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Musical and the Societal Role

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Music has a way of affecting each individual person, at the same time affecting a collective group, bring individuals together. As Savanna Briscoe states in The Crimson White, when you are attending live music “you are there for the music, to feel the lyrics flow through your body and ignite every bone. You are there to have the full experience and to feel connected with the words and, in turn, whoever you are with.” In letting our insecurities about dancing in public go away, we find that others are also affected by the music, and we can connect with them in this unspoken way, in effect unifying a group of strangers.

I Surrender, 2012, unknown composer, Australia.
CBS This Morning

Hillsong Church is a Christian mega church established in 1983 and is based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Hillsong Church produces music under its own record label, selling over 16 million records worldwide. Each week, in 12 countries, 75,000 attend Hillsong churches, and Hillsong has over 10 million followers on social media. These numbers make it apparent how far their music reaches. In the CBS This Morning segment we heard that the church uses their music to draw in young people and get the crowd to embrace Christian methods, by not shying away from the hard asked and hard answered questions, but by promoting what they are for and representing what the bible says. They do this with with their music by making it fresh. They have recognized that with time, generations change, and to continue to connect with the younger generations, they need to update their deliverance of music, while keeping the message the same.

I went to a megachurch once when I was 16 and was shocked at the audience’s interactions; it was nothing like I had ever experienced before. When a band took stage and played upbeat music, far from traditional hymns, the entire crowd from fidgety toddlers to grandparents relying on walkers rose to their feet and swayed to the music, some even danced in the aisles. In the I Surrender song you can see this, the crows has their arms above their head and is swaying to the beat of the music, and giving a visualization of the rhythm.

The Ulukhaktok Western Drummers and Dancers
Unknown title, date, or composers.

Native Alaskans have a rich history of tradition and culture, which is demonstrated well through their drumming, singing, and dancing. They come together as a group to do so, multiple people are needed to fill the spaces of drummers, singers, and dancers. This has taken place since time immemorial and is passed on from generation to generation. It is used to tell stories and teach lessons, but also to bring the people together. Originally, I was thinking that the drumming was accompanied by the singing and dancing, but the more I think about it, each element is a necessary piece, and they all accompany each other, the music would not be complete without one of the elements. Alaska Native music seems to have a quicker tempo and uses repetition. I find myself wishing I knew what was being sang, what the dance moves mean, and what stories are being told.

Personal Journey

At the beginning of this course I informed you all that my musical knowledge was minimal, and I had even less musical ability, that I use a variety of genera of music mostly as background noise (except for Christmas music,) and that I enjoy live music. This still holds true for the most part. I have not expanded when or why I listen to music, it is still used as background noise, though I now have a wider range of music to listen to. I definitely still feel “musically challenged”, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t learned anything. I can now successfully hear the beat of a song. As simplistic as this sounds, it was not something in my skill set before this class, I always relied on the head bobs of others around me. And I complain every time I hear a Christmas song (mostly in commercials), since it is currently still 20 days before Thanksgiving!

Reference Cited

Continued Exploration- Techno

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What is Techno music?

Techno is a form of Electronic Dance Music which is typically repetitive music produced to be used in a continuous DJ set. Techno music is produced using electronic instruments like a drum machine (electronic machine which imitates the sound of electronic drums or other percussive instruments), sequencers (programmable electronic device which stores sequences of musical notes, chords, rhythms), synthesizers (electronic keyboard which generates/copies sound and can mimic that sound) and digital audio workstations (software for recording, editing, production audio files).

History

Techno was pioneered in Detroit, Michigan in the early 1980’s from merging sounds of synthpop, Italo-disco, and funk. The first techno album was composed by Juan Atkins and Richard Davies (known as Cybotron) in 1981, giving birth to techno music. Shorty after, Chicago and New York followed suit. Though techno failed to reach the mainstream market in the Unites States early on, it took off in Great Britain in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Raves appeared in the 1990’s in London giving techno music a place to shine. Below are two techno songs, the first is the original techno single by Cybotron in 1981 and the second is from 2018 by Reverse Reality.

Alleys of Your Mind, Cybotron (Atkins and Davies), 1981, USA.
My Mystery, Reverse Reality, 2018, unknown location.

Role of Music, created by the DJ

Techno music is produced by a DJ in a recording studio. The DJ usually pre-produces songs and then performs them for live audiences in various locations (clubs, underground parties, raves, music festivals). But there is more to hitting play for the DJ. It is the DJ’s responsibility to read and respond to the crowd. It’s the job of the DJ to get the crowd pumped and to keep them that way. DJs are continuously mixing music live on stage to fit the needs of the crowd. This, I find fascinating- the ability to (1) create music, and (2) change that music in real time according to the wants of the crowd.

Musical Elements

The comparison between the two techno songs is interesting. Techno has certainly changed over the last 40 years, but in many ways it has also stayed consistent. The Cybotron song has a number of 80’s noises, but the Reverse Reality song keeps many of the same elements we hear from the 80’s. Techno music tends to stick with common time, using 4/4 meter. Techno is a repetitive music, keeping the background beat going continuously throughout the song. Techno beats generally range from 120-150 beats/minute. Sometimes, but not always, techno beats are accompanied by vocals as we heard in the Reverse Reality song.

References Cited

Music and the Fictive Dream: The Lion King

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Biographical Information

The Lion King is a cartoon animation film from 1994 (digitally reanimated in 2019) about the young lion, Simba who is the heir of his father, Mufasa. Simba’s uncle, Scar wants to usurp Mufasa’s throne in a plot to lure Mufasa and Simba into a stampede of wildebeests, of which Simba escapes and Mufasa is killed. Simba returns as an adult to claim the throne, with his friends Timon and Pumbaa.

Hakuna Matata, 1994, Elton John and Tim Rice (lyrics), USA,

Role of the Hakuna Matata

After the death of his father, young Simba meets Timon and Pumbaa who work to cheer up Simba by introducing their motto “hakuna matata”, which means “no worries for the rest of your days.” While this song if first played, we see two main transformations with Simba; (1) he catches on to the phrase, and becomes a happier, care-free lion, and (2) he grows up. This song also tells the backstory of Pumbaa and how he came to be “problem free” after being ostracized because of his excessive and pungent farting and learning to accept his farting and finding others who would as well. This song sets the characters of Timon and Pumbaa who are comfortable and happy with their carefree life. As we know, Simba eventually realizes he needs to return home and claim his throne, and part of his struggle is leaving the carefree life, but also convincing his friends to help him.

Social Commentary

Hakuna matata is actually a phrase in Swahili that translates to “no worries.” This phrase has two meanings within The Lion King, First, it plays well with the opposition to the duty for Simba to take his rightful throne from Scar- Timon and Pumbaa are happy living the carefree life, and (for a while) so is Simba. Second, this phrase is a repeated element throughout the film as moral content for it’s viewers, reminding them that life does not always need to be taken so seriously.

I found an interesting theory of the phrase “hakuna matata” which points out the phrase is connected to an “African humanistic philosophy that places an emphasis on the connectivity of humans,” known as Ubuntu. The Ubuntu philosophy is not to enrich yourself, but to enable the community around you and enrich others. During Simba’s Hakuna Matata phase, was he enriching the lives of others, or just himself and his two friends? In this sense, hakuna matata does not mean “no worries, about anything, ever” but that much in life is out of our control and we can’t stress the things we cannot change. As a young lion, Simba molded well into the idea of forgetting his problems and live in the present. Eventually though, Simba realizes that while he is living the care free life, the rest of his pride is living under the rule of Scar and he needs to take responsibility and return home.

Opinion and Musical Elements

Like the social commentary, I think that this song has two meanings in the film, (1) don’t sweat the small stuff and (2) you can’t live a life in the clouds, sometimes you need to come back to reality and work the problem.

This song production is different from many songs we hear on the radio, but similar to many songs in cartoon films where the lyrics include talking instead of singing. We can see this at 00:35 mark where the three are discussing what hakuna matata means as a motto, this is known as Sprechgesang which is a German phrase translating to “spoken singing.”

This music piece includes the use of many instruments: guitar, timpani, piano, harp, trumpet, chorus, saxophone, electric guitar, keyboard, and a drum set. These different instruments come together to create a catchy and upbeat melody.

Referenced Cited

Role of the Performer- Pentatonix

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Musical Biography

Pentatonix is a five-member a capella singing group which formed in 2011. The five members met at as group for the first time only 24 hours prior to their audition for season three of The Sing-Off which they ultimately won.

The five members of the group are

  1. Scott Hoying
  2. Mitch Grassi
  3. Kristin Maldonado
  4. Kevin Olusola
  5. Avriel “Avi” Kaplan was an original member of the group but left in 2017 noting his difficulties keeping up with the demands of the stress of touring. Matt Salle became the new member of the group in September 2017 as the bass vocal.

Pentatonix has been nominated for and won numerous awards since their formation in 2011. Winnings include Shorty Awards for Best YouTube Musician, YouTube Music Awards for Response of the Year and Artist of the Year, Steamy Awards for Best Cover Song, and Grammy Awards for Best Country Dou/Group Performance, Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Capella (twice). Nine of their albums have reached the top 10 on Billboard’s 200 chart. Additionally, they have sold almost 10 million albums worldwide.

Pentatonix is well known for their cover versions of modern pop and Christmas song. In 2015, Pentatonix released the album Can’t Sleep Love which featured the groups first original tract, breaking the band into to musical territory.

Daft Punk, 2013, Composers: Pentatonix, USA.
Pentatonix cover of Daft Punk songs

Role Pentatonix Serves as a Performer

A capella is music performed without the accompaniment of instruments, it is music performed with only vocals. Pentatonix does an amazing job of this as you can see in the two examples. What I find so amazing is the ability of this group to make the listener think there are instruments in their pieces. While there is no instrumental accompaniment each of their songs have vocal accompaniment. You can hear this from the very beginning of “Can’t Sleep Love,” when two different voices set the beat and tempo for this song. Group members also emulate musical instruments, in essence creating an instrument with their voice. Kevin Olusola is the groups beat-boxing member who creates vocal percussion.

Bill Lamb wrote that “Pentatonix have single-handedly brought a capella music to a level of commercial success never seen before.” This sums up perfectly the role that Pentatonix serves as a performer. A capella is traditionally church music and literally translates from Italian into “in the manner of the chapel.” Variations of a capella can be seen in barbershop music, but a capella was not widely listened to until Pentatonix took off and used their a capella talents to show case modern music.

Can’t Sleep Love, 2015, Pentatonix, USA

Works Cited

Musical Trip to South Africa

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South Africa has a rich cultural diversity and so there are multiple different styles of traditional music from this area. Before democracy in the 1990’s the government wanted “cultural purity” and divided people by their ethnic groups and controlled where and how they lived, so much so that each ethnic group was encouraged to listen to their traditional music on the radio and for musicians to only play their traditional music.

Traditional South African Music: Zulu

Zulu-traditional, also known as neo-traditional music emerged in the 1960’s by migrant workers. Maskanda is a type of Zulu folk music known as “the music played by the man on the move, the modern minstrel, today’s troubadour. It is the music of the man walking the long miles to court a bride, or to meet with his Chief; a means of transport. It is the music of the man who sings of his real life experiences, his daily joys and sorrows, his observations of the world. It’s the music of the man who’s got the Zulu blues.” Here are multiple traditional Zulu songs.

Traditional Zulu Music, unknown song names, unknown composes, unknown date of production, Africa.

The first song 0:00 – 3:33 immediately caught my attention with its melody. The pitch, beat, and rhythm create a really nice melody to listen to. When the melody is accompanied by additional vocals it creates a wonderful harmony to listen to. The melody kicks off the song at 0:00 and the accompaniment kicks in at around the 1:00 mark. I enjoyed listening to the traditional elements of this song that we don’t often here such as the tongue clicks (instead of finger snaps). Something interesting about this song is that there aren’t any instruments, only vocals.

Modern South African Music

Zuluboy a rapper, managed to fuse traditional Zulu influences into his own brand of hip-hop.  Below is an interview with Zuluboy and a performance by him. He describes his songs purpose as “the beat gives the people the opportunity to dance but the lyrics give the person the opportunity to listen.”

Lento, 2018, Zuluboy, South Africa

I initially thought I would have a hard time dancing to this music because the beat is on the slower side and the rapping is quite a bit faster. Though when the accompaniment comes in (3:11) I realized I was wrong. And you can see that the music can be danced to.

I was unable to find the lyrics to this song. I believe it is sang in both Afrikaans and some in English. Zuluboy said this song is about “falling in love, and his love for hip pop.” Below are snippets of the lyrics I was able to make out

First Verse: Whats mine is yours and whats your is mine. Love and hip hop/ love is part of the game/ loving the seconds the minutes the hours the morning showers and the showers by the hours/ my baby your love inspires/ now take my hand/ and as my heart beats/

Second Verse: Hip hop you are my (continues in different language)/ this is black consciousness back man you’re a king and white supremacy should bow down right now and kiss the ring

This song goes between two different languages, not separated by verse, but Zuluboy switches languages sometimes in the middle of sentences. In the lyrics we hear his personal notes about love and also a broader view on hip hop and racism. I wish I could find the lyrics fully in English to have a better understanding of how these two themes come together.

References Cited

Harpsichord to Piano Evolution

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What is the Harpsichord?

A harpsichord is a musical instrument that uses a keyboard to pluck strings under tension on a sound board in a wooden case. Imagine a harp, laying on its side in a box, and instead of the player plucking the strings, the player strikes a key which plucks the strings. The video below shows how when a key is struck, the string is plucked.

How a harpsichord makes sound

It is thought that the harpsichord was invented in the Middle ages, the earliest known references to a harpsichord was in the 1400’s. Becoming widely used across Europe, instruments varied depending on number of keyboards, use of foot peddles, and hand stops. The harpsichord remained popular throughout the 18th century before being largely replaced by the newly developed piano.

Sponge Bob- Krusty Krab Theme song being played on the Harpsichord
Sponge Bob Krusty Krab Theme Song, 1999, Composers: Derek Drymon, Mark Harrison, Stephen Hillenburg, and Bliase Smith. USA.

Why evolve to the Piano?

The Harpsichord has only one volume, which does not vary. The harpsichord typically was limited to 4 octaves, whereas the piano typically has 7 octaves. The player cannot soften or increase the volume of the music being played. This limits the musical expression of the musician. The desire for more musical expression led to the invention of the piano.

The Piano

The piano was invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori around year 1700. Early 1700 pianos resemble harpsichords, but the mechanism for moving the string changed. Instead of plucking the string like the harpsichord, the piano player depresses the key which strikes the string. The piano player can vary the instruments dynamics by how hard or soft they depress the keys. The video below shows in detail how the operation. Skip to 3:00 for every piece working together.

How a piano makes sound

Spongebob- Krusty Krab Theme song played on the piano
Sponge Bob Krusty Krab Theme Song, 1999, Composers: Derek Drymon, Mark Harrison, Stephen Hillenburg, and Bliase Smith. USA.

Personally I much prefer the piano to the harpsichord. The piano gives the musician more opportunity to make an expression, and therefor an impression on the listener. This is demonstrated really well in the video below where the same song is played on the harpsichord first followed by the piano. The piano piece is much more interesting and pleasant to listen to due to the variations in dynamics.

References Cited

Passenger- Let Her Go Musical Analysis

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I have a very clear memory of listening to to this song near the time of its release. I was living on a sail boat at the time, with a man, who though he wasn’t bad, wasn’t good for me. I committed 100% to the relationship and received about 5% in return. When hearing this song I can immediately go back to listening this song over the scratchy radio on the boat and thinking “If I left, maybe then he would appreciate everything I do.” Four years later I proved my 2012 self right. So while this song as might convey the message to appreciate what you have, to me it is a good reminder to recognize your worth.

Let Her Go, Passenger, 24 July 2012, Sydney Australia.

Lyrics

This song is written by Michael David Rosenberg, whose stage name is Passenger. “You don’t know what you have until its gone,” how Thomas Van summed up these lyrics in his article “The Meaning of Let Her Go by Passenger.” Instead of outright stating that fact, Passenger has given us a number of examples to which we can relate in the chorus.

Well you only need the light when it’s burning low
Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you’ve been high when you’re feeling low
Only hate the road when you’re missing home
Only know you love her when you let her go
And you let her go

The remaining lyrics speak more to the feelings that come from “letting her go” and missing what you didn’t realize you had.

Staring at the bottom of your glass
Hoping one day you’ll make a dream last
But dreams come slow and they go so fast
You see her when you close your eyes
Maybe one day you’ll understand why
Everything you touch surely dies

Staring at the ceiling in the dark
Same old empty feeling in your heart
Love comes slow and it goes so fast
Well you see her when you fall asleep
But never to touch and never to keep
‘Cause you loved her too much and you dive too deep

Structure

This song is structured in a way where the chorus is used five time. Three of the five are repeated one after another at the end of the song. I think this repetition is successful, hitting home on the point Passenger wants to make, don’t take her for granted. The repetition and tempo also makes this songs lyrics easy to remember and catchy.

Beat and Tempo

This song has a tempo of 75 beats per minute. Starting at the 1:00 minute mark in this video you can see Rosenberg’s left foot stomping out the beat. 75 bpm falls within the tempo range of Adagio- slowly with great expression.

Tone

Tone, also known as the color the song, is another way to convey a feeling or expression into a musical piece. Rosenberg has what I would call a soft, yet husky voice, creating a smokey tone. I listened to many cover versions of this song, all which had the same tone. Here an a cover by J.Fla who has the same smokey vocals. Imagine the tone difference if there was a cover by a death metal band?

Texture

Texture is how the different elements of music are composed together into one piece. I believe this song has different textures throughout the song. At the beginning of the song in the first chorus we hear the piano accompanied by the singer. In the last line of the first chorus, it changes to polyphonic when the other instruments join in for the majority of the song (around the 1:00 minute mark). Later in the song (around 3:40) most of the accompaniment, except one, drops off. And then at the end of the song (3:50) we have monophonic, when there are only vocals.

Citations

Beyoncé – Check On It Musical Analysis

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I’ve been listening to Beyoncé while doing the dreaded dishes and her music got me through it, and in a good mood too! This was the last song played so I decided to analyze it for this post. It is a catchy tune, though I found that it is much more enjoyable with the lyrics.

Beyoncé – Check On It, Beyoncé, Slim Thug, Swizz Beatz, Sean Garrett, Angela Beyince, 2006, USA.

Beat and Tempo

This song has a beat of 89 beats per minute, which is of a medium tempo called Andante (76-108 bpm). I focused on clapping this beat out before looking it up to verify. Interestingly enough, this is the in the range of the healthy adult heart rate of 60-100 beats per minute. Watching the video I also noticed that the dancers hip thrust to the beat, which fits with the review by Jazzy Bass calling it the “booty shaking anthem.”

Meter

Like many songs, this piece is written in Common meter, with is a meter of 4, meaning it has a regularly occurring pattern ever 4 beats. I found it much easier to hear the emphasized notes when listening to the instrumental version.

(This song is MUCH better with the lyrics included.)

Pitch

Pitch is the frequency of the vibrations in air. Faster vibrations emit a higher sound, and slower vibrations emit a lower sound. Beyoncé’s vocals have two different pitches in this song. The tempo of the vocals follows the pitch pattern for fast:high and slow:low.

During the verse, vocals are slower, and the pitch is lower.

If you got it, flaunt it, boy, I know you want it
While I turn around, you watch me check up on it
Ooh, you watchin’ me shake it, I see it in ya face
Ya can’t take it, it’s blazin’, you watch me in amazement
You can look at it as long as you don’t grab it
If you don’t go braggin’, I might let you have it
You think that I’m teasin’, but I ain’t got no reason
I’m sure that I can please ya, but first I gotta read you

During the chorus, the vocals are faster, and the pitch is higher.

Ooh, boy, you looking like you like what you see
Won’t you come over and check up on it?
I’ma let you work up on it
Ladies let ’em check up on it, watch it while he check up on it
Dip it, pop it, twerk it, stop it, check on me tonight

Sources

Introduction- Michelle

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Hello music world! My name is Michelle Snowden. I was born in California, raised in Colorado, and have lived in southeast Alaska since 2011 with no plans to leave. I am an elementary education major, currently finishing my general education courses. I’ve held a number of different job titles ranging from server, to aircraft mechanic, to firefighter/EMT, to office worker. In 2017 I “retired” and traveled a bit before starting college classes again. I enjoy being outdoors through all seasons. I particularly enjoy hiking, backpacking, camping, and skiing. I have recently become enthralled in identifying different plant specimens, current kick being mushroom identification.

– Scidmore Bay, Glacier Bay National Park 2017

Though I enjoy music, I have very little knowledge about music, and even less musical ability. I mostly use music as background noise while I clean the house. I enjoy many different genres of music, and enjoy most music as long as I listen to a variety- I get bored of listening to the same type of music after too long. My Pandora stations range from 90’s Hip Hop, to Blue Grass, to Hits, and most in between. You will NEVER find me willingly listening to Christmas music. The first concert I attended was performed by Yanni with my mom when I was in high school; I was not impressed. The most recent concert I attended was performed by Afro and R.A. the Rugged Man; much more enjoyable! I would absolutely attend more live music if I lived someplace where it was performed. (Death metal, while not my favorite music, is a fun way to spend an evening.)

The Fugees- Ready or Not