Church music, 78's dropping from the hi-fi, my grandmother's soothing lullabies, my much older brother crooning a song by the platters, there has always been music in my life a backdrop of my life; always present insinuating itself into my mind and thoughts.
The first recording that I saved enough money to buy was "Downtown" by Petula Clark, which I proudly showed to my brothers whose soulful R&B tastes were not in the least bit impressed. Undaunted and unaware that I misplaced my soulful roots, I continued listening to and enjoying the tunes played by Cousin Brucie on a static filled AM 77 WABC. When the teenagers took over the basement, heavy bass and saxophones filled the air.... And Sunday morning church music filled both the house of worship in the morning and the house of John Taylor for the rest of the day. I found that it really didn't matter who was in charge of the turntable or radio dial, I could sing along (unfortunately terribly out of key) with whatever came out of the speaker and love every minute of it.
Along with adolescence came some earning power and a personal sound system allowing me a little more discretion in musical interests. I could choose the music to which I listened; I could buy the records I wanted and did not have to rely upon others for my listening pleasure. Despite the fact that I was in control, my history guided me and my choices included rhythm and blues as dictated by my older brother, but also the gospel of the Harmonizing Four and Mahalia Jackson were included in my shopping cart from time to time. I remained true to the trendy music of the top forty stations and was excited by Sgt. Pepper and the other unique sounds of the time but the crooning of Frank Sinatra also seemed romantic enough to give it a try.
Somehow my eclectic tastes continued as I found appreciation for Laura Nyro and Jerry Garcia. It seemed as if all music was great in some manner. There was always something about it that could captivate me; some note or lyric that would engage me enough to want to own it and to want to listen to it time and time again. Music became very important to me. A certain riff, certain lyrics, the sound of a voice could bring a big smile to my face or tears to my eyes.
Music is a large consumption of my daily life and the artists I listen to have shaped me in some way. Listening to music is one of my most time
If one were to look back into the world’s history, one would find that an important and consistent element is the world of music. Music has presented itself in various forms throughout its spread and through our identification of its magical realm, people have been fortunate enough to come across a means of relation. Whether it is blues and reggae or rap and pop rock, there is music out there for everyone. Music can serve as a stabilizer for some, a relaxant to others, and to many a form of inspiration.
After many of World War II’s harmful effects, the 1950s served as a period of time of musical change that reflected the dynamic of society as well as the traditional norms and values. Many factors contributed to this transformation. For example, the civil rights movement heightened many racial tensions, and the music produced consequently manifested this tension in itself. Rock-n-roll and R&B music universalized music typically associated with African-Americans, and many African-American musicians gained fame; however, as with any relatively-widespread success, there were many musicians as well who missed their opportunities due to the same racial segregation. While “radical” genres such as R&B and rock-n-roll laid the foundation for music future forms of music, the standard pop, jazz, and country music adhered to traditional values, and thus continued to maintain popularity amidst phenomena such as the Elvis craze.
When you almost any young kids, teenagers, or even young adults to define rock ‘n’ roll and who they believed are the pioneers of this genre, you shouldn’t be too surprised by the answer you receive: Elvis Presley, Nirvana, Rolling Stones, or Little Richard. The combination of sexuality, gyrating hips, and the chance to rebel against parents are all factors that made rock ’n’ roll successful, but blissfully unaware, a lot of people do not know that Rhythm and Blues (R&B) was actually a huge part of creating this new music genre, and that rock ‘n’ roll also signified a big change for African Americans in the 1950s.
Music has been ingrained in the American heart for generations. From African American slaves singing songs to boost the overall happiness of the people they worked with (Songs in Slave Society, 2009) to the Beatles performance on The Ed Sullivan Show that was seen by 73 million people, or 40 percent of the U.S. population. (Lule, 2012) With the explosion in the popularity of owning a home radio, it has further shaped American culture and its values. In 1922 there were 60,000 households in the United States with radios; by 1929 the number had topped 10 million. (David Marc, 2000) When radio stations started, creating programming, it started breaking down racial bonds, not immediately there were still white only radio stations, yet Black radio became more common on the AM dial. (Lule, 2012) With varying musical styles that could be picked up on any radio by any race, enabling people to gain insight into different cultures, bringing with it, acceptance of those differences. Early Black disc jockeys even began improvising rhymes over the music, pioneering techniques that later became rap and hip-hop. This new personality-driven style helped bring early rock and roll to new audiences. (Lule, 2012) Between the years 1960 and 1966, the number of households capable of receiving FM transmissions grew from about 6.5 million to some 40 million. (Lule, 2012) During the sixties music was a platform for artists to share their feelings on many different social issues, including civil rights and race relations; drugs, affluence, and consumerism; the Cold War; Vietnam and the peace movement; the sexual revolution; women’s liberation; and ecological and environmental concerns. (Ward, 2002)
Music are a few things we tend to hear every day. Whether or not it’s from our own ipods, in our cars, or background music to our lives. A song exists for pretty much every feeling and music will be thought of as extremely healing mechanism. Over the years there are various varieties of music that everyone embrace completely different beats, sounds, and evoke different emotions. Such varieties of music is hip hop and rap, alternative music, and rock and roll music. Music incorporates a long line and every single sound and sort of music is tangled together inside each other and influenced by each other. For these reasons, music not solely defines a sort of sound, however additionally recreates lifestyles and defines entire generations. The ability of music will be seen from all differing kinds of music.
To fully understand any musical style, one must be able to analyze the various elements of music as they exist in that particular style. In this first musical close-up, we shall briefly describe these elements of music. In subsequent musical close-ups, we shall examine one or another of these elements in greater detail as it pertains to a given style or topic.
Not every person is going to have the same taste in music, but why is it that people find a certain genre more appealing than others? A person’s personality and individuality clearly has a large role Research indicates that there is a definite correlation between personality and music preferences (Rentfrow & Gosling p. 1236-1237, Chamorro-Premuzic & Furnham p. 180-183). Those that enthusiastically chose to involve music in their lives will be more open to whatever music findings they come across in their everyday lives. There are also individuals who can play one or more musical instrument(s) and would be considered music lovers. Most of them have started from a young age and as they grew older would spend huge amounts of...
Music has absolutely been an enormous part of my life and who I am. However,
Music is the third most important thing to me in life outside of god and my mom. Music keeps me balanced. Every since I was a baby music was played around me. Jazz was always played around me to soothe me. There would be times when I would be really hyper acting like I couldn't sleep, my mom would put on some jazz and I would be fine. A lot of times I can have a long chore and I say to my self how can I accomplish this, Knowing it will take me forever. So I'll put on some jazz music and in twenty-five minutes I'm finished.
Music is one of the most fantastical forms of entertainment. Its history stretches all the way from the primitive polyrhythmic drums in Africa to our modern day pop music we listen to on our phones. It has the ability to amaze us, to capture our attention and leave us in awe. It soothes the hearts of billions, and it is so deeply rooted in my life that it has touched my heart as well. Everyday I walk to the beat of the song stuck in my head and hum along to the melody. For me, to listen to music be lifted into the air by the hands of your imagination and float around for a while. You forget about your worries, your troubles and find peace within the sound. Every chapter in my life is attached with a song. Every time I listen to a certain song, thoughts of my past come flooding back
“Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb; Mary had a little lamb, whose fleece was white as snow.” For centuries “Mary had a little lamb” has become one of the most universally recognized nursery rhythms since being published in 1830. Centuries later it is still one of the most popular songs of the world. Merriam Dictionary defines music as “the science or art of ordering tones or sounds in succession, in combination, and in temporal relationships to produce a composition having unity and continuity.” With that in mind, music is found everywhere. Whether it’s in the Great Wall of China to the jungles in Africa, music is found everywhere. The main purpose of this paper is to show that music is in fact a universal language by comparing music with other official languages, showing how music influences emotions and how music literacy and emotions helps people understand music as a language. In order to fully execute my purpose of proving that music is a universal language, I will be focusing on using personal experiences, researching articles and specific musical examples from class.
Music is an essential part of life because of the expression it allows people to have, its entertainment, and its therapeutic ways for the world.
Music, a form of art, made up of unique and special sounds containing elements of pitch and rhythm can powerfully soothe one’s soul. Firstly, there are different types of music, and each has its own features. These sounds and features are what I admire in music because to me it creates a new form of communication to one’s consciousness. It stimulates our mind and gives it a sense of harmony and peace through the hardships that life poses for us. As a kid, I would always listen to music from any genre, deciding which genre would complement me the most as I grew older. In middle school, I remember going on the computer and finding a website/program where I could make my own beats. From that day on, I spent countless of hours each day making sure the tune sounded proper and pleasurable for my ears. At first, it wasn’t good, but eventua...
Music and the need for music has been around almost since the beginning of time, but just in this century, there has been many changes to music and how its made. Starting in the 1900s, the common music genre were ballads and religious music, although a new type of music was creeping up from the south, ragtime. Ragtime being a happy, upbeat type of music, and was considered by I...