The Enlightenment

The Enlightenment was a extremely progressive time in history. People started to discredit religion on favor of science and the monarch in favor of a democracy. There were many enlightenment thinkers who were able to show to the world the power of knowledge and freedom. Literacy rates skyrocketed in many rural areas in Europe and even rose in the cities. The nobility was taken off their pedestal and the middle class became much more prominent. As the result of the rise of science there were many important scientific discoveries occurred during the time. Oxygen and electricity were discovered to name a few. Additionally because of the disdain for the monarchs people created the basic human rights, such as life liberty and property, which was later changed in America to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. People were able to speak their minds and did not have to fear the government because it was of the people for the people.

Art was also very prominent during the Enlightenment. Before artwork was much more ornate and regal, mainly because the royalty and nobility were the only ones who commissioned pieces. They were framed in ornate gold frames that were as much a part of the art as the piece itself. In the enlightenment artists started to paint the people more. They focused on the common man as the subject of their piece and often scorned the nobly in the pieces. They used light to emphasize the focus of their piece which was usually centrally located. Still life paintings also became more prevalent as artists would paint the mundane of the everyday, to show the toils and their reverence to the common man. 

Theobald Reinhold von Oër: The Weimar Court of Muses. Schiller in Tiefurt Reading to the Court, 1860 © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Here is a great example of a piece from the enlightenment. In the painting we are able to see a man teaching a whole crowd. We are able to see in the painting the higher value on education. The book is placed in the center of the piece to emphasize its importance. Additionally the people of the crowd don't appear to be the nobility but rather the middle class, showing the change in class dynamics of the time.

http://www.kunstderaufklaerung.de/index.php?knoten_id=1

Definition of Folk Music

Folk music is really hard to define; there is not one set definition of folk music. It is really hard to put folk in a typical cookie cutter category, because folk music encompasses so many different types of music. I like the idea that folk is music for the people by the people. Simple music that many people are able to play on a shoestring budget.

In Bruno Nettle’s An Introduction to Folk Music in the United States, he discusses many different aspects of folk music compared to classical music, under a few main comparisons:

Simple vs. Complex

Nettle talks about how folk music is much simpler than classical music. It is the kind of music that anyone can play. Folk music is usually not written down and the players will makes up harmonies and solo’s to go with the feel of the song. I agree with him on the idea that classical music is more complex. In a classical piece every part is mapped out and written down along with the harmonies. The players have to follow the music much more carefully and will sometimes practice the piece for weeks of not months. Since folk music is not as focused on the correctness or the perfectness of how it was played performers feel much more comfortable jumping in on a song and making it up as they go along.

Passive vs. Participatory

Folk music is meant to invoke a sense of community. During folk festivals such as Porchfest, the audience feels comfortable enough to dance along with the music. It is a community activity to listen to folk music, and it is played in a much more relaxed setting. Classical music on the other hand is more passive on the part of the audience. Usually it is played in a concert hall or a more formal setting. The audience sits and remains silent until the piece is over and then they will clap and sometimes give a standing ovation if the piece was really good. It is harder to dance to classical pieces(unless it is a waltz, then it is meant for that style of dancing) because of their complexity and constantly changing tempos and time signatures. As a result classical music does not bring forth the same sense of community that folk music brings, it is a passive listening experience.

Nettle uses the terms cultivated music to describe classical music and primitive music to describe folk. I do not agree with these terms. The use of the word primitive gives the sense that folk music is lowbrow and not as important. On the other hand the use of cultivated suggests that classical music is more highbrow and has more importance than folk. I also see it as suggesting that classical music is better than folk. I don’t think that this is true. While classical music may appeal to a different crowd than folk music I do not think that either one is better than the other. Folk music serves to get a message out in the world and to unite people in their communities with music for the people by the people. It tells a story to the listeners and guides them towards an emotion. Classical music does not always carry a message, it is lovely to listen to and while it may unite people on their tastes of music, it does not unite in the same way. It is much more open-ended on the emotions that people feel while listening to it. Each person might feel something different during each movement, but the music might not serve to portray that specific emotion.   

I think that both folk music and classical music are important. They are both interesting to listen to. They may not be treated the same in the eyes of music theorists and critics, but in the end they are both good music and that is what is really important.  

PIANAMERICA! (Part 2)

The concert that I went to tonight was called Pianamerica. The concert was comprised of many solo piano pieces composed by Americans, and a piece that was composed for two pianos with an original percussion piece. The music that was played was primarily classical aside from one Broadway piece.

Each piece was very different, and four of the six of them contained multiple movements that varied tempos and provoked different emotions. One extremely interesting piece was Toccata for Piano composed by Emma Lou Diemer. The piece was very rhythmic and during the piece the performer would mute the strings to create a different sound from the keys, and she ended by drumming on the strings of the piano. This was one of my favorite pieces of the evening. I loved the different intricacies of the piece and thought that it was really cool. I thought that it was similar to the Irish music that we listened to in class because in both the rhythm is so important.

Another piece that I loved (even though I thought that they were all amazing) was called Symphonic Dances from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein. The piece was originally arranged for two pianos by John Musto, and two students wrote their own drum arrangement for the piece. The song contained nine movements. I am a huge fan of the musical West Side Story and am always in awe of the instrumental versions of the songs. 

Each song was very different and caused a different reaction. I thought that the piece Eight Memories in Watercolor composed by Tan Dun was, really beautiful. Some of the movements were more calming and moving such as the one titled Ancient Burial, while the final movement, Sunrain was much lighter and more upbeat with many 16th notes.

Similar to Folk I thought that the West Side Story piece was able to bring people together, and unite all the demographics that were in the room. Many people, have heard the music to the musical and are familiar with the songs. At the end of the piece we all gave the performers a standing ovation for their amazing performances. The music was able to unite all the people in the Hall with their love of music. 

There were many differences that the music had to folk as well. None of the songs were simple, all of them were quite difficult. I was fortunate to get a seat with a view of the keys, so I could see the pianists hands. Many times I had trouble following the hands as they danced so rapidly across the keys. They were definitely not pieces that you would play at a blue-grass festival, and it was not the atmosphere where you would clap along or join in with the performers. I was much more formal with all of them wearing evening gowns. 

Overall I really enjoyed the concert and would definitely go to another one. My sister is a pianist and I grew up going to her recitals and listening to her practicing classical music in the house. The piano is one of my favorite instruments because it is so versatile and there are so many different styles that can be played on it. The talent of the performers was amazing and I can wait to see other styles of concerts as well! 

PORCHFEST 2014

Today was Porchfest in the town of Ithaca, where many local musicians play songs for the community. I had a lot of fun at the festival, there were so many different styles of music that you could listen to. I had a little trouble figuring out the schedule, and ended up getting to a group during their last two numbers, but I was still able to enjoy the songs that I did get to hear. I found that I got so enthralled in the music that I forgot to listen for open and closed cadences, but I took videos and listened to them again so that I could detect the types of phrases. I really liked some of the instrumental music that was played. My favorite group was TRAONACH,they played Irish Traditional music that  was very lively. I was able to detect the open and closed cadences that they played by the way the phrase lingered when it ended, all the open cadences just seemed unfinished, while they could have ended on any of the closed cadences. All the songs that I heard them play were very light and carefree. The music was either in duple or quadruple meter and had a nice upbeat tempo. I was able to tap my feet along to the music and really wanted to dance to the songs that they played. Their music did not provoke discomfort, in fact it made me feel even more comfortable than I was, there were even some people (who were braver than me) in the crowd that felt comfortable enough to start dancing along to the jigs. 

Unfortunately I did not get a chance to talk to the performers, so I am unable to post the video of their music online. 

The song that I chose was the popular song "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac. The song is in 4, and has a very slow tempo. As a result of this the cadences that I found are only a measure long. I tried as best I could to sing the notes and find do within the song, and then compare it to the ends of the cadences. I did however look up the score of the music after I tried to do it by ear because I was not sure how good my ear was at detecting the notes. I found that I was correct and that I have to trust myself more on what I think that I am hearing.

The  first phrase that she sings "I took my love and I took it down" is an Imperfect Authentic Cadence (IAC).  This is evident because the first phrase ends on mi in the solfege which is scale degree 3 that can be found in the tonic I chord. The phrase is not quite resolved because even though it ends with a note in the tonic it does not end with do. That phrase is then followed by "Climbed a mountain and I turned around" which is a Perfect Authentic Cadence (PAC). It is a PAC because the phrase ends on do in the solfege which is scale degree 1 in the tonic I chord. This phrase in contrast is resolved because it ends on do. As a result of those two phrases being placed in that order a period is created. Each of the phrases is similar with slight variations at the end to accommodate the two different cadences. 

This song starts out really beautifully with a guitar solo that is able to set the somber mood of the piece. The song is about love and how it does not always work out. We are able to get a better sense of the somber feel when Stevie Nicks comes in alone for the singing.  The whole song remains mainly acoustic and emulates the solo feeling that she is talking about with only the one guitar and the one voice. I thought that it was very beautiful when she changed the style of the phrase during the line "Well I've been afraid of changing", it shows that even though she is afraid of moving on from her love since she built her life around him, she knows that she has to. Then we are able to hear even more change when an electric guitar comes in for a solo, with the steady acoustic in the background. I think that the acoustic guitar is the grounding force of the song and it is used to show that not everything has to change, and she is still the same person. She takes the transformation further by adding the electric guitar when she repeats the chorus after the instrumental break.

This is one of my favorite songs, I think that the simplicity of the song really allows for the words to take center stage. The helps the listener to hold onto the meaning much better than if there were more elements musically. We are comforted by the acoustic guitar as is remains static, and are moved by the electric guitar changing up the song.

The song that I chose to talk about today, is called "Chandelier" by Sia. This song's meter is quadruple/ it is in 4. Before any of the music starts the song has a hum to it that sounds like a amp, then there is a quick drum role and the singing starts. With the singing there is only drums and snapping allowing for the singer to be more prominent so that we pay more attention to the words. Then there seems too be a very light synth in the background during the second verse. Then as she starts counting the music starts to get louder, relaying the feel of the song and the idea of the party getting louder. During the chorus everything get louder, more instruments are added in and the singer gets louder with the instruments with the background singers accentuating the words. The loudness directly parallels the words suggesting that the person is going to go crazy and swing from the chandelier. As the singer says "But I'm ho,ding on for dear life..." she get a bit quieter while the instruments remain loud suggesting the feeling of being drowned out by the alchoholism. Then like in the beginning of the song everything gets quiet again and we are able to feel the shame that the singer has about her problem, and we are able to sense the pattern of the 'lifestyle' that she is singing about. The singer seems to be suggesting that she is in a vicious cycle and is unable to escape, that she must "live like tomorrow doesn't exist" but she is also "just holding on for tonight". The music really accentuates this because it keeps a steady cycle throughout and does not change too much.

I also think that the music video for this song adds greatly to the message that she is trying to get across especially at 2:58 when the dancer seems to be drowning and is having trouble getting back up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vjPBrBU-TM
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/sia/chandelier.html