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Kamis, 30 April 2009
Jumat, 06 Juni 2008
Varieties Of Native American Songs And Rhythms
Native American music is the creative, and beautiful product of a proud and ancient people. Elements of this style of music have been increasingly popping up in the popular genre of World Music. There is something about Native American music that is kind of mesmerizing. Almost induces a trancelike state of mind. Simple, yet somehow complex and harmonious at the same time, Native American music has a soothing quality to it that can make a stressful day seem somehow not so bad.
While its probably not my favorite kind of music, I’ve found that adding some Native American music to my collection has given it a great amount of added depth that I’m getting to be proud of. These days, its becoming trendy to have a lot of ‘worldly’ music in your collection.
Above and beyond just being trendy, Native American music actually sounds good and is great for relaxing. A lot of Native American music released today has a modern twist to it that really blends well with the simple and ancient harmonies. Native American music is being worked into even faster paced rhythms, and is appearing in club and party mixes as well. You know its trendy when young people are dancing to it all over the place!
While the newer faster paced Native American music blends sound great, I prefer the slower more soothing pieces. While they were and are a people with problems like everyone else, Native Americans often seem to have a sort of wisdom and serenity that is unique to them. These qualities come out in Native American music, and are temporarily shared with the listener. The world just seems to make more sense when you’re listening to Native American music.
If you’re finding yourself stressed out or anxious a lot, like me, pick up some Native American music, put it on, take some Prozac, drink some Chinese herbal tea, light some aroma therapy candles, and chant along with the words until you feel light headed and pass out. When you wake up, you’ll feel loads better about everything! If you don’t, well then join a cult and get ready because the aliens are coming to take you on their spaceship soon.
While I’m joking, it’s our self-help culture I’m making fun of and certainly not Native American music. Jesting aside, simple meditation techniques can actually go a long way to reducing anxiety, and I’ve found the right music, like Native American music, can be a great way to enhance such techniques. Even just fifteen minutes of relaxing and listening to some soothing music everyday can help you keep your feet on the ground.
While its probably not my favorite kind of music, I’ve found that adding some Native American music to my collection has given it a great amount of added depth that I’m getting to be proud of. These days, its becoming trendy to have a lot of ‘worldly’ music in your collection.
Above and beyond just being trendy, Native American music actually sounds good and is great for relaxing. A lot of Native American music released today has a modern twist to it that really blends well with the simple and ancient harmonies. Native American music is being worked into even faster paced rhythms, and is appearing in club and party mixes as well. You know its trendy when young people are dancing to it all over the place!
While the newer faster paced Native American music blends sound great, I prefer the slower more soothing pieces. While they were and are a people with problems like everyone else, Native Americans often seem to have a sort of wisdom and serenity that is unique to them. These qualities come out in Native American music, and are temporarily shared with the listener. The world just seems to make more sense when you’re listening to Native American music.
If you’re finding yourself stressed out or anxious a lot, like me, pick up some Native American music, put it on, take some Prozac, drink some Chinese herbal tea, light some aroma therapy candles, and chant along with the words until you feel light headed and pass out. When you wake up, you’ll feel loads better about everything! If you don’t, well then join a cult and get ready because the aliens are coming to take you on their spaceship soon.
While I’m joking, it’s our self-help culture I’m making fun of and certainly not Native American music. Jesting aside, simple meditation techniques can actually go a long way to reducing anxiety, and I’ve found the right music, like Native American music, can be a great way to enhance such techniques. Even just fifteen minutes of relaxing and listening to some soothing music everyday can help you keep your feet on the ground.
A Well Rounded Musical Education Includes Theory
Within the musical community, there is a debate about the value of music theory that will probably never ends. Is it important to study music theory scales, or is it much better to just dive into the music and experience it viscerally. The proponents of learning the theory regarded it as an essential part of knowing how to play music. You can learn by trial and error, they say, but you would do much better to benefit from the knowledge of other people. Not learning music theory when you play music is like refusing to learn arithmetic when you are studying math.
The other side, however, has just a strong of an argument. They claim that music theory worksheets are stifling. The point of music, they argue, is creativity. You should dive into it and experience it viscerally. Learning the theory of music too early on can stifle the imagination. Although it is alright to learn music theory chords later on, it is much less important than having some experience actually playing music.
I used to be on the latter site, but I have recently switched opinions. You see, I learned music without music theory. I didn't even know music colors theory, much less the more formal and rigorous stuff. To me, you see, playing music was almost a physical experience. I could feel the sounds and textures around me. I didn't really need someone telling me what the structures meant. I could tell what they meant with my entire soul.
As I have matured as a musician, however, I have seen the use and the need for music theory. I have even begun to use music theory worksheets, and I hope to understand it pretty thoroughly within the next couple years. You see, the most important thing about theory is that it gives you a good vocabulary to talk about music.
I believe that you can learn to play anything without music theory. What you can not do, however, is to talk to other people about it. If you don't know the names of the chords, the different scales and progressions, and the rhythmic patterns that define various forms of music, how can you tell other musicians what you want? Learning about music is almost as important as learning language if you really want to collaborate with other people. Without it, it is very difficult to express yourself and ask people for what you want. Why make life difficult?
The other side, however, has just a strong of an argument. They claim that music theory worksheets are stifling. The point of music, they argue, is creativity. You should dive into it and experience it viscerally. Learning the theory of music too early on can stifle the imagination. Although it is alright to learn music theory chords later on, it is much less important than having some experience actually playing music.
I used to be on the latter site, but I have recently switched opinions. You see, I learned music without music theory. I didn't even know music colors theory, much less the more formal and rigorous stuff. To me, you see, playing music was almost a physical experience. I could feel the sounds and textures around me. I didn't really need someone telling me what the structures meant. I could tell what they meant with my entire soul.
As I have matured as a musician, however, I have seen the use and the need for music theory. I have even begun to use music theory worksheets, and I hope to understand it pretty thoroughly within the next couple years. You see, the most important thing about theory is that it gives you a good vocabulary to talk about music.
I believe that you can learn to play anything without music theory. What you can not do, however, is to talk to other people about it. If you don't know the names of the chords, the different scales and progressions, and the rhythmic patterns that define various forms of music, how can you tell other musicians what you want? Learning about music is almost as important as learning language if you really want to collaborate with other people. Without it, it is very difficult to express yourself and ask people for what you want. Why make life difficult?
Practising Music - What To Do Outside Your Music Lesson
Practice makes perfect. These three words are heard every day and time after time these words are ignored. But why? Music is such a vast subject that for anyone, even the professionals, mastering it is near impossible. With years of work one can be very knowledgeable in specific areas of music but it would take more than a lifetime to fully understand every aspect of an instrument or music theory.
With that in mind hopefully people should start to understand that having a one hour lesson once a week is not even close to enough to gain substantial progress and development on a musical instrument.
This series of articles offer tips on practicing music which will hopefully demonstrate the benefits, enjoyment and fulfilment that can be gained through practicing music.
1. Goals are key. It is human nature to take pride in reaching a goal whether a promotion at work or winning a competition. If you have a set goal to reach you will be more willing to put in the work required to achieve it. Some examples of goals could be to learn the latest song you’ve fallen in love with, to be able to sight read in a certain key, to develop faster, more technical playing or to reach a certain exam grade before a certain period.
2. Little often is better than a lot occasionally. One key point to remember is that repetion is the quickest way to learn something due to your brain and muscles ability to develop and store a so called ‘muscle memory’. It will take a substantially longer time to learn and retain your new knowledge if you practice for a long period but only occasionally. See tip 3 on how to easily incorporate regular practice sessions into your daily routine.
Another benefit of practicing a little often is that your concentration levels are kept up throughout your practice session. Brass players will understand this the most – after playing a trumpet or any brass instrument for approximately an hour your lips start to feel numb which in turn begins to restrict your playing abilities. The knock on effect of this is that the longer you practice without a break, the more harm ultimately you will cause yourself – both mentally and physically – it will knock your spirit and could even do damage to your embouchure. Obviously this applies to all instrument groups; as is well documented repetitive strain injury is common among musicians. The primary cause of this is improper technique but as the name implies too much repetition through a movement can create serious effects. Therefore if you are practicing for longer periods be sure to take regular breaks – 5 to 10 minutes for every 50 minutes for adults and 10 to 15 minutes for every 25 minutes for children.
3. Routine. Imagine this – every morning you wake up, maybe make a cup of coffee or sort through the post and eventually at some point you will go to the sink and brush your teeth. Now most people do this without any thought – it is just something that gets done. This is the effect of getting into a routine. If you set aside a time each day to practice, away from distractions if possible, you will get into this routine making it much easier to practice, it becomes a part of your day to day life.
4. Practice with a partner. Most humans love competition – especially if you know you are the winner – and by tapping into this you’re making your practice session less of a chore and more of a game. Set challenges between you both and find some reward for the winner. The other benefits are that you gain an outsiders opinion and criticism on your playing, the opportunity to practice duets and you will have some company rather than being locked away in your bedroom.
This is just a glimpse at the different methods you can adopt to improve your practice and in the next article I will demonstrate some more music based tips to help you improve; using a metronome to develop your internal body clock, a fun method for scales and arpeggios and how and why you should be incorporating sight reading and music theory into your practice sessions.
For now just focus on your desires and on the reasons why you started music and give the tips above some thought.
This article is free for reproduction providing it maintains its original form and an active link to www.realmusicproduction.com/pl.php is present. Edward Droscher is the founder of Real Music Production and works to develop music education systems privately and in schools. For more information or details on music instruction please visit www.realmusicproduction.com or email info@realmusicproduction.com
With that in mind hopefully people should start to understand that having a one hour lesson once a week is not even close to enough to gain substantial progress and development on a musical instrument.
This series of articles offer tips on practicing music which will hopefully demonstrate the benefits, enjoyment and fulfilment that can be gained through practicing music.
1. Goals are key. It is human nature to take pride in reaching a goal whether a promotion at work or winning a competition. If you have a set goal to reach you will be more willing to put in the work required to achieve it. Some examples of goals could be to learn the latest song you’ve fallen in love with, to be able to sight read in a certain key, to develop faster, more technical playing or to reach a certain exam grade before a certain period.
2. Little often is better than a lot occasionally. One key point to remember is that repetion is the quickest way to learn something due to your brain and muscles ability to develop and store a so called ‘muscle memory’. It will take a substantially longer time to learn and retain your new knowledge if you practice for a long period but only occasionally. See tip 3 on how to easily incorporate regular practice sessions into your daily routine.
Another benefit of practicing a little often is that your concentration levels are kept up throughout your practice session. Brass players will understand this the most – after playing a trumpet or any brass instrument for approximately an hour your lips start to feel numb which in turn begins to restrict your playing abilities. The knock on effect of this is that the longer you practice without a break, the more harm ultimately you will cause yourself – both mentally and physically – it will knock your spirit and could even do damage to your embouchure. Obviously this applies to all instrument groups; as is well documented repetitive strain injury is common among musicians. The primary cause of this is improper technique but as the name implies too much repetition through a movement can create serious effects. Therefore if you are practicing for longer periods be sure to take regular breaks – 5 to 10 minutes for every 50 minutes for adults and 10 to 15 minutes for every 25 minutes for children.
3. Routine. Imagine this – every morning you wake up, maybe make a cup of coffee or sort through the post and eventually at some point you will go to the sink and brush your teeth. Now most people do this without any thought – it is just something that gets done. This is the effect of getting into a routine. If you set aside a time each day to practice, away from distractions if possible, you will get into this routine making it much easier to practice, it becomes a part of your day to day life.
4. Practice with a partner. Most humans love competition – especially if you know you are the winner – and by tapping into this you’re making your practice session less of a chore and more of a game. Set challenges between you both and find some reward for the winner. The other benefits are that you gain an outsiders opinion and criticism on your playing, the opportunity to practice duets and you will have some company rather than being locked away in your bedroom.
This is just a glimpse at the different methods you can adopt to improve your practice and in the next article I will demonstrate some more music based tips to help you improve; using a metronome to develop your internal body clock, a fun method for scales and arpeggios and how and why you should be incorporating sight reading and music theory into your practice sessions.
For now just focus on your desires and on the reasons why you started music and give the tips above some thought.
This article is free for reproduction providing it maintains its original form and an active link to www.realmusicproduction.com/pl.php is present. Edward Droscher is the founder of Real Music Production and works to develop music education systems privately and in schools. For more information or details on music instruction please visit www.realmusicproduction.com or email info@realmusicproduction.com
Why Is Most Music So Bad Today? Why Is Most Music So Bad Today?
Everything that can be invented has been invented." ~ Charles H. Duell, Commissioner of the US Patent Office in 1899.
"Children nowadays are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food and tyrannize their teachers." ~ Socrates
Why is popular music so bad today? I mean, I'm not that old, but jeez, the music of today, with only a few rare exceptions, kinda stinks. Some would say that when New Year's Eve 1979 ended, we were ushered into an era of lame music that we still haven't escaped from today.
I grew up in the 80's and remember listening to the Beatles, John Lennon, Simon & Garfunkel, Roger Waters and Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, and David Bowie, to name a few, with my brothers or my dad. I remember seeing album covers strewn about my brother's bedroom. Albums, not CD's. (If you're a really young reader, albums are like CD's in that they're flat and round, but black, and a lot bigger. The get scratched and don't work just like CD's though).
Some say that the 60's were a turbulent time in the U.S. and the world and thus created a perfect environment and culture for innovative and creative music. But let's face it. These days are pretty turbulent as well. So where's the Crosby, Still, Nash and Young of today to sing about our involvement in Iraq? Or where is the Paul Simon of today to protest the government's stance on stem cell research? All we've gotten recently is the new Paris Hilton CD. Paris Hilton? Isn't she just famous for being famous? And her new CD actually got some good reviews.
Before anyone accuses me of painting a broad brush stroke condemning all music after the 70's, let me say that in more recent times there has been a small amount of good stuff like Phish or Midnite, and even politically-minded music such as U2, but no where near the creative amount of earlier times.
I remember when the Dixi Chicks came out against President Bush and the Iraq war. While not a bad band, they're hardly going to achieve iconic status. And they paid dearly at the hands of big business for their outspoken views. That's a far cry from the politically-charged days of Woodstock where many artists were speaking out, and changing things.
If you think about it, there are only a select few artists or bands that can regularly sell out huge arenas today. These are the icons. And the vast majority of those artists are bands from before the 80's! Between last summer and this summer, here are some of the really big concert ticket sellers: The Rolling Stones, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, Eric Clapton and The Eagles.
I recently read an article that suggested that music and tour promoters, large venue owners and ticket companies are all worried about concert sales taking a plunge after the legendary artists stop touring. They realize it's going to be hard to sell out big arenas after the dinosaurs become extinct. Who are the artists of today who will reach that status tomorrow?
In a recent interview with Joe Walsh on Sirius Radio Joe said there is not nearly as much improvisational rock anymore. And I agree. When asked what bands he thought were decent these days, he couldn't think of any for a while, and then finally said he thought the Goo Goo Dolls were good. Hmmm.
Maybe I'm some kind of curmudgeon, but Top 40 today is just not as good as it used to be. Is Kevin Federline really talented? I just found out recently that his nickname is K-Fed. How about fed up? I think K-Fed, J-Lo, X-tina (Christina Aguilera, no joke) and A-Rod all need to get together ASAP and rethink their feeble nicknames, just an FYI.
Here are the top 5 songs right now in the Summer of 2006:
- Fergie - London Bridge
- Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
- Nelly Furtado Featuring Timbaland - Promiscuous
- The Pussycat Dolls Featuring Snoop Dogg - Buttons
- Panic! At The Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies
And here were the top 5 albums of 2005:
- Mariah Carey - The Emancipation of Mimi
- 50 Cent - The Massacre
- Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway
- Green Day - American Idiot
- The Black Eyed Peas - Monkey Business
Here are the top 5 albums of 1976:
- Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive
- Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac
- Wings - Wings At The Speed Of Sound
- Eagles - Eagles Greatest Hits 1971-1975
- Chicago - Chicago IX Greatest Hits
And here are the top 5 albums of 1966
- Original Soundtrack The Sound Of Music
- The Beatles - Revolver
- The Beatles - Rubber Soul
- The Rolling Stones - Aftermath
- The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
Is it just me, or is there a glaring difference between the two 21st Century lists and the second two 20th Century lists? To be fair, I actually own Monkey Business and I like it. Also, Green Day is decent. Admittedly, Wings isn't the best Paul McCartney music around, but it is Sir Paul after all, and Chicago and The Beach Boys are a little weak. But overall, the lists just don't compare.
The music industry itself has changed so drastically that I think that is one of the main reasons there is such a chasm between today's music and the creations of yesteryear. Like sports and medicine, music in another industry that has been a casualty of big business and American capitalism.
No longer does the actual music quality drive the industry. Instead, the people with the money and power at the record companies notice some bad music selling well to young people for example, and therefore decide that from then on they're only going to find and promote that type of bad music since it made a few bucks. They've totally stopped listening to the music and instead only listen to the dollars.
No longer does the music they create determine the success of a band. Instead, entertainment conglomerates tell fans what to listen to, and that determines the success. They do this because they have such a strangle hold on the media. We only have the illusion of choice now. A vicious circle has begun where the whole industry is inexorably spinning down, unable to find purchase on the sides of some slimy corporate funnel, circling downward uncontrollably into the abyss of painfully bad music.
Some bands occasionally slip through the vortex relatively intact, sidestepping the almost institutionalized process of "making it" set in place by music executives. Phish is a great example of this. They became hugely successful in spite of the music industry. Because they were so good and so tenacious in touring and jamming, they attracted a large fan base. The sheer numbers of eventual fans Phish had gave them a power that most artists today can't have. Most other artists have to do what the people with the purse strings tell them to do. And that often makes for bad music. Unfortunately, Phish isn't even together any more. But they're a rare exception in that they came after the 70's and were highly creative and improvisational.
Another thing that contributes to the poor music of today is technology. These days, Hollywood actors who can't sing can have singing careers. The engineers touch up their voices, and use every digital sound technique there is to make an average product sellable, just like the magazines airbrush the models and actresses, trimming years off to complete the illusion. There are many ways in which the music engineers can do this in the studio and even for artists on tour.
Ashlee Simpson is a good example of this. First, we saw her on Saturday Night Live getting caught lip-sinking. Then I heard a recent interview where Joe Walsh's daughter, Lucy Walsh, admitted that as Ashlee's keyboard player, she always doubled Ashlee's voice while on tour.
I know that in any era there's going to be silly music acts like Ashlee Simpson, Kevin Federline and Paris Hilton. I realize that during Bob Dylan's time there were lots of feeble yet famous music artists then too. My complaint is that it seems like in any other era there was at least enough really fantastic and original music being created to balance things out.
Let's go backwards. We've looked at the popular music of the 21st Century a little in the lists above and I don't see any really original music in there at all. Some may argue that the grunge era of the 90's produced some great and original music. I argue that almost all of that music was so heavily influenced by the rock of the 60's and 70's that it really wasn't that original at all.
The music of the 80's matched the hair and clothes of the time, lame. The synthesizer was new then, but the music was reasonably bad, and certainly not timeless. But then we come to the 70's and 60's. Those are the decades that last held any hope for people like me who long for fresh, original, creative and improvisational music.
In 1899 the Commissioner of the US Patent Office wrote "Everything that can be invented has been invented." Alright, maybe he was a little off. But in a way, everything that seems new is really just new combinations of existing things. Music is no different. I'm hoping that we return to the days when the combinations of beats, rhythms, harmonies and melodies become as creative as they were in the 60's and 70's.
But maybe things haven't changed much since even Socrates' times. He thought kids were tyrants, as if his generation was the last of a dying breed of angelic children. Maybe he just didn't understand the kids of his era, and maybe I'm the same way.
Jason OConnor runs Rock and Pop Concert Tickets - A great place to buy tickets to cheap concerts across North America. www.bestshowticketslasvegas.com/
"Children nowadays are tyrants. They contradict their parents, gobble their food and tyrannize their teachers." ~ Socrates
Why is popular music so bad today? I mean, I'm not that old, but jeez, the music of today, with only a few rare exceptions, kinda stinks. Some would say that when New Year's Eve 1979 ended, we were ushered into an era of lame music that we still haven't escaped from today.
I grew up in the 80's and remember listening to the Beatles, John Lennon, Simon & Garfunkel, Roger Waters and Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, and David Bowie, to name a few, with my brothers or my dad. I remember seeing album covers strewn about my brother's bedroom. Albums, not CD's. (If you're a really young reader, albums are like CD's in that they're flat and round, but black, and a lot bigger. The get scratched and don't work just like CD's though).
Some say that the 60's were a turbulent time in the U.S. and the world and thus created a perfect environment and culture for innovative and creative music. But let's face it. These days are pretty turbulent as well. So where's the Crosby, Still, Nash and Young of today to sing about our involvement in Iraq? Or where is the Paul Simon of today to protest the government's stance on stem cell research? All we've gotten recently is the new Paris Hilton CD. Paris Hilton? Isn't she just famous for being famous? And her new CD actually got some good reviews.
Before anyone accuses me of painting a broad brush stroke condemning all music after the 70's, let me say that in more recent times there has been a small amount of good stuff like Phish or Midnite, and even politically-minded music such as U2, but no where near the creative amount of earlier times.
I remember when the Dixi Chicks came out against President Bush and the Iraq war. While not a bad band, they're hardly going to achieve iconic status. And they paid dearly at the hands of big business for their outspoken views. That's a far cry from the politically-charged days of Woodstock where many artists were speaking out, and changing things.
If you think about it, there are only a select few artists or bands that can regularly sell out huge arenas today. These are the icons. And the vast majority of those artists are bands from before the 80's! Between last summer and this summer, here are some of the really big concert ticket sellers: The Rolling Stones, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Barbra Streisand, Eric Clapton and The Eagles.
I recently read an article that suggested that music and tour promoters, large venue owners and ticket companies are all worried about concert sales taking a plunge after the legendary artists stop touring. They realize it's going to be hard to sell out big arenas after the dinosaurs become extinct. Who are the artists of today who will reach that status tomorrow?
In a recent interview with Joe Walsh on Sirius Radio Joe said there is not nearly as much improvisational rock anymore. And I agree. When asked what bands he thought were decent these days, he couldn't think of any for a while, and then finally said he thought the Goo Goo Dolls were good. Hmmm.
Maybe I'm some kind of curmudgeon, but Top 40 today is just not as good as it used to be. Is Kevin Federline really talented? I just found out recently that his nickname is K-Fed. How about fed up? I think K-Fed, J-Lo, X-tina (Christina Aguilera, no joke) and A-Rod all need to get together ASAP and rethink their feeble nicknames, just an FYI.
Here are the top 5 songs right now in the Summer of 2006:
- Fergie - London Bridge
- Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
- Nelly Furtado Featuring Timbaland - Promiscuous
- The Pussycat Dolls Featuring Snoop Dogg - Buttons
- Panic! At The Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies
And here were the top 5 albums of 2005:
- Mariah Carey - The Emancipation of Mimi
- 50 Cent - The Massacre
- Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway
- Green Day - American Idiot
- The Black Eyed Peas - Monkey Business
Here are the top 5 albums of 1976:
- Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive
- Fleetwood Mac - Fleetwood Mac
- Wings - Wings At The Speed Of Sound
- Eagles - Eagles Greatest Hits 1971-1975
- Chicago - Chicago IX Greatest Hits
And here are the top 5 albums of 1966
- Original Soundtrack The Sound Of Music
- The Beatles - Revolver
- The Beatles - Rubber Soul
- The Rolling Stones - Aftermath
- The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
Is it just me, or is there a glaring difference between the two 21st Century lists and the second two 20th Century lists? To be fair, I actually own Monkey Business and I like it. Also, Green Day is decent. Admittedly, Wings isn't the best Paul McCartney music around, but it is Sir Paul after all, and Chicago and The Beach Boys are a little weak. But overall, the lists just don't compare.
The music industry itself has changed so drastically that I think that is one of the main reasons there is such a chasm between today's music and the creations of yesteryear. Like sports and medicine, music in another industry that has been a casualty of big business and American capitalism.
No longer does the actual music quality drive the industry. Instead, the people with the money and power at the record companies notice some bad music selling well to young people for example, and therefore decide that from then on they're only going to find and promote that type of bad music since it made a few bucks. They've totally stopped listening to the music and instead only listen to the dollars.
No longer does the music they create determine the success of a band. Instead, entertainment conglomerates tell fans what to listen to, and that determines the success. They do this because they have such a strangle hold on the media. We only have the illusion of choice now. A vicious circle has begun where the whole industry is inexorably spinning down, unable to find purchase on the sides of some slimy corporate funnel, circling downward uncontrollably into the abyss of painfully bad music.
Some bands occasionally slip through the vortex relatively intact, sidestepping the almost institutionalized process of "making it" set in place by music executives. Phish is a great example of this. They became hugely successful in spite of the music industry. Because they were so good and so tenacious in touring and jamming, they attracted a large fan base. The sheer numbers of eventual fans Phish had gave them a power that most artists today can't have. Most other artists have to do what the people with the purse strings tell them to do. And that often makes for bad music. Unfortunately, Phish isn't even together any more. But they're a rare exception in that they came after the 70's and were highly creative and improvisational.
Another thing that contributes to the poor music of today is technology. These days, Hollywood actors who can't sing can have singing careers. The engineers touch up their voices, and use every digital sound technique there is to make an average product sellable, just like the magazines airbrush the models and actresses, trimming years off to complete the illusion. There are many ways in which the music engineers can do this in the studio and even for artists on tour.
Ashlee Simpson is a good example of this. First, we saw her on Saturday Night Live getting caught lip-sinking. Then I heard a recent interview where Joe Walsh's daughter, Lucy Walsh, admitted that as Ashlee's keyboard player, she always doubled Ashlee's voice while on tour.
I know that in any era there's going to be silly music acts like Ashlee Simpson, Kevin Federline and Paris Hilton. I realize that during Bob Dylan's time there were lots of feeble yet famous music artists then too. My complaint is that it seems like in any other era there was at least enough really fantastic and original music being created to balance things out.
Let's go backwards. We've looked at the popular music of the 21st Century a little in the lists above and I don't see any really original music in there at all. Some may argue that the grunge era of the 90's produced some great and original music. I argue that almost all of that music was so heavily influenced by the rock of the 60's and 70's that it really wasn't that original at all.
The music of the 80's matched the hair and clothes of the time, lame. The synthesizer was new then, but the music was reasonably bad, and certainly not timeless. But then we come to the 70's and 60's. Those are the decades that last held any hope for people like me who long for fresh, original, creative and improvisational music.
In 1899 the Commissioner of the US Patent Office wrote "Everything that can be invented has been invented." Alright, maybe he was a little off. But in a way, everything that seems new is really just new combinations of existing things. Music is no different. I'm hoping that we return to the days when the combinations of beats, rhythms, harmonies and melodies become as creative as they were in the 60's and 70's.
But maybe things haven't changed much since even Socrates' times. He thought kids were tyrants, as if his generation was the last of a dying breed of angelic children. Maybe he just didn't understand the kids of his era, and maybe I'm the same way.
Jason OConnor runs Rock and Pop Concert Tickets - A great place to buy tickets to cheap concerts across North America. www.bestshowticketslasvegas.com/
How To Compose Music - Creative Ideas
Starting a composition is a difficult task. Getting your inspirations, thinking creatively, applying your creative thoughts to your music and supplementing your ideas with additional composition are all difficult tasks to accomplish.
For starters, your current state of mind will greatly affect the music you write – whether you feel angry, joyful or sad chances are your musical composition will in some way reflect this mood.
Different times of day and different seasons affect your composing as well as current affairs and any stress’s you might have.
The variety of factors that can influence your composition periods are immense and hopefully these few pointers will demonstrate some methods of breaking out of the psychological restraints placed on you.
• Colours – If you are looking to compose a piece of music based around a certain mood find a relevant colour that matches for instance orange gives the impression of energy and drive. Eventually you will learn to bias your mood to suit the composition you are aiming for.
• Character – it is well known for actors to really get inside the character they are portraying through their acting. Understanding key emotions and various behaviours help the actors ‘ live ‘ as their proposed character. If you are creating a theme for a character (think darth vaders theme tune) you need to be demonstrating and describing that character through sound. If you follow the same process as an actor would you will eventually unravel hidden details that will help refine your composition, make it more realist and detailed and allow for it to be much more creative and expressive.
• Nature – a lot of creativity and inspiration can be got by observing nature. From birds communicating through a song like speech to the rustle of leaves in a summer breeze. Trying to emulate nature is an excellent way to begin a sound-scope – or incorporating nature into a character theme for example to express an angelic quality, singing like the birds (fast trills on piccolo or glissandos on the violin)
• Memories – another great source to tap into is your memories. A lot of emotion will go into compositions that are personal in some way to yourself. Spend a few minutes reflecting on your past – try to imagine the memory in great detail – sounds, smells, colours the weather – anything that will give you a good image and story to compose about.
These are just a few sources for inspiration – use your imagination – it has never ending possibilities!
With so many possibilities to compose about and now that your creativity is running, the next area to discuss is music theory.
The last thing that you want to happen is to have all these wonderfully creative ideas for your composition but being held back by the lack of musical knowledge.
A rugby player could develop his passing techniques and his scrum techniques but if he doesn’t know the rules of the game he won’t be able to perform during a game.
Although music composition and as a whole is not bound by any rules you still need the knowledge of writing music – in the same way as a poet needs a knowledge of his language to write a poem.
Some of the key areas you should know about and be constantly revising are:
• The Staff, Bar Lines, Clefs, Time Signatures.
• Note Values, Rests, Phrasing, Rhythm
• Articulation, Instrument Specific Techniques (pizz, con sord)
• Key Signatures, Circle of Fifths, Accidentals, Cadences
• Major, Minor, Diminished, Pentatonic, Diatonic Scales
• Modes
• Chords, Extensions, Inversions, Sequences, Arpeggios
• Instrument Ranges, Timbres of Each Instrument, Difficult Areas of an Instrument (The break on clarinet for instance or seventh position for trombones)
Of course it is not absolutely essential you know about all of this but it will mean that your creativity is weakened due to lack of a means to fully communicate.
Use music theory books – go through them and notate comments on the pages, take notes on to blank flash cards to memorize scales and extended chords, use past music theory exam papers to test and analyze your knowledge and then act on your weak areas, purchase a aural perception CD to recognize different cadences and the general sounds achieved from different combinations of notes and chords – there are many ways to learn all of this but find the way that you are comfortable with and stick to it.
Finally the last piece of advice in this article is to keep your composing active.
Aim to compose a short piece of music each day, maybe before you go to bed you can reflect on your day through a composition. Mix it up – compose for different orchestrations and different abilities.
Composing is challenging but by keeping active like this will greatly benefit you and your compositions – and you never know – you may accidentally stumble upon your masterpiece!
This article is free for reproduction providing that it maintains its original form and an active link to www.realmusicproduction.com is present. Edward Droscher is the founder of Real Music Production and works to develop music education systems privately and in schools as well as composing and arranging music for film, TV, and musical theatre. For more information or details on music composition please visit www.realmusicproduction.com/composition.php
For starters, your current state of mind will greatly affect the music you write – whether you feel angry, joyful or sad chances are your musical composition will in some way reflect this mood.
Different times of day and different seasons affect your composing as well as current affairs and any stress’s you might have.
The variety of factors that can influence your composition periods are immense and hopefully these few pointers will demonstrate some methods of breaking out of the psychological restraints placed on you.
• Colours – If you are looking to compose a piece of music based around a certain mood find a relevant colour that matches for instance orange gives the impression of energy and drive. Eventually you will learn to bias your mood to suit the composition you are aiming for.
• Character – it is well known for actors to really get inside the character they are portraying through their acting. Understanding key emotions and various behaviours help the actors ‘ live ‘ as their proposed character. If you are creating a theme for a character (think darth vaders theme tune) you need to be demonstrating and describing that character through sound. If you follow the same process as an actor would you will eventually unravel hidden details that will help refine your composition, make it more realist and detailed and allow for it to be much more creative and expressive.
• Nature – a lot of creativity and inspiration can be got by observing nature. From birds communicating through a song like speech to the rustle of leaves in a summer breeze. Trying to emulate nature is an excellent way to begin a sound-scope – or incorporating nature into a character theme for example to express an angelic quality, singing like the birds (fast trills on piccolo or glissandos on the violin)
• Memories – another great source to tap into is your memories. A lot of emotion will go into compositions that are personal in some way to yourself. Spend a few minutes reflecting on your past – try to imagine the memory in great detail – sounds, smells, colours the weather – anything that will give you a good image and story to compose about.
These are just a few sources for inspiration – use your imagination – it has never ending possibilities!
With so many possibilities to compose about and now that your creativity is running, the next area to discuss is music theory.
The last thing that you want to happen is to have all these wonderfully creative ideas for your composition but being held back by the lack of musical knowledge.
A rugby player could develop his passing techniques and his scrum techniques but if he doesn’t know the rules of the game he won’t be able to perform during a game.
Although music composition and as a whole is not bound by any rules you still need the knowledge of writing music – in the same way as a poet needs a knowledge of his language to write a poem.
Some of the key areas you should know about and be constantly revising are:
• The Staff, Bar Lines, Clefs, Time Signatures.
• Note Values, Rests, Phrasing, Rhythm
• Articulation, Instrument Specific Techniques (pizz, con sord)
• Key Signatures, Circle of Fifths, Accidentals, Cadences
• Major, Minor, Diminished, Pentatonic, Diatonic Scales
• Modes
• Chords, Extensions, Inversions, Sequences, Arpeggios
• Instrument Ranges, Timbres of Each Instrument, Difficult Areas of an Instrument (The break on clarinet for instance or seventh position for trombones)
Of course it is not absolutely essential you know about all of this but it will mean that your creativity is weakened due to lack of a means to fully communicate.
Use music theory books – go through them and notate comments on the pages, take notes on to blank flash cards to memorize scales and extended chords, use past music theory exam papers to test and analyze your knowledge and then act on your weak areas, purchase a aural perception CD to recognize different cadences and the general sounds achieved from different combinations of notes and chords – there are many ways to learn all of this but find the way that you are comfortable with and stick to it.
Finally the last piece of advice in this article is to keep your composing active.
Aim to compose a short piece of music each day, maybe before you go to bed you can reflect on your day through a composition. Mix it up – compose for different orchestrations and different abilities.
Composing is challenging but by keeping active like this will greatly benefit you and your compositions – and you never know – you may accidentally stumble upon your masterpiece!
This article is free for reproduction providing that it maintains its original form and an active link to www.realmusicproduction.com is present. Edward Droscher is the founder of Real Music Production and works to develop music education systems privately and in schools as well as composing and arranging music for film, TV, and musical theatre. For more information or details on music composition please visit www.realmusicproduction.com/composition.php
The Interesting Connection Between Beethoven And Napoleon
Beethoven and Napoleon never met. However they played their individual roles in the new "Romantic Age" apparent in Europe at the beginning of the 19th Century.
Beethoven, the independent composer of his time, rather liked many of the ideas that Napoleon had. He had managed to build a strong new power with the will of the people, rather than that of the aristocracy whose lack of government as we would know it today was somewhat archaic, and certainly did not involve one’s average citizen.
Napoleon changed the laws of the land (very frequently); he restructured the Civil Service so that it was functional as well as being efficient; he had scientists from all areas working for him to bring France to a stage where it was technically the best in the world. He achieved much. His metric system is used in nearly all countries today. Most Europeans under 20 today would not recognise a gallon or a yard. Litres and metres, with 10 or 100 increments are actually much easier for your average chap (which the French population was at the time) rather than having to multiply by obscure fractions at which the French uneducated population would be inept.
A lot of people say that the reason for this hunger for scientific information was purely philanthropic. Possibly Beethoven thought so before 1804. Others, perhaps more perspicacious, showed that much of this work was put to almost purely military use. The man was a genius at warfare. Baring in mind the turbulent political climate after the French Revolution, the guillotine executions and the enormous strength of the Secret Police at the time, nobody dared say a thing. Napoleon just got on with it, on pain of death if it was not done.
Beethoven, meanwhile, had been looking at the good things coming out of France, particularly during the ‘truce’ of the early 1800’s. He could see the things that Napoleon was doing for the country and its infrastructure as well as its artistic side. Beethoven wrote other pieces during this period, but his Great Work’ at this time was the fabulously innovative ‘Eroica’ symphony.
This was dedicated to Napoleon and, no doubt, much of the musical content was composed as a result of the successes of this extraordinary leader.
However Napoleon, having re-armed his troops and ships during the ‘truce’ took his ambitions even further. He made himself an Emperor and his family his successors in perpetuity. The Napoleonic Wars resumed and Beethoven was not pleased with this ‘would be’ hero.
Beethoven apparently tore out the dedication page of his manuscript for the Third symphony, and simply dedicated it to celebrate a “great man”, whilst renaming the symphony as we know it today as the ‘Eroica’, rather than ‘The Napoleon’.
In 1809 Napoleonic forces bombarded Vienna, and Beethoven hid in a cellar with mufflers round his ears frightened that the dreadful noise would remove the last of his remaining ability to hear.
Beethoven, the independent composer of his time, rather liked many of the ideas that Napoleon had. He had managed to build a strong new power with the will of the people, rather than that of the aristocracy whose lack of government as we would know it today was somewhat archaic, and certainly did not involve one’s average citizen.
Napoleon changed the laws of the land (very frequently); he restructured the Civil Service so that it was functional as well as being efficient; he had scientists from all areas working for him to bring France to a stage where it was technically the best in the world. He achieved much. His metric system is used in nearly all countries today. Most Europeans under 20 today would not recognise a gallon or a yard. Litres and metres, with 10 or 100 increments are actually much easier for your average chap (which the French population was at the time) rather than having to multiply by obscure fractions at which the French uneducated population would be inept.
A lot of people say that the reason for this hunger for scientific information was purely philanthropic. Possibly Beethoven thought so before 1804. Others, perhaps more perspicacious, showed that much of this work was put to almost purely military use. The man was a genius at warfare. Baring in mind the turbulent political climate after the French Revolution, the guillotine executions and the enormous strength of the Secret Police at the time, nobody dared say a thing. Napoleon just got on with it, on pain of death if it was not done.
Beethoven, meanwhile, had been looking at the good things coming out of France, particularly during the ‘truce’ of the early 1800’s. He could see the things that Napoleon was doing for the country and its infrastructure as well as its artistic side. Beethoven wrote other pieces during this period, but his Great Work’ at this time was the fabulously innovative ‘Eroica’ symphony.
This was dedicated to Napoleon and, no doubt, much of the musical content was composed as a result of the successes of this extraordinary leader.
However Napoleon, having re-armed his troops and ships during the ‘truce’ took his ambitions even further. He made himself an Emperor and his family his successors in perpetuity. The Napoleonic Wars resumed and Beethoven was not pleased with this ‘would be’ hero.
Beethoven apparently tore out the dedication page of his manuscript for the Third symphony, and simply dedicated it to celebrate a “great man”, whilst renaming the symphony as we know it today as the ‘Eroica’, rather than ‘The Napoleon’.
In 1809 Napoleonic forces bombarded Vienna, and Beethoven hid in a cellar with mufflers round his ears frightened that the dreadful noise would remove the last of his remaining ability to hear.
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