40 million. (Lule, 2012) During the sixties music was a platform for artists to share their feelings on many different social issues, including civil rights and race relations; drugs, affluence, and consumerism; the Cold War; Vietnam and the peace movement; the sexual revolution; women’s liberation; and ecological and environmental concerns. (Ward, 2002)
Though an individual may be a producer of a piece of music, it is the audience that shares their like for it and makes it popular. The audience of each piece of music is a community in itself. The significance of the piece is conveyed through what the artist produces and what they call “meaning”. From the audience, the “meaning” lies within the interpretation of the music produced. This meaning can be affected depending on different factors involved in the listening experience. These factors are the lyrics, the form, performance style among others. The piece that demonstrates a “meaning” according to the audience is something they enjoy, what is called popular music and something the audience can identify with as a community (Robinson, Buck and Cuthbert 15). This can be associated with music in the past. Past meaning of music refers to the “material and aesthetic environment in which it was once playing” (Denora 144).
What would the world be like without music? The world would be a very silent place. Music is in many ways the material of our lives and the meaning of society. It is a reminder of how things were in the old days, a suggestion of how things are, and a view of where society is leading to. Music is the direct reflection of the picture of art, music, and literature. Music can be a way to deliver messages, being poetic, a fine art, or it can just be for entertainment. No matter what it is used for, music is the perfect art there is and there are various types of music; such as classical and romantic. This paper will discuss how classical music and romantic music had a turning point in humanity’s social or cultural development, and how they have
The manifestation of roots music from African immigrants developed into American musical genres such as spirituals, blues, and gospel music. As the centuries progressed, spirituals and work songs extended to comprise distinctive song genres, particularly the blues of southern blacks. Work songs and spirituals from African Americans are regarded as a window into their cultural life, their songs interconnect the optimisms, burdens, and beliefs of slavery. Music was imbedded into life, songs were hummed on front porches, chanted in churches, and caroled in the fields. Melodies were passed down from parent to child and through connotations they mirrored the changing times.
Music has a number of definitions that are each specific to the social construct. Some view music as an object as it can be “abstracted from its time and place and put into new contexts”. In other words, music can be thought of as an “institutionalized system of tonality” otherwise known as an organized series of notes and sounds that are recycled over time. Also, as an object, music can be used as a commodity or means for profit by way of production and sales for entertainment. The level of popularity is determined by society and it creates the context by which the form of objectification is then decided. Others think of music as something to do as a process or activity in its usage by listeners. In either case, music “produces the scenes,
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...
Music and art are basic functions that human cannot function without. Irrespective of whether one is taking pleasure or creating it, sound is unavoidable. Music has been highly valued by people as a significant interaction in life. It has been used for enjoyment, listening, emotional response, and performing. Music reflects and makes social conditions that hold up social change. All kinds of music are available to many people throughout and easily as technological advancements continue to occur. Life contains different occasions requiring appropriate music to fit each occasion. This brings about different types of music which are associated with various occasions and stages in life. The paper identifies and explains the role of music in different stages of life. This paper goes down in detailing types of music in different stages of life and giving their significant roles.
What I find most intriguing about music is that like food and other cultural materials, each culture produces its own category of what they consider to be music which is then made available to the public. To understand music it is important to understand what culture is. Culture is a complex topic that has three different schools of thought, which are Whiggish, Marxist and Neo-Marxist (Epprecht 2018). The dominant approach is the Whiggish approach which believes that culture is the marker of civilization and hence includes the customs, traditions, values and ways of life of a certain group of people who are from a specific region of the world (ibid). This approach believes that there are canons or experts who are known to be perfect examples of a certain component of culture, and these are the people that everyone in a country should know of (ibid). In the case of music, the canons are the artists who are producing music that reflects their culture’s views. Since music is culturally specific, it is important to look at which culture’s music is most
With my major being Sociology, and having been interested in human nature long before declaring, I was excited, but again unsurprised, to learn the ability of music to communicate feeling—both good and bad. Just as Aaron Copland states in his interview with psychologists Lawrence E. Abt and Stanley Rosner, “Music is a language of the emotions…either on a very plain and elementary basis, or …on a highly complex one…it generally gives off some sort of generalized emotional feeling…” This belief was mirrored by another famous composer, Leonard Bernstein in his essay This I Believe, “I believe in man’s unconscious mind, the deep spring from which comes his power to communicate and to love. For me, all art is a combination of these powers; for if love is the way we have of communicating personally in the deepest way, then what art can do is to extend this communication, magnify it, and carry it to vastly greater numbers of
More than 2000 years have passed since humans discovered music. Music is an art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color (anonymous, 2014). It started out as a simple striking of materials that produced sounds and was later developed with the inventions of musical instruments such as stringed instruments. The development of music evolves from prehistoric until the present period of time. Music has been very popular to people, not only to adults but also to teenagers and children. Its popularity can be attributed to the components of music such as lyrics, genres, artists and specifically, being a big part of the present media. The researchers came up with this topic due to the influence of music in the present time and the stress that is being encountered recently.