Blues and jazz are two of the most influential music genres in modern music history. With roots dating back to the days of slavery, the genres have been used to expression conditions of the human psyche. With blues being the depressed expression of loss and hardship, and jazz was associated with the energy and liveliness of the human spirit. Let’s take a closer look at these two genres and explore how they came to be.
Blues Apart from Western European music, blues music is one of the most influential genres in music today. With roots stretching as far back as the 1800s, it was a style that developed from the mouths of working men. Originating from the lips of African slaves, blues music sprang from a combination of work chants and spirituals detailing the hardships of living a laborious life. The sound itself is characterized by a call and response form with the use of chord progressions like the twelve bar blues. The genre began to blossom as slavery came to an end. It’s first steps were taken in juke joints where hard working laborers would gather at the end of a long work day to hear music, drink, and gamble. The first published blues composition was written by Antonio Maggio. His song “I Got the Blues” was released in 1908 and set the stage for the genre to grow and flourish. It should be noted that while compositions and performances by African American artists didn’t begin until the 1900s, genre itself existed long before. The absence of documentation in the early days of blues is largely attributed to racial discrimination throughout the United States. Popular blues artists include Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Howliln’ Wolf, and Rober Johnson. Jazz With its roots in blues and ragtime music, Jazz first developed in the 19th and 20th centuries. Characterized by complex chords and improvisation, jazz gained a large following throughout the 1920s, otherwise known as the Jazz Age. In the United States jazz was particularly popular in New Orleans as big bands were in high demand. In addition to New Orleans jazz, other styles include Kansas City jazz, bebop, gypsy jazz, and cool jazz. Although the genre originated primarily in the U.S. it’s reach extended as far as Europe. European jazz artists attributed their influences to the likes of Paul Whiteman and Lonnie Johnson. As the genre continued to develop so did the number of subgenres grow. Jazz music today enjoys a wide variety of styles ranging from jazz rock fusion to smooth jazz. Legendary jazz artists include Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and John Coltrane. The genre is also notable for its contributions to female advancement by introducing the dynamic voices of lead female vocals by Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, and Anita O’Day. Never miss a thing and join our mailing list today.
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We’ve spent a good amount of time discussing what music is and what it sounds like, but what we haven’t talked about is where music comes from, how it came to be, and most importantly, why? While historians are unable to pinpoint the exact moment in which music was first created, we are able to glean a basic understanding of music history’s timeline throughout the ages. But before we delve into moments of music history, let’s first review what music is.
What is Music?As we’ve mentioned earlier in previous posts, music is an organized sound characterized by qualities such as volume, timbre, pitch, and duration. According to Jeremy Montagu of the University of Oxford, the early man’s capability to create varying sounds and pitches may suggest music’s existence was born even before language was developed, although hominid motor development may place its beginnings even earlier due to rhythmic capabilities. (Montague, 2017) While it is interesting to speculate on the potential of the humble Neanderthal and early man to create music, evidence and facts reign supreme in the world of historical studies. Here is what we KnowThe earliest instruments are roughly dated to somewhere around 40,000 years ago. Although it is speculated that earlier instruments did exist, however failed to withstand the passage of time due to the high likelihood that the instruments were made with perishable materials. (Barras, 2014) In his article “Did early humans, or animals, invent music?” Colin Barras noted a 43-year old bone flute believed to be evidence of Neanderthal musical activity. The bone, however, may be a product of coincidence as some scientists believe that the holes in the artifact were merely created by a predator enjoying the spoils of its prey. Yet despite the lack of evidence regarding Neanderthal instrumental abilities, the presence of a descended voice box in early fossils provide proof of ancient man’s ability to sing. (Barras, 2014) Music as we know it began to take shape in Medieval Europe as manuscripts and musical notations were being recorded by educated persons. (Naxos, n.d.) Since then music has continued to evolve, it’s development assisted by social changes and technological advancements. Although music has come a long way from primitive rhythms and melodies, the bigger question looms over our heads during this discussion. Why was music created?Unless we build a time machine it’s hard to say exactly why music was created. Was it an accident? Did man-kind just grunt a few pitches or hit a stick on a rock a few times and thought “Hey that sounds good. I think I’ll do that again”? While we will never know why or how, there is evidence to speculate reasons why music became such an important part of human history. Famed English naturalist Charles Darwin once proposed that music was merely an evolutionary trait developed to attract mates much like the way a male bird would tweet sweet seductions to attract a fertile female bird. Although that theory holds little weight in scientific communities today, mainly because of the simple fact that both men and women sing, a researcher at the University of Zurich in Switzerland published a book reporting a correlation between singing primates and monogamous breeding pairs. (Barras, 2014) The reason why is unknown, but it sure does sound romantic doesn’t it? Practical applications of music can also be considered when contemplating the reason for music’s existence. Music is a form of human expression and communication. Anyone who knows anything about music theory can tell you that a major scale will make a person feel happy and a minor scale will make them feel sad. Consonance will put a person at ease and dissonance will create tension. Prior to the advent of human language, what better way to communicate how you are feeling than through music? Mate selection and practical applications aside, it’s a known fact that music has a distinct psychological impact. From affecting moods to expressing emotions music has been a key component of the human psyche since man can remember. We posted a series on how music affects the brain in the past. In short, it creates an emotional reaction in the listeners changing the way we see, hear, and think about our worlds around us. Take a look at the past articles and see how music really affects us. Go ahead, we can wait. Perhaps the creation of music wasn’t an evolutionary feature, or a practical way of explaining something when words aren’t available. Should we consider that as human beings we are naturally inclined to observation and expression as we navigate our daily lives and that maybe music is merely a naturally expression of our inquisitive and creative psyches? What if music exists because we exist? Never miss a thing and join our mailing list today.
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Insecurity, everyone experiences it at some point in their life. Musicians are no exception to the rule. In fact, you could argue that the feeling is often heightened due to performance anxiety and a desire to be well received for your musical skills. We all know the feeling. We step out in front of a crowd, our instruments or voices are ready to go, but somewhere, deep down in the pits of our stomachs our muscles tighten, we may begin to sweat, or our fingers may tremble, and our senses get overloaded as we become keenly aware of the faces staring back at us.
It’s a scene that feels straight out of an angsty teenage movie, but to many performers its part of daily life. As horrible as it sounds, it’s something that musicians continue to do time and time again, but why? It’s hard to pinpoint the exact reason why a person would continually put themselves into uncomfortable positions, since every person is different. Some may do it for the thrill of it while others could simply be in it for the music. Regardless of the reason its an exercise in will and there are ways to mitigate the effects at each performance. Mind Over MatterThe mind is a powerful thing. The famous Shaolin monks are known worldwide for their mastery of mind over matter through meditation and martial arts. While comparing music performance to Kung Fu may be an extreme comparison, the principle can still apply. By shifting your focus and mindset, musicians can quiet the voices of anxiety and turn their attention to the music they need to play. Meditation can help a musician prepare for a gig and visualization can serve as an active anchor to help them focus on their goals throughout the performance. Be PreparedPreparation is key to all of life’s endeavors. For a musician preparation means refining your skill and knowing your set. Practice means perfect and the more you do it, the better you get, and the more confident you feel. But knowing your craft is only part of the equation. Knowing and preparing your set will also boost your confidence and free up mental space that once saved feelings of uncertainty and anxiety for more valuable and useful things like having an amazing performance. Stay PositiveDoes anyone remember The Secrete, the self help book that brought the Law of Attraction to a worldwide audience? While we’re not here to preach new age ideology, the message can be applicable to our daily lives and also our musical careers. Like we mentioned earlier, the mind is a powerful thing, and with the mind positive thinking can do wonders to our mental state and thus our performance. By practicing positive thinking, we are training our brains to maintain an optimistic attitude which leaves little room for doubt and anxiety. Some people say positive affirmations, using them as personal mantras throughout the day to remind them to stay positive. What would your personal mantra be? Try repeating these phrases throughout the day and see if they help change your outlook.
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We’ve all been there. Our creative reserves run dry and ideas seem to fall flat before they can even come out of your brain. This can make the process of songwriting difficult and frustrating but don’t worry, these creative blocks are only temporary and there are things you can do to kick start your creativity and get back on track to writing your next big hit.
Free Writing Sometimes getting an idea is as easy as sitting down and writing it out. Set aside some quiet time to sit down and write. Write everything that comes to mind. Don’t worry about a story, or plotline, or even a theme. Just write what comes to mind and see what you can come up with. Keep writing until you have nothing else to write then kick back and see if anything you’ve written can inspire your next project. This can be applied to music through vocal improvisation or free play on an instrument. You can sing random lyrics or play various chords and see how things work out. If something catches your ear roll with it and you may just have a new song within a matter of minutes. Set Constraints Vastly different from free writing, setting constraints can be another effective way to get you thinking creatively. Constraints can be as simple as setting a timer when free writing, or as complex as following a prompt. You can ask a friend or colleague for a prompt, or you can do find numerous prompts online with an easy Google search. Another good source for writing prompts is the Reddit community R/WritingPrompts, offering new prompts daily. This is also easily doable musically. Pick a meter you don’t normally work with, try composing a different genre, or play only variations of select chords. Sometimes limiting your choices can help you think of something new and interesting. Change Your Point of View Sometimes all you need is to change your scenery. The mundane day to day activities can sometimes create a fog that we can easily get comfortable in. Thinking of new ideas can be difficult because our brains have been conditioned to expect and experience the same thing every day. The easiest way to step out of this fog is to step into something different. Try visiting a new restaurant or coffee shop that you’ve never been to before. Take a road trip to a different town, or go for a walk in a park you’ve never been to before. On the flip side, you can try going to familiar places and try to look at them differently. What would your neighborhood park look like if you were a child? Would your hometown feel different if you were taller, or shorter? Changing your point of view whether by changing the scenery, or your perspective, can also be a great way to kick start your creative juices. Never miss a thing and join our mailing list today.
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Last week we highlighted five amazing women throughout music history. Well, with National Women’s History Month still in effect, we thought we’d feature yet another five influential women in the music industry. This week’s picks include Pat Benetar, Loretta Lynn, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, and Lady Gaga.
Pat Benatar American singer and songwriter Pat Benatar was a rock icon during the 1980s. With four Grammy Awards under belt, 15 Billboard Top 40 singles, and numerous multiplatinum, and platinum albums, it’s easy to see that Pat was a legendary performer. A former student of the prestigious Julliard School in New York City, Benatar was classically trained, but despite her education her ultimate dream was to perform in a rock band. In her memoir, Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Benatar wrote: “My dream was to be the singer in a rockin' band, like Robert Plant was to Led Zeppelin or Lou Gramm to Foreigner…I wanted a partnership, like Mick Jagger and Keith Richards had, an unrelenting back-and-forth between talented musicians. The sound I heard in my head was raucous, with hard-driving guitars speeding everything forward. I was a classically trained singer with a great deal of musical knowledge, but I had no idea how to make that visceral, intense sound happen. I had to evolve, but I didn't know how to make that evolution happen.” It was a dream that Benatar refused to give up on, and we’re so glad she didn’t. With chart topping hits like “Heartbreaker,” “I Need a Lover,” and “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” Benatar and her music will be keeping us rocking through the ages. Loretta Lynn
Fearless and headstrong, Loretta Lynn entered the Nashville scene with a point to make and a song to sing. From the beginning Lynn was a force masked by innocence and extreme talent. The daughter of a coal miner, Lynn grew up poor and shielded from the world inside her Appalachian holler. Thanks to the persistence of her husband Oliver”Doolittle” she learned how to play the guitar and wrote music about the life she lived. She says, “I just wrote about things that happened. I was writing things that nobody talked about in public, and I didn’t realize that they didn’t. I was having babies and staying at home. I was writing about life. That’s why I had songs banned.”
She may have gotten some songs banned, but that didn’t stop her from speaking/singing what was on her mind. In her songs Lynn proved her refusal to be anyone’s door mat, such as in “Your Squaw Is on the War Path” and she didn’t leave the women out of her reprimands as in “You Ain’t Woman Enough.” Whitney Houston
A record breaker, Whitney Houston is the only artist to have earned seven consecutive #1 Billboard Hot 100 hits. Known for hit songs like “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and her iconic cover of Dolly’ Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” Houston is known for her strong vocal range and definitive stage presence.
With family history tying the Houstons to music legends such as Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley, it’s no wonder that Whitney would soon carve out her own fame within the industry. Her earliest recordings in New York included big names such as Chaka Khan and the Neville Brothers. Her first album release under Clive Davis released in 1985 sold over 13 million copies in the US and worldwide and resulted in 3 consecutive #1 singles. Aretha Franklin
Civil rights activist and award-winning American singer and songwriter, Aretha Franklin began her vocal career singing gospel at her local church in Detroit, Michigan. The daughter of a minister, the soulful singer eventually went on to perform secular music under Columbia records, then later Atlantic Records. Under Atlantic she garnered national attention with it songs like “Respect,” “Chain of Fools,” and “I Say a Little Prayer. As her career continued to flourish in the 1960s Aretha soon earned her nickname as the “Queen of Soul.”
Franklin was inducted as the first female performer in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and later inducted in the UK Music Hall of fame in 2005, and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2012. She also received recognition as one of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time” by Rolling Stone magazine and in 2019 she was awarded a Pulitzer prize posthumously “for her indelible contribution to American music and culture for more than five decades.” Lady Gaga
Born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, Lady Gaga is known for her avant garde approach to music and visual performance. A former Tisch School of Arts student, Gaga left her academic career for her music. Her big break came in 2007 when she released The Fame resulting in chart topping singles like “Just Dance,” and “Poker Face.” With her music career in full swing Gaga began to expand her career options and tried her hand in acting. Her efforts were successful with the acceptance of a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her performance in the hit mini-series American Horror Story: Hotel. Her role in the critically acclaimed film, A Star is Born, and her contribution to the move’s soundtrack helped her become the first woman to win an Academy Award, a Grammy, BAFTA, and Golden Globe award within a single year.
With over 124 million records sold, Gaga is noted as one of the world’s best-selling artists, and as of 2010 she is ranked as the fourth highest earning female artist in the industry. Her long list of achievements include awards from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, 12 Grammy Awards, and some Guinness World Records. Times noted Gaga as one of the most influential people of the decade in 2011 and VH1 echoed the sentiment in their Greatest Women in music the following year. Never miss a thing and join our mailing list today.
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March is Women’s History Month. So, in honor of the numerous amazing women in history, we at Aschcraft Studios would like to recognize six talented and influential women throughout music history. This week we’re talking about Marian Anderson, Patsy Cline, Diana Ross, Madonna, Dolly Parton, and Ella Fitzgerald.
Marian Anderson
The first African American woman to sing at the Metropolitan Opera in 1955, Marian Anderson is an American contralto known for her fight for racial equality within the music industry during the mid-twentieth century. She first garnered national attention in 1939 when, with the help of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, she performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to an integrated audience of over 75,000 people on Easter Sunday.
Patsy Cline
Considered one of the most influential country music artists in the 20th century, Patsy Cline was the first to successfully bridge the gap between country and pop music. After a lifetime of dedication to the music industry, Cline is celebrated as a forerunner for women within the country music genre. Because her contributions to the genre Cline became the first woman to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973.
Diana Ross
Detroit native Diana Ross first gained popularity as the lead for the well known vocal group The Supremes. Having a successful career as both a vocalist and an actress, Ross was recognized as the “Female Entertainer of the Century” in 1976 by Billboard. In 1988 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of The Supremes and holds a spot with the Guiness Book of World Records for being the female artist with the most hits in the music on the music charges.
Madonna
The “Queen of Pop,” is known worldwide for her talents in singing, songwriting, and acting. Madonna is known for pushing boundaries and taking charge in every aspect of her career. Since her debut in 1983 with her self-titled album, Madonna has taken the world by storm garnering awards and recognition along the way. The Rolling Stone named her as one of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time as well as the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. The Guinness Book of World Records reports her as the best-selling female recording artist of all time. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. In 2012 VH1 named her the greatest woman in music and in 2020 she was ranked as the greatest music video artists of all time by Billboard.
Dolly Parton
American singer, songwriter, actress, author, and humanitarian, Dolly Parton is a legend in the music industry. Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999, Parton is an inspiration to many female artists throughout the country. She holds forty-four Top 10 Country albums, ten Grammy Awards, ten Country Music Association Awards, and five Academy of Country music awards. She is also known for her humanitarian efforts such as the Dollywood Foundation to promote literacy throughout the United States. Never miss a thing and join our mailing list today.
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So far we’ve discussed various elements of music including volume, timbre, and pitch and how they all affect the affect, or experience, of a musical piece. Last week during our discussion on pitch we introduced musical notation and sheet music. This week we’ll continue to topic and look into duration, rhythm, and tempo with the help of our friend sheet music.
Last week we saw this example. Highlighted are all things related to pitch, the treble and bass clefs that tell us the range of where our notes are, the key signature that hints at the music’s overall sound, the notes and leger lines where the actual notes are written, and the staff lines on which all these elements reside.
This week I’ll be using the same example of sheet music with all things related to duration, rhythm, and tempo highlighted.
Here we have the notes highlighted in yellow again, but the focus this week will be on the notes themselves and not where they lay. In light blue the time signature is highlighted, tempo is colored in salmon, and a rest is highlighted in pink.
Duration and Writing the Notes Duration is the length of a sound or note. This is not to be confused with the duration of a piece, but it is for each individual not. In this example we see a dominant use of eighth notes on both the treble and bass clefs, however these are not the only kinds of notes you will see in sheet music. Notes can be comprised of three parts, a head, a stem, and a flag. The head may solid, or empty and will rest on either a line or an open space. Stems are lines drawn from the head. They can either go up or down, however if the stem goes up the line will be on the right side of the head. If the stem goes down it will be drawn to the left of the head. The stem’s position has no impact on how the music is played, but is drawn as it is to keep the sheet music clean and readable. The flag is a mark that curves way from the stem. The presence of a flag on a note is an indication of the note’s duration, which we will discuss in just a moment. In regards to duration, every note has a value. That is, the way a note is drawn is an indicator of how long that note is meant to last. A quarter note is shown as a solid head with a stem and is equal to one beat. A half note is an open head with a stem and is equal to two beats. A whole note is an open head with no stem and is equal to four beats. Sometimes notes will be followed by a small dot. The dot signifies a half beat. A small curved line might also appear joining two notes. These ties are a way of extending the duration of a note. Now back to those flags. Flags will be seen on notes whose duration is less than one beat. An eighth note is a half beat and is shown as a solid head with a stem and a single flag. A sixteenth note is one quarter of a beat and is shown as a solid head with a stem and two flags. Eighth and sixteenth notes may also be joined together by bars instead of flags, but eighth notes will still only have one bar and sixteenth notes will have two bars. Now that we talked about notes, let’s talk about rests. Rests have an important role in music composition because sometimes no sound can be just as powerful as sound itself. Rest values are the same as note values, however the symbols are different. The symbols and the note values they correspond with can be seen in the image below.
Time Signature and Tempo
The funny thing about tempo is that it can often be a subjective experience. What may feel fast paced to some could feel completely normal to others. This can be attributed to something as simple as a listener’s preference or simply where they find a beat. With this in mind, composers have found a way to note the exact tempo so a piece can be played the same way at the same speed every time. The time signature is seen as a fraction between the key signature and the notes, is where sheet music tells us meter of the piece. The top number represents how many beats are in a measure, while the bottom number shows the value for a single beat. A common time signature, especially for beginner musicians is 4/4, which means four beats per measure and one beat per quarter note. A 3/4 time signature has three beats per measure with one quarter note per beat. In the above example we see a 9/8 time signature meaning there are 9 beats in each measure with one beat equally one eighth note. Tempo determines how fast or slow a piece is. The tempo is shown as a number and is read as beats per minute. A higher tempo will be a faster piece, and a lower tempo will be slower. Just before the tempo you may also see some wording that will also provide information on the tempo. The word before the numerical value is often definitive of an average beats per minute or range. Common tempo terms include Largo (Broodly 50 BPM), Adagio (At Ease 70 BPM), Moderato (Moderately 110 BPM), Allegro (Fast, Quick, Bright 120-160 BPM), and Presto (Very Fast 170 + BPM). You’ve learned a lot about musical elements and notation over the past few weeks. Has this changed the way you hear music? When you listen to your favorite songs now, do you notice anything new or have found a deeper appreciation of it? I’d love know what you think so leave a message in the comments below! ReferencesMusic Notes. How to Read Sheet Music: Step-by-Step Instructions. n.d. https://www.musicnotes.com/now/tips/how-to-read-sheet-music/#:~:text=Tempo%20tells%20you%20how%20fast,a%20single%20note%20every%20second. Never miss a thing and join our mailing list today.
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Simply put, pitch is how high or how low a sound is. When looking at a soundwave, pitch is determined by the frequency of the wave. A slower wave cycle would create a lower-pitched sound, while a higher frequency would create a high-pitched sound. For those of us who have no use for images of soundwaves, a pitch can also be represented through musical notation, otherwise known as sheet music.
Sheet music exists as a visual representation of how music should sound. Each symbol on the page tells key information in regards to how the music should sound and how it should be played. Let’s take a look at the basic anatomy of sheet music.
As you can see, sheet music can have a lot going on. I’ve gone ahead and highlighted the elements we will be focusing on today. In the red, you’ll see the clefs. In the light blue you’ll see the key signature. The yellow highlights the notes with the green highlights noting leger lines. The dark blue features the staff lines in which serves as the base for all of the notation.
The Clefs The most common clefs are featured here, the treble or G clef (the backward S-looking thing on the top bar) and the bass or F clef (the backward C with the two dots on the bottom bar). There are a few other clefs but that may be the topic of a future post. The treble clef is actually a stylized G, remember it is also known as the G clef. The loop near the bottom of the symbol curls around the second staff line to mark the line as G4 or the G above middle C. There will be more on staff lines and notes later. The bass clef or F clef is written to indicate lower notes with the two dots surrounding F3, or the F below middle C. Staff Lines and the Notes The staff lines serve as the base on which the notation rests. Consisting in sets of five lines, notes are written to establish not only the pitch of the music but also, its duration and rhythm.
As seen in the images above, the notes of the treble clef starts just below the first open space under the staff lines and continue to follow up the lines alternating between open and lined spaces.
The movement from a line to an open space, or from an open space to a line is called a step. The notes begin with C and continue up to A. The bass clef is similar, but starts at E and continues up to C. Each note is a different pitch and a combination of pitches creates a melody. It is important to mention that the notes shown in the images above can be played in varying octaves. Therefore, a single note does not necessarily equate to any single specific pitch. “In Western Music, a note refers to one of 12 named tones that all music is made from – the notes of the chromatic scale.” (Chase) Key Signature Now that we understand what notes are, let’s talk about key signatures. The sharps (the hashtag-looking things) and flats (the smooshed b looking symbol) next to the clef reveals the key of the music piece and that every instance of that note is to be played a half step above (sharp) or below (flat) throughout the piece. The appearance or absence of sharps and flats, also called accidentals, can vastly affect the tone and mood of the piece. C Major, for example, is a bright and bold piece but holds no accidentals. In contrast, C Major’s relative minor key, A Minor has three flats creating a somber sound. This brings us back to the reason why we started this musical exploration. How is the affect of a piece of music affected by musical elements, in this case, pitch? As I previously mentioned, changing the key signature can change a piece from a happy tune to a sorrowful melody. The notes we use in music create tunes that will either uplift or sadden us. If a piece is composed primarily in high-pitched notes, how do you think that would make you feel? What if the piece was written in lower-pitched notes? Would you feel any differently? Or what if the music suddenly switched from low to high, what reaction would you then have? Think about your favorite song. Are there high pitches or low pitches? What feeling do you get when you listen to it and how do you think you would feel if the pitches were changed? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you! References Chase, Samuel. What is Pitch in Music? | Hello Music Theory. n.d. https://hellomusictheory.com/learn/pitch/. Never miss a thing and join our mailing list today.
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Last week we talked about affect affects the way we hear music. While on the topic of music and how it makes us feel, we got to talking about what music really is and what elements make it music. We learned how volume can create a mood and how changing the volume can affect the overall experience of listening to the music. This week we’re going to keep the discussion going and focus on timbre.
What is Timbre? To put it simply, timbre is how a sound, well, sounds. From a technical standpoint timbre is the shape a sound makes in the form of a soundwave. If you look at images of soundwaves side by side, you’ll notice that sound waves are smooth and curvy while others may be jagged and sharp.
Waveforms for a tuning fork, clarinet, and trumpet. (Simplifying Theory)
If you look at the image above you will see the soundwaves of the tuning fork, clarinet, and trumpet. The first thing you’ll notice when looking at the waves is the overall shape of the waves. The tuning fork is a smooth curve that undulates with no sharp edges. The clarinet is much more jagged and spikes up and down frequently and at different amplitudes. The trumpet, while not as severe as the clarinet, still has a varied shape with sharp peaks. But what does this mean in terms of what we hear? What it boils down to is that every sound has it’s own distinctive wave, kind of like a fingerprint, and with each wave comes it’s own tone. This means that you can play the same notes on different instruments but get completely different sounds. For example, listen to the C Minor pentatonic scale on the piano. Now listen to the same scale on the guitar. Do you hear the difference? Both musicians are playing the exact same notes, but they sound completely different. How does this affect the affect of music? Last week we talked about how affect is the way we experience music, so what does timber have to do with it? Because timber can vary so greatly from instrument to instrument, the instruments we hear can affect the way we hear the music. Take the theremin, for example. If you’re not sure what that is, the theremin, invented by Léon Theramin in 1928, is an electronic instrument that is played without any kind of physical contact. The instrument works by creating electromagnetic fields from two antennae to control pitch and volume. In this video, Grégoire Blance performs in a theremin/piano duet with Orane Donnadieu covering Dubussy’s “Claire de Lune.” The theremin is a stark contrast against the soothing piano music. While it does lend a somewhat peaceful tone, the electronic sound of the theremin adds an otherworldly sense that would be not be present in the instrument’s absence.
Think about your favorite songs and then think about how they would sound if the instruments were replaced. Would the song feel the same way if the guitar in that rock song was replaced by a flute or a violin? Go to YouTube and try to find different versions of your favorite songs with different interests and let me know how they differ in the comments below. I look forward to reading what you find.
References Simplifying Theory. What is Timbre? n.d. https://www.simplifyingtheory.com/timbre/. 23 February 2021. Never miss a thing and join our mailing list today.
Stay Connected. Follow us on Social Media.Affect, pronounced ah-fact, is a term used to describe the way a piece of music or art expresses an idea. It is a piece moves us, makes us feel a certain way, or see something in a certain light. Like most things affect can be a subjective thing and can vary depending on a variety of factors including the listener’s mood, background, and personality. We previously posted a series on how music affects us from a scientific standpoint, but what can we say about it from a technical standpoint, and where does affect fit into all of this? This week we’re going to dig into some basics of what makes music and how it all plays into the affect of a piece. What is Music? This is a question that could be debated till the end of the world and I doubt that a final answer could ever be agreed on. What is music to you? Is it just a series of noise that happens to create some form of rhythm or melody or is a thought out process involving hours of time in composition? While we could devote an entire series to this question alone, let’s define music as “humanly organized sound.” (Blacking) Now that we have a definition of music, we can start discussing the characteristics that make music, volume, timbre, pitch, and duration. “The manipulation and organization of these characteristics are what create music by any definition” (Echoes: Music, History, and Culture) and will be our focus for the moment. Today we are going to discuss volume. Volume Volume is a simple subject. It is simply how loud or soft a sound is. Pretty easy right? From a technical standpoint, volume is simply the height of a sound wave’s amplitude. But volume is more than just how tall a wave is Have you ever noticed that when a song you love comes on your first instinct is to turn the volume up? What happens when music starts soft and suddenly gets loud or vice versa? Does it grab your attention and make you listen closer? So, what does this mean? Volume is an effective tool to direct our attention and affect the overall feel of our listening experience. Listen to your favorite song but keep the volume low. Then listen to it again but louder. Has the experienced changed? Maybe the emotions you feel while listening get stronger the louder the volume gets, or maybe you just simply notice more things when the volume is at a different level. This experiment shows that the loudness of a sound has an effect on how we listen to and process music. We will find that quieter music can soothe us while loud music can excite and intensify emotions, thus affecting the overall affect of a piece. And by the very definition of affect, volume conveys an idea through the simple use of a humble soundwave. References Holley, Whitney and Rachael Fischer. Echoes: Music, History, and Culture. Kendall Hunt Publishing Company, 2020. 4-5. Blacking, John. "How Musical Is Man?" Seattle: University of Washington Press 1973: 89. Never miss a thing and join our mailing list today.
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