Com10003 learning and communicating online assessment 2a- Music

COM10003 Assessment 2a “Music”

By Shannon Johnstone and Wee Thaw Kew

“Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy.”

- Ludwig van Beethoven

GENRE

A genre is described by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content.” (Merriam-Webster, n.d) There are many types of genres and sub-genres; rap, metal, jazz, classical, pop, pop punk, house, indie etc. The following genres will be expressed in more detail: classical, house, hardcore and pop music.

Classical

The classical music genre includes music from all the classical music eras; the baroque era, romantic era, renaissance era etc. When people refer to classical music, they are usually thinking of the typical symphony sound that is created purely by instruments and a conductor- no tweaking of the sound with computers. The three composers that almost anyone with a basic education could name are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johann Bach. (Green, n.d.) Today, classical music is listened to mainly in church (hymns,) music scholars and by the older generation who grew up with it.

House House music can be recognised by its repetitive beat and bass

drops. The music is created mainly on a laptop which produces an electric and synthetic sound- there are rarely any instruments used. However an exception of this is Timmy Trumpet, who plays his trumpet live over the top of pre-recorded music (Smith, 2014.) This genre of music is typically played at clubs or festivals, with the audience’s signature move being the ‘fist-pump.’

Many famous pop artists team up with DJ’s to incorporate house music into their songs. David Guetta is a prime example of this. He has worked with the likes of Kelly Rowland, Akon, Usher and many more famous musicians. (YouTube, 2014.)

Hardcore

Hardcore music is a type of rock music that involves a mixture of screaming and clean vocals originating in the 1970’s. It was created out of anger and passion (Blush, S 2001) and these qualities remain to this day a big part of the music. Themes that tend to repeat themselves in the genre are anti-suicide, saving the planet, metaphors of the ocean and anger at people who have done wrong by others. (The Amity Affliction, Northlane, In Hearts Wake, Memphis May Fire etc.)

Popular/ Mainstream

This genre is the type of music that you hear on every-day radio as you drive to and from work. This is the type of music that is counted down on charts and given awards at ceremonies such as the Grammy’s and Aria’s. The Take 40 countdown is the most popular countdown in Australia, counting down “Australia's biggest top 40 music songs” weekly (Take 40 Countdown, 2014.) It includes music from Australian artists as well as musicians from other countries, unlike the Aria’s, which is only for Australian musicians.

ERA

Music has been around for as long as anyone

knows. The era’s that we look at are the renaissance era, classical era, romantic era and 20th century classical era.

Renaissance

The renaissance era is circa 1400 – 1600. Characteristics from this period include harmony and polyphony- “any music in which two or more tones sound simultaneously” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d.) During the second half of this period, composers began to “organise their work into major and minor scales, thereby imparting the strong sensation of each piece having a definite tonal centre or 'key‘” (Naxos, 2014.)

Baroque

The Baroque era dates from 1600 to 1750. During this time, the modern orchestra came into practise, as well as opera (Naxos, 2014.) The strings section (cello, violin, viola) became a prominent feature throughout this period, and music began to work its way into common society instead of being reserved for church. Famous composers of this era include Bach, Handel and Vivaldi.

Romantic

There are two clear periods within the romantic era: early romantic, circa 1830 – 1860, and late romantic, circa 1860 – 1920 (Naxos, 2014.) Emotions were written into the music during the romantic era, hence it’s name. The early romantic era sought to combine the formalities of the previous eras with their emotions, whilst the late romantic era was more free in their form and structure, caring less about the structure and more about the emotional content.

20th Century Classical

This era is also know as the Post ‘Great War’ Years, dating from 1920 to the present. Since the war ended, composers went in all kinds of directions with their music. The styles are so diverse in structure that there is no real set of guidelines that composers followed. Gone are the days where music was created for church; nowadays it’s composed for all kinds of reasons and occasions.

IMPACT ON SOCIETY

All types of music, artists and bands have

different impacts on our society, whether it be the lyrics, the social situation in which the music is played, the musicians themselves and issues that they create.

Lyrics Different artists and bands have different themes and values

that they write about. This tends to create stereotypes for the artist. For example, in her song titled “Stupid Hoe” Nicki Minaj repeats the words “you a stupid hoe, you a, you a stupid hoe” to create her chorus (Stupid Hoe, 2012.) This gives the impression that Minaj values dissing people who do her wrong. On the other hand, the lyrics “Mother nature suspended in time. We are one. We are divine” (Divine, 2014) were written by the band In Hearts Wake, about their love for our Earth and how we need to start caring for it properly. This gives the audience the impression of the band that they care about our world and are trying to save it for our future generations.

Issues in the Media At the start of 2013, the hashtag ‘#cutforbieber’ made it’s way

around the internet. It was created as a joke by a website targeting Justin Bieber fans, claiming that if enough people cut their wrists and posted photos of it on the internet with the hashtag, Justin Bieber would stop smoking marijuana. (Shepherd, 2013.) Many people fell for this troll, and young people all around the world started cutting themselves. This issue shows just how much musicians can mean to some people; enough that they are willing to risk their own health to attempt to save someone else. Obviously this was the wrong way to go about it, but nonetheless, it is the perfect example for issues in the media relating to musicians.

Death of Kurt Cobain

Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, died on April 5, 1994. Nirvana were a famous rock band in the 20th century. A reader’s poll in the Rolling Stones magazine voted ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and Nirvana’s second best song, with ‘Lithium’ coming in as number one (Rolling Stone, 2013.) Cobain’s suicide shocked people all around the world at the time, and again recently when a supposed suicide note was released to the public. It was, however, written by Cobain’s wife, Courtney Love, mocking their marriage vows. (Mirror, 2014.)

Conclusion

To conclude this presentation, I believe it fair to say that there are many things to take into consideration when researching music. Genre, audience, issues and eras are just some of the broader themes. It is a never-ending learning opportunity, and one that should not be missed.

Credibility analysis:The credibility of the dictionary and encyclopaedia speak for themselves;

they are both literary tools written by scholars, and are often updated to keep current with the present day.

Naxos.com is a reputable classical music label; they produce and promote classical music. Therefore, this is a credible site to use in relation to history of classical music, as they are experts in past and present classical music.

Timmytrumpet.com is the official page of the musician; authorship, currency, credentials and sources are all direct from the musician himself, making it a safe website to reference from.

All of the videos that I looked at on YouTube came from the official channels of the musicians. Much like Timmy Trumpet’s website, all information gathered from those videos came directly from the subject of choice.

The Take40 Countdown is the most popular countdown in Australia. The website is run by MCM Media, which is a huge media, entertainment and production company. It is constantly updated to keep up with currency of music.

The information in relation to Kurt Cobain’s suicide note has been confirmed by Courtney Love herself. Mirror are a popular magazine in the UK, who, like hundreds of other media outlets, have covered the story.

Rolling Stones are one of the most popular music magazines in the world. The editor and publisher of the magazine is Jann S. Wenner, who also owns Men’s Journal and US Weekly magazines, showing that he is a professional within the literary world.

References- Harvard style• Merriam-Webster, n.d. Definition of Genre. Available from

<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genre> [5 May 2014].• Green, A n.d. Intro to Classical Music. Available from

<http://classicalmusic.about.com/od/classicalmusic101/a/intro072104.htm> [7 May 2014].

• Smith, T 2014. Timmy Trumpet Official Website. Available from http://www.timmytrumpet.com [6 May 2014].

• YouTube search. Available from < https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=david+guetta> [9 May 2014].

• Blush, S 2001. American Hardcore: A Tribal History. Feral House. • Take 40 Countdown, 2014. Available from http://www.take40.com/music/music-

charts/take-40-countdown [9 May 2014].• Stupid Hoe, 2012 (video file.) Available from <https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=T6j4f8cHBIM&feature=kp> [11 May 2014].

• Divine, 2014 (video file.) Available from <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUy9ytCkEjk> [5 May 2014].

• Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d. Definition of Polyphony. Available from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469009/polyphony [12 May 2014.]

• Naxos, 2014. History of Classical Music. Available from http://www.naxos.com/education/brief_history.asp [13 May 2014].

• Shepherd, T, 2013. 'Cutting for Bieber' becomes trend in wake of pop star's alleged drug use. News.com.au January 8. Available from http://www.news.com.au/ [13 May 2014].

• Rolling Stone magazine, 2013. Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Nirvana Songs. Available from www.rollingstone.com [13 May 2014].

• Mirror, 2014. Courtney Love claims SHE wrote the note found in Kurt Cobain's wallet calling her a "b**** with zits“ Available from <www.mirror.co.uk> [13 May 2014].