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Blog 9, Lema

The presentation I chose to read about was Music and Breakups. The two songs chosen for this topic was “Heartbreak Hotel” by Elvis Presley and “Mittens” by Frank Turner. For the song “Heartbreak Hotel”, it is connected to the topic by the context of the song. This song was written by Presley after a Heartbreak so it is able to show his raw emotion to such a thing also showing how in the 50’s dating life was like. In this we are able to see how as breakup is turned into art. In the next song, “ Mittens” the lyrics can display a type of breakup, more specifically one sided love, and the emotions that come out when it is over.

The two song choices I chose to write about is “Thank you, Next” by Ariana Grande and “Godspeed” by Frank ocean. For “Thank you, Next”, the social context surrounding it really shows the topic of Music and Breakups. The song was written after breaking off her engagement to ex-fiancé Pete Davidson. However in the song instead of taking the sad route she thanks all her exes for the experiences she had with them. In the song she also says “Plus I met someone else…cause’ her name is Ari…she taught me love,” showing how through this breakup she is still content with just herself. This shows how breakups can be hard but how some people make the best out of it.

The next song chosen is “Godspeed” by Frank Ocean. The songs lyrics is what makes the connection because in contrast to Ariana’s song it has a similar message but different approach. This can be based on how after a breakup or first love stated, “I will always love you…I let go my claim on you…you’ll have this place to call home.” This stating how although things are over and it is time to move on, you’ll always have a place i my heart. So they seeming to be moving on but has a harder time coping with it.

Blog 8, Lema

The political protest song I will be discussing today is “Where Is The Love” by Black Eye Peas which was released in 2003. The song was created when the Iraq War had begun, when the u.s had announced to be going into war with Iraq after 9/11 there were several protests against the action itself. While this song does talk about the topic of war it also bring attention to our own issues in the u.s such racism and discrimination, “but if you only have love for your own race, then you only leave space to discriminate and to discriminate only generates hate”. This also introduces ideas on how gang, violence, and media can impact the youth negatively when it is said, “With on goin’ sufferin as the youth die young…kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema.” It brings up how in times of pain and tragedy , love and unity should be spread instead of hate. This song also tackles the idea of going into war when saying, “overseas yeah we tryin’ stop terrorism but we still we still got terrorists here livin’ in the The USA, the big CIA, the Bloods and the Crips, and the KKK,” which means how we should focus on the main issues impacting our own society instead of getting into conflict with others.

“Where is The Love” is still a song that can relate to issues in the world as it includes numerous topics. This song can be used as comfort to one and also reassurance questioning which is the love or where is the unity in iMessage of tragedy. For example, in May 22, 2017 when a suicide bomber had caused in an explosion after an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester while fans were leaving the venue, causing 23 deaths and 139 wounded. In response to this, Ariana Grande had held a concert in honor of those killed in Manchester with other artists and named it “One Love Manchester” in reference to the song’s line which says “We only got one love.” In times of tragedy people go back to this song as a reminder, even in today’s current events such as the issues surrounding the COVID-19 virus.

The musical element that’s is used in the song is rhythm more specifically it’s tempo. Throughout the song the tempo is kept as a slow pace, this pace doesn’t change which can be in order to focus on the message more which the slow pace can allow listeners to do so. A focus on the lyrics can create a clearer image for listeners in contrast to having a lot going on.

Blog 7, Lema

The music and dance of Mevlevi Sufi ,which is the sub-order of Sufi branch of Islam, plays an important role in its connection with god. For music the role it plays in the Sema ceremony is the “strong emphasis on music, which sends the practitioner’s physical body into a slow dance of graceful and ecstatic turning”(textbook). Since the Sema ceremony “symbolizes soul’s journey to God”, the different sections all have different music to symbolize the ones journey to god. The music supports the dances that take place in each section of the journey for example in the beginning of the dance arms crossed mean the “oneness with god” until the journey is complete.

For Buddhism, the musical practice that takes place for ceremonies involved mostly vocals. To be specific, they’d do chanting which is said Tom be the gateway for a spiritual experience. With the monk’s text with the chanting, each syllable has its own meaning and together represents a whole message. These traditions are similar to how in the Sema ceremony each dance step represents part of a journey similar to how in a monk’s text each syllable represents a meaning. The differences are in how these traditions are carried out one dance and the other by chanting.

Blog 6, Lema

Since both of my parents were born in Ecuador, I will be discussing the genre called Sanjuanito which is a form of music that goes along with a type of waltz that we mostly refer to as Danza. Sanjuanito, while has now become the “national rhythm of Ecuador”, it can be linked to pre-Columbian dances but is possible goes back further in time. Sanjuanito is mix of indigenous culture and mestizo culture as well. This type of music is played with indigenous instruments such as the pinguillo (a type of flute), rondador(type of panpipe), bandolin (type of chordophone), and the dulzania (similar to oboe). This music also has foreign instruments as well such as drums, guitars, etc. Dancers are wearing bright colored capes and most of the time danced in pairs and in ponchos. Sanjuanito is danced to honor a relationship to mother earth or to celebrate one’s national indentity. This dance is still being danced today, in Ecuador as well as here in the US in parties. This song in particular is part of the San Juanito genre.

Blog 5, Lema

To start off the most comfortable for me would be the Jazz concert because of the chill and relaxed atmosphere it has. In my previous concert experience where I would just be having fun, in a Jazz setting I seem it would be similar to where one can just feel the music. When performing the Jazz musicians just seem to be flowing with the music while also making the sounds fit all together and just right. But just seeing the performance creates a sense of calmness, and in the video people are still seen to be talking amongst each other while still appreciating the music

The concert I would feel the least comfortable would be the chamber music recital, because of the really focused and serious atmosphere in contrast to the Jazz atmosphere. Also it seems to be in a small space so it would make me worried about the movements I would make. The small setting, I would have to be wary in order to not disrupt the performance. This is why the chamber music recital would be the least comfortable for me.

Blog 4, Lema

The film scene I haven chosen to discuss today is the opening scene from the horror movie Get Out(2017), the movie itself takes place when a white women has to introduce her African American boyfriend to her family, but during their stay things their motives seem to be sinister, when he finds out that they have planned and “that they will scheme, plan, kidnap and exploit black bodies for their own consumption, pleasure and strength” (Vox). This movie holds shows the fear many black people must face in everyday that they must fit in in order to make others feel comfortable, also the tackles the subtle racism where it’s racism that is masked with aggressive “politeness” but motives are the opposite. In this scene there is a young black man walking through the empty street of the suburbs in the night, while he does seem uncomfortable he keeps on walking. But it’s not until a white car passing by does a u-turn and pulls up next to him rolling windows down which now an eerie song can be heard playing. The young man then notices and quickly walks the opposite way, then a figure with a face masks comes up behind him, chokes him and puts him to sleep dragging him back to their car

The sound in this scene starts off diegetic noises such as crickets, the guy talking on the phone, footsteps, and dogs barking. This noises in a dark setting set the feeling of a creepiness and that something bad will occur. Also the diegetic and prominent noise of a car pulling us emphasizes its importance to the scene as its heard so clearly. To add on, then music comes into play where it’s an eerie song and supposed to be a “happy” song but overly happy to the point it’s creepy. Then when the kidnapper knocks out the other guy the music is heard so clearly it is considered to be undiegetic because of the volume and seems to try to overpower the guys screams until he finally gets put to sleep. This part can symbolize the topic of the movie where it shows what black people experience in their life , where they feel silenced instead of heard.

Blog 3, Lema

The instrument i have chosen to write about is the bass guitar. A bass guitar is part of the guitar family but instead it produces more “lower frequencies”(masterclass). This sound is then transmitted to an amplifier that allows it to be heard at different volumes desired. Before the early 1920’s the double bass was used for lower pitched sounds but looking for a more convenient way ti do the same with more features came about the electric guitar. The bass sound came about since the 1600’s, but not necessarily practical fir those who traveled a lot due to the inconvenience of its size. It wasn’t until 1935 where the first modern electric bass guitar was created by Paul Tutmarc with a company called Audiovox Manufacturing Company, following a failed attempt of another. This invention was not so popular up until 1951 by Leo Fender who added in the feature or an amplifier. The bass guitar’s role is to “maintain a steady rhythm”(School of Popular Music), the bass guitar also can support the harmony with an underlying deep sound which takes a good listen to hear.
The music i have chosen that uses a bass guitar is “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen which heavily relies on the use of the bass guitar which supports the drums throughout the song and vocals. Throughout the song it maintains a steady beat along with the drums.

Blog 2, Lema

The two musical pieces i have chosen to write about is Kyrie (monophonic) and Kyrie from the Pope Marcellus Mass. For Kyrie (monophonic) there are several musical elements within the piece. The first element being the melody which “can be understood as a unit of pitches (or tones) sounded in succession” (Cornelius 66), in this particular piece I would say has a short range for the high notes Because they don’t go for long but the low notes do go for a bit longer. For scale which “consist of ascending and descending steps”, I could say is both ascending and descending throughout the song. For rhythm, the tempo is overall notes are slower or andante. The harmony is dissonant with more vocals that sound dark and deep making it dissonant. As for the texture, it would be monophony because throughout the piece it is just “one single musical line with no accompaniment”(Cornelius 93) and only an echo otherwise but either way just one musical line. The element this piece doesn’t have is timbre which is the part of the music where an instrument would go in but this song is only vocals.
The other musical piece I have chosen is Kyrie from the Pope Marcellus Mass. To begin the melody it has a long distance between the high and low notes which can contrast to the other musical piece that only had a pong range for the low notes. This would be called a disjunct range which is a long distance between pitches. The scale has more of major pitches throughout the song that can contrast against the other song as well. For the rhythm it tempo I say is adagio which means “at ease”(Cornelius 83). The harmony is I would say consonant with a background pitch of some dissonant notes maybe. As for the Texture could be heterophony, because it is one single line but there are other performers singing it slightly different. The dynamic is from mezza-forte to fortissimo which is a crescendo. Just like the other piece it doesn’t contain a timbre.

Blog 1 Lema

In the Classical Period of music which ranges from 1730 to 1820. What excites me about this period of music is how we get to learn about the period of the composers that can be listed together with this period, composers that are the face and anyone can name when it comes to classic music. This period is also when The Enlightenment occurred meaning new ideas were coming about challenging traditional that brought “…reason, individual rights and empowerment…” (Music A Social Experience, 51). The Enlightenment takes a part as inspiration for the American and French Revolutions where both challenged and overthrew their oppressors because of unfair treatment & taxes. Moving forward, classical period music was said to be an “‘international’ style that drew from primary from Germanic and Italian tastes”(51), its a blend that is very structured when it comes to the balance, lines, and etc. This period of music also prioritized the difference in melodies, the tones, also bringing in new instruments being the symphony and string quartet as this period included music of “thematic development” which was a big part because this was a period where the music went from private to public audiences.

The composer I chose is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who is very well known composer. Mozarts musical piece “symphony no.25 in g minor” had surprised me because of all the instruments that the music had began with as i was expecting a more calm feeling but was struck with the opposite. But it did include a very noticeable contrast in melodies that was stated in the text book. I was reminded with how musical sounded like because I was expecting a very structured and calm sound.