I guess there was never a time when I didn't know music. From even before I was born, I am told, that I was hearing my mom sing opera. My family, aside from my dad, are all very musical people. Most of, if not all of, the relatives on my mom's side are musicians. I grew up in a world full of music and sounds. I began my own journey in the children choir directed by my mom in Hong Kong. After moving to America, I had many more opportunities to know music. Like every Asian child, I had to learn how to play piano. I started in the 2nd grade which is considered to be very old to start. In LA, kids in 4th grade are required to attend music class and learn either a stringed instrument learn vocals. But the high school band director came and gave us the option of learning a wind instrument. That's when I started playing trumpet. When choosing instruments, I didn't even know what a trumpet was. I simply chose something out of a list of instruments. I don't remember how bad I sounded but now that I go and sit in beginners trumpet classes at the middle schools...it must have sounded horrendous... One of the first things the director told us was the philosophy behind learning an instrument. No one is good at anything at the beginning so we would have to put a lot of effort into learning how to use this piece of metal to express what we wanted to express. He said that it's like a stair case. There are times when you're going straight up and you're improving greatly, then there are the time when you're going horizontal and it seems like you'll never get better at all. But, he warns us, a room full of elementary school kids, if you decide to stop and give up at this horizontal point you will plummet straight down. It's not about talent, although that does help, it's about hard work. He is the greatest director I have ever had in my many years of trumpet playing.
Since I was surrounded with music from the start, it's a little different for me to figure out what, exactly, music is to me. This didn't occur to me until I was in high school. I had moved to Texas. It was a bad move and I was really hating it here. I had always been in the band so when high school came around I didn't see the difference. However, marching band was something completely different. It was the toughest thing I had ever encountered in the music world. My new director called said, "You guys are the hardest working people in the entire school because not everyone can do what you are doing". How right he was. Not only was it hard to tough out the weather outside for the countless hours but the world of marching band music and high school band was brutal. If anything was wrong everyone would stab you for it. It was for the good of the band, of course, since everyone got the same treatment. In this institution, I have formulated many of the principles that I apply to life today. Hard work, responsibility, time management, a good work ethic, fix your own problems..NOW!, and that drive to be perfect and be excellent because anything else was unacceptable. Most of all I learned what music meant to me. When you were in a place like that, you didn't stay there unless you had very good reason to do so.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
rant on modern day popular music
There is a song that 3 guys from the band "Axis of Awesome" have created called "4 Chords 36 Songs".
This song shows just how sad the music world has become in recent days. Of all the chords in all of the music world, why is it that people are not creative enough to use anything but these 4 and in this exact arrangement as well. If you look down Music History Lane, music was so sophisticated back in the day. Composers actually took classes for a large part of their life before writing anything noteworthy because they knew all the other stuff wasn't good enough. They studied under the great masters of that time and devoted their life to creating great music not to becoming famous on something done halfway.
Of course, the goal nowadays is different from back then but it shouldn't change the quality of the music to be something this ridiculous. I once heard that a certain modern day pop composer started the process of composing his new songs by playing a "a" major chord and went from there. How repetitive the songs must sound if they all start with "a". In this day and age, everyone thinks they can compose and everyone thinks they can sing either with very little or no training at all. Sure, people say that the simpler it is the more the layman is able to understand it but why can't the layman become more educated. How does it make anyone feel accomplished if they understand something so simple and trivial and the other side of the world would be laughing at you?
Another thing is the text (words for a melody). For some reason, no one can write text for anything other than love. Love lost, love found, love is stupid, the guy is stupid, they girl is stupid, I'm so awesome she's not, I'm so awesome he's not...etc..etc...it's so boring. Music is the language of the soul. Why is it that people's souls nowadays are seemingly so retarded...they have nothing sincere to express. All that is left in the connection of the head to the heart is these repetitive chord arrangements and crappy texts. As the songs says, "that's all it takes to be a star". How pitiful.
This song shows just how sad the music world has become in recent days. Of all the chords in all of the music world, why is it that people are not creative enough to use anything but these 4 and in this exact arrangement as well. If you look down Music History Lane, music was so sophisticated back in the day. Composers actually took classes for a large part of their life before writing anything noteworthy because they knew all the other stuff wasn't good enough. They studied under the great masters of that time and devoted their life to creating great music not to becoming famous on something done halfway.
Of course, the goal nowadays is different from back then but it shouldn't change the quality of the music to be something this ridiculous. I once heard that a certain modern day pop composer started the process of composing his new songs by playing a "a" major chord and went from there. How repetitive the songs must sound if they all start with "a". In this day and age, everyone thinks they can compose and everyone thinks they can sing either with very little or no training at all. Sure, people say that the simpler it is the more the layman is able to understand it but why can't the layman become more educated. How does it make anyone feel accomplished if they understand something so simple and trivial and the other side of the world would be laughing at you?
Another thing is the text (words for a melody). For some reason, no one can write text for anything other than love. Love lost, love found, love is stupid, the guy is stupid, they girl is stupid, I'm so awesome she's not, I'm so awesome he's not...etc..etc...it's so boring. Music is the language of the soul. Why is it that people's souls nowadays are seemingly so retarded...they have nothing sincere to express. All that is left in the connection of the head to the heart is these repetitive chord arrangements and crappy texts. As the songs says, "that's all it takes to be a star". How pitiful.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
passive or active listening...?
Ever since I could remember, I have been involved in video games. One of the things about a video game that most people don't notice very much is the soundtrack. But for a particular game, it is very important to the players of this game that the music is good. For the Final Fantasy series, music has always been an integral part of game play.
Perhaps it is the fact that some parts of this game plays out like a movie, with amazing computer generated graphics, and the recent (within the last 10 years) addition of voice acting, music is just as important here as it is in a full movie. Starting with the first game of the series, Final Fantasy I, the soundtrack of this game began to put a signature on the game. Every fan of the series starting at any point in the series's history, whether you started at Final Fantasy I or the Final Fantasy XII, will know it is this series whenever you hear the theme of victory played after every successful battle.
Naturally, there has been more than one composer for the games' soundtracks, but one particular composer to note is Uematsu Nobuo (Nobuo Uematsu in the western name order). He started composing for the series from game 1. His works are the ones most people look forward to hearing. He uses very grand chords and almost always manages to compose a melody that is memorable so you will know exactly which game that song or piece came from. Those games whose soundtracks were not composed by Uematsu or that he didn't have any involvement in sold noticeably less copies. There is a general consensus that he is The composer for Final Fantasy.
Other composers for this line of games may not be bad composers, just as there are movie composers who compose pieces that are very repetitive does not mean they are bad composers. The important thing is to understand whether the audience that you are composing for will be actively or passively listening to the piece that you are currently composing. I believe that Uematsu is every Final Fantasy fan's music composer of choice because he was able to find that balance between music for active and music for passive listening. When you are in-game, you do not want a soundtrack that is annoying because it is so present nor do you want something that is so without presence that it is not memorable and you have unable to remember it even after hearing constantly for the 15 or more hours that you might spend in one location. Uematsu was able to find that balance. In contrast, the composer for the soundtrack for Final Fantasy XII (the previously latest installment), Sakimoto Hitoshi, who composed most of the soundtrack, created what the players would call, the annoyingly present soundtrack. Because of the nature of the game play in Final Fantasy XII, the music did not change unless the player entered a different map area which meant that you were hearing the same thing more often and for longer periods of time. However, the soundtrack had so much movement and demanded so much of your attention that it became a chore to listen to it. During certain points, the music was the reason you really wanted to stop playing the game.
That being said, the Final Fantasy XII soundtrack should be good for active listening then. Well, it fails in this category as well in that it does not demand THAT much attention. It hovers between the fully active and semi active, semi passive listening states which is annoying because then it's not good for anything.
The thing about Uematsu's music is that it is wonderful for fully passive and semi-passive, semi-active listening AND for fully active listening, for a short amount of time. You can't have everything but Uematsu comes close. He understands exactly which tracks you'll be listening to actively and writes those with amazing chord arrangement to make it so grand and amazing that, along with the eye-popping computer graphics, creates a scene of shear awesomeness that makes the hairs on your neck stand on end.
Yes, there are many aspects to a game worthy of the roman numeral and a place in the Final Fantasy line, but the aspect of music is surely half the game.
Perhaps it is the fact that some parts of this game plays out like a movie, with amazing computer generated graphics, and the recent (within the last 10 years) addition of voice acting, music is just as important here as it is in a full movie. Starting with the first game of the series, Final Fantasy I, the soundtrack of this game began to put a signature on the game. Every fan of the series starting at any point in the series's history, whether you started at Final Fantasy I or the Final Fantasy XII, will know it is this series whenever you hear the theme of victory played after every successful battle.
Naturally, there has been more than one composer for the games' soundtracks, but one particular composer to note is Uematsu Nobuo (Nobuo Uematsu in the western name order). He started composing for the series from game 1. His works are the ones most people look forward to hearing. He uses very grand chords and almost always manages to compose a melody that is memorable so you will know exactly which game that song or piece came from. Those games whose soundtracks were not composed by Uematsu or that he didn't have any involvement in sold noticeably less copies. There is a general consensus that he is The composer for Final Fantasy.
Other composers for this line of games may not be bad composers, just as there are movie composers who compose pieces that are very repetitive does not mean they are bad composers. The important thing is to understand whether the audience that you are composing for will be actively or passively listening to the piece that you are currently composing. I believe that Uematsu is every Final Fantasy fan's music composer of choice because he was able to find that balance between music for active and music for passive listening. When you are in-game, you do not want a soundtrack that is annoying because it is so present nor do you want something that is so without presence that it is not memorable and you have unable to remember it even after hearing constantly for the 15 or more hours that you might spend in one location. Uematsu was able to find that balance. In contrast, the composer for the soundtrack for Final Fantasy XII (the previously latest installment), Sakimoto Hitoshi, who composed most of the soundtrack, created what the players would call, the annoyingly present soundtrack. Because of the nature of the game play in Final Fantasy XII, the music did not change unless the player entered a different map area which meant that you were hearing the same thing more often and for longer periods of time. However, the soundtrack had so much movement and demanded so much of your attention that it became a chore to listen to it. During certain points, the music was the reason you really wanted to stop playing the game.
That being said, the Final Fantasy XII soundtrack should be good for active listening then. Well, it fails in this category as well in that it does not demand THAT much attention. It hovers between the fully active and semi active, semi passive listening states which is annoying because then it's not good for anything.
The thing about Uematsu's music is that it is wonderful for fully passive and semi-passive, semi-active listening AND for fully active listening, for a short amount of time. You can't have everything but Uematsu comes close. He understands exactly which tracks you'll be listening to actively and writes those with amazing chord arrangement to make it so grand and amazing that, along with the eye-popping computer graphics, creates a scene of shear awesomeness that makes the hairs on your neck stand on end.
Yes, there are many aspects to a game worthy of the roman numeral and a place in the Final Fantasy line, but the aspect of music is surely half the game.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Performance Report 2
Introduction:
This second performance report is on the musical Side Show performed on April 8 at 8pm in the University Theatre. Book and lyrics by Bill Russell and Music by Henry Krieger.
The story is based loosely on the true lives of conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton born in England in 1908. They were exploited as financial potential, as they could both sing, until they sued for their independence. They continued performing but were abandoned and died of Hong Kong flu in 1969. This story attempts to address the idea topic of self-acceptance identity. What is normal? What is it to be normal? Why does it even matter?
Music:
The music of the show is obviously the main element to the acting and interaction of the performers. Since it is a musical, sentences are often sung and not spoken. The melodies are not as important during these times and the melodic phrase is usually pretty monotoned. There is a song for every situation/scene in the musical. When singing the words, it's pretty much one word per note. All vocals are sung in the traditional, western method or closely resembling that method. It is easy to tell who has more vocal ability from the quality of the voice as each performer sings. The human voice is the most important instrument during the show but live music is present in the form of a live pit which is quite small, consisting only of about 17 people. However, the volume was actually not bad.
Performers:
Performers interact with each other mainly within the context of the musical's story. They talk to/about each other in their characters. They also communicated through eye contact and cues when there is a scene change. Through the music and dance, performers are also able to tell what another performer is about to do. Since everything is in the context of the story, all performers are dressed as their character at all times. The actresses who play the twins are always together even when walking on and off stage. Each performer, with an important role or not, has a different costume, unless the scene calls for them to dress the same. This way you are able to differentiate each of the people.
Performers try to interact with the audience as well by speaking to them during their monologues and actually singing to the audience sometimes. During the start of the musical, the freak show is advertised to the audience as an introduction to the cast.
Audience:
This was the audience for the opening night. Most of the people there know someone on the cast or in the live pit or both, parents, grandparents, friends, family, etc. Some are there for reports. The room was fairly full. In terms of the "outsider", there are those who already know or have performed the songs in the musical so those are "outside" would be those completely new to this musical. Although that doesn't hinder you from enjoying the musical. In fact, it might have been better because these people would not be judging the performance based on a performance they previously attended.
Time and Space:
The size of the crowd is mostly due to the fact that not only is it opening night but it is also free night. Many people who are not UTD students came to see it. They were not the most responsive crowd though. The musical's entrance is with the performers on the side stairs next to the audience and the cannibal king runs around the audience at one point, so they do try to include the audience into the performance. The room was also quite small so the audience was very close to the stage, and very close to the performers making it feel like a very "close" performance, unlike huge stages where the audience is at least 15ft from the edge of the stage.
Conclusion:
In general, it was a good performance. The live pit was regrettably the most unsatisfying thing of the performance because it kept making mistakes which took away from the performance in general. The songs were still pretty interesting despite the fact that the musical is story oriented and less caring about the melodic or actual musical aspects of the performance. Although it is true most to the time, the audience was not always just the audience and the performers tried their best to pull the audience into the world of the story.
Sources:
*NOTE: italics used in place of underlining because blogspot doesn't have the underline option
Side Show. By Bill Russell/Henry Krieger. Dir.Robert Longbottom. Perf. UTD drama students. Cond. Robert Longbottom. University Theatre, Richardson, 8 April 2010. (Side Show).
Longbottom, Robert. Director's Notes. Side Show. 8 April 2010. Richardson: University Theatre. (Longbottom).
This second performance report is on the musical Side Show performed on April 8 at 8pm in the University Theatre. Book and lyrics by Bill Russell and Music by Henry Krieger.
The story is based loosely on the true lives of conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton born in England in 1908. They were exploited as financial potential, as they could both sing, until they sued for their independence. They continued performing but were abandoned and died of Hong Kong flu in 1969. This story attempts to address the idea topic of self-acceptance identity. What is normal? What is it to be normal? Why does it even matter?
Music:
The music of the show is obviously the main element to the acting and interaction of the performers. Since it is a musical, sentences are often sung and not spoken. The melodies are not as important during these times and the melodic phrase is usually pretty monotoned. There is a song for every situation/scene in the musical. When singing the words, it's pretty much one word per note. All vocals are sung in the traditional, western method or closely resembling that method. It is easy to tell who has more vocal ability from the quality of the voice as each performer sings. The human voice is the most important instrument during the show but live music is present in the form of a live pit which is quite small, consisting only of about 17 people. However, the volume was actually not bad.
Performers:
Performers interact with each other mainly within the context of the musical's story. They talk to/about each other in their characters. They also communicated through eye contact and cues when there is a scene change. Through the music and dance, performers are also able to tell what another performer is about to do. Since everything is in the context of the story, all performers are dressed as their character at all times. The actresses who play the twins are always together even when walking on and off stage. Each performer, with an important role or not, has a different costume, unless the scene calls for them to dress the same. This way you are able to differentiate each of the people.
Performers try to interact with the audience as well by speaking to them during their monologues and actually singing to the audience sometimes. During the start of the musical, the freak show is advertised to the audience as an introduction to the cast.
Audience:
This was the audience for the opening night. Most of the people there know someone on the cast or in the live pit or both, parents, grandparents, friends, family, etc. Some are there for reports. The room was fairly full. In terms of the "outsider", there are those who already know or have performed the songs in the musical so those are "outside" would be those completely new to this musical. Although that doesn't hinder you from enjoying the musical. In fact, it might have been better because these people would not be judging the performance based on a performance they previously attended.
Time and Space:
The size of the crowd is mostly due to the fact that not only is it opening night but it is also free night. Many people who are not UTD students came to see it. They were not the most responsive crowd though. The musical's entrance is with the performers on the side stairs next to the audience and the cannibal king runs around the audience at one point, so they do try to include the audience into the performance. The room was also quite small so the audience was very close to the stage, and very close to the performers making it feel like a very "close" performance, unlike huge stages where the audience is at least 15ft from the edge of the stage.
Conclusion:
In general, it was a good performance. The live pit was regrettably the most unsatisfying thing of the performance because it kept making mistakes which took away from the performance in general. The songs were still pretty interesting despite the fact that the musical is story oriented and less caring about the melodic or actual musical aspects of the performance. Although it is true most to the time, the audience was not always just the audience and the performers tried their best to pull the audience into the world of the story.
Sources:
*NOTE: italics used in place of underlining because blogspot doesn't have the underline option
Side Show. By Bill Russell/Henry Krieger. Dir.Robert Longbottom. Perf. UTD drama students. Cond. Robert Longbottom. University Theatre, Richardson, 8 April 2010. (Side Show).
Longbottom, Robert. Director's Notes. Side Show. 8 April 2010. Richardson: University Theatre. (Longbottom).
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
side show: what it shows about society now
The musical assigned as the 2nd performance report assignment:
Side show was written loosely based on the true happenings in the read lives of Violet and Daisy. When thinking about this musical, I thought of how fake everything is. Right now, in a college environment, it seems as through the people here are in their own world. The people here are still being sheltered from the true world. People are so fake in a college setting. Everyone is out to impress and make false promises of wonderful things and yet are unable to fulfill them since they were false to begin with. In addition to addressing the point that nothing is as it seems, Sideshow also addresses the point that people are essentially alone. There will be many people who will claim to never leave you or be with you forever, but it is truly false. In the college setting you learn that you meet people today that you may never see again starting tomorrow. However, there are those who can be found in this society that will stay with you. Those these are rare, they are not nonexistent. Mostly it is family. Many come to college relieved to finally be away from their families only to realize what their family meant to them. Without anyone, college is lonely place with nothing. Many students learn the value of family and gain much better relations with their family members.
College is also a time of new trials. With these new trials, one may see the true face of some people they thought they knew, just as Daisy and Violet saw the true face of people they thought they knew. This can be a good thing or a bad thing in that you may find that there is someone you never saw a someone you could have a relationship with or it could be a bad thing in that you may find there is a person who has been playing you this whole time.
Sideshow addresses the more realistic side of human relations, the side that isn't shown often since it is obviously not appealing nor very entertaining to talk about but is nonetheless a necessary to be discussed since it is real and happening back when the real Daisy and Violet were alive, now and will continue to happen in the future.
Side show was written loosely based on the true happenings in the read lives of Violet and Daisy. When thinking about this musical, I thought of how fake everything is. Right now, in a college environment, it seems as through the people here are in their own world. The people here are still being sheltered from the true world. People are so fake in a college setting. Everyone is out to impress and make false promises of wonderful things and yet are unable to fulfill them since they were false to begin with. In addition to addressing the point that nothing is as it seems, Sideshow also addresses the point that people are essentially alone. There will be many people who will claim to never leave you or be with you forever, but it is truly false. In the college setting you learn that you meet people today that you may never see again starting tomorrow. However, there are those who can be found in this society that will stay with you. Those these are rare, they are not nonexistent. Mostly it is family. Many come to college relieved to finally be away from their families only to realize what their family meant to them. Without anyone, college is lonely place with nothing. Many students learn the value of family and gain much better relations with their family members.
College is also a time of new trials. With these new trials, one may see the true face of some people they thought they knew, just as Daisy and Violet saw the true face of people they thought they knew. This can be a good thing or a bad thing in that you may find that there is someone you never saw a someone you could have a relationship with or it could be a bad thing in that you may find there is a person who has been playing you this whole time.
Sideshow addresses the more realistic side of human relations, the side that isn't shown often since it is obviously not appealing nor very entertaining to talk about but is nonetheless a necessary to be discussed since it is real and happening back when the real Daisy and Violet were alive, now and will continue to happen in the future.
post 12
The subgenre of rock and roll (or just rock) is probably considered to be it's own genre rather than a subgenre by many. There are a few characteristics that make a this subgenre what it is. Things like the use of the electric guitar which was originally for making a guitar more quiet, but ended but ended up being used to amplify it, the small ensembles just as in jazz or bluegrass groups, singing in almost all of the songs, different from the instrumental pieces of previous times, which means the singer always tries to put his/her own individualism into the song. It seems that song lyrics usually consist of love lost, love found, breakup lyrics, etc., usually things about this type of relationship. Also, lyrics tend to repeat themselves many many times. Songs often have 4 beats in a cycle with many strong beats so the rhythm is usually simple and easy to follow. The drum set is responsible for keeping the beat and various rhythms. As technology is getting better, artists of this subgenre are using the many tools coming out to help with their performance. Things like, monitors for live performances, multitrack recording for studio performances, and vocoding for fixes in pitch reference. Unlike those that came before it, this subgenre stresses on being loud and a rebellious statement against the previously very traditional reserved type music. It has a very raw energy. Not only is the rhythm simplified but the chords from which the harmony and melody come from are also very simple. Songs will only use a very standard set of progressions that change rather slowly.
"Suspicious Minds", Elvis Presley listening guide
0:00 instrumental start with guitar
0:06 verse 1 starts, vocals start and instruments become accompaniment, other instruments, like the drums and harmonization, come in
0:23 second part of verse 1 starts, melody of first part of verse 1 starts again
0:41 chorus begins for the first time.
0:48 chorus melody repeats for the second part of the chorus
0:56 verse 2 starts, repeating same melody as in verse 1
1:13 second part of verse 2 starts, repeating the same melody as in verse 1.
1:27 you can hear the back-up singers
1:30 chorus starts again, same as the first time chorus is sung
1:47 music slows down, drum is key to changing the tempo
1:49 bridge part starts
2:15 music speeds up again, drum set is key to changing the tempo
2:17 repeats verse 1
2:48 repeats verse 1 again, you can hear more drums in the background
3:24 repeats verse 1 again
3:37 repeats verse 1 again
3:54 repeats verse 1 again
4:10 repeats verse 1 again
fades out.
"Suspicious Minds", Elvis Presley listening guide
0:00 instrumental start with guitar
0:06 verse 1 starts, vocals start and instruments become accompaniment, other instruments, like the drums and harmonization, come in
0:23 second part of verse 1 starts, melody of first part of verse 1 starts again
0:41 chorus begins for the first time.
0:48 chorus melody repeats for the second part of the chorus
0:56 verse 2 starts, repeating same melody as in verse 1
1:13 second part of verse 2 starts, repeating the same melody as in verse 1.
1:27 you can hear the back-up singers
1:30 chorus starts again, same as the first time chorus is sung
1:47 music slows down, drum is key to changing the tempo
1:49 bridge part starts
2:15 music speeds up again, drum set is key to changing the tempo
2:17 repeats verse 1
2:48 repeats verse 1 again, you can hear more drums in the background
3:24 repeats verse 1 again
3:37 repeats verse 1 again
3:54 repeats verse 1 again
4:10 repeats verse 1 again
fades out.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
post 11
The music of the Gullah come from the mix of cultures from the rice coast area of Africa. As these cultures mixed there was nothing impeding them from developing further as these Africans were imported into the states and left with little interaction with the whites. In this way, their culture, heritage, traditions were preserved.
Music of these people consist of melodies that may not even be called melodies. The singing portion of this culture are with words that are just made up by the singer. The melodies, are also primarily decided by the solo singer, and everyone follows this person. There are songs that are set on how they are played/and/or sung but in general, the people follow the lead singer. Also, working as a salesperson for the things they grew, they would sing things like "strawberries" or such things. In general, songs and such were very simple because they were remembered and sung by those who had no education in music. All they knew was the songs taught to them by ear and what they had grown up hearing. After many years, these people no longer sing in their language from African but in English. Now there are few that can actually recite things in the original language. Music is now mostly drum beats that are played with multiple hand drums (and multiple people). Everyone is part of dancing to the drum beats, very much like other African drum beats.
Their music was about the community. It was about being who they were. They were all performers with their drums, sticks, bead gourdes, etc and they were all the audience as well. The music was very well integrated into their lives for themselves and to others and for their God as well.
Music of these people consist of melodies that may not even be called melodies. The singing portion of this culture are with words that are just made up by the singer. The melodies, are also primarily decided by the solo singer, and everyone follows this person. There are songs that are set on how they are played/and/or sung but in general, the people follow the lead singer. Also, working as a salesperson for the things they grew, they would sing things like "strawberries" or such things. In general, songs and such were very simple because they were remembered and sung by those who had no education in music. All they knew was the songs taught to them by ear and what they had grown up hearing. After many years, these people no longer sing in their language from African but in English. Now there are few that can actually recite things in the original language. Music is now mostly drum beats that are played with multiple hand drums (and multiple people). Everyone is part of dancing to the drum beats, very much like other African drum beats.
Their music was about the community. It was about being who they were. They were all performers with their drums, sticks, bead gourdes, etc and they were all the audience as well. The music was very well integrated into their lives for themselves and to others and for their God as well.
Monday, April 12, 2010
international week talent show
Last week was international week. In all honestly, I'm a big fan of international stuff. Not that anything here is bad but it's just less interesting and less creative sometimes. Plus, it's always good to feel the pride of the people of the other side of the world. Oh and how much pride they have!
It was a very loud experience to say the least. There were many people there. Performers were dressed in traditional clothes of their culture. Some even had traditional instruments of their culture. It was very amazing to see all the people gather with their fellow countrymen even though many didn't know each other. In the auditorium, it sounded more like a festival than a performance. Everyone was talking or cheering but still paying at least some attention to the performers on the stage. People cheered when their country was being represented or when they liked the performance with yells, hollers, whistling, etc. It was amusing to hear the guys cheer for the girl performers very loudly.
The music consisted of a lot of dancing and a lot of music for dance. Everything was very fast paced most of the time and had good rhythm. The music wasn't live of course, everything was played on the speakers. Practically all the music had drum beats to it since that would be better to dance to. The music also had chants or words as in actual singing with a melody. It was amusing here too to hear people in the audience singing with the music.
You could obviously tell that the performer was talking with the audience of his/her people. They spoke in their language and actually talked with the audience. Performers made eye contact and even spoke to each other during the performances to communicate because of the casualness of the whole thing. Like a festival, as previously mentioned.
Overall, it was a very interesting and actually, quite a fun experience. You can help but walk out of there with pride in your country.
It was a very loud experience to say the least. There were many people there. Performers were dressed in traditional clothes of their culture. Some even had traditional instruments of their culture. It was very amazing to see all the people gather with their fellow countrymen even though many didn't know each other. In the auditorium, it sounded more like a festival than a performance. Everyone was talking or cheering but still paying at least some attention to the performers on the stage. People cheered when their country was being represented or when they liked the performance with yells, hollers, whistling, etc. It was amusing to hear the guys cheer for the girl performers very loudly.
The music consisted of a lot of dancing and a lot of music for dance. Everything was very fast paced most of the time and had good rhythm. The music wasn't live of course, everything was played on the speakers. Practically all the music had drum beats to it since that would be better to dance to. The music also had chants or words as in actual singing with a melody. It was amusing here too to hear people in the audience singing with the music.
You could obviously tell that the performer was talking with the audience of his/her people. They spoke in their language and actually talked with the audience. Performers made eye contact and even spoke to each other during the performances to communicate because of the casualness of the whole thing. Like a festival, as previously mentioned.
Overall, it was a very interesting and actually, quite a fun experience. You can help but walk out of there with pride in your country.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
peformance report 1
Introduction:
The event is the Shakespeare in Song concert held on March 26 and 27 at the Jonsson Performance Hall at 8pm on the 26th and at 2pm and 8pm on the 17th directed by Kathryn Evans. The singers are from the UT Dallas Chamber Singers. The music consisted of pieces from various plays by Shakespeare including The Tempest, Hamlet, Cymbeline, Othello, and Twelfth Night. The plays themselves didn't really have any music but rather, there were some authentic songs written during the time of Shakespeare, some solo songs written by a British composer named Roger Quilter and choral arrangements of the songs of Shakespeare by Matthew Harris (director's notes in program). Both these composers have outstanding reputations in the music world.
Music:
As stated previously, the music is pulled from authentic songs of Shakespeare's time, from British composer Roger Quilter and from choral arrangements of Shakespeare songs by Matthew Harris. The music is mostly vocal (well..of course..it's singing afterall) in that there is only a piano to accompany a medium sized group of singers. The main focus is the voice in that there is little else to hear. Most of the songs are fairly quick and have a pretty quick tempo. It makes it a sort of "happy" song which means it's mostly in major keys. The texture consists of mostly vocals with there being a good balance between male and female voices. The vocal parts are split into the SATB parts for the singers. There are times when they might sing in unison (males/females in unison or male and female in unison but the latter is less) which is when the texture is a little bit thinner but not any softer or less full. The arrangements are fairly simple with no crazy runs or insane leaps. This shows the music's time in the choral/solo singer music world. Rhythm is also pretty simple. There aren't any passages in the music that sounded too challenging rhythm-wise. It was mostly very simple rhythms of 8th notes,quarter notes and maybe the some 16th notes but there really wasn't any tricky combinations.
Performers:
The first thing to take note of is that the performers were dressed like the people during the times of Shakespeare, including the director. Everyone had something different on but they were all costumes designed after the clothing worn by the people during Shakespeare's time. Everyone stood on a choir stand with the male voices on the right and the female voices on the left (if you were looking at the stage). Another thing to note is that everyone had a score. This takes a lot of the interaction between performers and the audience out because they have to look down all the time. Besides, the vocal exchange portions of the performance in which performers would come out of the choir stand and speak specific lines, the performers would communicate to each other with glances, hand motions, whispers, etc. The director, of course, conducted and held everyone together. During solo portions there was good communication between the pianist and the soloist since the director does not conduct theses portions. It was more like the pianist did a good job following the singer. During the parts where everyone sings together, the pianist is in good communication (with eye contact and nods) with the conductor who is in good communication with the choir using hand motions and eye contact and perhaps silent words as well (not clearly seen as you can only see the back of the director).
Audience:
The people who showed up to the performance, as far as I could see, were parents/friends/relatives/etc of the performers. Other than that, the next biggest group were those who were there for class. During the second and third performances, there were fewer and fewer people. The performance is open to outsiders. outsiders as in, people who have either never heard of Shakespeare in song or have never been exposed to this or just aren't very familiar with this music culture. In general, they are the people that don't know Shakespeare as much. You could go just to enjoy the singing and never get anything about it being Shakespeare. Since the performers are performing for the audience there is some communication in that. But, even if the audience didn't show up, the performers would still perform the same thing, although perhaps with less gusto. The performers may have been looking out into the audience but the audience has little to do with their performance nor is there much communication between the two parties.
Time and Space:
There was a pretty significant difference in the number of people in the audience for each of the performances. The first performance had the most people but even then, there weren't that many. Most people were there for the sake of class or because they knew someone who was performing. The performers were also visibly excited and nervous from perhaps the fact that it was the first show. I was told my a performer that, in the second showing, one of the solo performers was switched for another because the original one had failed to make the call time.
The substitute performer was noticeably more nervous but it didn't affect her performance a great deal. The excitement of the performers obviously died down as the performances continued.
Conclusion:
This was a rather interesting experience. The music is obviously not what most people are use to. It's surprisingly written by people who are very well established in the music world and is still being written today since Matthew Harris isn't dead yet (director's notes in program). The audience may not have been the best since most of them were there for class, but the performers were performing for themselves as well although it may have been discouraging for the performers to practice for something and no one shows up to listen.
Sources:
Shakespeare in Song. by Matthew Harris, Robert Johnson, Roger Quilter, Franz Schubert, Anonymous. Dir. Kathryn Evans. Perf. UT Dallas Chamber Singers. Cond. Kathryn Evans. Jonsson Performance Hall. Richardson. 26 March 2010.
Evans, Katryn. Program notes. Shakespeare in Song. 26 March 2010. Richardson: Jonsson Performance Hall. (Evans).
*Note: italics are used for sources because the underline option cannot be found in blogspot.
The event is the Shakespeare in Song concert held on March 26 and 27 at the Jonsson Performance Hall at 8pm on the 26th and at 2pm and 8pm on the 17th directed by Kathryn Evans. The singers are from the UT Dallas Chamber Singers. The music consisted of pieces from various plays by Shakespeare including The Tempest, Hamlet, Cymbeline, Othello, and Twelfth Night. The plays themselves didn't really have any music but rather, there were some authentic songs written during the time of Shakespeare, some solo songs written by a British composer named Roger Quilter and choral arrangements of the songs of Shakespeare by Matthew Harris (director's notes in program). Both these composers have outstanding reputations in the music world.
Music:
As stated previously, the music is pulled from authentic songs of Shakespeare's time, from British composer Roger Quilter and from choral arrangements of Shakespeare songs by Matthew Harris. The music is mostly vocal (well..of course..it's singing afterall) in that there is only a piano to accompany a medium sized group of singers. The main focus is the voice in that there is little else to hear. Most of the songs are fairly quick and have a pretty quick tempo. It makes it a sort of "happy" song which means it's mostly in major keys. The texture consists of mostly vocals with there being a good balance between male and female voices. The vocal parts are split into the SATB parts for the singers. There are times when they might sing in unison (males/females in unison or male and female in unison but the latter is less) which is when the texture is a little bit thinner but not any softer or less full. The arrangements are fairly simple with no crazy runs or insane leaps. This shows the music's time in the choral/solo singer music world. Rhythm is also pretty simple. There aren't any passages in the music that sounded too challenging rhythm-wise. It was mostly very simple rhythms of 8th notes,quarter notes and maybe the some 16th notes but there really wasn't any tricky combinations.
Performers:
The first thing to take note of is that the performers were dressed like the people during the times of Shakespeare, including the director. Everyone had something different on but they were all costumes designed after the clothing worn by the people during Shakespeare's time. Everyone stood on a choir stand with the male voices on the right and the female voices on the left (if you were looking at the stage). Another thing to note is that everyone had a score. This takes a lot of the interaction between performers and the audience out because they have to look down all the time. Besides, the vocal exchange portions of the performance in which performers would come out of the choir stand and speak specific lines, the performers would communicate to each other with glances, hand motions, whispers, etc. The director, of course, conducted and held everyone together. During solo portions there was good communication between the pianist and the soloist since the director does not conduct theses portions. It was more like the pianist did a good job following the singer. During the parts where everyone sings together, the pianist is in good communication (with eye contact and nods) with the conductor who is in good communication with the choir using hand motions and eye contact and perhaps silent words as well (not clearly seen as you can only see the back of the director).
Audience:
The people who showed up to the performance, as far as I could see, were parents/friends/relatives/etc of the performers. Other than that, the next biggest group were those who were there for class. During the second and third performances, there were fewer and fewer people. The performance is open to outsiders. outsiders as in, people who have either never heard of Shakespeare in song or have never been exposed to this or just aren't very familiar with this music culture. In general, they are the people that don't know Shakespeare as much. You could go just to enjoy the singing and never get anything about it being Shakespeare. Since the performers are performing for the audience there is some communication in that. But, even if the audience didn't show up, the performers would still perform the same thing, although perhaps with less gusto. The performers may have been looking out into the audience but the audience has little to do with their performance nor is there much communication between the two parties.
Time and Space:
There was a pretty significant difference in the number of people in the audience for each of the performances. The first performance had the most people but even then, there weren't that many. Most people were there for the sake of class or because they knew someone who was performing. The performers were also visibly excited and nervous from perhaps the fact that it was the first show. I was told my a performer that, in the second showing, one of the solo performers was switched for another because the original one had failed to make the call time.
The substitute performer was noticeably more nervous but it didn't affect her performance a great deal. The excitement of the performers obviously died down as the performances continued.
Conclusion:
This was a rather interesting experience. The music is obviously not what most people are use to. It's surprisingly written by people who are very well established in the music world and is still being written today since Matthew Harris isn't dead yet (director's notes in program). The audience may not have been the best since most of them were there for class, but the performers were performing for themselves as well although it may have been discouraging for the performers to practice for something and no one shows up to listen.
Sources:
Shakespeare in Song. by Matthew Harris, Robert Johnson, Roger Quilter, Franz Schubert, Anonymous. Dir. Kathryn Evans. Perf. UT Dallas Chamber Singers. Cond. Kathryn Evans. Jonsson Performance Hall. Richardson. 26 March 2010.
Evans, Katryn. Program notes. Shakespeare in Song. 26 March 2010. Richardson: Jonsson Performance Hall. (Evans).
*Note: italics are used for sources because the underline option cannot be found in blogspot.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
post 10
href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpW8Jvl9low&NR=1">
This is a link to Puccini's Madame Butterfly. The melody is something that perhaps many people know but they don't know where it comes from or who it was written by.
The music is very melodic and describes the situation well. It is more in the cantabile style, slow and melodic. The melody has a sad, longing feel to it. It is slow and feels like it can drag on and on because the melody never really concludes for the singer. The dynamics are well balanced in that there are softer parts and some stronger parts to contrast with the music and the feeling of the scene creating an effective piece for the opera. Building up to the climax of the piece, the same melodic line is repeated multiple times to create the tension leading to the climax.
While the performer is singing, she is also acting. She doesn't do much other than make small movements but everything is expressed through her voice. The opera style technique being used only makes the music even more fluid and smooth and more emotional. The singer seems to sing "with her whole body" in that it seems she uses a huge effort in order to sing. This brings out the fact that the character, Madame Butterfly, is very much dependent on the Caucasian man. Since it is opera, the acting comes through the voice but it also comes through the way the performer acts. Everything she does will be towards the projection of the expression in the music which is written so she can express the feeling of the moment in the opera.
I have no idea why this whole linking thing isn't working....=[
This is a link to Puccini's Madame Butterfly. The melody is something that perhaps many people know but they don't know where it comes from or who it was written by.
The music is very melodic and describes the situation well. It is more in the cantabile style, slow and melodic. The melody has a sad, longing feel to it. It is slow and feels like it can drag on and on because the melody never really concludes for the singer. The dynamics are well balanced in that there are softer parts and some stronger parts to contrast with the music and the feeling of the scene creating an effective piece for the opera. Building up to the climax of the piece, the same melodic line is repeated multiple times to create the tension leading to the climax.
While the performer is singing, she is also acting. She doesn't do much other than make small movements but everything is expressed through her voice. The opera style technique being used only makes the music even more fluid and smooth and more emotional. The singer seems to sing "with her whole body" in that it seems she uses a huge effort in order to sing. This brings out the fact that the character, Madame Butterfly, is very much dependent on the Caucasian man. Since it is opera, the acting comes through the voice but it also comes through the way the performer acts. Everything she does will be towards the projection of the expression in the music which is written so she can express the feeling of the moment in the opera.
I have no idea why this whole linking thing isn't working....=[
Monday, March 22, 2010
Post 9
When trying to create the soundscape for avatar, the creators tried to incorporate the music from the na'vi with the music of the human world. There are many parts in the movie in which the music will be mixed since the movie is about the interaction and mixing of the two races: human and na'vi. But there are also times when it is very clearly na'vi and other times when it's clearly 'human'.
The parts that sound like the na'vi culture are parts in which there isn't that much of a melody. There are sounds of traditional drums, like hand drums and more rhythm with less melody. There are also voices chanting in the na'vi language. The chanting is what sings the melody most of the time. It's usually more quiet and there are less instruments during these parts. There may be a flute that plays with the voices and drums.In trying to create the "outworldly" sound, the drumming was pretty genius, I have to admit. Since the language of the na'vi has stops in the sound it went really well with the drumming. Also, the na'vi lived in trees. Drums would be used as communication and calls. The timbre of the voices is also strange. It doesn't sound like anything from the cultures currently so it sounds "outworldly".
The parts that sound like 'regular' music are the portions that use modern instruments: orchestra instruments in this case. It all just sounds very normal and familiar to your ears. Those are the parts that are the 'human' portions. There is usually no singing for these parts. In the movie, these parts are played during the portions of the film that do not involve the na'vi, which is only a small portion since the film is pretty much all about them. In general, this part of the music is louder and more grand than the 'na'vi' parts but there are quiet parts. It has a more..sinister feel to it.
In much of soundtrack has mixed 'na'vi' and 'human' music. So you have the singing and the drumming and the orchestra all going at once. Or you have the orchestra quiet and a singer singing in a strange timbre with a simple melody. Or you could have he orchestra playing and singing with a little bit more complex melody. There are parts where the singer is just singing sounds and no words. In these parts, her voice was probably modified to have a very open sound, like she was singing and her voice would go on forever. This also contributes the "outworldly" feel along with the fact that the melody she is singing is very simple and she is not singing any words. Her voice is very calming while the accompaniment that comes later (the 'human' portion) seems so "rough" in a sense, hitting your ears in an intruding manner of sorts.
The parts that sound like the na'vi culture are parts in which there isn't that much of a melody. There are sounds of traditional drums, like hand drums and more rhythm with less melody. There are also voices chanting in the na'vi language. The chanting is what sings the melody most of the time. It's usually more quiet and there are less instruments during these parts. There may be a flute that plays with the voices and drums.In trying to create the "outworldly" sound, the drumming was pretty genius, I have to admit. Since the language of the na'vi has stops in the sound it went really well with the drumming. Also, the na'vi lived in trees. Drums would be used as communication and calls. The timbre of the voices is also strange. It doesn't sound like anything from the cultures currently so it sounds "outworldly".
The parts that sound like 'regular' music are the portions that use modern instruments: orchestra instruments in this case. It all just sounds very normal and familiar to your ears. Those are the parts that are the 'human' portions. There is usually no singing for these parts. In the movie, these parts are played during the portions of the film that do not involve the na'vi, which is only a small portion since the film is pretty much all about them. In general, this part of the music is louder and more grand than the 'na'vi' parts but there are quiet parts. It has a more..sinister feel to it.
In much of soundtrack has mixed 'na'vi' and 'human' music. So you have the singing and the drumming and the orchestra all going at once. Or you have the orchestra quiet and a singer singing in a strange timbre with a simple melody. Or you could have he orchestra playing and singing with a little bit more complex melody. There are parts where the singer is just singing sounds and no words. In these parts, her voice was probably modified to have a very open sound, like she was singing and her voice would go on forever. This also contributes the "outworldly" feel along with the fact that the melody she is singing is very simple and she is not singing any words. Her voice is very calming while the accompaniment that comes later (the 'human' portion) seems so "rough" in a sense, hitting your ears in an intruding manner of sorts.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
music ethnography
Introduction:
The subject of this ethnography is the music culture of western classical music. In this case, it will be observed through a high school setting though this setting from the next does not differ greatly. The default thought in the minds of many people when they heard the words classical music is the western style of classical music. This music within the high school setting is what will be discussed.
Methodology:
Data collection was different. I have very close ties with this music culture so some of the information was found on a stroll down recent-memory and long-term memory lanes. Other things such as the technical portions like instruments and their usage have more concrete research to them since it would be more believable. Observation in the actual music culture was probably the most beneficial place to do research. Books and sources can only tell you an account of the author who might not understand all the aspects of that culture. Interviews and first-person observations were profitable in that they gave the closest account of the music culture possible without actually experiencing it. It was somewhat difficult to think of questions to ask since I was and still am part of the music culture. Sources include more concrete evidence on the instrumentation and history behind this music culture and interviews and some personal experience. The sources for the instrumentation is obviously used more since there isn't really much there, just the main instruments and their usage.
"Musical Instruments." NAXOS. NAXOS, 11 mar 2010. Web. 6 Mar 2010.
This source is used heavily simply because there isn't that much content in it. This is a basic outline of the instruments used in western classical music which is the same as those used in any setting whether professional or high school level (although at the professional level, they're usually of much higher quality).
"History of Classical Music." NAXOS. NAXOS, 11 mar 2010. Web. 6 Mar 2010.
This source is used only slightly to note the time line of the western classical music genre and to provide proof that the music played today are pieces written in older times.
Wong, Nicholas. Personal INTERVIEW. 6 March 2010.
This interview was used heavily to tell of the true experiences of someone within this music culture. Not everyone will experience this and so this is the closest to actually experiencing the music culture.
Liberty High School Full Orchestra. Concert Performance. 18 February 2010.
This performance observation is used as a guide to the performers, the setting, the audience, and the setup of the concert in general. This is where the performer is most himself, without restraints and most concentrated on his music so this source is used more heavily to note the attitude and person of the performer; a member of this music culture.
Keller, Alysson. Personal INTERVIEW. 5 March 2010.
This is my director. This source is an interview but also a collection of the many life lessons I was taught by her.
Aspects Of This Music Culture:
Ideas about music:
When asked what their idea of music was, some of the people within this music culture wouldn't know how to respond since they deem this to be obvious and needing no explanation. Explanations tend to vary from definitions of music such as the performer and the sheet music and not simply the black dot notation to having never thought about it since they decided to continue music in high school simply because they had learned an instrument and it would be a waste of time if they were to stop. Others are their due to their parents' influence and other still are their because they love the music that they make. Music to these latter people is the expression that those composers who compose the pieces they perform wanted to convey in composing what they did. Regardless of what a certain member of this music culture thinks of music, one thing in common among them is the never-ending search for perfection (Wong, Personal Interview). It is the perfect expression that is unique to each piece that is sought (Concert Performance). While all may have different reasons for doing so, this is something that all members within this music culture strive to achieve, whether on an individual level and/or on a larger level with the rest of the orchestra/band/ensemble.
Activities Involving Music:
Activities involving this music culture include rehearsal, individual practice, concert performance and competition performance (Wong, Personal Interview). Majority of the time is spent in rehearsal since that is the base on which performances for concerts and competitions stand on. If there is no rehearsal there is nothing. In a rehearsal is where all the problems and blemishes in the performance of the piece are found and attempt to be fixed. They say practice makes perfect but it doesn't. Only perfect practice makes perfect (Keller, Personal Interview). Individual practice is very important within this music culture as well because there is also individual competitions. Also, individual practice makes the rehearsal run better. Although, for some reason, no matter how much individual practice you do there is always a crazy long list of things to fix in rehearsal (Wong, Personal Interview). Of course, there is no reason to practice and rehearse if there is never a performance. So there is concert performances and, specialty of the high school setting, competition performances. Although during competitions, there isn't much music as “I need to get everything right” is probably on everyone's minds. It isn't so much as “activities involving music”, it's more like “music involving activities”: everything done has to do with music, meaning music is always at the center of everything done.
Repertoires Of Music:
The repertoires of this music culture are pieces of music written a long time ago. Very few pieces are written in the modern day that would be performed in a full orchestra. There are more modern pieces for the wind band but the full orchestra is very complicated to write music for and isn't done very much in the modern age. Orchestras usually won't perform pieces that were written before the times of the Baroque era. This is the time that the modern orchestra was born (NAXOS). Instrumentation isn't the only problem but also the way the pieces were written. They make less sense than those of the eras after them (Keller, Personal Interview).
Material Culture:
The most obvious material thing about his music culture are the instruments since there are so many of them. The main instrument groupings are the bowstrings played with a bow drawn over a set of strings: violin, viola, cello, contra bass, etc., woodwinds played with airstream and the opening and closing of a series of pads on the instrument body: flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, the brasswind played with airstream that causes lip to buzz within the mouthpiece of the instrument: trumpet, french horn, trombone, tuba, percussion played by striking the instrument with a mallet, stick or hand: split into the two categories of tuned and indefinite pitched, and keyboards played by clicking a key which then either plucks (harpsichord) or strikes (piano) a string to create a sound (NAXOS).
It doesn't sound bad until you see the price tag on some of these instruments. Nothing playable at the high school level every costs anything below $2000. Things can get as bad as $15000 for a marimba or even more for a set of timpani (Keller, Personal Interview).
Other than instruments, the music, written on scores or called sheet music, must also be purchased. Sometimes for a price unfitting of a stack of paper to some (Keller, Personal Interview). With all these instruments, there is also maintenance. Instruments must be repaired after a certain time and, depending on the instrument, can be very expensive, ranging from $100 violin strings to $20 oboe reeds or $3 bottle of slide oil (Wong, Personal Interview). This is a very expensive music culture.
Preservation of Music:
Although new ideas in the classical music of the high school world is accepted, it is mostly not used since it just seems to never sound as good as following the old traditions left behind by those of previous musical era. From observation, it can be seen that everything is done closely to the methods since the Baroque era. Even though each high school orchestra is different, it is the unspoken rule to keep the practices of previous orchestras, even the music arrangement is kept as close to the original as possible. Each orchestra is different but each orchestra is it's own version of the original which doesn't like to bend to other orchestras (Concert Performance).
Conclusion:
The music culture of western classical music through the high school view varies from school to school because of the different people involved. Most things are similar, but there are slight differences. Each is it's own take on the classical orchestra, with all the instruments, music repertoire and methods but because it's different people, it's a different orchestra.
Sources:
"Musical Instruments." NAXOS. NAXOS, 11 mar 2010. Web. 6 Mar 2010.
"History of Classical Music." NAXOS. NAXOS, 11 mar 2010. Web. 6 Mar 2010.
Wong, Nicholas. Personal INTERVIEW. 6 March 2010.
Liberty High School Full Orchestra. Concert Performance. 18 February 2010.
Keller, Alysson. Personal INTERVIEW. 5 March 2010.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Post 8
Western classical music isn't something that is particularly difficult to research since it's western and there is so much information on it. One of the difficulties, however, would be getting the reader to believe the information to be true in that so much of it is from experience. If I were to talk about the technical aspect of the music culture it would be too complicated and confuse many people as the western classical world in the high school is just as complicated as if you were to talk about western classical outside the high school culture. What makes it the unique high school experience is performers who are teenagers with attitude problems and learning to be less dramatic about everything. This all translates into their music which makes it the music culture that it is. This is so hard to explain to anyone who has never been in such a situation or experienced it first-hand.
Another difficulty is getting interviews. Right now, the high school orchestras are getting ready for their annual competition which is the biggest high school music competition in all of Texas. So all the directors and members are busy and it is difficult to schedule times. Regardless of the competitions, there is always a concert to be practicing for or an individual competition to get rehearsing or practicing for. The people of this music culture are busy people.
That being said, if there is a concert, there is a concert and it will not be canceled easily because concerts are what they're always preparing for. In this music world, we believe in getting things done, so postponing a concert is somewhat akin to an insult to the musical abilities of the performer. It's like saying you're not good enough even with all the time you put in so you're not going to perform.
Another difficulty is getting interviews. Right now, the high school orchestras are getting ready for their annual competition which is the biggest high school music competition in all of Texas. So all the directors and members are busy and it is difficult to schedule times. Regardless of the competitions, there is always a concert to be practicing for or an individual competition to get rehearsing or practicing for. The people of this music culture are busy people.
That being said, if there is a concert, there is a concert and it will not be canceled easily because concerts are what they're always preparing for. In this music world, we believe in getting things done, so postponing a concert is somewhat akin to an insult to the musical abilities of the performer. It's like saying you're not good enough even with all the time you put in so you're not going to perform.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Post 7
The topic of my music ethnography is western classical music in the high school setting in Dallas. I have been a part of this music culture for as long as i was in high school, before that, and even now to a certain extent. A major part of this music culture is the instrumentation and arrangement of the music. It is usually played in a large group setting with the number of actual performers depending on the size of the group,which could range from a few people to hundreds of people, called the orchestra or ensemble, which is led by the director or conductor who does not actually play an instrument him/herself but leads the group by keeping the tempo and cuing entrances. There are different meanings to the words orchestra and full orchestra. An orchestra is a grou of players whose instruemtns consist only of chordophones, violin, viola, cello, contra bass and percussion which includes a great variety of instruments. A full orchestra suggest a group that includes wind band elements. In other words, it includes instruments that require air, trumpet, trombone, french horn, etc.. Since orchestra back in the days of old were almost always a full orchestra, that is what will be discussed.
The arrangement of the music in the music culture is sophisticated, and the western music front in the high school world would most likely never compose anything. In the high school setting, those withing this music culture are almost solely performers. The music that they perform was written by composers of a long time ago like Beethoven or Mozart for this form of music is one in which, without proper training there would be no way to compose anything that "makes sense" or even deserves the attention of the performers.
In general, the music is very complex. Whether it is the massive number of notes or the difficult harmonic fabric of the piece, the structure and arrangement of each of the pieces is complex and intriguing. In order for the performer, withing a high school setting or any other setting for that matter, to bring out all the feeling and expression the creator intended for the piece is nearly impossible. However, is is perhaps this imperfection that makes this music culture great in it's own right in that there are so many "right answers" to the musical question posed to them whenever they pick up their weapons of choice.
The arrangement of the music in the music culture is sophisticated, and the western music front in the high school world would most likely never compose anything. In the high school setting, those withing this music culture are almost solely performers. The music that they perform was written by composers of a long time ago like Beethoven or Mozart for this form of music is one in which, without proper training there would be no way to compose anything that "makes sense" or even deserves the attention of the performers.
In general, the music is very complex. Whether it is the massive number of notes or the difficult harmonic fabric of the piece, the structure and arrangement of each of the pieces is complex and intriguing. In order for the performer, withing a high school setting or any other setting for that matter, to bring out all the feeling and expression the creator intended for the piece is nearly impossible. However, is is perhaps this imperfection that makes this music culture great in it's own right in that there are so many "right answers" to the musical question posed to them whenever they pick up their weapons of choice.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
post 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Klww4AerPgw&feature=related
This is a performance in Japanese Nou theatre. It was peformed at Odaiba in Tokyo. Essentially, it is a very old form of Japanese art that is very traditional. Nearly everything about Nougaku is standardized: from the gestures to the muscians, the stage, etc.
There is always a group of 4 instruments that accompanies the actors who are most likely going to be male wearing masks so they play male and female roles, called the hayashi. The hayashi has a bamboo lute, noukan, and three small drums. Even though the lute is the only instrument that actually has any sort of ability to create a melody aside from the singer, there is still quite a variety of sounds.
The idea in Nougaku is that the audience is suspended in a dream-like state. Even the theatre they sat in was part of the stage for the Nougaku. This is very true for traditional Nougaku which lasted all day. The audience members would escape to the world of Nougaku for a day. This sense of timelessness is helped by the structure of the noukan, which helps it to have a wider range and more mellow sound so the tonal center can change thus making the performance seem never-ending.
It feels like the musicians are not following any particular sort of beat. The drummers will play their rhythm with the other drummers but not necessarily in time with each other, this layering being one of the characteristics of Nougaku, while shouting kakegoe. There is a lot of communication going on between the actor(s) and the hayashi since some parts are never rehearsed or each performance is slightly different. This applies to the singing as well. The pitch the singer starts on does not matter, unless they're singing the chorus, and it doesn't follow any particular rhythm either. Those like free recitation in speech -song is called kotoba while the more melodic counterpart is called fushi. This makes the music sound like a Buddhhist chant which probably has to do with the roots of Japan's religious culture being very deeply rooted in buddhism and shintoism.
Another thing is that fully tradition Nougaku theatres are powered completely by humans. If the stage rises it's because a human was below the stage powering it and all parts of the Nougaku house had no electricity to run anything. candles are used for lighting and stage lighting as well. Nowadays, however, most Nougaku stages are more modernized for convenience sake.
This is a performance in Japanese Nou theatre. It was peformed at Odaiba in Tokyo. Essentially, it is a very old form of Japanese art that is very traditional. Nearly everything about Nougaku is standardized: from the gestures to the muscians, the stage, etc.
There is always a group of 4 instruments that accompanies the actors who are most likely going to be male wearing masks so they play male and female roles, called the hayashi. The hayashi has a bamboo lute, noukan, and three small drums. Even though the lute is the only instrument that actually has any sort of ability to create a melody aside from the singer, there is still quite a variety of sounds.
The idea in Nougaku is that the audience is suspended in a dream-like state. Even the theatre they sat in was part of the stage for the Nougaku. This is very true for traditional Nougaku which lasted all day. The audience members would escape to the world of Nougaku for a day. This sense of timelessness is helped by the structure of the noukan, which helps it to have a wider range and more mellow sound so the tonal center can change thus making the performance seem never-ending.
It feels like the musicians are not following any particular sort of beat. The drummers will play their rhythm with the other drummers but not necessarily in time with each other, this layering being one of the characteristics of Nougaku, while shouting kakegoe. There is a lot of communication going on between the actor(s) and the hayashi since some parts are never rehearsed or each performance is slightly different. This applies to the singing as well. The pitch the singer starts on does not matter, unless they're singing the chorus, and it doesn't follow any particular rhythm either. Those like free recitation in speech -song is called kotoba while the more melodic counterpart is called fushi. This makes the music sound like a Buddhhist chant which probably has to do with the roots of Japan's religious culture being very deeply rooted in buddhism and shintoism.
Another thing is that fully tradition Nougaku theatres are powered completely by humans. If the stage rises it's because a human was below the stage powering it and all parts of the Nougaku house had no electricity to run anything. candles are used for lighting and stage lighting as well. Nowadays, however, most Nougaku stages are more modernized for convenience sake.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Post 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hArUiFv2FaY&feature=related
I chose to listen to this song by Nikhi Banerjee. He is a sitar player that is considered a master of sitar playing.
The song being played has one sitar, one tambura and one talba player. The sitar, sitting in the center, starts off slowly and easily, very soothing. There is a lot of bending of the pitches. Though there is most likely a mode, the song is probably mostly improvisation. There is quite a bit of repetition of notes but since the player of the sitar bends pitches and plays a slightly different rhythm each time it doesn't feel too repetitive. The song in general is decidedly minor. The tabla player doesn't start right away, but starts about 1min 20sec into the song. Talba isn't completely audible but it is present so that if it were not there the audience would notice something was missing. All the while, the tambura is in the back providing a drone to everything. The drone note is played repeatedly with a certain rhythm to keep things interesting. The tambura player mostly stays out of the way of the sitar while remaining present in the musical texture. This makes the song homophonic with the sitar as the melody and the tambura as the harmony creating chords with the notes the sitar is playing.
Overall, the song starts off mellow, slow and soothing and remains that way for most of the song until the last minute or so when the sitar player starts playing a much larger amount of notes. The build-up to this from the beginning is done so the transition isn't so abrupt. Although there isn't an immediate recognizable singable melody, there could be one. Despite this, the song never makes the audience feel lost.
There is good communication between the performers as they are constantly looking at each other suggesting that the song is probably mostly improvised (if not completely). Although the performers are performing for an audience, they don't seem to really take the audience into much thought in their performing. The players seem to be enjoying their music. They perform music for themselves as well and the audience simply gets to listen because sounds waves travel.
I chose to listen to this song by Nikhi Banerjee. He is a sitar player that is considered a master of sitar playing.
The song being played has one sitar, one tambura and one talba player. The sitar, sitting in the center, starts off slowly and easily, very soothing. There is a lot of bending of the pitches. Though there is most likely a mode, the song is probably mostly improvisation. There is quite a bit of repetition of notes but since the player of the sitar bends pitches and plays a slightly different rhythm each time it doesn't feel too repetitive. The song in general is decidedly minor. The tabla player doesn't start right away, but starts about 1min 20sec into the song. Talba isn't completely audible but it is present so that if it were not there the audience would notice something was missing. All the while, the tambura is in the back providing a drone to everything. The drone note is played repeatedly with a certain rhythm to keep things interesting. The tambura player mostly stays out of the way of the sitar while remaining present in the musical texture. This makes the song homophonic with the sitar as the melody and the tambura as the harmony creating chords with the notes the sitar is playing.
Overall, the song starts off mellow, slow and soothing and remains that way for most of the song until the last minute or so when the sitar player starts playing a much larger amount of notes. The build-up to this from the beginning is done so the transition isn't so abrupt. Although there isn't an immediate recognizable singable melody, there could be one. Despite this, the song never makes the audience feel lost.
There is good communication between the performers as they are constantly looking at each other suggesting that the song is probably mostly improvised (if not completely). Although the performers are performing for an audience, they don't seem to really take the audience into much thought in their performing. The players seem to be enjoying their music. They perform music for themselves as well and the audience simply gets to listen because sounds waves travel.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Post 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZKtelBD534
This was certainly interesting and quite nice to listen to as well. I suppose the song is called "Shab Shishey"
Instrumentation-wise I heard flute (2 i believe), violin, cello, harp, maracas and guitar. It could either be guitar or harp or both. All these instruments are fairly quiet which would accompany a mellow song well. The song is sung in Arabic with a lot of embellishments. There are a lot of parts that sound like the singer is going around the pitch but that may be the middle eastern use of "quarter notes" which have a very small interval. For some reason, Arabic is quite soothing to listen to. The tempo floats at around 132ish according to the metronome so it's slow enough to be mellow. Dynamics-wise, like previously stated, it's quite mellow and soothing to listen to. I don't understand Arabic but this song might be a sad song. The singer starts off softly and towards the end of the song there is a climax moment of stronger sound. This is also emphasized by singing a higher pitch. The melody is first carried by the flutes in the introduction. When the singer comes in, the singer has the melody while no other instrument has the exact same line. The flutes and violins accompany the singer nicely. They are not overly loud but just loud enough to be present. The guitar and maracas keep a steady tempo with a rhythm in the background. They keep repeating this rhythm throughout the whole song. Since the singer seems like she's doing her own thing at times, the guitar and maracas keep the tempo and, in a sense, guide the singer through the song. The violins also have 8th notes rhythms though those are not used so much for time keeping. With some faster moving notes in the song, it will sound less boring and give it some movement which such a mellow song needs.
This was certainly interesting and quite nice to listen to as well. I suppose the song is called "Shab Shishey"
Instrumentation-wise I heard flute (2 i believe), violin, cello, harp, maracas and guitar. It could either be guitar or harp or both. All these instruments are fairly quiet which would accompany a mellow song well. The song is sung in Arabic with a lot of embellishments. There are a lot of parts that sound like the singer is going around the pitch but that may be the middle eastern use of "quarter notes" which have a very small interval. For some reason, Arabic is quite soothing to listen to. The tempo floats at around 132ish according to the metronome so it's slow enough to be mellow. Dynamics-wise, like previously stated, it's quite mellow and soothing to listen to. I don't understand Arabic but this song might be a sad song. The singer starts off softly and towards the end of the song there is a climax moment of stronger sound. This is also emphasized by singing a higher pitch. The melody is first carried by the flutes in the introduction. When the singer comes in, the singer has the melody while no other instrument has the exact same line. The flutes and violins accompany the singer nicely. They are not overly loud but just loud enough to be present. The guitar and maracas keep a steady tempo with a rhythm in the background. They keep repeating this rhythm throughout the whole song. Since the singer seems like she's doing her own thing at times, the guitar and maracas keep the tempo and, in a sense, guide the singer through the song. The violins also have 8th notes rhythms though those are not used so much for time keeping. With some faster moving notes in the song, it will sound less boring and give it some movement which such a mellow song needs.
Monday, February 8, 2010
extra credit post
So...the discussion with the Chinese theatre troop was quite interesting.
As expected of any group that doesn't live in America, they would think that American only listen to a very narrow genre of music. Things like rock and roll or punk or hip hop. So they would think that these things are the only things we would have in common if they even listen to any of that stuff. To an extent, they are right.
In the eyes of a Chinese, Americans may have more of everything like money, opportunity, space, fresh air, a bigger house, etc, but as I sat in the performance hall listening to the many things being said by the Chinese students, I could not mistake the feeling of inferiority at no fault of the Chinese students. Perhaps it is the culture but the music of China has been around for ridiculously longer than the so-called American music. The guitar which is considered a "western" instrument was being played by one of the Chinese students and for some reason Americans would be so surprised and ask, "oh? you can play guitar?" and silently question why the Chinese students chose to bring a guitar and some other exotic instrument.
Of course, no one knows everything and everyone is willing to learn which is why there were so many questions going around. The Chinese students showed some traditional music because the American students would have had little to no exposure to such things. The American students showed some more contemporary "American" music. To assume that the western side of the world had heard little to none of the traditional music of the east is reasonable but to assume that the eastern side had heard little to none of the more modern and popular music of the west is almost ridiculous, although the Chinese students were not ones to interrupt. This is the same mentality Americans take everywhere, partially without intending to.
One of the things about Chinese is their relatively smaller stature so it is in the culture blood that they must use other means to compensate for their smaller stature. They invented fighting styles, instead of running around town to call everyone they made a giant drum literally called "big drum", entertainment consisted of elaborate theatre productions and music performances, they used their brains. Even today, they are still doing the same thing: the humble person who says nothing is listening and taking everything in; learning and observing the right moment to speak, unlike the bucket that is half full and full of noise only.
As expected of any group that doesn't live in America, they would think that American only listen to a very narrow genre of music. Things like rock and roll or punk or hip hop. So they would think that these things are the only things we would have in common if they even listen to any of that stuff. To an extent, they are right.
In the eyes of a Chinese, Americans may have more of everything like money, opportunity, space, fresh air, a bigger house, etc, but as I sat in the performance hall listening to the many things being said by the Chinese students, I could not mistake the feeling of inferiority at no fault of the Chinese students. Perhaps it is the culture but the music of China has been around for ridiculously longer than the so-called American music. The guitar which is considered a "western" instrument was being played by one of the Chinese students and for some reason Americans would be so surprised and ask, "oh? you can play guitar?" and silently question why the Chinese students chose to bring a guitar and some other exotic instrument.
Of course, no one knows everything and everyone is willing to learn which is why there were so many questions going around. The Chinese students showed some traditional music because the American students would have had little to no exposure to such things. The American students showed some more contemporary "American" music. To assume that the western side of the world had heard little to none of the traditional music of the east is reasonable but to assume that the eastern side had heard little to none of the more modern and popular music of the west is almost ridiculous, although the Chinese students were not ones to interrupt. This is the same mentality Americans take everywhere, partially without intending to.
One of the things about Chinese is their relatively smaller stature so it is in the culture blood that they must use other means to compensate for their smaller stature. They invented fighting styles, instead of running around town to call everyone they made a giant drum literally called "big drum", entertainment consisted of elaborate theatre productions and music performances, they used their brains. Even today, they are still doing the same thing: the humble person who says nothing is listening and taking everything in; learning and observing the right moment to speak, unlike the bucket that is half full and full of noise only.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Evening of Latin Music
On January 29, 2010 at 8:00pm there was a concert located at the conference center presented by the UT Dallas music faculty. At first, when I saw that it was Latin music I wasn't expecting anything spectacular and I also wasn't expecting the room to be so filled with people. For a concert, the room was bordering on too small but the audience was quiet for the most part and everyone had seats as far as I could tell. Being a faculty concert at an university, the room or space can be overlooked.
The music was decidedly more contemporary which leads me to believe that it was at least partly mix metered, as many contemporary composers like to do. The first piece, Suite for violin, clarinet and piano by Darius Milhaud is one such piece that was performed that day. The first movement of the work starts at a quick pace with melodies and counter-melodies, while the second movement is slower and features fewer voices at the same time. The third movement picks up the pace again and addresses the first movement with a joyous sound. A characteristic of the fourth movement that is found in many contemporary pieces is the existence of many clash notes. Using clash notes, one is able to create a moment of tension to release the next moment.
On stage, the performers, for the first piece, sat facing each other as much as possible and they though they all wore suits they all looked quite comfortable. As the performers, they are joining in this bond of music as they each play their parts and pull each other along. It is very much a different experience for the performer. The audience is left to listen to the sounds of the music, which is the bi-product of the musician's fellowship with one another.
As an audience member, listening to this music is experienced in 2 parts, the visual and the audio. What makes music beautiful to watch, in a sense, is the relation of the musicians as they play. The violin, clarinet and piano players did not look as though they involved the audience as they performed. The concert, then, was as much a performance for the audience as it was for the musicians themselves.
The music was decidedly more contemporary which leads me to believe that it was at least partly mix metered, as many contemporary composers like to do. The first piece, Suite for violin, clarinet and piano by Darius Milhaud is one such piece that was performed that day. The first movement of the work starts at a quick pace with melodies and counter-melodies, while the second movement is slower and features fewer voices at the same time. The third movement picks up the pace again and addresses the first movement with a joyous sound. A characteristic of the fourth movement that is found in many contemporary pieces is the existence of many clash notes. Using clash notes, one is able to create a moment of tension to release the next moment.
On stage, the performers, for the first piece, sat facing each other as much as possible and they though they all wore suits they all looked quite comfortable. As the performers, they are joining in this bond of music as they each play their parts and pull each other along. It is very much a different experience for the performer. The audience is left to listen to the sounds of the music, which is the bi-product of the musician's fellowship with one another.
As an audience member, listening to this music is experienced in 2 parts, the visual and the audio. What makes music beautiful to watch, in a sense, is the relation of the musicians as they play. The violin, clarinet and piano players did not look as though they involved the audience as they performed. The concert, then, was as much a performance for the audience as it was for the musicians themselves.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Post 2: music enthograpy
There are so many types of music out there even in the Dallas area that it's a bit difficult to decide. If I had to choose though, i would definitely choose classical music (as in, music from the west)but in this case, it would be affected by the area these people live in which is Dallas. Since music is different for different people, orchestra A can perform a certain piece of music very differently from orchestra B. Different conductors, orchestra members, location, time, etc. change the performance. Likewise, each composer has his/her own story to tell with his/her piece. Each retelling is correct in its own right, therefore, it is very interesting to see what the retelling will be for those who come from different places and think and feel different things (which is everyone). It is in this music-culture that I found the heart, the human of the composer in his/her pieces. To understand a person in such a way is, in my opinion, the closest to understanding the person truly. It will be interesting to compare this music-culture in Dallas to some other places I've stayed. Since I've been involved with this type of music for many many years I've come to have a certain level of respect and reverence for it. It is in the mindset of a scholar seeking more knowledge both for learning purposes and because it is the goal of a scholar to find this knowledge, that I wish to study and seek out this music-culture.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
hmm....
Imagine watching a movie had had no music...I have never known life without music. Ever since I remember listening to anything I was hearing music. The biggest influence is classical music. Things like Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Bach, etc were in my ears everyday of my young life. I grew up listening to these types of things...and my mom who sings opera. Although I did sing in the choir as a kid, I was 8 when I started my own journey down music avenue. (ok I was...5-ish when I sang in the choir) I started with piano and trumpet at the same time. From then on, there was not a day in my life that did not have classical music in it: I would either be practicing myself or attending rehearsal or performing...etc, etc. The constant activity in this discipline has developed a well...discipline in me. Music requires such close study and practice and resilience that, after a time, it instills a certain patience and discipline in the musician nothing else I know can put in a person.
Classical music, of course, doesn't just include the music during the Classical music era but all of the other ones too such as Romantic, Baroque, Renaissance, etc. Playing and hearing music from all these different time periods has helped me to understand different elements in music: complex melodies/counter melodies(Baroque), dynamic and flow(Romantic), amongst other things. Since most music I'm involved in does not have lyrics or text, I find it to be much easier to actually be listening to the sounds and nothing else because...there isn't much else..
Music also helped me to understand different minds: the thoughs of a suffering person who has overcome his adversity, the great happiness of a newlywed. Music, afterall, is like a brainchild of it's composer, in a form able to be understood by everyone who chooses to understand. Music, then, is the universal language.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8l37utZxMQ
Classical music, of course, doesn't just include the music during the Classical music era but all of the other ones too such as Romantic, Baroque, Renaissance, etc. Playing and hearing music from all these different time periods has helped me to understand different elements in music: complex melodies/counter melodies(Baroque), dynamic and flow(Romantic), amongst other things. Since most music I'm involved in does not have lyrics or text, I find it to be much easier to actually be listening to the sounds and nothing else because...there isn't much else..
Music also helped me to understand different minds: the thoughs of a suffering person who has overcome his adversity, the great happiness of a newlywed. Music, afterall, is like a brainchild of it's composer, in a form able to be understood by everyone who chooses to understand. Music, then, is the universal language.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8l37utZxMQ
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