Don't Let the Music Die

As promised form last post here is another genre of music:

Hip-Hop

Arguably one of the most influential types of music since 1960. From the Beatles to Kanye West. The range is unlimited. Now hip-hop is defined as a style of popular music of US black and Hispanic origin, featuring rap with an electronic backing. Although hip-hop is a youthful culture, it is a prime example of how history influences music. Modern hip-hop is closely associated with growing up in tougher situations and those situation were then turned into music as it us being used as an outlet.  

Understanding roots and origins of music, helps us to understand where music is going nest. Mixing genres and styles help us develop new ideas and feels. It helps to broaden our creativity abilities.

Music isn’t going anywhere. It’s something we can’t escape, it’s something that we don’t want to go away. But the way that funding is going, easily giving STEM $240 million and shrinking the budget for music, it’s making it harder to keep kids musically educated from a younger level. The earlier we begin to teach ourselves the history and beauty of music, the greater impact it will leave on us. Music is magical. Music is timeless. Of course music has a long history but someone will always be able to take a piece of music or song and be able to find a relation to it or feel a connection. It’s a wonderful way to communicate and to express our wants, needs, and desires.

Now often time’s younger musicians don’t want to stop playing but when they make it to college it is a hard choice. Many times, musicians stop when they get to high school. It’s often intimidating to think of spending thousands of dollars to go into a field that is full of uncertainty due to the amount of jobs and high skill levels you must obtain to even be considered. Sadly, they end up placing their instruments down and not picking them back up. I didn’t give it much thought and I didn’t understand how much music and performing was important to me, until this happened to me. After winning the highest award for orchestra in high school, after our last concert I put my instrument in its case and I haven’t played it since. Usually summer just meant a little break but didn’t quite hit me until later that I would not be picking my instrument back up at the end of the summer. I’ve now taken the time to understand and realize how important music is. Now after reading and finding out about more opportunities, I’m sure that in future semesters I will take classes and join groups that get me back involved with music. Another thing that we have to realize is that even if we don’t decide to dedicate our whole lives to one thing, if it provides you joy and keeps your creativity going, there’s always a way to continue it, you just have to find it.

For more personal stories and perspectives. Click here. 

Providing students with appropriate funding, knowledge, and encouragement will allow the world to be a happier place.

Hopefully, the movements that have already been started will continue to prosper and help save the knowledge of the art. As for me, to help with music education, I will get back involved in music by playing, offering advice, support, and maybe lessons.

Thanks for reading. :) 

Different Genres

Last week, I discussed the impact that music has on people’s lives on a personal and individual level. Later in the post I focused on how music impacts us in a cultural, emotional, and moral way. Although there are many reasons as to have music impacts us, I found that those we the most common ways. This week, I will discuss how music influences and impacts us on a larger level, on a cultural level. Different cultures have different styles of music that speak to them different. It’s important to recognize the music of different cultures to understand where they come and how they were formed. Understanding the roots of different types of music help us learn where certain types of music come from and how it was created. The deeper understanding of genres of music can help us to spread the various types and educate others further.

Reggae

Reggae is a style of Jamaican popular music blending blues, calypso, and rock-'n'-roll, characterized by a strong syncopated rhythm and lyrics of social protest as explained by dictionary.com. This style of music can be traced back to the late 1960’s in Jamaica. It is argued that this style of music evolved from earlier genres such as Ska and Rocksteady. Bob Marley is probably one of the easiest names to recognize from reggae music.

The Blues

The Blues according to dictionary.com is a song, originating with American blacks, that is marked by the frequent occurrence of blue notes, and that takes the basic form, customarily improvised upon in performance, of a 12-bar chorus consisting of a 3-line stanza with the second line repeating the first. The blues may be one of my favorite genres of music. It mimics the idea of a call and response style without common music features such as harmonies.  This genre of music comes with sadness, melancholy, regret, etc. Ray Charles and Willie Dixon are artist that can be tied with this genre.

Calypso

A few times I’ve heard of calypso music but I never gave it music attention. It is a musical style of West Indian origin, influenced by jazz,usually having topical, often improvised, lyrics (dictionary.com). This genre of music is tied back to Trinidad and Tobago. My aunt is from there, so I’m pretty sure she’s the reason that this genre sparks memories in my head. An easier place for us to identify this type of music would be in the hit movies Pirates of the Caribbean as it ties with Calypso the sea goddess in the movies.

Often times it is over looked that different genres of music influence places all over the world. They originated in certain origins of the world and the spread like a wildfire. It’s inevitable that music needs to stay around and be taught. It helps with the overall satisfaction of life and gives us some substance. Everyone has their own memories planted in each genre of music or even each type. It’s important for us to recognized and acknowledge the origins of different types of music so we know how they contribute and compliment the next genre. In my next post, I plan on explain three or four more different genres and how they come together to help create more types of music. 

Thanks for reading. :) 

                                                                                                                                                                        

How Does Music Impact Us?

Can you imagine a day without music?

No? Yeah, me either. Music is my favorite part of the day. The importance it holds is so dear to me. But what’s the impact it has on our surrounding communities and world?

With the alarming rate of the monetary depreciation of music funding, have we stopped and look at the impact it has on us as individuals and our peers? Music not only helps people as individuals, but also as whole communities. For example, when students participate in music classes, the impact does not stop there. After class, they then have to use their own self-discipline to practice the music. Ultimately, they come back together as an ensemble and give the surrounding community a performance. Or maybe an artist works hard on a song they’ve written, it’s finally perfect in their eyes and they are ready to share it with the word.

Giving back to the community is essential in every good citizen’s lives. Not everyone has the opportunity to give back in such a creative way. But lately, much of the music that is dispersed does not carry a good meaning. Not downing any types of music, just focusing on why we need to continue to stress the importance of the building steps of music, where it all starts.

Cultural Impact

Popular music represents today culture. It carries a meaning that only we understand in a special way. For example, when our parents play their music, we don’t always want to listen because we fail to find a connection to it, it’s past our time. Popular music is a genre that is always up for change because nothing ever stays in the spotlight forever. It represents the world that is always changing around us.

Emotional impact

As humans we behave on how we feel. When we exercise or party, we tend to use upbeat music so we can continue to stay at an upbeat pace. Slow music often helps to put us to sleep or maybe when we are have a bad day. Music has potential to change moods in a matter of seconds. It has the potential to change whole atmospheres.  

How much the average person listen to music

Moral Impact

Today’s music can often times coincide with many negative means often dealing with drug, sex, and violence. Although there is no research to prove a connection to behavior, many people still believe it has an impact.  I don’t believe it has a major impact because there are many other influences that contributes to ones morals but I do believe that as a whole, artists should work on music that sends a more positive message.

Overall, just like how consuming junk food is bad for body, feeding your ears negativity messages can’t be good for the long run. That is why we need to focus on the building blocks on music education. When students can experience the pureness and sweet sensation of learning music, they can go on to create music with more positive and beautiful meanings. They can help spread it into their communities and make a positive and lasting impact on the world. 

Thanks for reading 

How To Defend Music Education

Being a music student in high school, I witnessed the budget cuts in music education first hand. In orchestra, whenever we wanted to get new pieces of music it was always a struggle to pay for them. Sometimes we would use pieces that we already played from past years. In band, there have much bigger instruments. To save the students a daily struggle of carrying a large instrument home and to school, the county would attempt to give the musicians an instrument to keep at school so they didn’t have to carry their personal instruments all over. This soon become a problem as they were quickly running out of instruments to give the students. A lot of us were left in awe because we would hear the argument that “the county received a budget overall, there is nothing we can do about it”, but see new computers and machinery given to the technology students.

Many times I have heard, “Studies have shown that students involved in music, perform better in mathematics and sciences”. And recently it has become an argument as to why we should save the arts. While this may be true, I don’t think that is the proper way to defend music education and funding. Students don’t enter the music world thinking “If I’m good at playing this instrument, I’ll be better at math!” it doesn’t work that way. It may be a requirement for graduation to participate in an arts, so some students may feel forced but that’s not often the case. When you are truly involved and passionate about the arts, it is a feeling that cannot be mimicked or imitated.  

Saying music education helps student in math and sciences is like saying analyzing Shakespeare is only good for math. Music education isn’t for only making people smarter, it’s greater than that. It allows you to explore your emotions, limits, and so much more.

When defending music education it should be in a way that proves that music is good for ITSELF and not for other things.

HOW TO DEFEND MUSIC EDUCATION

Music provides so many lasting skills that can be used in numerous way. Memorization, coordination, discipline, teamwork. Running a piece again and again seems as if it can get tiring but each time something different appears. Unintentionally you memorize the notes so new ways to express the music can be found. Discipline comes into play because you have to take the time to actually practice. Coordination, when all the pieces come together and your movement is flowing and natural while you work as a team.

Defend music education in the way of allowing individuals to improve themselves.  It’s an amazing sense of achievement when you finally get through the part that had you stuck for days or even weeks. It takes persistence and patience. It helps with character building, it strengthens confidence.

Creative thinking takes off. Musicians are equipped with fine-tuned auditory skills. The task of tuning an instrument before it is played, allows you learn its proper pitch while attention is important to the tiny details. Spending time performing and learning other musicians work provides you with ability to be able to create your own. With learning all the notes and keys, why not create a piece yourself? The more you experience, you realize that you know less than you thought. Therefore, ones imagination is a wonderful thing. The limitless amount of melodies and tunes goes to support that.  This touches in on imaginative and intellectual curiosity.

Relaxation. Everyone needs a break once in a while. When involved in music, it can become very stressful but it also provides you with an escape. Everywhere you go there is music. So, when musicians need a break from playing, they can just listen to music and appreciate the art of another person.

Music for life. Music is life. Music is everlasting. You can be the hottest person in sports right now but your body can withstand that your whole life. Someone who is 60/70 years old isn’t going to be able to have the same physical abilities that they had at younger ages but music stays with you. It is a quality that can be built upon for many, many years. You can always learn more and find different ways to excel.  

How Does Music Impact Us?

“Okay, look at the key signature. This piece is in 4/4. About half way through the song it changes to allegro. Firsts, you have the melody for the most part, but it bounces between you and the violas at measure 39. Make sure you listen across your sections to blend the quality! Pay attention to the dynamics!!! During measures 57-59, watch how it goes from pianissimo to fortissimo. Please, don’t ignore that. Okay, let’s clap the rhythm. STOP! Count your rests! Don’t be timid, it’s better to be loud and wrong than not to be heard at all. Any questions? Okay, let’s play …1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4.” This was my instructor before every sight reading piece we had to perform.

Every year, every section of our music program had to attend “Festival”. So for months every choir, every band, and orchestra spent countless hours rehearsing 3 pieces, a warm-up and two judged pieces. After our performances, we couldn’t even take a breath of relief because we had to go to sight reading. Sight-readings, I remember how much I dreaded them, but they had to be done. We have a few minutes to go over a piece that we have never seen before and then, play it for a judge. My experiences have always ended well, as we were awarded high scores and had to repeat it all but this time at a higher level.

My music education started in 2^nd grade with the basic recorder and singing classes. In 5^th grade I decided to start playing the violin. I was terrible at it, I remember the instructor stopping the class to tell me that I was holding the instrument completely wrong. But, somehow throughout the years I managed to learn how to play the piano, violin, viola, and a little bit of the baritone.

courtesy of flickr

Through all these years of music, I have learned things that I could not have learned from anything else. Being in music allows you to not only grow as a person, it allows you to learn how to support others, mentor others, how to express yourself, how to analyze … the list goes on and on. On the other hand, in other subjects students focus on their individual grades and goals, there’s not much time to learn how to work together. In the real world, you have to work together. In ensembles you HAVE to work together. You have to listen in order to match tone, quality, and style. It’s something like being on a sports team. It’s an experience that is irreplaceable.

Now, many people argue that music is a hobby or that you have a very slim chance to make any money from it, but who are they to say that? How can someone attempt to tell you what is valuable to yourself? Not to mention, music is universal and a multi-billion dollar industry. What’s truly more important, money or happiness? That’s a question that everyone has to answer for them themselves, whether you’re interested in arts or not. I believe that is a major issue in our society as more and more people are picking money over happiness which leaves a lasting impact on them in many negative ways.

Let’s say you aren’t an arts fanatic but you listen to music because you feel it helps with expression or you just find it enjoyable. You know what music does for the listeners, now imagine what it does for the performers. Not to say that music is the only thing that brings people happiness, it does impact every part of our lives. Can you imagine a day without music? No, so how can you expect to reduce funding? From grocery stores to elevators, there’s almost always music being played. There’s no escaping it. It’s something that stays in your life forever.

Follow my posts as I speak about the “right” ways to defend music education, the impact it has on the world around us, and more of my stories.

Thanks for reading J