Jazz final: Duke Ellington
Siobhan K. O'Leary MU 101, Prof. Torff Final Paper "I'm just an up and coming musician struggling to find another new note." -Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy Ellington was born April 29th 1899 in Washington, DC. From an early age, Ellington was instilled with solid, conservative morals. He was taught to pride himself and his family and to achieve to the utmost of his dreams. At such a crucial time in the history of the African American, there was a struggle to be accepted and to fit into the American culture that so far had not embraced them. This held true for Ellington's family. As Ellington said of his father, he always "acted as though he had money, whether he had it or not."1 This sentiment and attitude towards life is what led and encouraged Ellington to be the person that he became to be. During a time in history, when just surviving was a struggle for the average black American, Duke Ellington, as he became known as, evolved into one of the most innovative and well-known musicians in the history of jazz. Growing up, Duke was rather privileged compared to his African American counterparts. His father was a butler for a white upper class family. This in itself, allowed Duke to be exposed to some of the things that life had to offer, yet never would have seen if he had not lived with the Cuthbert family, for whom his father worked. As a butler, J.E., Duke's father
Authentic African Music
Authentic African music The traditional music of the black peoples of Africa - is little known abroad. The non-African listener can find the music strange, difficult, and unattractive; and therefore often concludes that it is not of interest. Both African and non-African music are human inventions and individual notes contain the same elements such as pitch, duration, tone colour and intensity. Music plays a similar role in most societies, as work songs, lullabies, battle songs, religious music, and so on. Generally speaking the same categories of instruments are found in Africa as in Europe, namely stringed instruments, wind instruments, and percussion. The African concept of music is totally different to the Western one though. Traditional African musicians do not seek to combine sounds in a manner pleasing to the ear. Their aim is simply to express life in all of its aspects through the medium of sound. The African musician does not merely attempt to imitate nature by music, but reverses the procedure by taking natural sounds, including spoken language, and incorporate them into the music. To the uninitiated this may result in cacophony, but in fact each sound has a particular meaning. To be meaningful, African music must be studied within the context of African life. Music has an important role in African society. Music is an integral part of the life of every African
DIfferant Trains
Expressive Arts Gcse - Critical Analysis Unit 2- People and Places 'Different Trains' by Steve Reich In this Analysis I am going to be looking at 'Different trains' by Steve Reich. I will be trying to understand the reason why he created this interesting piece of music and his influences. Furthermore I am going to talk about how groundbreaking this piece is and its significance. Steve Reich was the creator of the piece, he has had a very successful career and has created other spectacular pieces such as 'It's gonna rain' (1965), 'come out' (1995) and many more. He was born in New York during 1936. He learnt about drumming at the age of 14 with New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Then he took a philosophy degree at Cornell in 1953. He carried on with further education at places like Mills Collage, where he developed an interest for African and Balinese Music. In 1966 he began performing with his own band, mostly contained percussion. Then he began to work on larger orchestral and choral forces this is when he wrote Different trains, 1988. The song won a Grammy in 1989 for best contemporary Classical composition. It was originally written for Kronos quartet string group, this contained 2 violins, 1 viola and a cello. It was founded by violinist David Harrington during 1973. After 1978, They have mainly worked from San Francisco. They specialize in new types of music and they
Critically examine the role of improvisation in Jazz, in particular the improvisational technique of scat singing, and what figures have promoted this technique?
Critically examine the role of improvisation in Jazz, in particular the improvisational technique of scat singing, and what figures have promoted this technique? In modern times, improvisation survives as one of the chief distinguishing characteristics of jazz. Despite the long evolution of Jazz throughout the 20th century, the one feature that has remained consistent throughout all the different styles is its heavy reliance on improvisation. This essay will firstly, critically examine the role of improvisation in Jazz. In order to properly assess it's role, this essay will make an attempt to define what jazz is, but also assess why any definition of the style is going to be problematic. This essay will also include an analysis the improvisational technique of scat singing,. Scat is a jazz vocal style using emotive, onomatopoeic, and nonsense syllables instead of words in solo improvisations on a melody and has become almost a trademark feature of the jazz style. It is also an example of how improvisation plays an important part in jazz. Finally, this essay will take a brief look at what prominent figures have contributed to not only the development of this technique, but also the popularity that came along with it. Any attempt to arrive at a precise, all-encompassing definition of jazz is most likely going to be futile. The main reason for this is that Jazz has been, from
Improvisational Approaches.
Improvisational Approaches Introduction Improvisation has been an integral part of music since its very beginning, and it has been a very important element in Western Classical music for most of the past 1000 years. For example: a) Original score notations for Medieval organ music commonly include instructions for improvisation and embellishments. Scales that were used were selected according to the same improvisation principles now used in Jazz. b) Improvisational sections were often included in many classical scores. For example, the preludes to keyboard suites by Bach and Handel consisted solely of a progression of chords. The performers used these as basis for their improvisation. In the scores of today most of these progressions have been translated into full music notations by various editors. c) During the Baroque - (1600 - 1750), Classical - (1750 - 1830), and Romantic - Periods (1830 - 1900) improvisation flourished, especially for keyboard players. J.S. Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt and many other distinguished composers and virtuoso pianists, excelled in the art of improvisation, in those days called 'extemporization'. Towards the beginning of this century, improvisation inexplicably disappeared from Classical performances, and Classical music as a whole has been totally dominated (and in my opinion, restricted) by the written score.
A Comparison of Bach's Sarabande (Partita Number 4) and a Mozart Piano Sonata (K.333)
Bach's Sarabande and Mozart's sonata could be said to be typical of the period they represent. To what extent do you agree with this observation? Johann Sebastian Bach and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, two of the most profound and influential composers to date, can be seen to exemplify the many periodic styles and trends within their compositions, in addition to imprinting equally distinctive personal styles into their works. This is well illustrated in two pieces, Bach's Sarabande from Partita Number 4, BWV 828 (part of 'Clavier-Übung') and the first movement from Mozart's Piano Sonata in Bb, K.333 (part of the 'Paris set'). These not only represent a multitude of distinctive periodic features, but also hold an unidentifiable something which immediately associates the work to the composer. It could be said that the pieces are not only typical of their respective periods, but also typical of their respective composers, an idea which will be explored further in this essay. Clavier-Übung, one of J.S.Bach's most monumental works, is a series comprised of four main parts: six partitas, a French overture and an Italian concerto, the Goldberg Variations and finally an organ mass. Clavier-Übung is possibly the epitome of Bach's writing at that time; virtuosic, melodic, stylistic and full of character. Its purpose was to 'refresh the music lover's spirit' [4] which it did judging
"Beethoven and Mahler"
"Beethoven and Mahler" Prepared by Scott Kincaid Student of Accounting at the University of Tulsa Report Distributed Monday May 2, 2005 Prepared for Dr. Joseph Rivers of the University of Tulsa ABSTRACT This report examines the history and musical ability of Ludwig Van Beethoven with a comparison to another great composer Gustav Mahler. The purpose of this report is to provide a brief summary of Ludwig Van Beethoven's life and compare and contrast Beethoven's musical work and life struggles to another great composer Gustav Mahler, who attempted to improve Beethoven's work in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Gustav Mahler and Beethoven were great composers of different times in the 19th century. Gustav Mahler idealized Beethoven and his musical accomplishments. To understand the musical compositions and the inspirations of Beethoven's and Mahler's "improved" masterpieces this report will provide (1) a brief biography of Ludwig Van Beethoven, (2) a brief overview of Beethoven's musical career, (3) inspirations and beginning works of Mahler, (4) comparison of Beethoven's and Mahler's music and life struggles, and (5) a conclusion summarizing the report. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Brief Biography of Ludwig Van Beethoven Ludwig Van Beethoven was a German Composer, considered one of the greatest musicians of all time. Having begun his career as an
Music Appraisal - Classical Waltzes
Music Appraisal - Classical Waltzes Piece 1 - Waltz in B Minor F. CHOPIN, Op. 69, NO.2 Piece 2 - Waltz in C# Minor J. BRAHMS, Op. 39, NO.7 Piece 3 - Je Te Veux ERIK SATIE My chosen three pieces are all waltzes in 3/4. They each maintain the feeling of a traditional waltz, conjured up by the chord movements in the bass clef. Furthermore, each work is composed for piano. Piece 1 - Waltz in B Minor F. CHOPIN, Op. 69, NO.2 This piece was published after Chopin's death and is one of a pair with Waltz in Ab Major. It has a time signature of 3/4 and should be played moderately fast. The music is in B Minor but also modulates into B Major giving the sudden peak of happiness in the middle of the piece. The use of chromatic scales is also apparent; they generally give a sense of falling back in to the main rhythm as they are used just before a section of flowing melody. Block chords are applied in the left hand; with a strong first beat on the bass note just before, to give structure to the piece and possibly to dancers. This is covered by the right hand with the main swaying rhythm. Dynamics of this piece often relate to the phrases and cadences, if the rhythm begins to increase in pitch then the dynamics tend also to increase and vice versa so that it gives the feeling of a strong uprising in the melody, even building towards the B major section. Some phrases have an accent on
Beethoven & the Symphonic Genre
Benjamin Scott March 28, 2004 Beethoven & the Symphonic Genre Beethoven had a great influence on the genre of the classical symphony. The form has changed dramatically since Haydn's first symphonies in the 1750s. Both Haydn and Mozart had influence on Beethoven's symphonies. Beethoven then developed his own style which transformed the genre. Before you can appreciate Beethoven's contributions to the genre, you must recognize his inspirations. First of all, Joseph Haydn is traditionally considered the 'father' of the symphony. While this is not exactly true, the symphony became a definitive form in the hands of Haydn. The form evolved from several genres, including the Baroque concerto grosso, the 'church sonata', and the Italian opera overture. Schools of symphonic writing developed in several European cities in the early 18th century, but Haydn's symphonies mainly follow in the tradition of his home city, Vienna (Grove online). Haydn wrote 106 symphonies, some of them three movements in length (fast-slow-fast), while many are four movements. His earlier symphonies have a style of "virtuoso brilliance" and "courtly splendor" as he composed them in the court of Esterházy. Later symphonies include remote keys, rhythmic and harmonic complexities, expansion of dimensions and harmonic range, rhythmic instability, dynamic extremes, greater technical difficulty, and
My Music GCSE Revision
Film Music for COMPOSITIONS AND GENERAL KNOWLEDE AND LISTENING EXAM......:):(:):(:):( Fun fact: John williams is one of the world's famous film music composers of all time) notes:::::::::::::::::::::::::::>>>>>>>> Elements and Devices Syncopated Rythms Cross Rhytms (when rhythms cross each other) ...normally used to create tension Time Signatures: 2 3 4 5 5/4 is rare normally used in horror 4 4 4 4 For compuund signatures multiply by 3 Lietmotif: theme tune for a main character in a film. Ground Bass: Repeated ostinato going through the music Pedal Notes/Drones: A long held single note going throughout the music. Chords is a drone. Imitation: Copy or Canon imitating the music Repetition Sequence Structure ...Also look at vocab for devices that can go with film music e.g polyphonic and structure terms and sequence terms... Notes for the classical era: Wednesday 5th September 2007 The four families that make up a classical orchestra are brass, strings, woodwind and percussion. The family that was the most important in the classical era (1750-1820) was the string group. A symphony is a piece of music for orchestra in movements of contrasting speeds and keys. A concerto differs from a symphony because there is an instrument
