Shannon Smith Chapter 4 Art Aesthetics Music for myself (and most other people) serves as a gateway into our own thoughts and ideas. Music is what I use to reflect on my day, certain events, and life in general. I am always amazed by how easily I can get sucked into the melody of a song that I am listening to. With that being said this chapter focused mainly on the components that go into the making of the music. I was unaware of how much is involved in the formation of a song that (these days) only lasts around two to five minutes. It amazes me how much effort there is involved in the making and even the performance of music. Last chapter we learned about Architecture, and briefly talked about how a concert hall is built can affect the sound of the music. This chapter really stressed the importance of analyzing the environment the music is being performed in. For instance last year I attended a rap music concert. The concert hall was very small, very tightly packed, and filled with a rather rowdy crowd. I believe that (without knowing who the performer was) a person viewing this scene would easily be able to identify the type of music that would be played. The real encounter portion of this chapter really gave me a rather sad feeling that most people including myself do not appreciate classical music as much as this generation once did. I can recall growing up listening to classical music in our dark green explorer listening to various classical music artists. In the back seat I sat requesting to change the station over and over again until my mother finally did. This lack of appreciation for the classical style of music has put into perspective how much taste in music has evolved and how easily an entire genre can be under appreciated by the masses. This portion of the chapter has inspired me to (hopefully) attend a classical music concert when I (hopefully) study abroad next semester in Florence Italy. Florence contains so much culture and amazing history, I believe this would be the best place to broaden my horizons and give classical music a try! The vocabulary portion of this chapter also caught me off guard. There are so many aspects that go into the making of music it is truly amazing. I was completely unaware of most of the Harmony and Dynamic vocabulary words (although I have taken multiple music courses in the past). This chapter was filled with interesting information regarding the art of music and I enjoyed it a lot!
Out of all of the chapters we have read so far, this chapter has been my favorite. That is because I, just like most other people in our class, relate most to music. It is what I listen to and turn to it when I’m happy, sad, excited, or just about anything there is to be. There is music for all types of feelings and emotions. This chapter discusses context, and describes it in a way that relates closely to myself and probably, all other students. It talks about how music on Ipod’s are sorted into different music folders, such as sad music, or going out music, which I, and all of my friends, do. It also discusses how radio stations target one context. I always notice, when I’m in somebody else’s car, the stations that are preset. I believe that this can tell a lot about a person. For myself, for example, I have three pop culture stations, two country stations, and an old school station, all preset in my car. I know multiple people, however, who have all six set to only pop culture music. Their presets help me understand what type of music they like to listen to. As much as I want my view of music to be from the musicians point of view, instead of the listeners, that is not how it is for me. I grew up taking guitar lessons and have tried, multiple times, to learn how to play piano, but I have never really become good at it. I know what tone and rhythm are, but I don’t know enough to be able to create or play music, simply based on those aspects. I would love to learn to be able to that, but for now, I cannot. I really liked the part of the chapter where the author discussed how “two hundred years ago, music could only be heard if someone performed it” (pg. 48). Growing up in an era with so much technology, music has always been accessible to me. It never occurred to me that years ago, music was a privilege and was sometimes difficult to access. I am a big concertgoer, and love to hear music live, but I also really like being able to listen to my favorite music, everywhere that I go. I can listen to it in the car, at school, at the gym, anywhere, but that accessibility hasn’t always been available. Music is definitely something that is taken advantage of, which I never realized until I read this chapter.
Kirsten Hansen During the first week of class, we were all asked to share our favorite forms of art. Almost every one of us said music. Music is a form of expression that almost everyone can relate to. You don’t have to be able to play or create music – you can simply just listen. The chapter talked a lot about genres. I believe that the genres that we choose to listen to says a lot about us as people. Bonds are formed over music. Once you find something that speaks to you, you are then able to find other people who feel the same way. Music allows people to feel something. Sometimes music can explain the way someone feels better than they can themself. Sometimes people need that.
Music has been around forever. Whether it be tribal, classical, pop, rap, country, people are drawn to music.
The chapter mentioned different aspects of music: tone, harmony, melody, and etcetera. I used to take guitar when I was 14-15 years old. I remember having certain days where all we’d do would be analyze music in order to determine what type of guitar was being played. This chapter made me thing of this because it talked about all the aspects. Music as a whole is great, but in order to truly appreciate it as art, we must pick it apart and focus in on the components listed in the chapter.
I feel as though music is one of the best forms of art because it appeals to almost everyone. It is delivered in a way that people can relate to and attach to.
marisa siino This chapter about music was definitely the most interesting to me. Not only because yes, everyone loves music and hasn’t different taste, but because its something I hold near and dear to me. Growing up my family was always musical. I can vividly remember going to my grandmothers music group called “The Melodears” performances once a year. Some years my mom participated, but for the most part it was elderly women. Other people would perform, and that was when I fell in love with music. At an early age I took piano lessons, but it wasn’t completely by choice. I wanted to make my mom happy so I asked to take them, but being the stubborn person I am, I was unhappy. Lessons were miserable for me, I would cry hours before going. It just wasn’t my passion. But then I found my interest, singing. I joined the choirs as soon as I could, while also playing the clarinet. As I got into high school my love for it grew. I auditioned for elite singing groups, I was asked to perform with students across New York State. I also loved theatre, I auditioned my freshman year of high school and was extremely disappointed when I did not make it. It was a really hard time in my life and on top of that, I didn’t make the musical when all my friends and my sister did. I was devastated and almost gave up. But I never did. And im glad I didn’t because ei excelled in high school. Later on I noticed a change in my voice, and I realized I had developed voalc nodules, making it hard for me to sing and even sometimes talk. I was so upset, but I knew that music from here on out would be a hobby for me. Although I had nevative thoughts toward music and singing for a little while, when I wasn’t being successful and was having vocal problems, music was still the one that kept me up. I was upset with music and was close to giving up, but I channeled it else where, and became interested in writing lyrics and really breaking down different types of music. This chapter 100% reminded me why I love music. I forget how much I really learned about music throughout the years and this chapter made my little inner music nerd smile.
Throughout my life I never was able to create my own music of any sort, whether it was singing or an instrument. My musical talent is very lacking, I also never listened to music either. Now I find myself with headphones in more often than not. I use music as a stress relieving tool, listening to music takes my mind off of everything and allows me to just listen to the beat of the song, for this reason I listen to more upbeat music.
The book questions if just because you are listening to music, does that make a person musical? Music is so much easier to access now than it used to be, almost anyone can play the song of their choice in seconds because of iPods and Internet. I do not think listening to music makes a person musical or artistic. I in no way describe myself as musical even though I listen to music often and even at some points sing along. In order to be musical, in my opinion, you have to have the talent to actually perform a piece of music well. At the same time I do not think because it is so easy to listen to music now, the music or artists themselves are any less musical than when you had to go to a show to listen to an artist. I believe the technology just allows people to enjoy music in an easier and more accommodating style.
Music always has a connection to the setting of when it was created. Much like a drawing or painting each song has its own story and meaning. Historical and social contexts are important to have in mind when listening to the music; it helps to make a connection with the song that is being played. I think subconsciously I often and making connections with songs when I am listening to them because I find myself listening to slower meaningful songs when I am sad and when I am happy I listen to upbeat positive music. When I am picking a song or the playlist I want to listen to based on my feelings, I am making a connection with the meaning of the music.
There are so many different varieties of music, and each variety can breakdown farther into subcategories. Listening to music and not having a general understanding of the differences does not allow the listener to fully enjoy the piece. Much like looking at a piece of art, there is a specific way to listen to music in order to fully understand and get the message perceived in the song. Before reading this chapter it never occurred to me to think into the setting of the song when listening to it, the song connects to the artist who wrote it just as a painting would. The listener can also connect to the song in a different way, hear the lyrics and the tempo and get a different message out of the song. When listening to music I am not going to only think of my connection to the piece but also the artist’s own connection to the piece.
Music is more similar to the visual arts than I thought before reading this chapter; it has many similarities that allow music to be classified as art and differences that gives it its own interesting category of the arts.
Music to me and a lot of other people in this generation is more than just a series of notes that are accompanied by words and a chorus, to us it is part of our being. When I listen to music the type of genre I listen to depends on the current emotions I am feeling, and sometimes I use it for inspiration, or a way to keep the blood flowing. The way the instruments clash with the different octaves that people sing in is literally music to my ears. I am just amazed how different sounds can make you feel and think differently, like when a song moves at a higher pace and is comprised of loud instrumentals it gets you hyper and energized, but when a song is slower and softer you feel calmer and more focused. Music affects everyone differently and like other art forms music is derived from the many emotions that affect your soul. I believe the reason why I enjoyed this chapter the mostly so far is because music is something that I understand very well, and unlike paintings and buildings I can paint the story of the song that the musician is singing. The book describes that people who only listen to songs from the current generation are not in fact musical, but I disagree completely with that statement. Just like paintings and sculptures have evolved through the eras music has evolved as well, someone from the modern generation wouldn’t enjoy listening to music before their generation because they weren’t brought up listening to that type of music, the characteristic that defines whether we like a song or band is the nostalgic feelings that we get when we listen to a certain song or band. Music can be many different forms, but the music itself will never change.
Just like art music is unique to that one person or persons. There is no such thing as one song being better than another, just like one painting is better than another everyone’s tastes are different, so we shouldn’t be prejudice towards something that we may not like. Even though I might not agree with this chapter I can now see after reading it that art and music are so similar in so many different ways, and I am now inspired to look closely at art just like I do with music.
Music is an art form that almost everybody, including myself can relate to. For me personally, music is a way for me to get out of my head and relax. When I’m stressed about a big test, or I am studying I use music to help me relax and focus on what I am doing. Music is also a very accessible art form. You can listen to it for free, and it’s not locked in a museum, like a lot of paintings or sculptures. I find it interesting how people’s taste in music differs and what one person loves another person can hate. The artist of the song has a very specific audience in mind when they are playing. They know whom they are going to attract and whom they are going to push away with their music. I liked in this chapter how they said, “context is one way that humans make meaning from music”. People can listen to different music depending on their mood or attitude. When people are sad they might listen to a slower song and when they are happy they might listen to a more upbeat and peppy song. Different feelings may push you to see something different when listening to a particular song that you may have never realized. I find it interesting that people, without knowing all the technical aspects of music, can decipher between good and bad music. Like on American Idol, most of the population is not professionally trained in classical music, but they know what a good singer and a bad singer sound like. I find that so cool. I don’t know when someone’s pitch is too high or too low, or if they are flat or sharp, but I like to think I can recognize good singers. It must be something in our brain that can tell the difference between a good sound and a bad sound. Over the summer I went to Australia, and I had the chance to take a tour of the Sydney Opera House. It was amazing. How precise every seat, ceiling and wall placement was in order to get the best sound. In one of the theaters there is a pipe organ that has something crazy like ten thousand pipes. In the chapter I like how they relate music to math, because unlike the technical aspects of music, I understand math. I never thought to think of music as math. But I guess everything is measured, counted a precise, so it makes sense why they would relate music to math. I love musicals. My sister always participated in the musicals in high school and I loved going to watch them. I love the style of music, the costumes, the dancing, how the set changes form scene to scene. I think musicals are amazing. I love that they can take an every day situation and turn in into a singing and dancing number.
In chapter 4, Music, I can relate to most out of the chapters we have read so far. In my perspective, music can define a person. You can tell a lot about someone by what they are listening to, and where and when they listen to it. I think in this chapter opens up with saying that what we listen to now probably wouldn’t be considered music in prehistoric times. What “modern” music is now, we listen to for our enjoyment and sometimes it really doesn’t have an emotional connection in the lyrics. It has definitely changed throughout the many years it has existed. This chapter also talks about how you can label in folders/playlist your own name for the genre. For example in the text, it says you can label them as “Sad songs,” or even “Road songs.” I think this is true because in today’s music, there are many varieties of types of music and we listen to them at different times depending on our mood. There are songs we listen to when we are going through something, to try to feel like you can relate to the song. When we are happy, many people listen to something more upbeat and joyful. We can use music to stay positive, or we can use it to feel something. I found it interesting how different movies have their own playlists and albums. As we know, throughout a movie or a play there is background music. That music is carefully chosen to fit the scene and make the moment of the scene more dramatic or clear to what is going on. Music can emphasize the plot and it can emphasize who you are as a person. We can also use music to escape. If people need to relax, they will listen to something more quiet and peaceful. Or maybe you are ready to do something exciting or go to the gym to workout. The music definitely is going to change to something upbeat. That’s a great part about music- how it can change your mood. It can turn a really bad day into a good one. Different lyrics can make you understand how the artist is trying to portray themselves to you. The artist usually wants you to understand what they’re going through, and even have you relate to it. I personally think music is the best way to express yourself. It’s everywhere, and easy to find. We all have some type of music that is our “favorite,” and there are probably many reasons why it is our favorite. Certain songs or artists can bring back great memories, and the same with bad memories. Music can take us back to an exact moment in time and we can remember it perfectly just because of a sound.
John Yusza Ch.4 Music has always provoked some emotions for me whether it be happy or sad. I remember that I never really listened to music before 7th grade. I could not even name a single song if I was asked. Of course we had a project involving music with my luck. So we had to pick out a song and relate it to a book we were reading in class. My problem was of course that I didn’t know any music. So this is what caused me to start listening to it. I think I ended up picking some terrible song my dad had on a CD for the project but after that point I made sure to relatively keep up with music. I got my first MP3 player and all I would do was listen to one song on repeat because I liked it, it made me feel good. Today I listen to two different kinds of music, stuff that I can relate to the lyrics or something with a good beat. In terms of live music I have only been to two concerts in my life. One when I was in about 8th grade my parents dragged me along and I complained about how loud it was so we left early I don’t even remember who was playing. Then the second concert I went to was after I graduated high school I went with a friend to go see an Eminem concert in New Jersey. It was a lot better than my first concert experience. However, I have realized that why bother with a live performance if you can just get the songs for free on the internet. The only reason I would go to a live show now because its expensive would be for an artist I really like. I think it is interesting that we call these singers artists I never really thought of it that way, while writing this I just noticed. They are producing a form of art but I never thought into it really. The whole point of music is really entertainment. It is the art form that attracts people to it though. A lot of artists make music that they want to hear and hope that the rest of us can relate. In all reality with music there are very few artists I actually have connection with to their songs other than oh this song just sounds good. The impression I get is that older music was designed to get more of an emotional response from people than today’s music. But as a rule of thumb I don’t like classical music at all because I just can’t appreciate it. I realize it takes skill to make music more so then than now but it just doesn’t appeal to me and my tastes. Overall music I think is the most relatable form of art for almost everyone.
Nicole Marmo Music Music is a very important form of art for today’s society. Even though I didn’t really think about it, this chapter pointed out how there’s music everywhere: in movies, elevators, restaurants, etc. Music has also been a way to express one’s self, whether it be with instruments or singing. To me, music has definitely left a good impression. I love listening to music and sometimes even playing music. I used to play the drums in middle school and every now and then I’ll still go along to the beats of some songs. I was first introduced to instruments in second grade when we learned how to play a couple of songs on the recorder. In my elementary school once you hit fourth grade you got to play the more interesting instruments like: the clarinet, the flute, the saxophone, the drums, the trumpet or the trombone. You had to pick and number 3 instruments from the list of choices in order and I chose the trumpet, trombone and the drums. I then furthered my musical journey when I was picked to be a drummer in fourth grade. In my elementary school being a drummer was very prestigious because out of the entire grade only 5 people could become drummers. Even though I didn’t really want to be a drummer I had fun playing for those 5 years. I also liked how we technically got to learn how to play three instruments: the bass, the snare and the symbol; so, we actually got to alternate. Another plus with playing the drums is that we were always heard; most of the time we had to play lightly so the other instruments could be heard well. I can definitely say music means a lot to me. I like how music can easily change your mood. Sometimes when I’m upset I listen to music to help me get passed it. Mostly whenever I listen to music it’s either in the car or while I’m doing homework. For me, listening to music while doing homework is really important because it helps me stay focused by blocking out the background noise and distractions. Something new that I learned from this chapter is just how far back the making of instruments started. I was surprised when I read that the first instruments were made of old animal bones because what I was taught in elementary school is that the first instrument was a flute and it was made from a tree branch that had holes in it and made a musical tone because of the wind that blew through it, which was then later perfected to the type of instruments we have today.
I am constantly listening to music because to me, music is my escape. Especially now because recently school has been very stressful. Being an engineering major I have to take a lot of intense and time consuming classes. This semester is very stressful because I am taking two sciences that both have three hour labs. Due to all this stress from all my schoolwork I have been having a lot of anxiety and panic attacks. When I get in this state or feel like I am overwhelmed I plug in my headphones and listen to music that will calm me down and/or make me happy. Music allows me forget what is going on in my life and focus on relaxing and not allowing my stress to get the best of me.
Music is also very close to my heart because music is very important in my family. We are a very close family and even though my family goes to a different church from my grandparents, uncle, aunt, and cousins we still go to some of the ceremonies at their church. The reason we went to their church was to listen to all of them sing in the choir. Music is just another way our family stays close and supportive of each other. My brother is also one of the most musical people that I know. He is four years younger than me and is a music genius on the trombone. Since he started playing the trombone I have found a new appreciation for music because I see first hand how much time and effort goes into perfecting a musical piece.
This chapter taught me how much effort it takes to learn and perfect a piece of music. Watching and listening to my brother play I thought he just needed to learn the notes and practice to learn a piece. But after reading this chapter I realize you need to know the rhythm, tone and pitch of the music. In order to master a piece you have to keep in mind so many aspects of the music like melody and harmony. Music is an art that takes time and effort to master and I applaud those that can actually create good music.
Music as Art: When talking about music I can literally go on for hours. To me music is the deepest form of art, and through someone’s beats and lyrics you can learn a story and learn deeper on the writers personally views on life. My favorite forms of music are pretty much anything but country, but I mostly listen to all forms of rap, focusing more on lyrically rap with meaning rather than over played drake songs on the radio. The section “Essentials of Music” talked about general things such as tone/pitch, time/rhythm, melody, harmony and form. Although these are all important I disagree that these are all the essentials. In rap, at least today, rappers will use things such as flow and dynamically rapping to get the new hottest track to their fans. Each rapper has their only style of rapping that appeals to all different types of people.
In this day and age music is so obtainable to us. It is easy to go on the Internet and find a new band or find what songs were released today/ what songs will be released in a week from now. It’s hard to picture a life where music was hard to get and it would cost a lot of money. We are lucky that because music is such a growing business that it becomes so easy to obtain in daily life activities. For example, I love the fact that music is always playing in commons, in the dorm halls and in the gym. Even though it may be faint, music is all around pretty much 24/7.
In this chapter I found a lot of the key terms interesting. One of the forms was called a Meter and was defined as “the regular pulse of beats, grouped in larger units called a bar.” I found it interesting that music can have different forms of measurement. When you really breakup the parts to music you can learn all the different essentials that comprise a song.
Chandler Cobb Chapter 4 Music is an outlook for anyone no matter how old they are or what your interests are. Personally music gives me something to relate to. There is a song for every mood I’m in whether I’m sad, happy, annoyed I can find some song that can relate to me. Sometimes when I’m upset about something I listen to the same song a repeat and it can just make me smile and remind me that it’s going to be okay. Music lets everyone express himself or herself whether you’re listening to it, playing it, writing it, or singing it. Musicians use music to let their feelings out and people who listen to music use it as something they can relate to. Not everyone has a reason his or her drawn to a specific type of music. Sometimes you can just be driving and a song comes on the radio that you like and you look it up and that becomes you favorite song for the next week and you’ll listen to it on repeat. Well at least that happens to me. I love hearing a new song and relating it and having it remind you of someone in your life or a memory you have with them. There are songs that remind me of my friends or songs that make me smile and think of my friends from home when I’m here because I have a memory of blasting that song and singing along in a car with them. To me music is a type of art that reaches most people because there are so many different genres and music has such a long history. Music has been around for so long. Music can be as simple as hitting your hand on a table making a beat. Song lyrics are used everyday on social media to help people relay their thoughts. They’re used as captions on instagram or they just tweet the lyrics because they like them or it relates to something in their life. If you just simply look at a girls twitter you can usually at least guess what is going on in her life. I love music because there is a song to express every feeling for every person.
Music has the ability to inspire many different emotions in people. Music can bring back memories and invoke feelings in the listener. I love music. I love listening to music but before reading this chapter I really didn't consider it an art. Many people the first week mentioned music as one of their favorite arts. I just couldn't understand how music other than classical and opera were arts. I like lots of different types of music but as it pertains to art this chapter made me understand the idea deeper. There are beats and melodies and tempos and words. The lyrics themselves are art. I never thought of lyrics as art but I thought of poems as art. Music really does sometimes speak to a more emotional you. Music can make you cry or smile. Even today as I was wallowing in self pity the song Happy by Pharell Williams came on and actually to my distain the song made me happy. Songs and music really can effect emotions. Music and tunes can also trigger memories. I can remember the song form my first dance in middle school. I can remember the song that was playing in my car crashes and car fire. When songs play that trigger memories I don't think of them as art. The chapter did teach me however that analyzing and thinking about music that deeply can make it art. The way listeners interrupt things is what makes music art.
Almost everyone around the world can in some way relate to the art of music. It's something that most people can really connect with a lot easier than any other form of art because of an easier taste, preference and understanding. Whenever I study for a big test, I always like to open up one of the many music apps like Pandora and listen to a wide variety of classical music. Sure it isn't what classical music was meant for directly when it was written back in the day, but it does help relax the mind and is just a genre in which I enjoy. I've been playing the piano ever since I was in kindergarten and because of this I have a great understanding of terms that this chapter presented such as the different types of scales, harmonies, dynamics, and so on. It's also probably a reason why I enjoy classical music written by great musical performers like Mozart Beethoven, Haydn, and Chopin so much. But music has many other practical uses, such as rallying people up. For example, say a sports game in which music is played to get the crowd or players pumped up, or the sounds of drums to mentally get the soldiers in war back in the day ready to fight. They are also mental footnotes for many people, a song representing an important moment in someone's life, such as a song played on your wedding day whenever you listen to it will be remembered as "that song that was played at our wedding." I remember how the beginning of the chapter made a statement about how "If we turned off the soundtracks and Musak, shut down the iPods and personal computers, would anyone be left to make music?" in which I completely disagree with. Sure we would have less to hear from but we would still have music. And there are many out there including myself that play some sort of instrument as well as have others skills like vocally. Even some places such as restaurants still even hire musicians to perform as a way to attract people to them. The chapter later mentions Vivaldi's Four Seasons. I love this song so much and would love to hear these songs played live when I ever have the time to. To me, reading someone's impression of the song and even listening to the song from a recording just isn't the same as hearing the music played in front of you with a real orchestra with real instruments.
To me, music is the most present form of art in my life, although not my favorite. I listen to an eclectic compilation of music. I appreciate listening to classical and jazz music on occasion and understand how much talent it takes to perform at such a high level. My grandmother taught me piano for eight years. It ran in the family; she had taken lessons since she was in grade school and my grandfather could play music by ear, without even knowing how to read one note on a sheet of music. He was also an expert on the accordion, which was very interesting to both watch and listen to. I learned that to fully understand a piece of music, whether it be from the 1800's or 2015, the song has context and understanding the context will help me better appreciate the piece. It amazes me how a director of an orchestra can produce a sound, with the hundreds of instruments he has at his disposal, that creates an emotion that the audience hears and feels. Some songs we hear are obviously depressing, slow, sad songs and some songs are happy, upbeat, and energetic. I believe that some songs tell a story. I don't mean like modern day pop songs with cheesy lyrics all about relationships but it comes through to me most when I hear jazz music. The music sounds to me like a series of events and change of emotions. The chapter teaches you how to listen to musics, to "really listen": answering the question of "how should I act?" I always have music playing on the side, but I never just sit down and focus on just the music. Since i've moved to school, I haven't had a piano or any other instrument to play. Then was the only time I ever felt like I was devoting all of my attention just to the music; when I was playing the music.
I listen to music every day whether it be on my phone, on my computer or even on the radio. Although I listen to a variety of different genres of music, my favorite type of music is alternative rock. Even though I am a music enthusiast, there are a lot of things that I did not know about music until reading this chapter. To begin, it hasn’t occurred to me that music is everywhere you go. Music is a culture in itself and has began from the prehistoric years where humans would use bones and stone and then expanded to the years of Wolfgang and Mozart. Back then, music could only be heard live whether it be in music halls or even in private homes. Everyone was familiar with the music and have learned it throughout their lives. Now a days, music has expanded its genres and where listeners can hear it. There are many different ways to listen to music now. Music can be listened on all different kinds of electronics whether it be a Mp3 player, cellphone, computer, radio and even over bluetooth speakers. Although these tactics allow users to listen to music from around the world, the music they listen to through these methods are not as powerful as attending live performances. Music is very powerful because of the context behind it. It is categorized into different genres and “themes”; for example, “road music”, “sad music”, focus music, and so on. These different themes are used to captivate different audiences around the world. One type of music that I (secretly) enjoy are movie scores. Movie scores are the theme songs and background music in movies usually performed by an orchestra. I find this type of music very interesting because it is visible what composers have to put in to create such beautiful sounds. When listening to music in the future, it will be interesting thinking about what this music could sound like if it were created before any kinds of social media or even created on technology.
So far in life I have not created my own “music”. I cannot sing nor play an instrument of any sort. I have never had any talent of any sort involving music, neither has anyone in my family so that might explain it. I tried piano once and I was just not into it and gave up on it. However, I have always listened to music. Coming from a Dominican family music is key in our culture. People may say it’s a stereotype but almost every Dominican household is playing music at some point throughout the day. And in Dominican Republic its amazing how much music is heard throughout the day, it is honestly everywhere, which is probably why I love music. I cannot live without Music. I hear music for every mood I am in. If I am happy I listen to music, if I am mad I listen to music and if I am sad I listen to music. The number one reason music has been helpful is as my stress reliving tool which it has been since I can remember. It honestly takes my mind of things. I listen to every kind of music except country and scremo which I cannot stand. However, the music I listen to the most is Spanish music and rap. I feel that music has become a more common thing to listen to all the time as generations have passed by. I believe that music is everywhere. Noises come together and make music which is amazing. What I think is amazing is how music can literally come together with anything. I already knew music could be measured however I am just amazing how awesome music really is. Musicals are also something I enjoy, I have seen a few and really enjoyed the. One thing this chapter made me realize is that I do not appreciate classical music. I can literally count the number of times I have listened to classical music and it has been literally when I need to concentrate on reading a textbook. And the weird thing is that I only put classical music on so it can block out the outer noises while I block out the classical music to I read. Music is definitely art and its an amazing art that is not for just artist to enjoy but for everyone to enjoy. And the history of music is amazing not just here but in like every country. Music overall is just wonderful.
Kristin Portsmouth Aesthetics Response 4 September 21, 2015
All my life I have been surrounded by music. I listen to it every day and even sometimes sing along, even if it’s off key. I have never been musically inclined. All throughout my school years the only instrument I played was the recorder. I cannot keep a beat even when clapping. Despite the fact that I am guaranteed to never become a famous musician, I still believe music is a true art form.
It takes skill and dedication to master the art of playing and creating music. One needs to have a good ear for sounds and how different harmonies or pitches fit together. I know making music takes a lot of work because my best friend’s brother is aspiring to be a DJ. I’ve seen him make some of his music and it’s incredible how he can create such amazing sounds. Making a single three-minute song could take multiple weeks or even months of writing and editing just to get the right sound. Seeing him create a few songs helped me realize why it takes the major artists of today so long to come out with new albums. They want to make sure every track is perfect and sounds exactly how they like, so their fans can enjoy it as much as they do.
Music to a lot of people is a stress reliever, and I feel the same way. Whenever I am in a bad mood and don’t want to talk to anyone, I put my headphones and drown out reality for a little bit. Music also helps me focus, especially when doing homework. Even while do this blog response I was playing music in the background. My mood effects my choice of music because if I’m happy I’ll play more up-beat music, if I’m feeling down or stressed I’ll play slower music. This helps me relax and ease some tense or pump me up for the day ahead. I think its interesting how certain songs can express a mood, you can really see this if you pay attention to the soundtrack of a movie. You can tell when a scene is supposed to be sad, scary, happy, or romantic just by listening carefully to the music. Music has such an impact on our everyday lives. Sometimes you may not even notice there is music in the background until someone points it.
This chapter points out the many aspects that go into music like harmony, rhythm, form, time and melody. This gives me a better look into how much goes into music than what I already knew. From this I can appreciate artists and musicians even more than I already do. Even if I don’t like a certain type of music I can respect how much work they put into the process of creating that music.
To start, music to me is probably the closest connection I have to art, I have the most experience with it in my life and I enjoy all different types. The question asked in the first paragraph really intrigued me, can we make/listen to music without headphones and an I-phone? No one in today's world really tries to, so this question I really wanted to try and answer through the reading in this chapter. The chapter really bashes on how our generation does not necessarily know what "real" music is and I completely disagree. Although music today may not be conducted as it was back then, it is still music. We have just enhanced the ability for it to be heard, and made. I did not really understand the point of the "Music Class" section of this chapter, it really did not teach me anything it just talked about what radio stations play. The essentials of music section did intrigue me right of the bat though, I know a lot about tone, pitch, beat, timing, and rhythm from my steel drum class in high school. I had never heard on a timbre though, and it was interesting to learn that it is the reason why all instruments have distinct sounds. The comparison of mathematics to music was also eye opening, if you do not play an instrument a certain way it does not sound the way it should, it is simple yet complex. I also enjoyed the knowledge melody talked about, and how simple songs can be great, and complex ones can be bad, all depending on opinion. Harmony I knew about prior to this chapter, but it was a nice refreshing of the dynamics of music. Rhythm, meter, and timing in my opinion can just be defined as beat, like a good dancer knows timing, they do not need to know a lot of moves but if they have beat, they are usually pretty good. Form was kind of simple, it really wraps up all the dynamics into one. Other than steel drums and regular drums, I know close to nothing about playing actual instruments. To learn about all the scales was really interesting. Harmony I know about, and I did not know the definitions for different types, but they were pretty simple to understand. I know the different types of instruments. I definitely did not think of vocal forms to be defined the way they were, especially because most of them are not as present today. To be quite honest, the rest of the chapter was just boring definitions in my opinion, I knew what most of them were but they did not intrigue me at all. As a whole to answer the question in the first paragraph, I believe it is very possible to throw away the technology and make music. Whether its with instruments or not, music is prevalent every where, and rhythm can be formed by anything.
I love music, Its something that I wish I had kept up with. I played piano growing up, was really into drumming and starting singing for a while as well. While I enjoyed it a lot, it just wasn't my forte. I think that music is actually an easier form of art for people to connect to. Everyone likes music, they might not like certain genres of music but everyone likes some form of it. I think that music is also easier to understand. Songs all have meaning behind the lyrics or the melody. Its not hard to make sense of what the song is about because there are actual words, whereas with a painting or a sculpture you cant really pick it apart that way you can with music. It can be easier to hear than it is to see sometimes. I learned a lot in this chapter than I expected. I thought I knew what melody and harmony was from my past experiences but they were defined in ways that made a lot more sense to me. I didn't know of all the different harmonies or scales until now. I also had never heard of a "timbre" before so that was very interesting to me. I feel as if this chapter helped me to better understand the layers that go into a song. What I mean by that is, the melody of a song is in a horizontal dimension while the harmony plays in a vertical dimension either before or after the melody. Out of curiosity I played different types of music to see if I could pick out the different scales and harmonies. Doing that brought music to a whole new level for me and from now on, I think I have a better understanding of it. I think that you can make music from anything really. Like the beginning of the chapter said, prehistoric humans played instruments of bone and stone. It's pretty amazing how far back music and art goes.
While reading this chapter, I really enjoyed the part that mentioned how if the power went out, who would still make music? I feel honored and privileged to be able to say that I can be one of those people. I learned as a child, sitting on my neighbor's porch while he played blues guitar with a fingerpicking style. The way in which he played was incredible as he sat for hours at a time playing guitar by himself. Even at this age (probably 12 ish), I was infatuated with the sounds he made. Just like the author did during the Four Seasons show in Paris, I felt his emotion, his passion. This is long before I ever played guitar personally, long before I really even had any sort of appreciation for music. The only thing that was true to me then, was was the Led Zeppelin that my father had shown me months before. Those beautiful guitar riffs and at times just plain eerie. Songs like No Quarter, and Since I’ve Been Lovin You just resonated with the raw emotion that was portrayed from that song. I personally totally agree how that is the most famous of the classical pieces but despite that, it is still so raw and just so powerful. You can really hear his emotions from the happy spring to the depressing and emotional winter. But that's just what i think is so great about music. It doesn’t have to be “classical” music to be deep and meaningful.
Just like any other art, music is best experienced live and in person. Going to actually see the mona lisa, or the statue of david in person is a completely different experience than seeing some sort of representation of it be it a photo of, or manmade replication of a piece. The same with music, seeing a live performance of a piece of music is such an intimate and special experience. You can see the musicians as they perform, their facial expressions, the way they move with the music, how they are set up. Many musicians have a “face” when they are playing. I personally tend to open my jaw, while keeping my mouth closed… its quite strange. But others stick their tongue out, clench their teeth, close their eyes, or stand on one leg. All of these small aspects of the visual experience of listening is so much more special than having just the sounds. Modern music now employes lights, video clips, and lasers as part of the experience. Those sort of visuals don’t help to understand the “player” per say, but it has the potential to emphasise a feeling, or emotion which they would like to get across by strobing lights, showing specific colors, or moving them around in specific ways.
Abigail Lisee Aesthetics Music I would just like to start off by saying I am beyond excited to finally be on the topic of music in this course. I consider music to be almost like a lifeline to me. Music has gotten me through so much in my life that I honestly don’t know where I’d be without it. From breakups to the loss of the loved one to the best days of my life, music has always played a factor. I don’t just listen to a song for the music but the lyrics have a way of really speaking to people who are willing to listen. I don’t know if I could choose my favorite genre of music because I really think it depends on my mood or what I’m going through but I love that there are that many options. I love that there is a song for everything I feel or think or need. That is what drives me to be really passionate about music; the fact that no matter what type of person you are, everyone has his or her favorite song, or artist, or genre. Music can bring so many different kinds of people together and that is absolutely amazing. I did not find this chapter as interesting as the others and I believe that is because the author took a different approach than I thought he would. I also thought the chapter was based more on definitions and just explaining different instruments and specifics rather than different genres of music. Overall I still have a huge admiration for music I think it is absolutely one of the most important and influential pieces of art there is out there and I think it is the type of art that everyone no matter their background or beliefs can all relate to. Music isn’t something some may be afraid of or uncomfortable with like I was about abstract art. Certain types of music are easy to understand and relate to.
Shannon Smith
ReplyDeleteChapter 4 Art Aesthetics
Music for myself (and most other people) serves as a gateway into our own thoughts and ideas. Music is what I use to reflect on my day, certain events, and life in general. I am always amazed by how easily I can get sucked into the melody of a song that I am listening to. With that being said this chapter focused mainly on the components that go into the making of the music. I was unaware of how much is involved in the formation of a song that (these days) only lasts around two to five minutes. It amazes me how much effort there is involved in the making and even the performance of music.
Last chapter we learned about Architecture, and briefly talked about how a concert hall is built can affect the sound of the music. This chapter really stressed the importance of analyzing the environment the music is being performed in. For instance last year I attended a rap music concert. The concert hall was very small, very tightly packed, and filled with a rather rowdy crowd. I believe that (without knowing who the performer was) a person viewing this scene would easily be able to identify the type of music that would be played.
The real encounter portion of this chapter really gave me a rather sad feeling that most people including myself do not appreciate classical music as much as this generation once did. I can recall growing up listening to classical music in our dark green explorer listening to various classical music artists. In the back seat I sat requesting to change the station over and over again until my mother finally did. This lack of appreciation for the classical style of music has put into perspective how much taste in music has evolved and how easily an entire genre can be under appreciated by the masses. This portion of the chapter has inspired me to (hopefully) attend a classical music concert when I (hopefully) study abroad next semester in Florence Italy. Florence contains so much culture and amazing history, I believe this would be the best place to broaden my horizons and give classical music a try!
The vocabulary portion of this chapter also caught me off guard. There are so many aspects that go into the making of music it is truly amazing. I was completely unaware of most of the Harmony and Dynamic vocabulary words (although I have taken multiple music courses in the past). This chapter was filled with interesting information regarding the art of music and I enjoyed it a lot!
ReplyDeleteOut of all of the chapters we have read so far, this chapter has been my favorite. That is because I, just like most other people in our class, relate most to music. It is what I listen to and turn to it when I’m happy, sad, excited, or just about anything there is to be. There is music for all types of feelings and emotions. This chapter discusses context, and describes it in a way that relates closely to myself and probably, all other students. It talks about how music on Ipod’s are sorted into different music folders, such as sad music, or going out music, which I, and all of my friends, do. It also discusses how radio stations target one context. I always notice, when I’m in somebody else’s car, the stations that are preset. I believe that this can tell a lot about a person. For myself, for example, I have three pop culture stations, two country stations, and an old school station, all preset in my car. I know multiple people, however, who have all six set to only pop culture music. Their presets help me understand what type of music they like to listen to.
As much as I want my view of music to be from the musicians point of view, instead of the listeners, that is not how it is for me. I grew up taking guitar lessons and have tried, multiple times, to learn how to play piano, but I have never really become good at it. I know what tone and rhythm are, but I don’t know enough to be able to create or play music, simply based on those aspects. I would love to learn to be able to that, but for now, I cannot.
I really liked the part of the chapter where the author discussed how “two hundred years ago, music could only be heard if someone performed it” (pg. 48). Growing up in an era with so much technology, music has always been accessible to me. It never occurred to me that years ago, music was a privilege and was sometimes difficult to access. I am a big concertgoer, and love to hear music live, but I also really like being able to listen to my favorite music, everywhere that I go. I can listen to it in the car, at school, at the gym, anywhere, but that accessibility hasn’t always been available. Music is definitely something that is taken advantage of, which I never realized until I read this chapter.
Kirsten Hansen
ReplyDeleteDuring the first week of class, we were all asked to share our favorite forms of art. Almost every one of us said music. Music is a form of expression that almost everyone can relate to. You don’t have to be able to play or create music – you can simply just listen. The chapter talked a lot about genres. I believe that the genres that we choose to listen to says a lot about us as people. Bonds are formed over music. Once you find something that speaks to you, you are then able to find other people who feel the same way. Music allows people to feel something. Sometimes music can explain the way someone feels better than they can themself. Sometimes people need that.
Music has been around forever. Whether it be tribal, classical, pop, rap, country, people are drawn to music.
The chapter mentioned different aspects of music: tone, harmony, melody, and etcetera. I used to take guitar when I was 14-15 years old. I remember having certain days where all we’d do would be analyze music in order to determine what type of guitar was being played. This chapter made me thing of this because it talked about all the aspects. Music as a whole is great, but in order to truly appreciate it as art, we must pick it apart and focus in on the components listed in the chapter.
I feel as though music is one of the best forms of art because it appeals to almost everyone. It is delivered in a way that people can relate to and attach to.
marisa siino
ReplyDeleteThis chapter about music was definitely the most interesting to me. Not only because yes, everyone loves music and hasn’t different taste, but because its something I hold near and dear to me. Growing up my family was always musical. I can vividly remember going to my grandmothers music group called “The Melodears” performances once a year. Some years my mom participated, but for the most part it was elderly women. Other people would perform, and that was when I fell in love with music.
At an early age I took piano lessons, but it wasn’t completely by choice. I wanted to make my mom happy so I asked to take them, but being the stubborn person I am, I was unhappy. Lessons were miserable for me, I would cry hours before going. It just wasn’t my passion. But then I found my interest, singing.
I joined the choirs as soon as I could, while also playing the clarinet. As I got into high school my love for it grew. I auditioned for elite singing groups, I was asked to perform with students across New York State.
I also loved theatre, I auditioned my freshman year of high school and was extremely disappointed when I did not make it. It was a really hard time in my life and on top of that, I didn’t make the musical when all my friends and my sister did. I was devastated and almost gave up. But I never did. And im glad I didn’t because ei excelled in high school.
Later on I noticed a change in my voice, and I realized I had developed voalc nodules, making it hard for me to sing and even sometimes talk. I was so upset, but I knew that music from here on out would be a hobby for me.
Although I had nevative thoughts toward music and singing for a little while, when I wasn’t being successful and was having vocal problems, music was still the one that kept me up. I was upset with music and was close to giving up, but I channeled it else where, and became interested in writing lyrics and really breaking down different types of music. This chapter 100% reminded me why I love music. I forget how much I really learned about music throughout the years and this chapter made my little inner music nerd smile.
Throughout my life I never was able to create my own music of any sort, whether it was singing or an instrument. My musical talent is very lacking, I also never listened to music either. Now I find myself with headphones in more often than not. I use music as a stress relieving tool, listening to music takes my mind off of everything and allows me to just listen to the beat of the song, for this reason I listen to more upbeat music.
ReplyDeleteThe book questions if just because you are listening to music, does that make a person musical? Music is so much easier to access now than it used to be, almost anyone can play the song of their choice in seconds because of iPods and Internet. I do not think listening to music makes a person musical or artistic. I in no way describe myself as musical even though I listen to music often and even at some points sing along. In order to be musical, in my opinion, you have to have the talent to actually perform a piece of music well. At the same time I do not think because it is so easy to listen to music now, the music or artists themselves are any less musical than when you had to go to a show to listen to an artist. I believe the technology just allows people to enjoy music in an easier and more accommodating style.
Music always has a connection to the setting of when it was created. Much like a drawing or painting each song has its own story and meaning. Historical and social contexts are important to have in mind when listening to the music; it helps to make a connection with the song that is being played. I think subconsciously I often and making connections with songs when I am listening to them because I find myself listening to slower meaningful songs when I am sad and when I am happy I listen to upbeat positive music. When I am picking a song or the playlist I want to listen to based on my feelings, I am making a connection with the meaning of the music.
There are so many different varieties of music, and each variety can breakdown farther into subcategories. Listening to music and not having a general understanding of the differences does not allow the listener to fully enjoy the piece. Much like looking at a piece of art, there is a specific way to listen to music in order to fully understand and get the message perceived in the song. Before reading this chapter it never occurred to me to think into the setting of the song when listening to it, the song connects to the artist who wrote it just as a painting would. The listener can also connect to the song in a different way, hear the lyrics and the tempo and get a different message out of the song. When listening to music I am not going to only think of my connection to the piece but also the artist’s own connection to the piece.
Music is more similar to the visual arts than I thought before reading this chapter; it has many similarities that allow music to be classified as art and differences that gives it its own interesting category of the arts.
ReplyDeleteMusic to me and a lot of other people in this generation is more than just a series of notes that are accompanied by words and a chorus, to us it is part of our being. When I listen to music the type of genre I listen to depends on the current emotions I am feeling, and sometimes I use it for inspiration, or a way to keep the blood flowing. The way the instruments clash with the different octaves that people sing in is literally music to my ears. I am just amazed how different sounds can make you feel and think differently, like when a song moves at a higher pace and is comprised of loud instrumentals it gets you hyper and energized, but when a song is slower and softer you feel calmer and more focused. Music affects everyone differently and like other art forms music is derived from the many emotions that affect your soul.
I believe the reason why I enjoyed this chapter the mostly so far is because music is something that I understand very well, and unlike paintings and buildings I can paint the story of the song that the musician is singing. The book describes that people who only listen to songs from the current generation are not in fact musical, but I disagree completely with that statement. Just like paintings and sculptures have evolved through the eras music has evolved as well, someone from the modern generation wouldn’t enjoy listening to music before their generation because they weren’t brought up listening to that type of music, the characteristic that defines whether we like a song or band is the nostalgic feelings that we get when we listen to a certain song or band. Music can be many different forms, but the music itself will never change.
Just like art music is unique to that one person or persons. There is no such thing as one song being better than another, just like one painting is better than another everyone’s tastes are different, so we shouldn’t be prejudice towards something that we may not like. Even though I might not agree with this chapter I can now see after reading it that art and music are so similar in so many different ways, and I am now inspired to look closely at art just like I do with music.
Music is an art form that almost everybody, including myself can relate to. For me personally, music is a way for me to get out of my head and relax. When I’m stressed about a big test, or I am studying I use music to help me relax and focus on what I am doing. Music is also a very accessible art form. You can listen to it for free, and it’s not locked in a museum, like a lot of paintings or sculptures. I find it interesting how people’s taste in music differs and what one person loves another person can hate. The artist of the song has a very specific audience in mind when they are playing. They know whom they are going to attract and whom they are going to push away with their music.
ReplyDeleteI liked in this chapter how they said, “context is one way that humans make meaning from music”. People can listen to different music depending on their mood or attitude. When people are sad they might listen to a slower song and when they are happy they might listen to a more upbeat and peppy song. Different feelings may push you to see something different when listening to a particular song that you may have never realized.
I find it interesting that people, without knowing all the technical aspects of music, can decipher between good and bad music. Like on American Idol, most of the population is not professionally trained in classical music, but they know what a good singer and a bad singer sound like. I find that so cool. I don’t know when someone’s pitch is too high or too low, or if they are flat or sharp, but I like to think I can recognize good singers. It must be something in our brain that can tell the difference between a good sound and a bad sound.
Over the summer I went to Australia, and I had the chance to take a tour of the Sydney Opera House. It was amazing. How precise every seat, ceiling and wall placement was in order to get the best sound. In one of the theaters there is a pipe organ that has something crazy like ten thousand pipes.
In the chapter I like how they relate music to math, because unlike the technical aspects of music, I understand math. I never thought to think of music as math. But I guess everything is measured, counted a precise, so it makes sense why they would relate music to math.
I love musicals. My sister always participated in the musicals in high school and I loved going to watch them. I love the style of music, the costumes, the dancing, how the set changes form scene to scene. I think musicals are amazing. I love that they can take an every day situation and turn in into a singing and dancing number.
In chapter 4, Music, I can relate to most out of the chapters we have read so far. In my perspective, music can define a person. You can tell a lot about someone by what they are listening to, and where and when they listen to it. I think in this chapter opens up with saying that what we listen to now probably wouldn’t be considered music in prehistoric times. What “modern” music is now, we listen to for our enjoyment and sometimes it really doesn’t have an emotional connection in the lyrics. It has definitely changed throughout the many years it has existed.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter also talks about how you can label in folders/playlist your own name for the genre. For example in the text, it says you can label them as “Sad songs,” or even “Road songs.” I think this is true because in today’s music, there are many varieties of types of music and we listen to them at different times depending on our mood. There are songs we listen to when we are going through something, to try to feel like you can relate to the song. When we are happy, many people listen to something more upbeat and joyful. We can use music to stay positive, or we can use it to feel something.
I found it interesting how different movies have their own playlists and albums. As we know, throughout a movie or a play there is background music. That music is carefully chosen to fit the scene and make the moment of the scene more dramatic or clear to what is going on. Music can emphasize the plot and it can emphasize who you are as a person.
We can also use music to escape. If people need to relax, they will listen to something more quiet and peaceful. Or maybe you are ready to do something exciting or go to the gym to workout. The music definitely is going to change to something upbeat. That’s a great part about music- how it can change your mood. It can turn a really bad day into a good one. Different lyrics can make you understand how the artist is trying to portray themselves to you. The artist usually wants you to understand what they’re going through, and even have you relate to it.
I personally think music is the best way to express yourself. It’s everywhere, and easy to find. We all have some type of music that is our “favorite,” and there are probably many reasons why it is our favorite. Certain songs or artists can bring back great memories, and the same with bad memories. Music can take us back to an exact moment in time and we can remember it perfectly just because of a sound.
John Yusza
ReplyDeleteCh.4
Music has always provoked some emotions for me whether it be happy or sad. I remember that I never really listened to music before 7th grade. I could not even name a single song if I was asked. Of course we had a project involving music with my luck. So we had to pick out a song and relate it to a book we were reading in class. My problem was of course that I didn’t know any music. So this is what caused me to start listening to it. I think I ended up picking some terrible song my dad had on a CD for the project but after that point I made sure to relatively keep up with music. I got my first MP3 player and all I would do was listen to one song on repeat because I liked it, it made me feel good. Today I listen to two different kinds of music, stuff that I can relate to the lyrics or something with a good beat.
In terms of live music I have only been to two concerts in my life. One when I was in about 8th grade my parents dragged me along and I complained about how loud it was so we left early I don’t even remember who was playing. Then the second concert I went to was after I graduated high school I went with a friend to go see an Eminem concert in New Jersey. It was a lot better than my first concert experience. However, I have realized that why bother with a live performance if you can just get the songs for free on the internet. The only reason I would go to a live show now because its expensive would be for an artist I really like. I think it is interesting that we call these singers artists I never really thought of it that way, while writing this I just noticed. They are producing a form of art but I never thought into it really.
The whole point of music is really entertainment. It is the art form that attracts people to it though. A lot of artists make music that they want to hear and hope that the rest of us can relate. In all reality with music there are very few artists I actually have connection with to their songs other than oh this song just sounds good. The impression I get is that older music was designed to get more of an emotional response from people than today’s music. But as a rule of thumb I don’t like classical music at all because I just can’t appreciate it. I realize it takes skill to make music more so then than now but it just doesn’t appeal to me and my tastes. Overall music I think is the most relatable form of art for almost everyone.
Nicole Marmo
ReplyDeleteMusic
Music is a very important form of art for today’s society. Even though I didn’t really think about it, this chapter pointed out how there’s music everywhere: in movies, elevators, restaurants, etc. Music has also been a way to express one’s self, whether it be with instruments or singing.
To me, music has definitely left a good impression. I love listening to music and sometimes even playing music. I used to play the drums in middle school and every now and then I’ll still go along to the beats of some songs. I was first introduced to instruments in second grade when we learned how to play a couple of songs on the recorder. In my elementary school once you hit fourth grade you got to play the more interesting instruments like: the clarinet, the flute, the saxophone, the drums, the trumpet or the trombone. You had to pick and number 3 instruments from the list of choices in order and I chose the trumpet, trombone and the drums. I then furthered my musical journey when I was picked to be a drummer in fourth grade. In my elementary school being a drummer was very prestigious because out of the entire grade only 5 people could become drummers. Even though I didn’t really want to be a drummer I had fun playing for those 5 years. I also liked how we technically got to learn how to play three instruments: the bass, the snare and the symbol; so, we actually got to alternate. Another plus with playing the drums is that we were always heard; most of the time we had to play lightly so the other instruments could be heard well.
I can definitely say music means a lot to me. I like how music can easily change your mood. Sometimes when I’m upset I listen to music to help me get passed it. Mostly whenever I listen to music it’s either in the car or while I’m doing homework. For me, listening to music while doing homework is really important because it helps me stay focused by blocking out the background noise and distractions.
Something new that I learned from this chapter is just how far back the making of instruments started. I was surprised when I read that the first instruments were made of old animal bones because what I was taught in elementary school is that the first instrument was a flute and it was made from a tree branch that had holes in it and made a musical tone because of the wind that blew through it, which was then later perfected to the type of instruments we have today.
Anna Strang
ReplyDeleteI am constantly listening to music because to me, music is my escape. Especially now because recently school has been very stressful. Being an engineering major I have to take a lot of intense and time consuming classes. This semester is very stressful because I am taking two sciences that both have three hour labs. Due to all this stress from all my schoolwork I have been having a lot of anxiety and panic attacks. When I get in this state or feel like I am overwhelmed I plug in my headphones and listen to music that will calm me down and/or make me happy. Music allows me forget what is going on in my life and focus on relaxing and not allowing my stress to get the best of me.
Music is also very close to my heart because music is very important in my family. We are a very close family and even though my family goes to a different church from my grandparents, uncle, aunt, and cousins we still go to some of the ceremonies at their church. The reason we went to their church was to listen to all of them sing in the choir. Music is just another way our family stays close and supportive of each other. My brother is also one of the most musical people that I know. He is four years younger than me and is a music genius on the trombone. Since he started playing the trombone I have found a new appreciation for music because I see first hand how much time and effort goes into perfecting a musical piece.
This chapter taught me how much effort it takes to learn and perfect a piece of music. Watching and listening to my brother play I thought he just needed to learn the notes and practice to learn a piece. But after reading this chapter I realize you need to know the rhythm, tone and pitch of the music. In order to master a piece you have to keep in mind so many aspects of the music like melody and harmony. Music is an art that takes time and effort to master and I applaud those that can actually create good music.
Max Kraimer
ReplyDeleteArt History
Ch. 4 Music
Music as Art: When talking about music I can literally go on for hours. To me music is the deepest form of art, and through someone’s beats and lyrics you can learn a story and learn deeper on the writers personally views on life. My favorite forms of music are pretty much anything but country, but I mostly listen to all forms of rap, focusing more on lyrically rap with meaning rather than over played drake songs on the radio. The section “Essentials of Music” talked about general things such as tone/pitch, time/rhythm, melody, harmony and form. Although these are all important I disagree that these are all the essentials. In rap, at least today, rappers will use things such as flow and dynamically rapping to get the new hottest track to their fans. Each rapper has their only style of rapping that appeals to all different types of people.
In this day and age music is so obtainable to us. It is easy to go on the Internet and find a new band or find what songs were released today/ what songs will be released in a week from now. It’s hard to picture a life where music was hard to get and it would cost a lot of money. We are lucky that because music is such a growing business that it becomes so easy to obtain in daily life activities. For example, I love the fact that music is always playing in commons, in the dorm halls and in the gym. Even though it may be faint, music is all around pretty much 24/7.
In this chapter I found a lot of the key terms interesting. One of the forms was called a Meter and was defined as “the regular pulse of beats, grouped in larger units called a bar.” I found it interesting that music can have different forms of measurement. When you really breakup the parts to music you can learn all the different essentials that comprise a song.
Chandler Cobb
ReplyDeleteChapter 4
Music is an outlook for anyone no matter how old they are or what your interests are. Personally music gives me something to relate to. There is a song for every mood I’m in whether I’m sad, happy, annoyed I can find some song that can relate to me. Sometimes when I’m upset about something I listen to the same song a repeat and it can just make me smile and remind me that it’s going to be okay.
Music lets everyone express himself or herself whether you’re listening to it, playing it, writing it, or singing it. Musicians use music to let their feelings out and people who listen to music use it as something they can relate to. Not everyone has a reason his or her drawn to a specific type of music. Sometimes you can just be driving and a song comes on the radio that you like and you look it up and that becomes you favorite song for the next week and you’ll listen to it on repeat. Well at least that happens to me. I love hearing a new song and relating it and having it remind you of someone in your life or a memory you have with them. There are songs that remind me of my friends or songs that make me smile and think of my friends from home when I’m here because I have a memory of blasting that song and singing along in a car with them.
To me music is a type of art that reaches most people because there are so many different genres and music has such a long history. Music has been around for so long. Music can be as simple as hitting your hand on a table making a beat.
Song lyrics are used everyday on social media to help people relay their thoughts. They’re used as captions on instagram or they just tweet the lyrics because they like them or it relates to something in their life. If you just simply look at a girls twitter you can usually at least guess what is going on in her life. I love music because there is a song to express every feeling for every person.
Music has the ability to inspire many different emotions in people. Music can bring back memories and invoke feelings in the listener. I love music. I love listening to music but before reading this chapter I really didn't consider it an art. Many people the first week mentioned music as one of their favorite arts. I just couldn't understand how music other than classical and opera were arts.
ReplyDeleteI like lots of different types of music but as it pertains to art this chapter made me understand the idea deeper. There are beats and melodies and tempos and words. The lyrics themselves are art. I never thought of lyrics as art but I thought of poems as art. Music really does sometimes speak to a more emotional you. Music can make you cry or smile. Even today as I was wallowing in self pity the song Happy by Pharell Williams came on and actually to my distain the song made me happy. Songs and music really can effect emotions.
Music and tunes can also trigger memories. I can remember the song form my first dance in middle school. I can remember the song that was playing in my car crashes and car fire. When songs play that trigger memories I don't think of them as art.
The chapter did teach me however that analyzing and thinking about music that deeply can make it art. The way listeners interrupt things is what makes music art.
Almost everyone around the world can in some way relate to the art of music. It's something that most people can really connect with a lot easier than any other form of art because of an easier taste, preference and understanding. Whenever I study for a big test, I always like to open up one of the many music apps like Pandora and listen to a wide variety of classical music. Sure it isn't what classical music was meant for directly when it was written back in the day, but it does help relax the mind and is just a genre in which I enjoy. I've been playing the piano ever since I was in kindergarten and because of this I have a great understanding of terms that this chapter presented such as the different types of scales, harmonies, dynamics, and so on. It's also probably a reason why I enjoy classical music written by great musical performers like Mozart Beethoven, Haydn, and Chopin so much.
ReplyDeleteBut music has many other practical uses, such as rallying people up. For example, say a sports game in which music is played to get the crowd or players pumped up, or the sounds of drums to mentally get the soldiers in war back in the day ready to fight. They are also mental footnotes for many people, a song representing an important moment in someone's life, such as a song played on your wedding day whenever you listen to it will be remembered as "that song that was played at our wedding."
I remember how the beginning of the chapter made a statement about how "If we turned off the soundtracks and Musak, shut down the iPods and personal computers, would anyone be left to make music?" in which I completely disagree with. Sure we would have less to hear from but we would still have music. And there are many out there including myself that play some sort of instrument as well as have others skills like vocally. Even some places such as restaurants still even hire musicians to perform as a way to attract people to them. The chapter later mentions Vivaldi's Four Seasons. I love this song so much and would love to hear these songs played live when I ever have the time to. To me, reading someone's impression of the song and even listening to the song from a recording just isn't the same as hearing the music played in front of you with a real orchestra with real instruments.
To me, music is the most present form of art in my life, although not my favorite. I listen to an eclectic compilation of music. I appreciate listening to classical and jazz music on occasion and understand how much talent it takes to perform at such a high level. My grandmother taught me piano for eight years. It ran in the family; she had taken lessons since she was in grade school and my grandfather could play music by ear, without even knowing how to read one note on a sheet of music. He was also an expert on the accordion, which was very interesting to both watch and listen to.
ReplyDeleteI learned that to fully understand a piece of music, whether it be from the 1800's or 2015, the song has context and understanding the context will help me better appreciate the piece. It amazes me how a director of an orchestra can produce a sound, with the hundreds of instruments he has at his disposal, that creates an emotion that the audience hears and feels. Some songs we hear are obviously depressing, slow, sad songs and some songs are happy, upbeat, and energetic. I believe that some songs tell a story. I don't mean like modern day pop songs with cheesy lyrics all about relationships but it comes through to me most when I hear jazz music. The music sounds to me like a series of events and change of emotions.
The chapter teaches you how to listen to musics, to "really listen": answering the question of "how should I act?" I always have music playing on the side, but I never just sit down and focus on just the music. Since i've moved to school, I haven't had a piano or any other instrument to play. Then was the only time I ever felt like I was devoting all of my attention just to the music; when I was playing the music.
I listen to music every day whether it be on my phone, on my computer or even on the radio. Although I listen to a variety of different genres of music, my favorite type of music is alternative rock. Even though I am a music enthusiast, there are a lot of things that I did not know about music until reading this chapter.
ReplyDeleteTo begin, it hasn’t occurred to me that music is everywhere you go. Music is a culture in itself and has began from the prehistoric years where humans would use bones and stone and then expanded to the years of Wolfgang and Mozart. Back then, music could only be heard live whether it be in music halls or even in private homes. Everyone was familiar with the music and have learned it throughout their lives. Now a days, music has expanded its genres and where listeners can hear it. There are many different ways to listen to music now. Music can be listened on all different kinds of electronics whether it be a Mp3 player, cellphone, computer, radio and even over bluetooth speakers. Although these tactics allow users to listen to music from around the world, the music they listen to through these methods are not as powerful as attending live performances.
Music is very powerful because of the context behind it. It is categorized into different genres and “themes”; for example, “road music”, “sad music”, focus music, and so on. These different themes are used to captivate different audiences around the world. One type of music that I (secretly) enjoy are movie scores. Movie scores are the theme songs and background music in movies usually performed by an orchestra. I find this type of music very interesting because it is visible what composers have to put in to create such beautiful sounds.
When listening to music in the future, it will be interesting thinking about what this music could sound like if it were created before any kinds of social media or even created on technology.
So far in life I have not created my own “music”. I cannot sing nor play an instrument of any sort. I have never had any talent of any sort involving music, neither has anyone in my family so that might explain it. I tried piano once and I was just not into it and gave up on it. However, I have always listened to music. Coming from a Dominican family music is key in our culture. People may say it’s a stereotype but almost every Dominican household is playing music at some point throughout the day. And in Dominican Republic its amazing how much music is heard throughout the day, it is honestly everywhere, which is probably why I love music.
ReplyDeleteI cannot live without Music. I hear music for every mood I am in. If I am happy I listen to music, if I am mad I listen to music and if I am sad I listen to music. The number one reason music has been helpful is as my stress reliving tool which it has been since I can remember. It honestly takes my mind of things. I listen to every kind of music except country and scremo which I cannot stand. However, the music I listen to the most is Spanish music and rap. I feel that music has become a more common thing to listen to all the time as generations have passed by.
I believe that music is everywhere. Noises come together and make music which is amazing. What I think is amazing is how music can literally come together with anything. I already knew music could be measured however I am just amazing how awesome music really is. Musicals are also something I enjoy, I have seen a few and really enjoyed the.
One thing this chapter made me realize is that I do not appreciate classical music. I can literally count the number of times I have listened to classical music and it has been literally when I need to concentrate on reading a textbook. And the weird thing is that I only put classical music on so it can block out the outer noises while I block out the classical music to I read.
Music is definitely art and its an amazing art that is not for just artist to enjoy but for everyone to enjoy. And the history of music is amazing not just here but in like every country. Music overall is just wonderful.
Kristin Portsmouth
ReplyDeleteAesthetics Response 4
September 21, 2015
All my life I have been surrounded by music. I listen to it every day and even sometimes sing along, even if it’s off key. I have never been musically inclined. All throughout my school years the only instrument I played was the recorder. I cannot keep a beat even when clapping. Despite the fact that I am guaranteed to never become a famous musician, I still believe music is a true art form.
It takes skill and dedication to master the art of playing and creating music. One needs to have a good ear for sounds and how different harmonies or pitches fit together. I know making music takes a lot of work because my best friend’s brother is aspiring to be a DJ. I’ve seen him make some of his music and it’s incredible how he can create such amazing sounds. Making a single three-minute song could take multiple weeks or even months of writing and editing just to get the right sound. Seeing him create a few songs helped me realize why it takes the major artists of today so long to come out with new albums. They want to make sure every track is perfect and sounds exactly how they like, so their fans can enjoy it as much as they do.
Music to a lot of people is a stress reliever, and I feel the same way. Whenever I am in a bad mood and don’t want to talk to anyone, I put my headphones and drown out reality for a little bit. Music also helps me focus, especially when doing homework. Even while do this blog response I was playing music in the background. My mood effects my choice of music because if I’m happy I’ll play more up-beat music, if I’m feeling down or stressed I’ll play slower music. This helps me relax and ease some tense or pump me up for the day ahead. I think its interesting how certain songs can express a mood, you can really see this if you pay attention to the soundtrack of a movie. You can tell when a scene is supposed to be sad, scary, happy, or romantic just by listening carefully to the music. Music has such an impact on our everyday lives. Sometimes you may not even notice there is music in the background until someone points it.
This chapter points out the many aspects that go into music like harmony, rhythm, form, time and melody. This gives me a better look into how much goes into music than what I already knew. From this I can appreciate artists and musicians even more than I already do. Even if I don’t like a certain type of music I can respect how much work they put into the process of creating that music.
To start, music to me is probably the closest connection I have to art, I have the most experience with it in my life and I enjoy all different types. The question asked in the first paragraph really intrigued me, can we make/listen to music without headphones and an I-phone? No one in today's world really tries to, so this question I really wanted to try and answer through the reading in this chapter. The chapter really bashes on how our generation does not necessarily know what "real" music is and I completely disagree. Although music today may not be conducted as it was back then, it is still music. We have just enhanced the ability for it to be heard, and made. I did not really understand the point of the "Music Class" section of this chapter, it really did not teach me anything it just talked about what radio stations play.
ReplyDeleteThe essentials of music section did intrigue me right of the bat though, I know a lot about tone, pitch, beat, timing, and rhythm from my steel drum class in high school. I had never heard on a timbre though, and it was interesting to learn that it is the reason why all instruments have distinct sounds. The comparison of mathematics to music was also eye opening, if you do not play an instrument a certain way it does not sound the way it should, it is simple yet complex. I also enjoyed the knowledge melody talked about, and how simple songs can be great, and complex ones can be bad, all depending on opinion. Harmony I knew about prior to this chapter, but it was a nice refreshing of the dynamics of music. Rhythm, meter, and timing in my opinion can just be defined as beat, like a good dancer knows timing, they do not need to know a lot of moves but if they have beat, they are usually pretty good. Form was kind of simple, it really wraps up all the dynamics into one. Other than steel drums and regular drums, I know close to nothing about playing actual instruments. To learn about all the scales was really interesting. Harmony I know about, and I did not know the definitions for different types, but they were pretty simple to understand. I know the different types of instruments. I definitely did not think of vocal forms to be defined the way they were, especially because most of them are not as present today. To be quite honest, the rest of the chapter was just boring definitions in my opinion, I knew what most of them were but they did not intrigue me at all. As a whole to answer the question in the first paragraph, I believe it is very possible to throw away the technology and make music. Whether its with instruments or not, music is prevalent every where, and rhythm can be formed by anything.
I love music, Its something that I wish I had kept up with. I played piano growing up, was really into drumming and starting singing for a while as well. While I enjoyed it a lot, it just wasn't my forte.
ReplyDeleteI think that music is actually an easier form of art for people to connect to. Everyone likes music, they might not like certain genres of music but everyone likes some form of it. I think that music is also easier to understand. Songs all have meaning behind the lyrics or the melody. Its not hard to make sense of what the song is about because there are actual words, whereas with a painting or a sculpture you cant really pick it apart that way you can with music. It can be easier to hear than it is to see sometimes. I learned a lot in this chapter than I expected. I thought I knew what melody and harmony was from my past experiences but they were defined in ways that made a lot more sense to me. I didn't know of all the different harmonies or scales until now. I also had never heard of a "timbre" before so that was very interesting to me. I feel as if this chapter helped me to better understand the layers that go into a song. What I mean by that is, the melody of a song is in a horizontal dimension while the harmony plays in a vertical dimension either before or after the melody. Out of curiosity I played different types of music to see if I could pick out the different scales and harmonies. Doing that brought music to a whole new level for me and from now on, I think I have a better understanding of it. I think that you can make music from anything really. Like the beginning of the chapter said, prehistoric humans played instruments of bone and stone. It's pretty amazing how far back music and art goes.
While reading this chapter, I really enjoyed the part that mentioned how if the power went out, who would still make music? I feel honored and privileged to be able to say that I can be one of those people. I learned as a child, sitting on my neighbor's porch while he played blues guitar with a fingerpicking style. The way in which he played was incredible as he sat for hours at a time playing guitar by himself. Even at this age (probably 12 ish), I was infatuated with the sounds he made. Just like the author did during the Four Seasons show in Paris, I felt his emotion, his passion. This is long before I ever played guitar personally, long before I really even had any sort of appreciation for music. The only thing that was true to me then, was was the Led Zeppelin that my father had shown me months before. Those beautiful guitar riffs and at times just plain eerie. Songs like No Quarter, and Since I’ve Been Lovin You just resonated with the raw emotion that was portrayed from that song. I personally totally agree how that is the most famous of the classical pieces but despite that, it is still so raw and just so powerful. You can really hear his emotions from the happy spring to the depressing and emotional winter. But that's just what i think is so great about music. It doesn’t have to be “classical” music to be deep and meaningful.
ReplyDeleteJust like any other art, music is best experienced live and in person. Going to actually see the mona lisa, or the statue of david in person is a completely different experience than seeing some sort of representation of it be it a photo of, or manmade replication of a piece. The same with music, seeing a live performance of a piece of music is such an intimate and special experience. You can see the musicians as they perform, their facial expressions, the way they move with the music, how they are set up. Many musicians have a “face” when they are playing. I personally tend to open my jaw, while keeping my mouth closed… its quite strange. But others stick their tongue out, clench their teeth, close their eyes, or stand on one leg. All of these small aspects of the visual experience of listening is so much more special than having just the sounds. Modern music now employes lights, video clips, and lasers as part of the experience. Those sort of visuals don’t help to understand the “player” per say, but it has the potential to emphasise a feeling, or emotion which they would like to get across by strobing lights, showing specific colors, or moving them around in specific ways.
Abigail Lisee
ReplyDeleteAesthetics
Music
I would just like to start off by saying I am beyond excited to finally be on the topic of music in this course. I consider music to be almost like a lifeline to me. Music has gotten me through so much in my life that I honestly don’t know where I’d be without it. From breakups to the loss of the loved one to the best days of my life, music has always played a factor. I don’t just listen to a song for the music but the lyrics have a way of really speaking to people who are willing to listen. I don’t know if I could choose my favorite genre of music because I really think it depends on my mood or what I’m going through but I love that there are that many options. I love that there is a song for everything I feel or think or need. That is what drives me to be really passionate about music; the fact that no matter what type of person you are, everyone has his or her favorite song, or artist, or genre. Music can bring so many different kinds of people together and that is absolutely amazing.
I did not find this chapter as interesting as the others and I believe that is because the author took a different approach than I thought he would. I also thought the chapter was based more on definitions and just explaining different instruments and specifics rather than different genres of music. Overall I still have a huge admiration for music I think it is absolutely one of the most important and influential pieces of art there is out there and I think it is the type of art that everyone no matter their background or beliefs can all relate to. Music isn’t something some may be afraid of or uncomfortable with like I was about abstract art. Certain types of music are easy to understand and relate to.