Questions:  

1. In your piece of music that you will write about, choose to discuss either Rhythm OR Harmony in this last blog post. You can describe the changes in the beat, or the changes in the harmony that you notice in your piece.  In some pieces of music, these subjects can be a strong vehicle for the composer to convey feelings and meanings to their music.  (100-125 words) (10 points)

Answers:

1. In my last blog assignment I will discuss the rhythm of my piece of music. At the very beginning of my piece, before any real singing comes in, the rhythm is very subtle & soft-spoken. Then, it becomes more complex & compelling to the listener. It’s like once you hear the real beat of the song, you’re hooked. As we keep listening, it gets more and more complex & precise. Then it drops back down to the more subtle & soft-spoken rhythm for a few seconds & then right back to the compelling rhythm. The whole song is cycle of this upbeat/complex rhythm, then usually as a transition there is a subtle (smooth/ominous) rhythm for a few seconds. For the beat, at the beginning of the song, it’s more slow & drawn out, but as you continue through the song it gets more upbeat.

Questions:

1. What is your reaction to this musician and his abilities? 
2. Do you think this kind of talent is common? 
3. Can you measure talent? 
4. How is Joey’s abilities different, even though he seems like a regular kid?
5.   Have you ever met someone like this in your lifetime yet? 

Answers:

1. I was very shocked and happy for him for how talented he is for 12 years old, & considering he was the youngest person invited to perform at Newport.
2. I truly don’t know, but I would assume that this kind of talent is not common.
3. I think you can, you measure their abilities. Some musician are just more talented than others, you base it off of who has talent & who has skill.
4. His abilities are different because he was born with a gift (talent), he didn’t have to spend many years learning skills like other musicians, it just came to him naturally.
5. Personally, no.

Questions:

1. Find some other interesting facts about Mozart’s life and his other compositions. Please explain how and where you found your information
2. Also, find another Mozart piece (a different piece, NOT Symphony #40 from the eText) or excerpt on YouTube and copy the link in your blog assignment.

Answers:

1. According to https://www.biographyonline.net/music/facts-mozart.html, some other interesting facts about Mozart’s life is that by the age of 6, he was writing his own compositions, he gave music lessons to Beethoven who was 16 at the time, and he married Constanze Weber in 1782. They had six children, but only two survived infancy. Some other interesting facts about Mozart’s other compositions is that he composed his first great mass at the age of 12: Misa Brevis in G. In 1783, he composed the great work Mass in C minor, when it was premiered in Salzburg, his wife Constanze sang a solo part. Lastly, Mozart also enjoyed composing scatological music.
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikQNFqVkNNc

Questions:

1. Do you like either or both of these examples? (why or why not?)
2. Have you noticed the quality of vibrato in any of the music you listen to?  
3. If you have noticed, what makes you aware of it? If you haven’t noticed the vibrato, why do you think you have not been aware of it? 
4. You may want to take note of the use of vibrato as expression in your own chosen piece of music as well.  

Answers:

1. Personally, I did not like the very first piece (Musetta”s Waltz). I just have never really liked this type of sound. However, the second piece of music, Seasons of Love, I did enjoy. It was very easy on the ears & very pleasant to listen to.
2. No, not really.
3. I think that I haven’t been aware of it, because it’s not something I’m really listening for when I listen to music.
4. After going back & listening to my piece of music, I was able to notice the use of vibrato as an expression.

Questions:

1. listen to your chosen piece of music and notice any changes in dynamics.  Describe what happens when your piece gets louder or softer and where in the piece that occurs. 
2. Does it make the music more interesting to you? (why or why not?)
3. Now, pay attention to the different timbres that are presented in your music:  this may or may not relate to the dynamic changes, but describe what happens when you notice any timbre changes and how it affects the listener. (is it a dramatic difference, or more of a subtle difference?

Answers:

1. The sound is very soft at the very beginning of my piece of music (pianissimo). Then, Drake enters & it gradually becomes louder (piano). Then, both Chris Brown & Drake are singing, making the sound a bit louder (forte). Throughout the rest of my piece, it cycles back through these phases in dynamics.
2. Yes, to me it makes the music more interesting. I would not want to listen to a song in monotone, that’s not always very pleasant on the ears when I want to listen to music. With the different use of dynamics in my piece of music, No Guidance, it helps make the piece more interesting.
3. While listening, I came across a few different timbres. I noticed a smooth & hollow timbre at times. I was also able to notice it was a bit whiney, but mellow. I think that it is a subtle difference & that it affects the listener positively, because it is adding contrast.

Questions:

1.  Listen to your chosen piece of music to discover any examples of how the music “paints” the meaning of the words. Describe what you hear or what happens in one or more parts of your recording.  If you cannot hear any text painting in your musical example, try finding another piece of music that does and write about what you discovered.  (Google “text painting music example”) 

Answers:

1. I cannot hear any text painting in my musical example, No Guidance, so I tried finding one on Google. While searching, I came across  Justin Timberlake’s “What Goes Around”. In this musical example, when he sings “what goes around, goes around, comes back around”, it feels like you’re going around, & circling back. He is successful at making this text painting work because he starts by descending & then ascending vocally. This is what I was able to discover in Justin Timberlake’s song.

Questions:

1. Do you enjoy listening to these 2 Renaissance examples?  Why or why not? 
2. Does the word painting help you better understand the humor in the music? 
3. Is the language a barrier?
4. Were you able to better enjoy the music by watching the singers perform as opposed to just listening to the music? Why or why not? 

Answers:

1. Personally, I actually did enjoy these two pieces compared to all of the other ones we have listened to. I enjoyed how both were polyphonic, so there was a lot going on & it kept my attention throughout the entire pieces.
2. Yes, it does. They way they resembled the cricket in the Cricket piece was nice, & in the other piece of music that we listened too. The high scaled notes in that piece resembled them going to heaven.
3. There could be a language barrier if you are not familiar with music, otherwise I wouldn’t think there would be one.
4. Yes, I actually was. Just listening to a recording without seeing the people, I just didn’t know what to expect personally. Then, once we watched the recording & listening, I was kind of shocked. I didn’t even realize, at first, that there were so many people singing in the piece, so it most definitely helped a lot & was more enjoyable.

Questions:

1. Name your piece in this blog post and describe the main melody or melodies in the music you chose. 
2. Also, discuss the texture of the piece you chose.  It might be one texture throughout your piece, OR it may change. 

Answers:

1. The piece of music that I chose to describe/analyze this semester is, No Guidance by Chris Brown featuring Drake. The melody in this piece is very smooth & soothing almost throughout the entire piece. It has a sweet, pleasant sound to it, that is very pleasing to the ears. This is one of the reasons many of us probably enjoy this song so much. It’s not too aggressive & it’s not too soft, there’s a nice balance between the two.
2. For this song, I’m pretty sure it’s one texture for a majority of the song, but then it does change. There’s just the beat & Chris Brown’s voice for most of the song, making this homophonic. However, when Drake entires, you can hear his voice, plus Chris Brown’s voice quietly in the back & the beat, making this part polyphonic. Therefore, there isn’t just one texture throughout the entire piece.

Questions:

1. Did you like the Eagle Dance example?  Why or why not? 
2. What did you notice about the vocal quality?  Is this the kind of vocal sound we expect when we listen to any recorded piece of music for pleasure? 
3. Does it help to view the dancers to experience this music as opposed to listening to the music by itself?  Why or why not?
4. Did you enjoy watching and listening to this video? 
5. How are the vocables different from the Eagle Dance? 
6. How does this music make you feel compared to the Eagle Dance?

Answers:

1. I did like the Eagle Dance example. It was nice to experience the music that other culture’s listen too.
2. I noticed that the vocal quality was deeper than others we’ve heard. This is not the kind of vocal sound we expect when we listen to any recorded piece of music for pleasure. Most likely, we would want to listen to something with a wide variety of different words, a nice tempo, & something with a nice rhythm to it.
3. I think that it does help to view the dance to experience this music as opposed to listening to the music by itself. Listening without with dancers makes it lack meaning & purpose in a way, since the dance is apart of it. Watching with the dance, you get to see how the bells work & how their steps match up with the beat & mainly just how everything flows together nicely. Without them, it’s just a bunch of “hey yeah’s.”
4. I absolutely loved listening to this piece, he did a wonderful job. I lose focus quick at times, but surprisingly, my eyes were glued to the screen the entire time. Him being able to focus on so many things at one time, just makes him very talented.
5. The vocals in this piece were way more high pitch. It was also monophonic in the eagle dance, & at times it was homophonic & polyphonic in the second piece.
6. Compared to the eagle dance, this piece made me feel compelled & inspired. I was compelled to listen to more & I can’t really explain it, but I was inspired by him.

Introduction: After reading and understanding more of Hildegard’s life, you may be able to appreciate the excerpt from the “Play of Virtues.”  

Questions:

1. Did you like listening to this excerpt? Why or why not?
2. Is melody an important factor in this film music?  What does this music make you think or feel? (Even if you do not know the plot to the Star Wars movies.)
3. How does this music make you feel?  Do these 2 excerpts from the Star Wars films have more of an impact on you because you can relate to them in a more modern sense, compared to Hildegard’s musical excerpt? Can you still appreciate Hildegard’s music even if you are not as comfortable with listening to it?  Why or why not?  

Answers:

1. Personally, this excerpt was not one of my favorites. I understood and enjoyed the story behind it, but the music just wasn’t very comforting to my ears.
2. I would say that melody is an important factor in this film music. I have no prior knowledge of the star wars films, so I do not know what scene this piece of music is from, but this piece makes me feel kind of sad/down at the beginning. After about halfway, when the tempo & volume picks up, then it makes me feel like I’m being uplifted.
3. This music makes me feel like I’m marching in or a war/battle is about to happen. I would say that these 2 excerpts from the Star Wars films do have a bigger impact on me than the Hildegard’s musical excerpt. More or so, because they are more modern, & I feel like I can’t really relate to the Hildegard except, because I do not know much about that time period. I can still appreciate Hildegard’s music even though it was not comfortable to listen too, I appreciate the story & meaning behind it, so in a sense that makes up for the lack of interest in the actual sound of the music.