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中文A piece of jazz music – its structure, form, instrumentation and method of performance
Duke Ellington’s East St Louis Toodle-oo is one of the most important works of Ellington’s early period and was considered his signature tune from 1926 to 1941 (Rattenbury, Duke Ellington, 105). East St Louis Toodle-oo is a key representative for the so-called ‘Ellington Effect’ (Billy Strayhorn, Down Beat, July 1952). His unique and at the […]
A piece of jazz music – its structure, form, instrumentation and method of performance
Duke Ellington’s East St Louis Toodle-oo is one of the most important works of Ellington’s early period and was considered his signature tune from 1926 to 1941 (Rattenbury, Duke Ellington, 105). East St Louis Toodle-oo is a key representative for the so-called ‘Ellington Effect’ (Billy Strayhorn, Down Beat, July 1952). His unique and at the […]
UNDERSTANDING RENAISSANCE MUSIC
INTRODUCTION The history of music more often shows how the art of music is passed on from period to another- from traditions, teachers, society, institution, etc. It becomes apparent to the musicians of a generation with the gradual change of taste in music. The history of music, however, requires a certain organisation if the contrasting […]
MUSIC, MIND, BODY AND SOUL
INTRODUCTION Nothing has more intrigued humankind than sounds. Sounds are anything perceived by the human ear. It is believed that the universe started with a sacred sound called “OM” or “Aum”. In that sense, sound is the fundamental platform on which everything exists. Right from time memorial, humans have been experimenting with sound and developing […]
Has the traditional male dominated gender role in contemporary popular music been affected by sexual representation of female artists?
This piece of work aims to identify the extent to which popular international female recording artists have changed/influenced traditional theories of gender politics in popular music over the course of the last twenty years. I also intend to outline the ways in which they have succeeded in challenging traditional stereotypes in accordance with the current […]
Can performance in different locations change the meaning of a piece of music?
Musical appreciation has undergone cataclysmic change since the advent of the 20th century. Through ground-breaking developments in the inextricable combination of science, philosophy and marketing, it is indisputable that the listening experience has enjoyed a complete cultural transformation over the past hundred years and continues to accelerate into the future at a rapid rate. In […]
DYNAMIC PROCESSORS
Some types of sound source such as certain instruments, by virtue of their construction or performance characteristics and human voices, are capable of producing a wide range of dynamics – for both very loud and soft sounds. During a recording session, the risk of unpredictable peaks when the signal is too loud or too quiet […]
Compare and contrast music from at least three distinct historical periods or decades
Ideas become propaganda when their dissemination is framed by a specific intention to influence. This ideological ‘propagation’ seeks to spread and cultivate the seeds of an innately politicized and in most cases, an overtly political idea. The term ‘propaganda’ itself is a derogatory attribution applied to a particular style of promotional brainwashing. It implies carefully […]
Analysis of 7 songs from Schumann’s Dichterliebe Op.48
Robert Schumann was particularly evocative in the Romantic vogue of word-painting due to his extraordinary capacity for stylistic mimicry and prodigious command of the piano as a communicative tool, evidenced by the now well-publicized coded messages to his future wife Clara, embedded within so many of his compositions. While these ‘codes’ quoted topical songs to […]
CLASSIC STATUS OF AN ALBUM
INTRODUCTION A music album by anyone’s favourite artist or band is always special. Apart from the music that speaks to the listener, there are various tangible strands attached to them. There is a Compact Disc, the album cover, lyrics and photographs. However, the intangible aspects have more of a depth in a way such as […]
The Internet has profoundly challenged the divides that traditional media have established between production and reception
There is no doubt that the Internet has had a vast impact on society today and its massive growth worldwide has influenced domestic and commercial users alike. In particular, it is obvious that the Internet, although used in many schools and businesses across the globe, has become a huge outlet for the purposes of entertainment […]
THE STUDIO TECHNOLOGY AND INSTRUMENTS USED IN RECORDING AND PRODUCING
1. RECORDING TECHNOLOGY- AN INTRODUCTION1 Instruments such as telephone, phonograph and radio were the three sound mechanisms invented during the Electric Revolution that enabled sound to be split from its source and reach people far and wide. The telephone enabled two parties to talk and listen to each other irrespective of the distance. Phonograph recorded […]
Examine an arts organisation of your own choice in depth
The organisation chosen for the purposes of this assignment was the Scottish Chamber Choir based in Edinburgh. It has been in existence for thirty four years and has toured successfully both nationally and internationally during this time. It employs a small group of people whose job is to keep the organisation alive and thriving and […]
Music History
INTRODUCTION Music is sound that is arranged in interesting patterns. The concept of Popular Music started in the 1940s when music broke loose from the clutches of the so called “authentic” music such as pure classical music (although over a period of time there used to several examples of classical forms in popular music). It […]
What are the key elements of James Brown’s musical and production style?
The most immediately obvious stylistic trait in the music of the black American soul and funk singer James Brown (1928-2006) is his unrelenting repetition of one verbal phrase, which David Brackett describes as ‘resulting in a kind of ecstatic trance’. In the song I Got You this characteristic is in definite evidence. It is based […]
Rapping Minstrels and the Performance of Hip Hop
Introduction The minstrel show, with the peculiar structure of its performance and its socio-cultural implications, has been identified as a particularly early form of racially complicated entertainment. The appropriation – and distortion – of Black cultural forms was in fact viably exploited by White performers and directed at a White audience. As social critic W.E.B. […]
An Analytical Discussion of Jules de Sivrai’s
Grand Welsh Fantasia and Grand Scotch Fantasia Jules de Sivrai’s Grand Welsh Fantasia and Grand Scotch Fantasia bear immediately apparent similarity, as they both operate by exposing a series of folk melodies and then entering into variations of those melodies. The overall style of the two pieces is similar; but differences in local compositional procedure […]
Global Pop in the Middle East
In today’s increasingly globalised world, where economic, technological and cultural barriers between countries are being eroded, musical differences between East and West have also become narrow and cannot be so well-defined as in earlier centuries. Western celebrities such as David Beckham and Angelina Jolie are highly acclaimed by people in China and the Middle East […]
How did the introduction of downloads affect the music industry?
Since downloads were introduced in the late 1990s, the music industry has seen a huge number of changes. CD sales are steadily declining, whilst every day more and more people download music onto their computers, digital music players or mobile phones. However, as a large number of these downloads take place illegally, the music industry […]
