FUTURISTIC MINDS: GILLESPIE & McLAUGHLIN Essay on the development of jazz.

"FUTURISTIC MINDS: GILLESPIE & McLAUGHLIN" MUSIC HISTORY ESSAY "FUTURISTIC MINDS: GILLESPIE & McLAUGHLIN" In 1917 the Original Dixieland 'Jass' Band's released their recording titled Dixie Jass Band One Step. Alexander, Scott (2008) provided information about the first Jazz records. This is considered by most musicologists as the first Jazz record to be released. This brings the history of Jazz almost to a whole century now. As with all musical styles and genres Jazz has changed over the years and developed several branches and sub-genres. In the early days of the Jazz it was very obvious that this new style of music was based on a fusion of other existing musical genres such as the ragtime, the blues and work songs. Alexander, Scott (2008) provided information about the history of Jazz. New Orleans music is considered to be the first true Jazz style. It was at first played by small bands mainly consisting of African American musicians and included different wind instruments such as the tuba, the trombone, the trumpet and the clarinet as well as stringed instruments such as the double bass, the violin, the banjo or the guitar, as well as different drums or percussion instruments. Ostendorf, Berndt (1979) provided information about early Jazz history. Due to the success of theses bands and the music that they were making white bands started to copy them reflecting the

  • Word count: 2321
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Mimesis - Is music an imitative art?

Mimesis - Is music an imitative art? For centuries books and articles have been written about music, the arts in general and influences on the composers which led to deliberations whether music is actually a purely imitative art or whether it is a self-sufficient art form that is merely concerned with representation. It seems that from Plato onwards, the issue about mimesis and the arts became the most important basis for aesthetic theories: Plato himself developed a theory which states that all art is mimesis, i.e. representation or imitation of natural forms or features, which in turn are already copies of the ideal forms, the "real ones"1. Therefore the imitation is twice removed from the ideal2, the true original. However, to argue Plato's point of this theory, we need to be clear as to what mimesis means exactly and whether the term should be applied to the arts, in order to find out if music really is an imitative art or not. Mimesis and similar words that stem from the Greek word mimos are usually translated as imitation, copying, representation, reproduction or even expression3, depending on the era in which the term was used. Mimos and mimetes refer to the people who do the imitating and representing4. In connection with the arts mimesis is the representation or imitation of the natural forms which results in an arousal of feelings and emotions in every human

  • Word count: 2891
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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How does the music capture the majesty of the Titanic? The aim of this piece of music is to capture the confidence and magnificence of the greatest liner in the world's maiden voyage.

Titanic: 'Take her to sea Mr Murdoch' 1997 James Horner Rebecca Trenner How does the music capture the majesty of the Titanic? The aim of this piece of music is to capture the confidence and magnificence of the greatest liner in the world's maiden voyage. I think the piece captures the themes intended by using various different composition techniques and musical themes. Throughout the piece Horner has avoided using brilliance sounds of high pitches and rarely uses the upper register. The size of the huge liner is depicted well through the heavy use of the lower timbre. The low strings also give the piece the feeling of warmth. To give shape and structure Horner uses much recurring material within the short sections of the piece. There is a recurring heroic choral theme right through the whole piece. We hear it first in fragmentary form in B1-3 in imitation at the octave within the tenor, alto and soprano lines. It is not until B30, when the piece begins to settle down, that we hear the heroic choral theme in full within the SATB choir lines. It is at this point the listener is able to picture the liner outside with a great view of the full ocean and sunlit calm. The heroic choral theme occurs again in B51 within the soprano and alto choral lines and at B57 the first violins play a variation on it. At B86 the theme triumphantly returns again in the

  • Word count: 972
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Popular Music History 2 - Heavy Metal.

Popular Music History 2 Heavy Metal Heavy Metal - (he-vee me-tull), (1) The term Heavy Metal is generally interpreted to include those metals from periodic table groups IIA through VIA. At trace levels, many of these elements are necessary to support life. However, at elevated levels they become toxic, may build up in biological systems, and become a significant health hazard. (2) The William S. Burroughs novel 'Naked Lunch', published in 1959, included the characters 'The Heavy Metal Kid' and 'Heavy Metal People of Uranus' and was also a term used to describe mass technological destruction to the point of biological toxicity, in his book 'Nova Express', published in 1964. (3) The name Heavy Metal had been used by rock band Steppenwolf in the lyrics of the 1960's song, 'Born to Be Wild' (4) A phrase coined by music journalist/critic Lester Bangs used to describe a form of popular music in the post-Hendrix era. The disintegration of psychedelic music, in the late 1960's, followed with three main divisions. The first of these, in the United States, involved a return to traditional, largely rural musical styles, with the emergence of country rock. In Britain, a second tendency took the form of a very eclectic transcription of traditional and symphonic musical forms within an electric or electronic rock context, with groups such as King Crimson, Genesis, Yes, and Emerson, Lake

  • Word count: 2196
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Discuss ways in which the first movement of Beethoven's Third Symphony 'Eroica' is revolutionary

Discuss ways in which the first movement of Beethoven's Third Symphony 'Eroica' is revolutionary In order to discuss how Beethoven's Third Symphony 'Eroica' is revolutionary I will break this essay down into several parts. To begin I will look at what Beethoven's inspiration for the piece was and how it effected certain factors, primarily the title. Information from critics at the time the piece was first performed will then be addressed, looking at how it was regarded as different. Due to time and more developments in music, especially in harmony, since 1805 it can prove quite difficult for a person of the twenty-first century to recognise and appreciate how different and daring the piece would have seemed when first written. To follow this there will be an in depth comparison to Beethoven's First Symphony in C major, Op.21. I have chosen to use this piece as it has been described as an almost perfect textbook example of Classic sonata form. From this it will be possible to see how and why principles used in the third symphony were revolutionary and new at the time. Symphony No.3 in E? major 'Eroica' Op.55 was first performed publicly on April 7th 1805 and was conducted be Beethoven himself, but the score was not published until 1821 by N. Simrock of Bonn, (Edition Number 1973) and it is believed that the whole symphony was written in parts between 1801 and

  • Word count: 2418
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Rage Against The Machine self-titled track Rage Against The Machine was released June sixth of nineteen ninety-two by Epic Records.

Jeremy Calkins MUS 117 Cd review 029 words November 18, 2003 Rage Against The Machine self-titled track Rage Against The Machine was released June sixth of nineteen ninety-two by Epic Records. This cd has ten songs Bombtrack, Killing In The Name, Take The Power Back, Settle For Nothing, Bullet in The Head, Know Your Enemy, Wake Up, Fistful of Steel, Township Rebellion, and Freedom. Band members Zack De La Rocha lead singer, guitarist Tom Morello, guitarist Tim Commerford, and drummer Brad Wilk. Song one Bombtrack this song makes me feel angry but in a motivating way. This song is good to run or work out to because it makes you feel pumped up and ready to release pent up frustrations in a good work out. The instrumentation of this song starts with a lighter guitar sound which leads into a heaver guitar sound and the introduction of the drums. After the drums are introduced the load explosive lyrics start. This fades in the middle of the song to a lighter sound for a brief break in till building back up for a bit and fading back once more. Finally it builds back up in till end of the song. Song two Killing In The Name gives me the impression that every thing is not as it seems to be. You should look further into things that don't seem to add up. This song also makes me feel motivated to work out and release aggression build up from within. This songs

  • Word count: 1035
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Band Review

Combining influences from Velvet Underground, The Clash and The Strokes comes Manchester's newest 'thing' musically: El Policia. From the 60's Hendrix style guitar of 'Nothing Means Nothing' to the combined raw instrumental sounds of 'The Clash' this is a band who have revived the alternative indie rock genre to create a brand new sound for Manchester and the music industry itself. El Policia consists of 3 members: Sam Wall, Al Wheatley and Hugh Thomas, who together have formed a great relationship to create some innovative music. The three sit in a dark basement to write descriptive lyrics and say what they mean. Sam: "We used to write a lot of things on the walls of the basement, and now looking back it's given us great inspiration, but some just makes us laugh." 'Miss My Youth', the lead single with just under 2500 plays on the bands myspace, is a rollicking rock song, with fierce high-gain guitar, a heavy roll of drums, followed by a subtle bassline, and slurred lyrics, providing the perfect combination to describe a strange relationship of boy and girl: "I won't treat you like I should, I'll watch you float like driftwood." ROADHOUSE: ''Manchester's next big thing EL POLICIA, definitely ones for the future!'' You can check the band out at their myspace for their own personal blog updates, tour dates, and of course listen to the fantastic sounds of El Policia at

  • Word count: 600
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Historical Methods and the Issues relating to Popular Music

Historical Methods and the Issues relating to Popular Music This essay focuses on how the history of music became, and the historical methods used to preserve it. It looks into such methods as journalism, media, canons and museums and uses musical examples such as the Summer of Love, Beatles and the Rock 'n' Roll era. History is defined as a study of the past, "a chronological record of events, as of the life or development of a people or institution, often including an explanation of or commentary on those events," (Author Unknown, www.thefreedictionary.com). In most cases the sources of historical knowledge can be split into three categories which are, what is written, what is said, and what is physically preserved. To be a historian or philosopher of music one needs to be well educated in different fields such as languages, geography, and the histories of many cultures, as music dates back as far as one can think. This essay will be focusing on Popular Music where most of its history is preserved in English, and its cultural, social and geographic background is Western. Music has always been present, what has not always been around is the recognition of the fact that it has been a large part of our lives. "Music ceased to be seen as a craft, in the middle of the eighteenth century" (Kivy, Peter. 2002. p 10) it then gradually became one of the fine arts. The interest in

  • Word count: 2936
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Advanced Composition Evaluation

Advanced Composition Evaluation James McMillan BA (Hons) Performing Arts - Music (Performance Pathway) Tutor: Craig Steer Module: Advanced Composition Contents Film Score 3 Additive Form Piece 5 Jazz Piece 7 Bibliography 9 Appendix 10 Film Score When Warner Bros. Studios screened 'The Jazz Singer' in 1927 it "opened a new era for the film industry" (P.26, Davis, R. (1999) Complete Guide to Film Scoring, Berklee Press). Although the potential of films set with music had been realised since 1895, "the first documented incidents... of musical accompaniments to film" (P.17, Davis, R. (1999) Complete Guide to Film Scoring, Berklee Press), by the Lumiere family in Paris, it was to be some years before technological advancements allowed music to be recorded, synchronised and distributed with the film. In 1931 re-recording, and the process known as dubbing were developed, "making the process of including music in films much more flexible and less expensive, and [through] the early 1930s, directors and producers began to accept that the film's underscore was a critical component." (P.27, Davis, R. (1999) Complete Guide to Film Scoring, Berklee Press). Film composers are often under enormous pressure to complete their work in a set time. While some composers can allow their creativity to flow naturally, film composers must jump start the creative process, and to do this it

  • Word count: 2473
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Kant Essay

Kant Essay In the context of the essay, 'escape' will equate with a rejection of Kant's notion of the beautiful, giving a clearer direction to the essay. Investigating the 'beautiful' is a difficult task, because it escapes any concrete definition, but the most substantiate knowledge we have to date comes from Kant's 'Critique Of Judgement', the ideas formulated provide a foundation for others dealing with the beautiful. Cardinal points of the Critique to develop are: the pleasure created in the harmony of faculties, whether beauty can be seen differently from the viewpoint of the laymen and that of the artist, and the level of harmony and symmetry needed in artwork to induce beauty. It is difficult to entirely escape from Kant's notion of the beautiful, as almost all writings on the topic refer to his Critique in some manner. In terms of the viability of his ideas, some writers point criticism, but they also develop fresh lines of enquiry. We can escape from Kant by looking at the new points raised around the subject of beauty, but analysis of their feasibility will determine how far we can either reject or move away from Kant's established principles. Before the argument is developed it is crucial to define Kant's notion of 'beautiful', this instructs that a beautiful object causes harmony in our Imagination and Understanding, once this reaches a pleasurable level, then

  • Word count: 2118
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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