Music in Our World ---
The class will be exposed to the music of John Williams on Wednesday as I make the point regarding the importance of music in our world. That which will be heard in class is very familiar to most of us. It is the “Main Title Theme” from Star Wars. Williams is primarily known for the compositions used in movies such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, ET, Super Man, Hook, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, War Horse and the first three of the Harry Potter movies. Not only did he compose for Hollywood but he also conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra from 1980 to 1993. He is probably the most popular and successful American orchestral composer of the modern age and is the winner of five Academy Awards and at least 17 Grammys.
You can read more about Mr. Williams at this website.
The class will be exposed to the music of John Williams on Wednesday as I make the point regarding the importance of music in our world. That which will be heard in class is very familiar to most of us. It is the “Main Title Theme” from Star Wars. Williams is primarily known for the compositions used in movies such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, ET, Super Man, Hook, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, War Horse and the first three of the Harry Potter movies. Not only did he compose for Hollywood but he also conducted the Boston Pops Orchestra from 1980 to 1993. He is probably the most popular and successful American orchestral composer of the modern age and is the winner of five Academy Awards and at least 17 Grammys.
You can read more about Mr. Williams at this website.
- Music makes life fuller and more interesting
- It’s like adding color to a picture
- Yes, you can live without music – but your life will be more complete with it!
Music Is Created for Many Different Purposes
- For dancing or marching
- Providing a sonic background
- Encourages a sense of unity in a group
- As an expression of religious feelings
- For psychological satisfaction
- Music a global phenomenon because every culture on our planet has something that is called “music”.
- Music is emotional. It is, in fact, at the heart of what music is and why we can identify with so many varieties.
- Ethnic diversity is important in culture and in the development of music because each and every culture has contributed to musical styles. Each culture has had an impact and some styles have impacted other cultural styles as well.
- Ordinary: “Here today, gone tomorrow”
- Extraordinary: “Here today, here tomorrow”
- When extraordinary music achieves a broad level of acceptance, it becomes a “classic”
- For instance, “Unchained Melody” has been recorded by many performers and presented in different styles. In general, it is classified as a “popular” song though it has been used in concerts and performances in a variety of situations. This points out the fact that the labels or terms we use may be imprecise in describing a style of music because a genre may depend on other elements present in the music such as instruments, performance practices, and intended audience?
- People almost always like the music they are familiar with
- It’s difficult to like something you hardly know
- Learning about music you do not know will open up a much larger musical world
- There is noting to fear about being exposed to other music types or styles. In fact, exposure and understanding of other styles and types of music may help you appreciation your own preferences more as well as help you understand your friends and neighbors at a deeper level.
- You will listen to music much better if you…
- Realize that hearing and listening are not the same
- Listen to concert music very carefully and contemplate its sounds and nuances
- Keep in mind that each piece has features to be heard and noticed and you listen for them
- Develop different modes of listening – sensuous, expressive, and purely musical – because…
- Music offers the pleasure of its sounds
- Music often reaches into our deepest feelings
- Music fascinates us with how its sounds are organized
- Develop different expectations about concert music
- It does not try to grab your attention, often it is more subtle
- It is not as loud as most popular music, it was designed for acoustic instruments
- It usually is performed without lots of actions, no choreography or drama
- It is usually longer and more complex
- Remember what you hear, because…
- You hear only a moment of sound
- The rest is what you recall and your guess about what will be heard next
- A goal worthy of achieving —
- Become more sensitive to musical sounds
- Try to notice your feelings and reactions to the music
- For most students, a significant percentage of the class will be devoted to exposing students to music that seems unfamiliar. As adult students, keep the following in mind
- You had to use two legs to walk to class today
- You need two “legs” to understand music better, especially art (sometimes called concert or classical) music
- Knowledge about music
- Ability to perceive its varieties of sound
- Each contributes to the other
- Together they will make music and this course more interesting and worthwhile for you
- Nature of the melodies and themes
- Texture of the music
- Patterns of the rhythms and how organized
- Changes in dynamic levels
- Prominent tone qualities
- Form or structure and other musical techniques
- In general, popular music is created to make money for a performer, his agents, the distribution chain, etc. It primarily exists because of the opportunity to earn money
- Concert (classical or art) music is created, primarily, for formal performance/listening or for in-depth private study and involves more attention to detail and a deeper level of awareness and understanding
- Folk music, by contrast, is that which was developed over time through cultural exposure; as a result it is often more simple and straightforward since, for many years, it was preserved through oral transmission (passed from generation to generation without knowledge of reading or writing)
More About “Unchained Melody”
Many will recognize this tune as being from a 1990 file entitled “Ghost”. Also, may people link this song to the Righteous Brothers who first recorded it nearly twenty years before the movie.
Many will recognize this tune as being from a 1990 file entitled “Ghost”. Also, may people link this song to the Righteous Brothers who first recorded it nearly twenty years before the movie.
Here is a little know fact about “Unchained Melody”. It was written in the 1930s by a sixteen-year-old student for the girl he admired. The young man who wrote it showed the lyrics to a composer nearly ten years later. He gave the rights to the composer for use in a song. Six years later the song was finally recorded. Within 18 months of the first recording it had been recorded by three entertainers. One of them was Elvis Presley. Since then it was recorded by The Platters, Clay Aiken, Roy Orbison, Michael Jackson, John Williams, Neil Diamond, Willie Nelson, Jean Pierre Rampal, Leann Rhime, and a host of others.
Prof. Songer's Three Rules of Music ---
Before closing the class I reviewed my three rules about music.
Prof. Songer's Three Rules of Music ---
Before closing the class I reviewed my three rules about music.
- Music is the movement of sounds and silences through time.
- The basic building blocks of music are pitch and duration. Sounds have pitch and duration for values while the silences only has duration as a value.
- The primary elements of music are melody, harmony and rhythm; without these the sounds and silences make little sense.
Here are some other things to keep in mind about music.
- Music is a global phenomenon; in other words, every culture has some type of music system.
- These music systems can be broken into three components; concert (classical), folk (traditional) and popular.
- Music is both a science and an art. Scientifically, the elements of sound can be measured in different ways. Artistically, music is expressive of emotions and subject to stylistic preferences and a variety of performance capabilities.
- There are those who create and/or perform music and those who consume (only listen to) music.
The primary goal of the class is to lead students to becoming perceptive listeners. That means doing the following.
- Concentrate — Try to hear everything.
- Try to figure out:
- The compositional process
- The music’s structure
- The unique qualities of this piece
- Be Curious
- Why was this music composed?
- What is its purpose?
- What must you know to understand it better?
- How would you describe this music to someone else?
- Do you like this music? Why, or why not?
Prof. Songer
JCTC - Downtown
JCTC - Downtown
