Midi Sequencing - Over-view of MIDI.

Midi Sequencing. By R.Mackenzie. Over-view of MIDI. I constructed a track using the software Pro-tools, and used Midi instead of Audio. Midi stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, which basically means a language of communication used by certain pieces of Hard and software that enables controllers such as a synth, to communicate information. The type of information is for example, velocity, how hard a note is struck, or volume, how loud the piece of music is, and even what notes you are actually playing. This information is translated into bits and bytes. It is the language in which the information is sent, via Midi cables that are specially designed to transfer the "language" from hardware to hardware. MIDI-track construction. In all, I used eleven Midi channels, each with there own separate ports. All the ports are numbered "port 1-1, port 1-2" etc with the exception of "port 1-10" as this is a preset Drum and percussion channel. I had set my BPM count to "120", as I was trying to create an R&B kind of track. For each channel, with the exception of the drums and percussion (ports 1-10), I chose a sound from the MU50 sound module via the control strip. With the exception of the 2nd bass line, which I recorded live, I used the pencil command to draw in all the notes that make up my track. This was useful to me as I am not a competent or confident

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Discuss in detail the Fugue from Bach(TM)s Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 no. 24

Discuss in detail the Fugue from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 no. 24 'To live is to suffer.'1 Spitta claims that this idea is persistent throughout the b minor fugue no. 24 from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1 and that it was Bach's purpose to 'produce a picture of human misery.'2 By looking at this fugue, particularly Bach's use of subject and counter-subject, this essay will aim to discover how justified Spitta's opinions are. 'The direction Largo is Bach's own' and comparing it to the other fugues in the Tovey edition, this fugue is unique in being given such a direction by the composer himself. 3 The emotion poured into its composition may have been why Bach felt a performance direction meaning slowly and stately was necessary.4 The fugue is the longest in the book perhaps because it was the final piece in the book, possibly because b minor was, according to Spitta, Bach's 'favourite key,' but more likely in order to convey suffering and misery effectively.5 The subject shown in figure 1 contains all twelve notes of the chromatic scale and is described by Spitta as 'sighing, saddened and pain stricken.'6 Upon listening to it there is a general feeling of unease. The six pairs of quavers, slurring the interval of a minor second are described by Keller as a 'sigh-motive.' 7 Each pair gives the listener a feel of resolution but followed by

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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"What is meant by the expression Ars nova in the 14th century?"

Zoë McKellar 9806752 History of Music Period One Assignment Four "What is meant by the expression Ars nova in the 14th century?" May 2001 What is meant by the expression Ars nova in the 14th century? During the early fourteenth century there occurred an imperative stylistic change in music, now commonly known as the "Ars nova" period. The term "Ars nova" means quite literally "new art" when translated from the Latin and refers to the new way of thinking of composers at his time. The term itself was initially used by one of the leading French composers of the time, Philippe de Vitry. The resulting music reflected the ingenuity of the composers working at the time giving them increased ability to express mood and emotion in their works. De Vitry not only coined the new phrase but was the forbearer in a new system of notation which included time signatures, giving rhythmic autonomy where there had previously been little. The composers of the Ars nova distinguished themselves from the composers of the fin de sieclé, whose techniques they universally named Ars Antigua, innovated techniques which are present even now in modern day notation. The main developments in technique were within the fields of rhythm and metre, although maturity in harmonic structure is also evident. In the case of metre, the most commonly used note values had been diminishing in duration during the

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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The relationship between Composer and Performer

The relationship between Composer and Performer In this essay I would like to discuss notation and its influence on the relationship between composer and performer. In some ways composing can seem a slightly mystical process. How do we imagine musical ideas coming into the mind, what did the compositional process involve and how does the notation of a piece have a relationship to the way it is performed? Beethoven and Chopin, to take two conventional and well-known composers as an example, left a large body of work using conventional pitch-duration notation, involving the twelve notes of the chromatic scale, between them. Yet the notation of their pieces gives few clues as to the compositional process. Rather than the finished works it is Beethoven's sketches which give the clearest indication of his mode, generally slow and laborious, of composition. On the other hand Chopin's working modes were very different from those of Beethoven, involving a higher degree of improvisation at the keyboard. For Beethoven, the idea had to be down on paper. Yet the notation they used was the same. The most revolutionary developments in notation came in the twentieth century. By the 1950s the relationship between composer and performer had become a coercive one, a sequence of commands constituting the composer's control strategy. Notation became flexible, adaptable to and relevant to the

  • Word count: 1440
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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The Beatles Influence

The Beatles Influence American rock and roll was influenced by many different types and styles of music. The Beatles, a British pop band, were one of the many influences. They were a group of four young men who came together to form a band in the prime of their youth. Their success made them a household name in the 196os. The Beatles, England's most popular and influential rock band, were major contributors to the popularization of American rock and roll. The Beatles were brought about and organized by a man named John Winston Lennon. He was born to Alfred and Julia Lennon on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool, England. Alfred deserted the family and Julia was killed in an automobile accident leaving John to be raised by his Aunt Mimi (Moritz Yearbook 1965 255). John was a bright child but often had countless acts of rebellion (Magill 226). He was no longer allowed to attend Sunday services at church after repeatedly making up obscene lyrics to hymns and for urinating on the clergy (White 144). As an outlet form him rebellious acts, Lennon formed musical groups (Magill 226). In 1958, John met Paul McCartney, who as a team helped each other to master the guitar (Moritz Yearbook 1965 255). The second person to join Lennon and the Beatles was Paul McCartney. James Paul McCartney was born to Jim and Mary McCartney on June 8, 1942 in Allerton, England (Mortiz Yearbook 1965

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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The MoThe erhu is a Chinese string instrument which possesses a 500 years history.

The MoThe erhu is a Chinese string instrument which possesses a 500 years history. The instrument is built of different hard woods. It has two strings between which the bow is tightened. The resonant body is covered with snake skin. The erhu is in China the most widespread string instrument and in traditional Chinese music it has the rank which the violin holds in western classical music. One of the unique features of the Erhu is its lack of a fingerboard. Without a fingerboard, the player has great freedom when executing vibrato. The snakeskin belly gives it a unique timbre that allows the erhu, in its low and mid registers, to cut through a western symphony orchestra. Unlike the violin, the tone is soft and thin at its highest register. on Reflected Reflections of the Moon on Er Lake in Two Streams The erhu is one of the oldest musical instruments in the world; existing for more than one thousand years. It became known as a solo instrument around 1920 when the contemporary composer Liu Tian Hua modified the register to one and one-half octaves and began to write music which became popular very quickly. This traditional Chinese instrument possesses a very unique sound. The bow is fashioned out of horsehair, the two strings are made of metal and the resonating box is made of snakeskin, most of the time from python. While the violin is played horizontally, the erhu is

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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If you want to know about the Sixties, play the music of The Beatles (Aaron Copland) How accurate is this statement in relation to the development of popular music in Britain?

'If you want to know about the Sixties, play the music of The Beatles' (Aaron Copland) How accurate is this statement in relation to the development of popular music in Britain? The Beatles were a phenomenal success throughout the 1960s as they began a new era of music that changed the state of play in the music industry. Their simple chord structures, epitomised on 'Love Me Do', and intricate vocal harmonies led them to being a huge success in Britain, as well as the rest of the world. There was a "charge emitted by their music" (p1, MacDonald, 1998) and the new genre of music undeniably inspired other bands to write and perform in a similar style. However not all credit can be given to The Beatles for the development of popular music in Britain. Popular music from America was the initial influence as it "found its way into the UK via the ports" (BBC - h2g2) and as Liverpool was the main port into the UK from America, inevitably the music initially had an effect on musicians in the Merseyside area. This particularly had an effect on a four-piece skiffle group formed in 1956 by John Lennon, The Quarry Men, who over time developed and formed The Beatles in 1960 (MacDonald, 2002). They were young and brought a new image that was idolised by teenagers. The "four young men behind the music" amazed people and their image resonated "with a youthful and halcyon ideal of those

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Fidelio's Initial Response.

Michael Akhbari Music History Reception Paper Due: 5 December 2003 Fidelio's Initial Response "Fidelio," Beethoven's only opera, is difficult to analyze in the Reception Theory due mainly to the fact that it was released on three separate occasions, changing drastically each time. It's difficult to really understand the general audiences' reception to "Fidelio," unless analyzing each release separately due to the differences in each piece respectively. Regardless of which form of "Fidelio" you're discussing, it has become common knowledge that the final version, released in 1814, became widely regarded as an operatic masterpiece over the years. The goal of this paper is to review the general public's response to each of the revised pieces, and attempt to determine when exactly the final work grew to be hailed as a masterpiece. Beethoven took his time over a span of years looking through libretto after libretto to write what he thought would be the greatest opera of the time. Though that sounds a bit arrogant, he was Beethoven; the greatest composer of western music to date, and that was his goal. Finally he stumbled across a libretto inspired by the French technique, which intrigued him, and he jumped at the opportunity. By November of 1805, the initial version of what was called at the time "Leonora," was ready to be premiered. A key fact to the reception of this

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Integrated Assignment

Integrated Assignment In this assignment the genre of music I will be looking at will be love songs, which are sung by women. My first performance piece 'Wind beneath my wings' is a popular western country style piece of music. It has a slow romantic tune, which is played by the piano. The mood of this piece is created by the piano using a variety of different chords along with a slow tempo. The tone of this piece is very melodic and soft; it allowed my voice to be dynamic and expressive according to the needs of the song. The key change in the chorus conveys a dramatic feel to the song as it focuses back to the theme of love. The effect of this made me want to express more emotions when I was singing it. I felt that overall I performed this song well, however when I sang the two verses and then moved onto the chorus I didn't adapt to the key change in the tune but picked it up quick enough to show I could. So when I sang the second verse of the song and then sang the chorus I felt more determined to get the key change right. I also performed two other song pieces, which were also themed on love. They were 'How do I live' written by Diane Warren and ' Hero' by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff. I felt that I sang 'How do I live' well on the whole however, I could have done better. As I could have practised the higher note in the chorus of this song a little more. This way

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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A Critical Review of "The Composition of "Und spur' ich" in Beethoven's Fidelio.

Michael Akhbari Music History 201 Dr. Glendening Paper #3 Due: Nov. 7, 2003 A Critical Review of "The Composition of "Und spur' ich" in Beethoven's Fidelio Beethoven's only opera, "Fidelio," took on many forms from the original version which premiered in 1805 to the complete version, regarded as one of the best operas of the times, which premiered in 1815. For the final version, Beethoven brought in famed librettist Georg Friedrich Treitschke. The article "The Composition of "Und spur' ich" in Beethoven's Fidelio" discusses the legitimacy of the claims Georg made, after Beethoven's death that the aria, Und spur' ich, was written predominantly in one evening at his own house. The article first outlines Georg's claim in depth. After the claim is stated the author, Barry Cooper, discusses at length the likelihood of the claim being true based on facts known of the aria and Beethoven's tendencies. As a whole an organized thesis is stated, and the remainder of the article is spent proving the claim, while also considering counterpoints to the issue. Overall, the article is exquisitely organized, and presents each individual point well. The first portion of the article explains Georg Treitscke's account of the events which took place preceding and after Beethoven's writing of "Und spur' ich." Georg states in "Thayer's life of Beethoven," Beethoven came to me about

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  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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