Music can bring us all together

 

   Music brings us together in society by sharing the same interests, learning about different cultures on a musical level, and allowing trust. I don't know about you, but I won't be singing or dancing to a song if I feel like I can't trust someone next to me. So, can music really bring people together? Of course it can, as we find an interest in a specific genre of music- we usually surround ourselves with others who like the same thing.  It can bring everyone together by also expanding our knowledge and learning more about other cultures. Think about meeting someone new, and you both come from different cultures; as you get to know each other, you begin to learn from each other. Lastly, trust. When reading the article "How Music Brings People Together," I learned how we form this trust, and it's through oxytocin, which can be released by soothing music and allows people to feel safe and come together. This is why we need music; it allows us to come together and share our interests and opinions with others.

Down below are two videos of the same music artist, Rod Wave. I wanted to include both to show how people can be united. The first clip is short on YouTube (originally from TikTok), and we see that three girls have come together to share their love for Rod Wave, and we see others coming together and enjoying the music and his performance. In the second clip, we see the music performance and how many people came together because of the melody, lyrics, and tempo. The melody in Rod Wave's music sets the tune of his music and begins telling us the story of the song, which can see how people come together because they may relate to it. His lyrics are also very strong, which kinda goes hand in hand with melody- it helps create the story. His songs are known to be from his personal life. Lastly, tempo. Most of his songs range from 140-160 and are usually played by guitar, piano, or drums. But in my opion I think this a great way to bring people together, because they all relate to each other, wether liking his lyrics or just enjoying the beat.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HOO6oZSNNp8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiHErPxbfYc

(Rod Wave concert, Birthday Bash 2024, Tampa FL.)

Trust, how does it bring us together? The last clip I want to show is placed below; this video is of a choir singing a Christmas song. I wanted to include a different way of how music can also bring people together by sharing similar talents and an interest in singing. The three elements I found in this is melody, dynamic, and rhythm. Rhythm is important when singing together because we hear the different lengths of each voice singing. Next, a melody tells us the tune, whether it's high or low; in this case, both are used. Lastly, dynamic, which is known as the loudness, can also set the mode, which in this video the mode is soft and has a flow. I really like this example because, in my opinion, we see each person playing a part in the song and coming together to make one beautiful-sounding piece. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I87hqhxKfbg&list=PLeLoyyuFckPBksStY10rMZ1ntSyEPkgmU

(Once in Royal David's City, performed by Trinity Singers)

My relationship with music has changed so much over this course. I now find myself thinking of why others listen to certain music and how those lyrics relate to them. I even catch myself trying to spot some of the musical elements we have learned throughout the course, and I have stepped outside of my comfort zone and explored new music that I normally wouldn't listen to. Another thing I have spotted throughout this course is the relationship of music through my job, at my job I work with kids who have disabilities and one girl specifically loves Disney music. Because of this course, I was able to find out why she loves it so much, and it was because of the lyrics, the musical beat, and the characters singing them. But overall, I really enjoyed this class and seeing others' work and how they chose music to express themselves through music. 

Sources:

Dr. Hashmat Shahhram. "How Music Brings People Together," Psychology Today. Nov 30th, 2021. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-choice/202111/how-music-brings-people-together

Jill Suttie. "How Music Bonds Us Together," Greater Good. June 28th, 2016 https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_music_bonds_us_together

Captin Plugins. "Rod Wave Type Beat, Explained," Mixed in Key. 2024. https://mixedinkey.com/captain-plugins/wiki/rod-wave-type-beat-explained/

Mersey Wave. "Reading Choir Music for Beginners". March 3rd, 2017.  https://merseywavemusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Music-theory-for-choirs.pdf

Music and the Fictive Stories: Tangled

The Movie Tangled:  Tangled is an animated film released in 2010 by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Rapunzel is the main character with over 70 feet of hair! The other characters I find to be important are Flynn Ryder (also known as Eugine), Pascal, and Mother Gothel. In this movie, Mother Gothel is the main antagonist. It is essential to note this because she took away Rapunzel at birth and kept her in a tower away from everyone until one day.  

"I See the Light": This song can tell us the story by only the lyrics. We can see Rapunzel sings about seeing the light, but it goes deeper; she has been stuck in a tower for 16 years, and she is seeing everything clearly. This song sets the tone for the entire movie, even the end when she sees her real parents and the environment she was meant to grow up in. But most of all, Rapunzel is singing this about her relationship with Flynn Ryder, which I think also foreshadows her upcoming relationship with her real mom. We all see the environment of this song and the lights in the background. The lights were her dream, and she chased her dream to get to them.

Social Commentary: The moral message of "I See the Light" is seeing another perspective and breaking free or having that freedom again. It also shows us how Rapunzel takes action and goes after her life again by making a change. As she begins to understand the world, and she can have connections, as we can see when she meets Flynn Ryder. The song "I See the Light" is uplifting and involves deep thought. The background shows a gentle guitar playing and the environment of just them two alone with floating lanterns.

My opinion: I really like this song. I actually just played this song while I was walking down the aisle last week! But, the harmony is impressive in this song; all the notes together really set the environment and show us the emotion of Rapunzel during this time. The timbre also really sets the tone, we can see how she uplifts her song and how we can see her love for Flynn.

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILRs2r6lcHY

"I See the Light": By Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi (Tangled)

Sources: 

Roni Conli. Featured Films "Tangled". Walt Disney Animation Studios. https://disneyanimation.com/films/tangled/
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILRs2r6lcHY

PD Music. "Meaning of "I See the Light" by Mandy Moore". Public Domain Music, 2024. https://www.pdmusic.org/meaning-of-the-song-i-see-the-light-by-mandy-moore/
mythoughtsondisneymusic. "I See the Light" by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi, Tumblr. June, 2013. https://www.tumblr.com/mythoughtsondisneymusic/53982487626/i-see-the-light-by-mandy-moore-and-zachary-levi

Role of the perfromer. ft. Ariana Grande

Who is Ariana Grande?

 We have probably all heard one of her songs at some point, maybe not knowing it was her singing or maybe you knew! She was born in 1993 and born in Florida. Ariana's musical journey began in 2011, she got to this point through her acting in Nickelodeon and growing up around Broadway production.

Her journey all started in 2011 with her first song track in the show, Victorious. Later, in 2011, she published her "first" song, "Putting Your Hearts Up".And ever since then, she has done many music performances. She started her music career by recording herself singing soundtracks and uploading them to YouTube! Ariana's first duo performance was with Mac Miller in 2013, and was number 9 in the top 100 songs played at the time! I feel like this really helped her career get that push. But throughout the years, she has worked with several other musical performers as well like, Nikki Minaj, The Weekend, Lizzy, and so many others. 

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl1aHhXnN1k

"Thank You Next" was written by Tommy Brown, Justin Tranter, and Njomza. The role of Ariana Grande in this song was to perform and sing this song. I think this a very good song for her because she was able to sing about Mac Miller, who passed away, and also because overall she performs so well, in my opinion. The music video background is based inside a school and about her past exes, and because she has past relationships, I think this suits her performance well. But also, her songwriters help set her up for success by bringing in her ideas, and they are allowed to get creative from those! Two musical elements I spot in from Ariana in this song are Loudness and Tempo. I chose Loudness because I feel like most of her songs are loud, but this one is more of a soft loudness, which I think shows greatly in her performance. Tempo is also shown in this song at a speed of 107, which shows the song can be danceable, as shown in her performance.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oo0nZ5EGoJ0

I chose this song because I think this performance is amazing. You have three different voices, and although this song ft. Ariana Grande, I still think this is one of her amazing performances. The songwriters for the song "Bang Bang" are Rickard G., Savan K., Max M., and Nikki Minaj. With these songwriters' creativity, we see three powerful voices, an empowered woman moment, and each performer's musical elements being shown through the songwriter's lyrics. One element is Ariana's pitch, we can see in certain parts that she has a higher pitch when singing in the background. Another element would be Tempo; she shows a high Tempo in this song, which shows us the high energy in the song "Bang Bang".

Sources:

Emma Dodds. Rayo, Ariana Grande's Career. Sept. 24th, 2024. https://hellorayo.co.uk/kiss/entertainment/music/ariana-grande-career/

Biography.com editors, Catherine Caruso. Ariana Grande. May 17th, 2021. https://www.biography.com/musicians/ariana-grande

Alex Ross. Rayo. Ariana Grande's Biggest Collabs. Oct. 16th, 2024. https://hellorayo.co.uk/kiss/entertainment/music/ariana-grande-collaborations/#

Joshua B., Jacqueline R., Fengxue Z. NPR, "Thank You Next" Ariana Grande collaborators break down. Feb. 9th, 2019.  https://www.npr.org/2019/02/09/691376280/thank-u-text-ariana-grandes-collaborators-break-down-the-artist-s-latest-album

Song BPM. "Thank You Next", Ariana Grande. https://songbpm.com/@ariana-grande/thank-u-next#:~:text=Song%20Metrics&text=thank%20u%2C%20next%20is%20a,signature%20of%20beats%20per%20bar%20.

Taking a Musical Trip: Japan

 Taking a musical trip: Japan

        How is music in Japan different from music in the US? When reading the article "Why Does Japanese Music Sound so Different", it seems that music in Japan uses more chords and expresses more of the music than the voice. This means that the background notes play the story and allow the listeners to feel and hear the emotions through the chords and melody. A Japanese musical artist I came across is Kenshi Yonezu, a musician and songwriter. He is also known for his experimental sound and lyrics, according to the article "Top 10 Japanese Music Artists." Below are two songs produced and sung by him that give us examples of how the musical elements differ when compared to music here in the States.

                                        Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2cckDmNLMI

        I chose this song because not only are the lyrics interesting, but the elements are different and really fascinating. The chords of the song "KickBack" are very complex, and the melody appears to be different from most songs in the United States. Chords are the notes played hand in hand, and they contribute to the overall emotion of the music. There are multiple chords played in this song, while most songs only use about 4 or 5. I feel like the cultural aspect of these fast-paced elements also plays a part because most Japanese pop music I came across is very quick with the sounds used. My personal thought is that I like how the melody and chorus is much more fast-paced, although the lyrics did throw me off a bit!

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX_ViT4Ra7k

        The next song I chose to showcase is "Lemon," by the same Japanese music artist, Kenshi Yonezu. In this song, we see less "loudness," but the song is still fast-paced as you hear more. This song has the same chord complexity as the song above. However, there are two other elements I wanted to focus on: tempo, loudness. When it comes to the loudness, as previously mentioned, it is the intensity of the song. This song, "Lemon," has the background music played softly, meaning the mood is sad. Next, tempo. The tempo for this song is set as 87 BPM, the average pop tempo for the US ranges from 100-130. I find this to be useful because I feel like most songs in our States are not as effective and don't give listeners enough of the emotional environment. And when it comes to mode

Social and Cultural Aspects of Japanese Music:

Overall, Japanese music is known to be different because of its three-part melody, when compared to the division of Western music. Japanese music is also known for its more complex harmonies, and some people even say that the characteristics of Japanese songs are easy to spot (meaning most Japanese music has similar or the same musical elements). When it comes to the culture of Japanese music, it states, "Japan is one of the countries with a very rich music culture, and there have been certain types of Japanese music that characterize its culture since ancient times." from the article "Japanese Culture and Fomus Musicians." All the Japanese music created it all relates back to their culture and keeping up with the traditional music traits.

Sources: 

"Why Does Japanese Music Sound so Different". 

https://chromaticdreamers.com/why-japanese-music-sounds-different/

William Malm. "Japanese Music," Brittannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/Japanese-music

Musictax. "Lemon", 2024. https://musicstax.com/track/lemon/04TshWXkhV1qkqHzf31Hn6#google_vignette

Intercontinental Music Awards. "Japanese Music Cultures and Famous Musicians," October 31st, 2019. https://www.intercontinentalmusicawards.com/japanese-music-culture/

Evolution of the Microphone

 The 

Microphone now v.s. then

      Let's Travel back to the time of 1867. At this time, Alexander Graham Bell invented the first microphone. In the Article "Early History of the Microphone," it states, "His microphone consisted of a wire which conducted electrical direct current." with Bell's knowledge of electrical current and transmitters he was able to evolve the basics for the microphone. However, two years later, Emile Berliner added to Bell's idea and patented the carbon microphone. 

     Now we have the modern microphone today. There are three main microphones used today that have improved over time since 1867. I will be discussing dynamic microphones, which I believe most people see and know today.

(The dynamic microphone is the first microphone to the left!)

 

    So how did we even get to these new dynamic microphones, and when did the first dynamic microphone make its way into artists' hands? In 1931, Albert Thuras and Edward Wente invented the first dynamic microphone. According to the Article "Dynamic Microphones", Ernst Simens originally came about the making of this mic, but in 1931, Thruas and Wente improved this mic and sold it commercially. Ever since 1931, the appearance, sound, and range have improved into today's modern microphone. 

 

Point 1: The dynamic Microphone in 1931 appears smaller then the modern microphone today. This mic was also not sensitive to outside noise. Over the years of this mic, the size, looks, and quality of the microphone have changed. Although I could not find videos of this dynamic microphone to hear the sound and see how it appears on film, I was able to understand this mic does well capturing the speaker's voice clearly, and it appeared to not have many problems.

Point 2: The dynamic microphone today. This mic appears to be longer 

in length and a smaller speaker. We also must consider how our technology

has changed rapidly over time, we now have more materials, more option designs, and an increased sensitivity to these new mics. Down below is a TikTok video that compares this dynamic mic to another mic. And even though I am not discussing a condenser microphone, by this link, we are able to see how this mic really has evolved over time and what the highs are. An example of this dynamic mic being used is performed in the song "Thriller" by Micheal Jackson, which I have linked below.

https://www.tiktok.com/@realestpuppet/video/7249764437610237230

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V90AmXnguw

In my opinion, I think the modern dynamic microphone is "better". I say better 

in quotes because I feel like both mics were pretty good but just in their own time era. For

example, if we had the 1931 dynamic mic today, it wouldn't compare well to the amount of 

technology we already have today. But I see the 2003 modern dynamic mic as more aesthetically 

pleasing, this mic looks clean, well-designed has better sound, and has a better structure when compared to the first dynamic mic.

Sources:

The James U. Steele Vintage Broadcast Microphone Collection, "Early History of the Microphone".  https://digilab.libs.uga.edu/scl/exhibits/show/steel_vintage_mics/mic_early_history

Greg Simmons, "Dynamic Microphones", AudioTechnology, November 27th, 2020. https://www.audiotechnology.com/tutorials/dynamic-microphones#:~:text=Although%20invented%20in%201897%20by,which%20entered%20production%20in%201931.

Timeline of the microphone, TimeToast Timelines. https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/timeline-of-the-microphone

"First Dynamic Microphones," Microphone man. https://modestoradiomuseum.org/microphone-man-3/

"Hell of a Year" Musical Analysis

 "Hell of a year"

Link to clip: "Hell of a Year"

    I was going through my Snapchat memories and came across several videos of Parker McCollum that I took from a concert I attended. This is why I came to choose this song. I feel like this song has a slow but catchy tune and can sometimes be relatable. 

    "Hell of a Year" was sung and written by Parker McCollum. His song was published in 2017 and is based in Austin, Texas. "Hell of a Year" is a country song as well! According to a post on "X" (also known as Twitter), Parker McCollum wrote this song at two in the morning while sitting in the Whataburger drive-thru! The five elements I find most important in this song are the lyrics, rhythm, tempo, duration, and form.

Lyrics:

    I chose lyrics because I find it most important. Lyrics are the way a music artist tells their story, and this can impact the listeners and how they perceive the lyrics. In his song, he uses the words "hell of a year" several times but sings it several times so his other lyrics can be tied into those four words.

Rhythm:

    Rhythm is a pattern throughout a song. I chose rhythm because throughout the song "Hell of a Year," we can see patterns. Two patterns I noticed are when he plays the guitar and when he sings "hell of a year."  As the guitar is being played as background for the song, it stays at a steady pattern. When it comes to the rhythm, these lyrics Parker McCollum sets them up as a pattern, he only says "hell of a year" after a certain number of lyrics.

tempo:

    Next is tempo, which is the bpm in a song or the speed. In the song "Hell of a Year" the speed of the song is moderate even though it may seem like a "slower song" due to the rhythm and the speed of his lyrics. According to "SongBPM" the tempo is 98 bpm. 

duration:

      Duration is an amount of time. I found this to be important for two reasons, how long Parker McCollum's song is and the amount of time he spent singing "year." "Hell of a Year" is almost four minutes long, which I think is a good amount of time. In the beginning of this song we only hear a guitar and throughout the song we get a few pauses after he sings certain lyrics, which is the perfect balance. Next, when he sings the line "hell of a year," he chooses to sing the word "year" for a longer duration then the other words, which also adds to the balance of the song and the emotion.

form:

    Lastly, I chose form because this organizes the song as a whole. Below is a link to the chords and lyrics, which play a role in the form of this song. I find the form of the song "Hell of a Year" well put together; as listeners, we are able to easily see what is a chord in this song and a verse. And because the form is  organized we can easily play this song as well.

countrytabs.com/Parker_Mccollum/Hell_Of_A_Year_

Sources: 

Parker McCollum, https://x.com/ParkerMcCollum/status/1395043864310910976 , May 19, 2021.

SongBPM, https://songbpm.com/@parker-mccollum/hell-of-a-year#:~:text=Hell%20of%20a%20Year%20is,of%204%20beats%20per%20bar. , "Parker McCollum- Hell of a Year, 2011- 2024.

Koichi Kondo, Parker McCollum- Hell of a Year- Chords, http://www.countrytabs.com/tablature/Parker_Mccollum/Hell_Of_A_Year_Chord_73927/ , 2022.

"Someone Like You"- Musical Analysis #1

Music Analysis number one. Someone Like You, by Adele

I have chosen the song “Someone Like You” by Adele for my Musical Analysis. This song was released in 2011 and is the most streamed song of hers, according to ChartMasters, in 2022. "Someone Like You" was written by Adele and Dan Wilson and based on the end of her past relationship. This song is in the pop genre area, and her others maintain around the same area, including Jazz and Soul music. Adele's song was also written in the United States, and the song's music video was filmed in Paris. I chose this song because I think Adele has a beautiful voice; she’s able to sing with high-pitched notes, and I feel like this is a song most people have heard or even know word by word. The three elements I have selected are Tempo, Timbre, and Duration.

Link to Full Song

    Tempo: I chose Tempo because this sets the "mood" for the song overall, as well as helps us listeners understand the speed of this song. According to the article "Song-BPM," this song's Tempo is 135bpm. I feel like this is a pretty high-tempo for only a pop song! That's one of the reasons I really enjoy her song "Someone Like You." This song also has somewhat of a slow tempo but not far from average. 

Timbre: Next, I chose Timbre, which is basically the tone of a song. In her song, the sound quality sounds very clear to me. You are able to hear the piano playing in the beginning before she begins singing, and we can also recognize the key used (which is an A major key). One thing I really find nice is that she includes background singers but not throughout the whole song!

Duration: Lastly, Duration. Which means how long or short a certain part is in the music. This one is my favorite element because I hear how long she carries out/sings certain words, and it definitely adds to the piano and sets up this masterpiece. I also appreciate the total length she kept this song, four minutes and forty-five seconds; some songwriters tend to stick to around three minutes, and I feel like there could always be extra added (but I also just tend to like longer songs because it allows to really "feel" the song).

Below is a website that goes over the Chords and Melody in the song "Someone Like You", which I found incredibly helpful when going over the notes and specific keys played throughout the song!

https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/adele/someone-like-you

What did others have to say about this song?

One article I came across was "The Mixed Review". To summarize, this article was designed by Simon-Claudious and goes over Adele's highs and lows throughout the song. One thing that was mentioned that stuck out to me was the comment about Adele's breathing while singing certain parts. I thought this was kinda crazy, but I understand why this was said. The article agrees it allows listeners to hear the "raw" parts, but I think she hit all the notes right, and that small breath added to her pitch when singing. I really wanted to see what someone else thought about this song, to see if I was misunderstanding something, and to understand a different point of view.

Sources Cited:

Song BMP, Adele: Someone Like You, 2011-2024, https://songbpm.com/@adele/someone-like-you#:~:text=Song%20Metrics&text=Someone%20Like%20You%20is%20a,key%20and%20a%20major%20mode. Accessed Sept 23rd, 2024. 

Hooktherory, Somone Like You by Adele Chords and Melody, https://www.hooktheory.com/theorytab/view/adele/someone-like-you Accessed Sept 23rd, 2024.

The Mix Review, Someone Like You by Adele, May 2011 https://themixreview.org/reviews/someone-like-you/ Accessed Sept 25th, 2024.