Not a Required Element

Many people now-a-days will argue that the current artistic (music, theatre, movies, etc) industry is all about, and nothing without, sex. In my opinion, sex is not a required element in order to sell music, movies, theatre, and other artistic endeavors. This is a problem our society faces; people think that the artistic industry must include something sexual in order to sell. This thought causes artists to lack creativity. Instead of coming up with new ideas, it is like they are scared that their art will not sell if it does not include sex. The mindset of most of our society is that sex is a bad thing, but yet it sells all over the world. This is something that has to change, sex is not a bad thing yet it does not have to be an element that is classified as an essential for art to sell. I believe that it was more necessary a generation or two ago. Music in the past was more about the lyrics and obviously sex was a big topic in music. It still wasn’t an essential element back then but it was talked about more often. In today’s society, music such as house music, or techno, can be consisted of only beats and no vocals, yet it is still portrayed as sexual by some people. A generation or two ago, they couldn’t build these type of beats due to the lack of technology and music generating equipment. 

Sexuality

Sex can play a big role in music, movies, theater, and other artistic endeavors but it also does not have to. I do agree that it does. In today's society it is more because people expect it. Movies show it more and have more buyers. The movie Transformers show a sex appeal of Megan Fox showing more skin to attract more attention. Also Easy A show sexuality by seducing guys to believe that she is sleeping around. Music has more of a role by lyrics and the CD covers. Miley Cyrus's CD cover, "Can't be Tamed" shows that shes in a belly shirt with her thumb in her belt loop. Famous artists painted "Adam and Eve" that cover up with leaves. This is also a introduction of Desperate Housewives. This draws the attention to watchers to keeping watching the show and to see what the show is all about. Theater plays a act of sexuality in the play of Carmen. She is a gypsy that seduces a soldier then she goes a finds another man but the soldier still wants her. Sexuality shows fame as sprung with some but also people without from the past and the present.

Sex in music, movies, etc.

I honestly do not believe that sex is a required element to sell modern media, but I didn't say it wouldn't help it sell. Everything today including music, movies, theater, and other artistic endeavors are sold with the aspects of sex. Sex has become used more and more over the past couple generations and is still increasing today. The idea of 'sex sells' was started back around 1910 and has had the same idea ever since. Now even though the idea of 'sex sells' hasn't changed, the depth and variations that sex is and was used has indeed changed drastically. I believe that it is more necessary in today’s world for sex to be used as a marketing tool than in the past. For example, Marilyn Monroe's 1955 picture of her dress blowing up was, for the time period, considered to be extremely risque. Although by today’s standards, that picture would be overlooked and not be considered sexually appealing. As time has passed, we have been lowering the standard of what is socially acceptable (in terms of clothing) which in return raised the desire to use more sex to sell products. Although, in my opinion, it is not required to use sex to sell different products, sex does help products sell. It is a well known fact that everyone wants to be entertained. When people are ether watching a movie or looking at art, all of them want to like what they see and I truly believe sex was one of very few things everyone enjoys. Artists are just playing into our biological predispositions.

Today's Society and Sex

Since the past two generations, sex has increasingly become a "required" element in order to sell music, movies, theatre, and other artistic endeavors. In today's society, sex, sex appeal, and sexual innuendos are more accepted whereas perhaps sixty or seventy years ago, if these aspects were noticed in artistic endeavors, it would come off as offensive or inappropriate. Older men and women are more conservative and modest, but because sex is more accepted today, younger individuals, such as young adults, teenagers, and even kids are wearing clothing that is much more revealing. The acceptance of sex has drastically changed the culture within the past two generations. In music, not every artist makes references to sex, but many do in comparison to just so many years ago. For example, kids today are singing Lady GaGa songs without even realizing that most of her songs deal with sex. In almost every movie today, even the ones rated PG, they make sexual innuendos or sometimes even show a "nip slip." Even on childrens' T.V. shows, such as iCarly, they show some sex appeal. For example, on one episode they made a big deal about a bra. Typically, most female children are not even developed enough to wear a bra, so why emphasize one on a kid's show? Obviously many people do not agree with this type of behavior being displayed on T.V., but sex is what sells these types of things. Sometimes the sex is more subtle, and sometimes it is blunter. To answer the question of is sex required in order for artistic endeavors to sell--the answer is yes--in one way or another.

Sex is not a required element

In my opinion, I do not think sex is a required element in order to sell music, movies, theatre, or other artistic endeavours . However, I do think it is much more acceptable than it was a generation or two ago and it is definitely used more than it used to be. There are some genres of music, movies, and theatre where there is a lot of sexual content, and they are successful, but I do not believe the use of sex is what necessarily makes it popular. On the other hand, there is also a lot of genres that rarely have any sexual content, and it is still just as successful. People want to listen to or watch things that will be interesting to them, for example sports, family, love, comedy or music in general. None of these need sex as an element to make it popular because people will be drawn to it for the bigger picture. As I said before, the element of sex is, however, more acceptable now that it was before. Before, actually, it was rather uncommon to have sex as an element in music, movies, and other artistic endeavours.  This backs up my view that sex isn’t a required element, because those artistic endeavours still managed to keep people interested and be very successful.  But like I said before, sex is a lot more acceptable in today’s society. There are artists like Rihanna and Lady Gaga who often have a lot of sexual material in their songs which are extremely popular, but on the other hand there’s artists like Taylor Swift who often sings about love, but never includes sexual content, and she is just as popular.

Sexuality: Necessary Element in Art?

Since the beginning of time the human physique and sexuality has fascinated us! In most cases through history, the human form and sexuality has been a taboo topic. We understand it is there, but for the most part it is something out of the norm to display sexuality. However the times have changed drastically and now society has a greater acceptance of sexuality. My point is that sexuality is not an element necessary in artistic endeavors. Art in all forms has survived the ages without the influence of sexuality. One might ask if sexuality is necessary in today’s society as opposed to two generations ago. It would almost prove to be true! I believe that sexuality is not necessary for art to sell. Take for instance the painting le coq, it is a painting of a chicken that is an inner portrayal of the artist, it sold for $5.5 million. If you view this painting you will see there is not an ounce of sexiness to this chicken, further proving my point that you do not need sexuality in art of today’s society in order for it to sell. I do believe that it is very hard for art to sell in today’s society without sexuality. Many artists transition their appearance to a more sexually charged individual in order to gain fame. The perfect examples of artists with mistaken identities are Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. Katy Perry got her start as a gospel singer, but her name was not widely known until she came out with “I Kissed a Girl”. Clearly she parted from her former beliefs to gain fame. Then Lady Gaga was not always Lady Gaga, in fact she began performing under her true name Stephanie Germanotta. Stephanie was a natural beauty with long jet black hair who did not dress outrageously. She sang while playing the piano and sounded beautiful and natural. She was everything she is not today. I think it has to do with a paradigm in society of wanting to express every inner emotion without worry of being judged, this is the element the artist are displaying. It happens to embody the taboo of sexuality. I believe it is sad that we have to use sex to empower people to let their freak flag fly!

Is sex important in media?

Sex is definitely not important in media. In fact, in my opinion, we would be better off if the world would leave it out. Is it important to sell music? No. Several artists sing about love or emotions but never about sexuality. Christian music is a prime example of this. You will never hear someone talk about sex in christian music simply because we choose to worship Jesus instead of this dying world. Is sex a bad thing? No its not. God created it for us to enjoy in marriage. We just have a tendency to warp and pervert it like we do with a lot of things. My point is that we do not need sex in media to sell it because many people prefer it to be non-existant outside of our personal relations with their significant others. Video games can be good without nudity or other sexual content as well. I think its pretty bad when you have to set down half the games at family video when you look at the back for content. This applies to movies as well. The action flick would have had just as much action in it even if you remove the girl exposing herself to the audience. In today's world, sex is the world's God. That's really sad. If we are trying to focus on loving our girlfriends and boyfriends, wives and husbands, or even friends of the opposite sex, then why are we filling our minds and thoughts with this garbage? It does effect how we think and act even if you don't think it does. It effects how we love one another.

WEEK 6

Is sex a required element in order to sell music, movies, theatre, and other artistic endeavours? Is it more necessary in today’s society than it was just a generation or two ago? Why or why not? Give examples.

REMINDER: Many of the blog entries are not meeting the required 250 words or do not include all the required elements, such as a video (not required for this assignment.) Make sure you're fully completing each assignment. You can always type your document in Word and then use the Word Count function to check your numbers.

MGK-Wild Boy

In Wild Boy by Machine Gun Kelly, he portrays himself as a tough male, making it very hard for a women to give the song the same meaning he does. If a women was to sing this the song wouldn't make any sense at all and most likely it wouldn't sell.

Battle of the sexes!

This song is one of my favorites, it is a very unique song.I like how they just tell what happen to them through the song. Also i can relate to the incidents that that occur. This song shows how men are always falling for the same type of female repeatedly. If this were a female it could have a chance of selling big because there still is female artist who sing about there love.

Pimpin' All Over The World by Ludacris

I choose to write my blog this week about the song “Pimping all over the world” by Ludacris. This song has big gender issue that arises in society. The difference between males and females have in many sexual partners and treated differently for it. If a man has many sexual partners, he is considered a played or a pimp as the song portrays. On the contrary, if a women is has many sexual partners she is considered a hoe or slut. Men in this instance are seen in a strong and positive light while women are shown as objects for men. If a woman would have sang this song I do not believe it would have been taken very well. With out a doubt it would not have been the same song in any way. The meaning of the song probably wouldn't have changed the much but the way the listeners would have perceived it would seem to changed the whole meaning. I really don’t know if this song would sell or not. On one hand the song may be liked by the general public but then again it would be extremely strange to listen to.

Last Friday Night by Katy Perry

The name of this song is last Friday night by Katy Perry. This song is pa-trade as a girl having fun by drinking and messing everything up every where. This shows gender by Katy waking up next to a guy. In today's society, girls get fun of for having head gear but one good friend comes and helps her out by throwing a party and dressing her up. Woman have to show there bodies off to be noticed by guys they like because they have to be wearing close that show a lot of skin or skin tight. This song shows that a girl has to throw a party to get a guy. Also, Katy is showing that all girls have inner beauty by not changing the way she looks. If I guy was singing this they would say he is not straight. Guys these days wouldn't drink about how crazy it was with glitter every where. Also, I don't think very much men dance on table tops. This song would not sell well if it was sung by the opposite sex because gay men are more betrayed in today's world.

Drake - Fancy

The song Fancy by Drake is a song that describes “fancy” girls. He talks about a specific girl that he knows or admires. He starts his verse by saying that girls take forever to get ready and look good, while men just throw a t-shirt on and wonder what’s taking so long. He later goes on to describe the type of girl he likes saying she’s “intelligent” and “cold”, meaning she’s not sentimental and/or sappy. The gender issue I see in this song is that Drake, stereotypically, talks about girls in general and how they are really materialistic. He calls them “gold diggers”, meaning they get with guys just because they have money. I don’t believe ALL girls are like this. If a girl were to perform or sing this song it would definitely not sell. Unless she was talking about guys, this song would be ridiculously contradicting. Another thing about a girl singing this song is that the beat is really fast and she would have to rap. A light girl voice rapping over this type of beat just wouldn’t sound right.

Katy Perry - I Kissed A Girl

The song I Kissed A Girl by Katy Perry has obvious gender issues you can see just from reading the title and artists name. The most catchy lyrics of the song are by far “I kissed a girl and I liked it”, which basically describe the plot of the entire song which is about Katy kissing another girl. However, another lyric, “hope my boyfriend don’t mind it” clearly lets us know that she is straight and is in a relationship with a man. Songs like this that have such an obvious same sex theme are kind of unusual in society today. However, this song was a huge success. It topped the Billboard Top 100 chart for seven consecutive weeks, and became the 1,000th number-one song of the rock era. The single has sold over 4,155,000 digital copies in the US alone. It has reached the summit of the charts in nearly twenty countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom while peaking within the top five in other European countries like Belgium, Finland and France. The song was one of the best selling singles worldwide, selling 8 million copies, and became the 21st song with the most paid downloads in history. As you can see from those stats, most listeners didn’t mind the unusual theme. In society today, there is a much higher tolerance for females being affectionate towards each other than it is for males. Therefore, if the song was sang by a man, and the title was I Kissed A Boy, it’s highly likely the song wouldn’t be nearly as successful.

Casting Crowns: couragous

I love this song. This song talks about how how men put there life on the line every day as firemen, police officers, paramedics and any other dangerous job. This does not mean that women do not do these jobs. It just means that in today's society, men usually have the majority of these jobs. This song speaks to me because I plan on being a Police officer and own my own gym on the side. The lyrics explain that when we fear death, and we fear for the well being of the family if something happens, that turning to God in the midst of these storms is important. He will give us the strength and the courage to  do what needs to be done. He will also give us peace in knowing that he will take care of our loved ones. If a woman were to sing this song, I believe that the  occupations would be different to have the same effect as the original. My point is, we all have a role to play in life, some of us have not found it yet or just dont know, but God will always be there regardless if you believe or not. So have courage as a man, or a woman, in what you do because God is in control.

Stupid Girls by P!nk This song is actually a song about gender roles. Pink believes that society is sending a message to girls that in order to be loved, wanted, or accepted then you need to be a ‘stupid girl’. Just like female music industry in the 1960’s, this song begins and revolves about a helpless girl searching for the love of a boy. Maybe if I act like that? Maybe if I push out my bra, have a porno ‘accidentally’ leak out, or flip my blonde hair then I can get that guy to come back to me. In truth Pink does not actually believe in this philosophy, she wants to know where all of the smart people have gone. What ever happened to the girl who had the ambition to become the first female president? Pink calls this gender role a disease that is growing into an epidemic and it is driving her nuts to see girls treat themselves to this standard. I think if a male sang this song it would go, “maybe if you act that, push out your bra like that I will come back to you”. It would just seem to be a confirmation to some girls, or it might be received with negativity from the female population but, truthfully the majority of females are putting themselves under this standard for men every day. It is outrageous to think some guy would be so forward and speak about women like that. Truth is, it is being said thru todays popular music, we just are unaware because lyrics are overshadowed by the beat. I think if this song were performed by a male, it would need a really catchy beat and it would sell. Just like some rap and hip hop music sells today.

If I Were a Boy -Beyonce ft R Kelly

This song was originally sung by just Beyonce, but she and R Kelly made a remix out of it. This version is a duet, so to speak. Many gender issues arise in this song. In the beginning of the song Beyonce talks about how her lover acts on a daily basis and words it in such a way to prove that she hates the way he acts. For example, the first couple of lines say that if she were a boy, she would put on whatever clothes she wanted, drink beer with her friends, flirt with girls, and hang out with whoever she wanted. She is being stereotypical of all men in general. She gives her audience the impression that all men are that way. She even says if she were a boy she would be a better man than her love and not take her love for granted. After making those statements, R Kelly steps in and responds to her. He sings it in the same way Beyonce does, but from a man's perspective. He says she needs to quit listening to her friends and instead, love, respect and trust him. He tells her that it should not matter if he hangs with the guys as long as he is coming home to her at the end of the night. He even fights that he does everything for her already as it is. Throughout the whole song they are arguing but R Kelly is singing it from the opposite gender's point of view for the sake of manhood. By him singing along, it does change the meaning. It shows both sides of the story. This song definitely would sell.

WEEK 5

Again, choose a piece of music from your own collection, or that you know well from the radio, and discuss gender issues that arise in it. Would it be the same if it was sung by someone of the opposite gender? How would that change the meaning? Would it sell?

Embed a YouTube video and follow it with your explanation.

Ottorino Respighi

Ottorino Respighi was born on July 9, 1879 in Bologna, Italy. He was taught piano and violin by his father who was a local piano teacher. Continuing his studies, he went on to study violin, viola, and composition. In 1900, he composed his first major work, influenced by the German tradition – Symphonic Variations, written for his final school examinations at the Liceo Musicale. Back in Bologna, Respighi took his diploma in composition in 1901, and in the following years consolidated his reputation with a variety of works – Nebbie, Re Enzo (his first opera), the Prelude, Chorale and Fugue for orchestra, and the Suite in G Major for Strings and Organ (a homage to Bach, a composer he admired.) Until 1908 his principal activity was as first violin in the Mugellini Quintet. In 1908-09 he spent some time performing in Germany before returning to Italy and turning his attention entirely to composition. His compositions began to draw attention, and in 1913 he was appointed as teacher of composition at the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome, where he lived for the rest of his life. In 1917 his international fame began to spread through multiple performances of the first of his Roman orchestral tone poems. His established international fame allowed him some level of freedom but at the same time encouraged the regime to exploit his music for political purposes. Respighi was best known for his orchestral “Roman trilogy”: Fountains of Rome, Pines of Rome, and Roman Festivals. His musicological interest in 16th-, 17th-, and 18th-century music led to composing pieces based on the music of these periods. He also wrote operas, La Fiamma being the most known. In 1932 he was elected to the Royal Academy of Italy, he died in 1936.

Most of the information came from: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ottorino-respighi-mn0001529117

Manuel de Falla

Manuel  deFalla  was the best Spanish composer of the century. He was born in Cadiz, Spain in 1876. At a young age he started taking piano lessons until he was twenty. He then moved to Madrid, Spain where he studied the composition of the Spanish music. He won many awards for the composition of music and many awards for piano competitions.  In 1904, he did a  one act opera "La vida breve" to win in the real academy. Most of his work consisted of one act operas, Russian Ballet, piano, mime-play, and orchestra. 



 http://www.chesternovello.com/default.aspx?TabId=2431&State_2905=2&composerId_2905=441

Bela Bartok

Béla Bartók was a Hungarian composer in the twentieth century. He was famous for his music. He was born March 25, 1881 and died September 26, 1945. He grew up in the greater Hungary of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After World War I this was no longer an empire. His birthplace, Nagyszentmiklós (Great St. Nicholas), became Sînnicolau Mare, Romania. Bartok had smallpox as an infant until he was five years old. Because of this, he was isolated from other children and spent a lot of his childhood listening to his mother play piano. His mother noticed Bartok's interest in music and moved around the country just so that he could pursue his musical ability. When he was nine years old he was already composing dances. At only twenty years old, Bartók produced his first major work, the symphonic poem, Kossuth, honoring Lajos Kossuth, hero of the Hungarian revolution of 1848. During his adult life Bartók performed in 630 concerts in 22 countries. Bartók became interested in other folk traditions, studying the folk music of Romanians, Slovakians, Serbs, Croatians, Bulgarians, Turks, and North Africans as well as Hungarians. Bartók did not like the fascist régime that governed Hungary during the inter-war period in 1919. In the 1930s he refused to perform or to have his works broadcast in Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy. Bartok began to hate the European politics. In 1940 Bartók sailed for America with his wife and two kids. One attraction of the U.S. for him was the opportunity to study a collection of Serbo-Croatian folk music at Columbia University in New York City. Although it came down to the point where he left his own nation, Bartok still felt a passion for his nation and continued on with his music. http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/belabartok.html

Niolay Rimsky-Korsakov

Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov is said to have shaped classical music regarding Russian style.  Basically, if you were to think of classical music from Russia, chances are you will think of Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov.    He strived to create a sound with a nationalistic quality, in order to provide a nationalistic tone he used Russian Folklore.   The most characteristic feature of his works are involved with fairy tales, folk fantasy, and the poetry of the Russian countryside.  With his music he would create a picture of the people living on the countryside.   He used authentic folk themes in his works and incorporated folk-songs in his own melodies.  He is exalted in his ability to expand and enrich the color possibilities of harmony and instrumentation.  His harmonies and orchestral timbre were distinguished by color, brilliance, and a wealth of nuances.  One of his very familiar works is “Flight of the bumblebee”.  If you look this song up you will pick up on the nuances of the bumblebee and it buzzing around your head. He does a fantastic job of painting a vivid picture about his intended scene through his orchestra.  Korsakov worked mainly in opera’s and one was Sadko (1896), in which he created a contrast between epic scenes of Novgorod life and fantastic underwater scenes, interestingly though Korsakov mainly worked in opera he used the orchestra as part of the voice and wrote specific solos for the orchestra to portray a scene. I obtained all of my information from these cites listed below.

http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Rimsky-Korsakov,+Nikolai+Andreevich

http://www.atlantasymphony.org/About/Artists/Composers/Rimsky-Korsakov.aspx

Edward Elgar

Edward Elgar was born in Broadheath, a small town in England. His father owned a music shop and tuned pianos. While growing up, he studied the available music at his fathers shop and taught himself how to play a wide variety of instruments. For a while, he taught piano lessons and played the organ at St. George's Roman Catholic church in Worcester, England. A lot of his work has been music made out of poems or books written in England. One orchestra in particular called The Dream Of Gerontius, was written after a poem about the souls journey to its judgement and beyond. This means that The beliefs in England, which was mostly Roman Catholic, had a huge impact on the music he wrote and composed. Other Great works that were Catholic inspired were The kingdom and The Apostles. Also, he did a symphonic work based on the shakespear's The Falstaf.  This would mean that Edward was writing music based on other art forms in his culture. Edward stated that he wrote several pieces that were based on events that had happened to him in England. He wrote music about world war 1 and the effects it had on England. He also wrote a dedication to a beloved Monarch King Edward VII who had died. I would say that Edward based most of his music off of the Ethnicity and culture of England.




I got my resources at http://www.elgar.org/2english.htm and listened to a couple of works on Youtube.

Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland was an American composer, teacher, music writer, and also later in his musical career a conductor of American music. He was extremely instrumental in forging a distinctive American style of composition and is often referred to as "The Dean of American Composers". He was born on November 14, 1900 in Brooklyn, New York. He was of Lithuanian Jewish descent and was the last of five children. Upon arriving in Hollywood, he found great success in the notable film Of Mice and Men, from the novel written by John Steinbeck. This earned Copland his first nominations for an Academy Award. He actually received two nominations, one being for best score and another for original score. Although he had a successful movie career, Aaron Copland is most famous for his ballets Rodeo, Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, and his Fanfare for the Common Man. In his ballet Rodeo, Aaron Copland uses a lot of American nationalistic feel. One of the songs that exemplifies this feel in Rodeo is a piece named Hoedown. Hoedown, as you would expect, has an old western type of feel that makes it American. Copland uses wood blocks as well as piano to produce the sound of galloping hooves which assists in the making of the western feel. Aaron died December 2, 1990 in Sleepy Hollow, New York at the age of 91.


Sources:
Mr. James Hutchings' music an society class on 9/12/2012

http://www.last.fm/music/Aaron+Copland

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/aaron-copland/about-the-composer/475/

Carlos Chavez

                Carlos Chavez was born in 1899 in Popotla, near Mexico City, Mexico. At the age of 9 he began taking piano lessons and shortly after he began composing his own music. He was mostly self-taught, and never wanted to be a disciple of any other composer, instead, he relied on his own analysis of the compositions of the greats. The first concert of Chavez’s music happened in 1921. It was well liked and the government then commissioned him to compose a ballet based on ancient Aztec theme, so Chavez created El Fuego Nuevo, which incorporated many Indian themes.  In 1922 he married Otilia Ortiz, also a pianist, and they toured Europe and promoted Chavez’s musical compositions. While in Paris, Chavez met Paul Dukas. Dukas encouraged Chavez to concentrate on the rich musical heritage of Mexico. When he returned to Mexico he began organizing concerts of contemporary music at the National Preparatory School and showed many works that had not yet been seen in his home country. The public reception of these concerts was only lukewarm, however, and so Chavez decided to travel to New York, leaving behind his family. Chavez soon befriended both Aaron Copland and Edgard Varèse who assisted him in becoming introduced to the musical greats of the time and his works began to be heard at last, and they received favorable reviews. After finally receiving his well-deserved acclaim, Chavez returned to Mexico in 1928 to accept the post of musical director of the Orquesta Sinfónica Mexicana, which changed its name the following year to the Orquesta Sinfónica de México and became the first stable orchestra in Mexico’s history, flourishing for 21 seasons under Chávez’s directorship.

 http://craton.chez.com/musique/chavez/bioeng.htm

 http://www.schirmer.com/default.aspx?TabId=2419&State_2872=2&composerId_2872=257

WEEK 4

Choose a nationalist composer from our studies or elsewhere and do some quick research on the composer's country or ethnic group.  Draw some conclusions about how that ethnicity is manifest in the music. Avoid stereotypes, but be brave in your analysis. At the end of your post, be sure to tell us where you got your information. Find something other that Wikipedia upon which you can base your writing.

You may not duplicate composers, so first come, first served!

Some possible composers:

Bela Bartok
Heitor Villa-Lobos
Carlos Chavez
Aaron Copland
Jean Sebelius
Frederic Chopin
Manuel deFalla
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Smitri Shastakovich
Edward Elgar
Ottorino Respighi
Bedric Smetana
Antonin Dvorak
Leos Janacek
Edvard Grieg
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Charles Ives
Nikos Skaltkottas

Indian Flute

Many of these flutes were hand made by the Native American Indians.The Indian Flute is know to be an instrument used by the Native American Indians to call the "great Spirits" to get involved in the ghost dance, to welcome the return of the buffalo and the healing of their lands. Usually all of the songs with the Indian flute are very calm and have gentle like nature.

World apart- Bruce Springsteen

The song World's Apart by Bruce Springsteen is the most experimental song on his album The Rising released in 2002. The album wades into the wreckage and pain of the disaster that occurred on September 11th the previous year. It features a Middle Eastern influence and there are Qawwali singers in the intro. Qawwali is a form of Sufi devotional music popular in South Asia, especially in the Punjab and Sindh regions of Pakistan, Hyderabad, Delhi and other parts of India. It has been around for over 700 years. Qawwali music was first performed mainly at Sufi shrines or dargahs throughout South Asia, but has now became more mainstream. It has received international exposure through the work of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who was a Pakistani singer. The roots of this music can be traced back to Persia in the 8th century, which is now Iran and Afghanistan. But in the 11th century the musical tradition of Sema migrated to South Asia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. Amir Khusro Dehelvi from the Chisti order of Sufis is credited with fusing the Persian and Indian musical traditions to create Qawwali as we know it today in the late 13th century in India. Prior to hearing this song I had never heard of Qawwali, however, I think it obvious when listening that it is some type of music that probably originated in Asia. I also thought it was very interesting learning that Bruce Springsteen made a song that featured this style of music on a record of mostly songs dedicated to the people of 9/11 because it's not what most would expect.

Rambling Rover - The Dubliners

This song is Rambling Rover performed by “The Dubliners”. The song Rambling Rover is over 200 years old and performed by many Irish influenced bands. This song has many instruments that are not normally heard in most music. These instruments include the mandolin, Irish tin whistle, and Celtic influence style drums. The mandolin is kind of like a guitar but it has a different sound. It is widely found in more Indian and bluegrass music. The sound of an Irish tin whistle is so unique that there's nothing I can use to describe it. I would say it sounds like a flute, but that would not do it justice. As for the Celtic style drums, they are smaller hand drums that are hit with a wooden style hand club that gives it a different style of sound. The reason why I enjoy listening to Rambling Rover is that it has that old-timey feel that you don't see in modern music. Every time I hear this song, I picture myself walking down an old stone road in Ireland surrounded by rolling hills of green. It just gives me a very happy and joyful feeling every time I hear it. I don't know if this is because of my significant Irish background or because I just really like the song. It is most likely both, because when I was in Ireland I heard a lot of Celtic stye music everywhere I went. The music in Ireland gave me a strange sense of being home.

Clog Dance

This is a clog dance for tulip days in the Netherlands. Andre Rieu is a dutch violinist who makes this music for them to dance. I picked this video because I wanted to show how they celebrate their heritage.We don't celebrate it but a town next to me from home does by having dutch days in May. My grandmother is from Holland, so she loves tulips. My great grandfather would wear is clogs or wooden shoes till the day he passed away. This song has a mixture of instruments, of course the violin, the tap of the clogs, and many other shoes. This song shows joy and excited people there are.

Native American Ethnicity

This song is an example of Native American music. I really enjoy being of Native American decent because I admire the way they made their instruments. Aside from their chants they included in their songs, they also had to make their own instruments. For example every instrument they made, they made it out of natural commodities. I did some research and I discovered a couple of things I did not already previously know. For instance, in order to make a drum, the Indians had to carve out the insides of a hollow log to make the frame of the drum and then they sewed an animal's hide to the top of the frame so one could strike the drum to have it make noise. An other unique instrument they made was what they called a rattle. They made these from turtle shells, horns from buffalos, and even gourds. They filled these items with pebbles and used them to create rhythm to their music. Knowing these facts has influenced me to do more research about my ethnicity and it makes me appreciative of who I am because of how intriguing my ancestors are. Indians went so far as to making flutes out of either bird bones, bamboo, or wood. I think Native American music is peaceful. Like many ethnic groups, Native Americans also tell stories in their songs. I have really developed an interest in my ethnic background. I wish I could go back to the past and relive what kinds of experiences my ancestors did. I am proud of what they have done because without them, I would not be here today.

Ethnic Influence

Waka Waka by Shakira

Music is a wonderful thing that can transport us to new feelings, enlightenment, and other places. When you hear this song it takes you to a place where you feel as if you are a part of African culture.      Africa is a very culturally diverse continent and is reflected within this video.   The people that are in this video clearly show African diversity’s and ethnicities.  For example, this song is obviously about Africa, oddly though it is sung by Shakira, a Columbian native.  The dances in this video are traditional African dances.   Now beyond the looks let’s talk about the music.  I had to do a little research to help me explain the African vibe to this song.  I gathered all of my material from http://andreasgrabner.ulitzer.com/node/1371427.  Waka Waka has a Soca beat, Southern African guitar, and is paired with Afro-Colombian instrumentation and rhythms.  This song has lyrics in English, African dialect, and Spanish; the chorus is a copy from a favorite Cameroonian chant while marching.    Freshlyground is the group that adds all of the African vibe you feel in this song; they have elements of traditional South African music, blues and jazz, with just a hint of indie rock.  I believe that this song is very culturally influential because of the sound, the dances, and the message.  The sound is a unique blend of African Culture, the dances seem to be traditional but, the message is the most influential piece yet.  The message is that we are all Africa, actually Africa has been known as the motherland.  What better way to describe that we are all Africa than have a Columbian as the singer, South African band, and also be the official song for the FIFA soccer championship (soccer is the universal sport).   This permeates boundaries and that is why it is so very ethnically influential.

last of the wilds: keltic ethnicity

The song is from the band Nightwish. The song has a lot of keltic influence in it, but is mixed with rock and some metal. You will hear a lot of different instruments like the bagpipe, violin, and drums which are a big part of keltic music. I love this song because it sounds so adventurous. When I hear this song, I sometime imagine myself running on the hills of Ireland or Scotland. I can really connect with this song because I have a heart for adventure and this song always gets me motivated to go and explore the wonders of the planet that God created. When I hear the bagpipe, I feel like there is more to experience in this life than just living. It makes me feel like we were made to enjoy adventure, love, joy, and peace with those around us and with those we love. Unfortunately, not every one feels this way so it is always hard to express yourself. The violin, one of my favorite instruments, sounds epic in this song. When it is played along side the electric guitar, my heart races every time.

WEEK 3

Sorry for the delay on this. Aren't holiday weekends wonderful? Here it is, due by tomorrow night:

Choose a piece of music from your own collection that you think has ethnic influence. Describe the ethnicity and how it is manifest in the music. If you can't find something in your own collection or experience, do some research and find one.

Post it the same way you did the last, using an embedded video followed by an explanation.

Good Girl

This song is Good girl by Carrie Underwood. It is one of my favorite country songs. She was an American Idol winner and was asked to be a judge for American Idol this coming year but turned it down by her having a busy schedule. She inspires me by how hard she works. I enjoy this song because it is a fast beat for a country song. This song relates to me because I have always been called the good girl of my class. I’ve always stayed out of trouble and had decent grades. I have never done anything bad in my life. Also, I never have had a bad boy in my life but if you consider an ex that way then yes. This song has a good beat and it can get easily stuck in your head. She has a powerful voice and hits those high notes amazingly. She is very convincing in her words she sings. The rhythm is consistently in twos. The timbre is in the color of orange.