Age of Enlightenment

Hello Bloggers!

            So we’ve been talking about the Age of Enlightenment in class lately and my first thought was “yes! I know about this!” I had learned about the Enlightenment in High School. I found it to be such an interesting time in history. People’s views with everything changed, they went from viewing everything with faith and optimism to viewing life with ideas in science and logic. Philosophers like John Locke, Voltaire and Thomas Hobbes began to emerge and introduce new ideas and theories. The Age of Enlightenment changed the world socially, scientifically, and musically.

I had always learned about the philosophers of the time and scientific aspect of the Age of Enlightenment but never the musical aspect. It was really interesting; I would have never realized that the music was created to fit the aspects of the Enlightenment. We looked at songs made during the Enlightenment and found how much they represented the ways of Enlightenment. The music we listened to was repetitive and organized, which we also saw in the architecture of the Palace of Versailles and other buildings made in that time. The architecture shows repetition in the Greek style pillars and columns, and the symmetry of the windows and décor on the outside and inside of the palace. While in the music the phrases were repetitive and organized. I also saw how Opera was affected by the Enlightenment. I watched an Opera called Don Giovanni in class, the music for the Opera was written by Mozart and the text used in the Opera was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. I noticed how the Enlightenment affected the Opera. The songs in Don Giovanni were balanced and symmetrical; the characters would sing back and forth to each other. The song’s texture would start out light but would become deep with the two singers singing together in the end. I always thought in Opera the characters just sang I never thought there was enlightenment ideals like symmetry put into it.

            The Age of Enlightenment was also a time for society to grow. Reading became very popular in that time making the literacy rate skyrocket. The music of the time also became popular to a broader audience because of the growing middle class. The simpler melodies made it easier and more common for people to learn how to play instruments. I found this fascinating, that this enlightenment caused a wave of change. People were influenced by the growing trends of the time, which still happens today. Also the fact that something that was rare at the time, like reading and playing an instrument became something everyone did. I believe this also became possible because of the rising middle class. Before the enlightenment there was a big gap socially between the upper and lower class people, the upper class of society had large amounts of authority with everything but with the Enlightenment there was a chance for the lower class to rise and take some of that authority. They could now do things that the upper class did as well. I love how people have this will to achieve; if a person wants something they will strive to achieve it.

I believe the Age of Enlightenment made the culture richer, and the theories being presented made people think logically causing new ideas still used today. If the Age of Enlightenment didn’t happen the world would be very different today. Music, Architecture, Society, and Art would be made and viewed differently. The Age of Enlightenment made people’s lifestyle and views alter, changing the world.

-Kelsey

Defining Folk Music

Hello Bloggers!

            So in my Musical Phrases class we’ve been on the topic of Folk Music. Which brings up the question, what exactly is Folk Music? Everyone in my class has a different definition of what it is and why. My definition of Folk Music is a large, culture-rich functional genre of music designed to send a message to people but also made for entertainment and brings people of the world together. Every Folk song has a message even if it has no words. Take a traditional Irish Jig for example, the song’s message is to get up and dance, bring people together for celebration and have a good time. Because of the way the song is designed with its form, melody and texture makes it have a message and mood even without lyrics. There are also more modern folk songs that sound different from traditional Folk songs like Bob Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary who were folk artists in the rebirth era of Folk Music in the 60’s. They sang songs that portrayed messages of peace and change because of the events going on at the time. I agree and disagree with some of Bruno Nettl’s theories of Folk Music in his introductory essay “An introduction to Folk Music”.

Nettl talks about the origin of music and whether it’s Folk music or not. I did not agree with his theory. Nettl said that if the origin of a song was known it was not classified as Folk Music, which I disagree. I believe that knowing the origin of the song is an important aspect of Folk music and the origin of the song does not define it. Folk music is the people’s music so to know the origin is a special part of any folk song. Knowing whether it’s Irish, English, American, Jazz Folk etc. Most traditional Folk songs people only know the place it originated from but with more contemporary Folk Music we do know the origin. Since we know Bob Dylan wrote “Blowing In The Wind” according to Nettl we would say it wasn’t a folk song. I find that such an odd theory, songs shouldn’t be defined and categorized by whether you know its origin or not, it should be categorized by the style and its characteristics.

Nettl talks about cultivated music versus Folk Music. He claims that cultivated music is music that is still performed today even if it's 200 years old and that Folk music is not cultivated music. I disagree; I believe Folk music is one of the most cultivated genres of music because of how far back it goes and it is still a popular genre of music today. There are so many Folk songs and Folk artists old and new that are popular to this day. There are also many covers of Folk songs still being produced and performed so to say that Folk music is uncultivated is in my opinion false.

One thing I did agree with Nettl on was communal re-creation versus unchanging over time. Folk music has been changing and evolving in a good way. It hasn’t stayed the same, it transforms with the times. That is why it is still around and popular because the genre is always re-creating. Most songs these days has some aspect of Folk music in it whether it’s the lyrics and message it portrays or the sound, there are so many forms of Folk music.

Another aspect I agreed with Nettl on was how Folk music is orally taught instead of written. Most Folk songs are passed down generation to generation by memory. Also a lot of Folk songs feature improvising both notes and lyrics. I have witnessed this with both traditional and contemporary. Many traditional Irish Jigs are improvised and the band makes the melody and lyrics up as they go. Contemporary Folk songs don’t have written parts sometimes, they often improvise instrumental breaks, a great example of this is Bruce Springsteen and his band; they go into long instrumental breaks some instruments improvising notes while still harmonizing with each other. Other music is much more structured compared to Folk Music. Concert music is very structured; they require sheets of music to perform their piece in order to make the piece work they can’t change the pitch or rhythm while Folk music artists can change whatever they want as they improvise. Folk music is much less structured.

Nettl’s categories of comparing Folk Music was useful because it really made me narrow down my definition of Folk music and why. The way I agreed and disagreed with Nettl’s theories made me see that there was so much more to music and Folk Music. I also realized people have different opinions and because Bruno Nettl wrote this in the 60’s times have changed and his views were different than mine. I believe Nettl brought up some great categories and theories in his essay about Folk music.

-Kelsey

Concert Report #1

      Hello Bloggers!

       I went to my first school-sponsored concert on Monday. It was a Faculty Recital for Nicholas Walker featuring Siu Yan Luk. Nicholas Walker is a music professor at Ithaca, he specializes in the double bass. Siu Yan Luk is an accomplished pianist who currently works at Rochester Institute of Technology and Opus Ithaca School of Music. The recital was held on Monday September 16th in the Whalen Center for Music at Ithaca College in the Hockett Family Recital Hall and it started at 7pm. I heard 3 performances; the first one was performed by Nicholas Walker, he performed “Suite No.2 in D minor, BWV 1008” by J.S.Bach, the second was played by both Siu Yan Luk and Nicholas Walker called “Sonata for Piano & Cello, Op.19” a piece by Sergei Rachmaninoff, The last piece was written by Nicholas Walker himself called “Chorale for Solo Bass”. There was also a surprise piece at the end. After everyone had given Nicholas Walker a standing ovation he came back out on stage and played “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” by Coldplay.

        Each piece that was played had a memorable part. The first piece played by Walker was by J.S. Bach. It started off with a slow melody and very light texture. The song progressed into another part of the song called the “Courante” this part of the song the tempo increased and the texture got deeper because of how much pressure Walker put on the bow. The last two parts of the song called the “Minuet I &II” and “Gigue” was what I found memorable. It was much more complex, the texture was even deeper and the tempo increased. The melody was deeper also it was not as light like in the beginning of the number. I found the intensity towards the end of the song memorable.

                          The second piece that was performed was with both Nicholas Walker and Siu Yan Luk. The song starts off with a slow tempo and light texture as the piano plays a soft melody, the double bass then joins in but still keeps the texture light although at times Walker would put more pressure on his bow to make his part louder. There was also a burst of energy and tempo at times from the pianist, Siu Yan Luk; the texture would be light but then she would play a short, intense part but then go back to a lighter melody, this repeated many times in the song. The double bass then had a part where the texture got deeper and he repeats a melody a few times. The texture then got deeper and the songs tempo picked up making the song more intense. The part that I found memorable in this piece was at one point in the song Nicholas Walker retires his bow and results to plucking a melody on his double bass. He does this multiple times and I found it so fascinating, the change in sound and the melody of the song changed.

                          Finally the last piece was an original piece by Nicholas Walker. He told the audience that he hoped the “playfulness” would show through and I believe it did. The part I found most memorable was at the end when he plucked at the strings, similar to what he did in the piece with Siu Yan Luk. He plucked a sweet and soft melody but before hand, the melody was a bit intense the texture was deep so at the end when he plucks at the bow you could fell the tension release and the end to the song coming. His plucking of the strings got lighter and father apart. When he stopped there was a moment where no one did anything, it was dead silent we were so captured by his performance it took us all a moment to start applauding him. Another part that was memorable was after we gave him a standing ovation he came back onto the stage and started playing again, it took me a few seconds to realize he was playing “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” by Coldplay. I absolutely love Coldplay so I was so excited. Walker played with such intensity I was captivated. It was beautifully done, he played the song which originally has many instruments involved with it and he played the song successfully with one.

I really enjoyed this recital, I found that the change in tempo, texture and melody in each piece made the show keep moving; I stayed interested the whole time. It really made me want to go see what else Ithaca College’s music scene was like. My mood through out the recital was captivated. I found the songs to be interesting and unpredictable melody wise. The atmosphere in the recital hall was the same; everyone was interested and captured by the music and pure talent of the performers. I also noticed the texture, melody, harmony and at times the form in the music, which we have learned about all in class. I noticed that in the second performance, “Sonata for Piano & Cello, Op. 19” the melody and texture fluctuated dramatically throughout the piece. The piece would be calm and quiet and there would be a burst of intensity and the texture would get deeper. Overall I found this recital to be great!

-Kelsey

Porchfest 2013

Hello Everyone!

            So today I went to Porchfest! It’s a free local music festival where musicians play music on porches in the Ithaca Area. I’ve always loved folk music; when I was 16 I traveled over to Ireland and experienced the culture first hand. I would be walking down the streets of Galway and come across countless street performers playing Folk music. So when I heard about Porchfest I instantly became excited. I took the TCAT Bus from Ithaca College down to the Commons, and started walking. At first I didn’t hear any music but I soon came across a band outside a coffee shop. From there I encountered many bands, all playing completely different kinds of folk music, I heard Irish, English, Folk Jazz, and Southern/American folk music.

I came across a few bands playing but none that I stayed a long time for. Until I was walking down a street and heard a fiddle playing. I immediately thought it sounded like Irish Folk Music. I made my way into a backyard with brick walkways and wicker chairs, there was a huge crowd of people so I made my way to the front, found a spot of grass to sit on, and watched the band play. I then realized it was a Jug band, it was real folk band music. Their name was the Fall Crikkers Jug Band, their band consisted of 8 people; a man played the fiddle, another played the washtub bass, another played an acoustic guitar, a woman played what I believe to be a mandolin, a boy and a girl played the ukulele, a woman played the keyboard, and lastly in the back a man played a washboard. The first thing I noticed was the atmosphere as the band played. It was so cheerful and joyous; to the left of the porch was a place where people were dancing to the music. The band members and the crowd laughed at jokes made by the man playing the fiddle. As the band played their songs they all had smiles on their faces and I looked around at the audience who were full of excitement, tapping their feet and smiling; there was a general love for music.

I listened to the music and found the beat each time. The melody of most of the songs were upbeat dancing songs, those songs were a 4 beat like their songs “Jug Band Widow” and “Little Biddy Bizness”. They incorporated instrumental breaks where all the instruments would play making the texture of the music deeper. In "Little Biddy Bizness" the chorus and other parts of the song’s texture were lighter than the instrumental breaks, meaning all the instruments were playing but less intense while Dave, the man who played the acoustic guitar sang. One song they played was not a 4 beat melody but a 3 beat waltz. It was called “Mon P’tit Chou” which Dave shared that it’s a song about when him and his wife first met. Dave sang in French, the mandolin and guitar kept the 3 beat and the fiddle played a different melody but still harmonized with the mandolin and guitar, the other instruments harmonized along as well.

Lastly, the song I loved the most was a very Irish sounding folk song. I didn’t catch the name of it but it reminded me of an Irish Jig. The fiddler played furiously while the acoustic guitar, washboard and washtub bass played along and the washtub bass kept the beat. The form of the song was the fiddler would play a melody 4 times, then switch and play a short different melody then go back to the first melody and play it 4 times again. It was a song where all I wanted to do was dance along to it.

That’s the thing I love about music; the fact that it can take total strangers off the street and unite us with music. The history of Folk music is that exactly; bringing people together for celebration. Porchfest was an awesome experience!
-Kelsey

Perfect Authentic Cadences, Imperfect Authentic Cadences, Half Cadences

Greetings fellow bloggers!
      Today I'm going to talk about cadence structures in a song I picked. I'm going to be honest I had extreme difficulty doing this post! At first I looked through my playlist and looked at a few songs. I was able to find the beat and meter but had trouble finding the Perfect Authentic Cadences, Imperfect Authentic Cadences, and Half Cadences in the phrase, whether it was dominant or tonic and on what note it landed on. So I basically had trouble with most of it... I then thought about the music we listened to in class; the Irish jigs and reels and how it was easier for me to pin point the cadences in that kind of music, but once again I had trouble finding a song I could work with. So I went back to the absolute basics and listened to some nursery rhymes; I found it easy to find the cadences, phrases, beat, and meter, as it should be. With a little more understand I went on youtube and went through folk song after folk song but still found nothing. I then remembered that waltzes were easy (depending on the song) to evaluate, so i researched that and came across Jueventino Rosas 'Over the Waves Waltz'. It's a very well know waltz and I decided to give it a shot and find the cadence structure in it.

      So here we go! I always loved waltzing music it makes me want to get up and waltz, it makes me feel as though I can waltz even though I probably can't. The texture is very deep in this song; it is played by an orchestra so there are many layers of instrument playing, creating depth in the song It fluctuates throughout the song becoming more complex at times than others. I went through such a process to do this blog post. I really want to not only get it right for the sake of my readers because I didn't want to be wrong and confuse them but also on a personal level I wanted to be able to fully understand this concept. I found it difficult to pin point what note each phrase ended on so I went online and found a notes scale because I can't read music sheets that well and found a music sheet of 'Over the Waves' I listened to the song on youtube and followed along. I could count the triple meter starting at :50, the song starts off slow with a few string instruments playing, that phrase ends on :57 on the chord F (4), on the solfège scale it is Fa. This is significant because the fact that it ends on the F chord means that it is a Half Cadence, because a Half Cadence is any chord from 1 (C) to 5 (G) and F is 4. A Half Cadence makes the phrase sound like it should keep going, there is harmonic and melodic tension. If you listen to the song and stop the track at :57 you can feel the restless tension.  I kept stopping and starting the song to listen to the tension of the Half Cadences presented in the song. From :57 the melody from phrase "a" repeats but is slightly different making this phrase "a'". The second phrase ends at 1:07 on chord B (8) which on the solfège scale is Do. This phrase ends with  a Perfect Authentic Cadence. It is a Perfect Authentic Cadence (PAC) because a PAC is a chord between 5(G) to 2(D) so since B is 8 on the scale, it fits. Also a PAC sounds complete there is no harmonic or melodic tension with the ending note, if you stopped the song there you could end it and it would sound complete. This makes these two phrase otherwise known as a Period, a Half Cadence (HC) -Perfect Authentic Cadence (PAC) structure.
    The rest of the song is HC- PAC as well. Because for example at 1:14 the phrase pauses on E (3) making it a Half Cadence and the second Phrase at 1:23 pauses on G (5) making it a Perfect Authentic Cadence.
     As I listened to this song i couldn't help but think of and relate it to one of my favorite childhood movies, Anastasia. Just because I analyzed a waltz and one of the songs I love in Anastasia is a waltz like song too. I always loved the song  'Once Upon a December" and the scene that goes along with it.  It was a triple meter song and the people are waltzing gracefully in the grand ball room.  I understand music much more now and I evaluate it more whenever I'm listening to it. After reading the text book countless times and listening to 'Over the Waves' what seemed like thousands of times I now understand cadences and their structures more!
   
-Kelsey