music history second exam notes

8/13/2019 Music History Second Exam Notes

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Music History Master Notes:

Lecture One: African American derived popular music, from Rock to Motown

1. General History- These musics grew out of the second world war. Essentially, after the United

States won the war, they experienced a huge economic boom, as during the war the production

and industry of the United States grew. Furthermore, because the U.S. was the least damaged by

the war, they had less debt to pay, and less money to spend on repairs. This increase in economydirectly relates to the spread of Rock and Roll and motown as due to this aforementioned

increase, more white americans entered into the middle class...and more white americans had

money to spend on music. Furthermore, because of the baby boomers, during the 50s and 60s

the teenage population was much larger, and these teenagers found ways through music to

express themselves. With their large disposable incomes, these teenagers began to be attracted to

Rhythm and Blues music, and soon the major record companies in the United States realized they

could capitalize on these kids.

2. History of Rhythm and Blues: Because after the war a lot of industry jobs, and jobs in general,

were in northern metropolitan cities, a lot of bluesmen moved from the rural south to the urban

north. These bluesmen brought their musical traditions in blues and jazz with them however, theyalso began to play blues with electric guitar which became known asElectric Blues. This new

music was also referred to as race music on the charts, and it was exclusively marketed towards

blacks however, in 1948 Jerry Wexlerof billboard magazine changed the term from race music

to Rhythm and Blues on the charts, and the biggest leader of this genre that we discussed in class

was Big Joe Turner. The early R&B of this time featured vocalists or vocal quartets with a

standard blues ensemble (plus electric guitar) and they often played twelve bar blues, or thirty two

bar blues. Unlike original blues however, the blues used in rhythm and blues was classified by

having an insistent rhythm, with emphasis on the backbeats, 2 and 4.

a. Big Joe Turner: Shake, Rattle, and Roll.

i. Looking at the title here, you can tell one obvious thing about R&B: The lyrics willbe about sex. This song features sexual lyrics hidden by metaphors, which was

common practice of popular music of that time period. This song, furthermore, is

a huge example of the original african american rhythm and blues that captivated

white teenage audiences. You can tell by the saxaphone in the song, along with

the other standard instrumentation, that the song has a standard jazz ensemble.

Further, the clapping in the song indicates the huge importance the backbeats

were placed. When you listen, you can hear that in every measure beats 2 and 4

are emphasized. (Its also 12 bar blues)

b. Bill Haley and the Comets: Shake, Rattle, and Roll.

i. These dudes are the kings of appropriation. (In contrast to Elvis, who is THE

King). Either way, the reason we listened to this cover of the song was to show

how during this time period, record companies realized they could make tons of

money by having whites record black music. Whereas Turners version reached 1

on the R&B charts, it reached 22 on the billboard pop chart. Bill Haleys version

reached #7 on the pop chart. This version is a bit brighter, peppier, and happier.

And it merges country music with rhythm and blues...which is technically the

formula for rock and roll. (So, he might ask us one of those math formula


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questions...) The lyrics were also cleaned up for this version, to make it more

fitted for white radio audiences. The easy way to see rock and roll here, rather

than blues, is to listen to the bassline. The bass here isnt a jazz standard, it has a

energetic slap bass feel. Further, the song replaces horn in Turners version with

that roaring rock and roll sax.

c. Arthur Big Boy Crudup- Thats all right Momai. This song was another example of early rhythm and blues. It features emphasis

on two and four, and a walking jazz bass with electric guitar. The vocals are a

form of blues wailing. We listened to this to show how white people basically

appropriated it.

d. Elvis Presley: Thats all right. This is the song that made Presleys Career. The

rumor/made up story in class was that the producers didnt like Elvis. THe Producer Sam

Phillips thought Elvis was just another church singer however, after Elvis started fooling

around and singing in an up-tempo version of Arthur Crudups voice, Phillips realized that

he could make an incredible amount of money, as Elvis was a white man with a black

mans voice. Some argue that this was the first rock and roll record, as it was the firstrecord to truly blend r&b and blues(country?). Elvis voice in this recording features really

exaggerated blues style singing, and a walking bass, but also middle rhythm guitar from

country.

3. History of Rock and Roll: The term for Rock and roll came from a new style that blended black

and white music. The formula for rock was simple, it was just black r&b merged with white

country music. The instrumentation featured more amplified electric instruments along with drums.

The words of rock were very much so about sex, and sometimes they were delivered in a raucous

wailing voice.

a. Chuck Berry: Maybeline and Roll over Beethoven

i. In the 50s, record companies were looking to expand beyond just Rhythm andBlues markets, so they decided to start recording music that combined rhythm and

blues elements with country. Maybellene by Chuck Berry was one of the first

songs to do that, as it featured a wailing country guitar, with middle accompanying

guitar from country, along with the unrelenting beat of Rhythm and Blues.

ii. In 1956 Chuck Berry also recorded Roll Over Beethoven, which was an

incredibly popular early rock and roll song. It featured amplified guitar as well,

and multiple guitar solos. The song served not only as easy listening for white

teenagers, but it also signified the generational gap between the parents of the

babyboomers and the babyboomers. The parents were raised on classical music

and jazz, their children on Rock and Roll. So, when Chuck Berry says Roll Over

Beethoven, hes signaling that Rock and Roll has replaced classical as the music

medium for the people.

4. History of Soul: This form of american popular music grew from the 50s and 60s, and it was a

combination (more of an extension really) of rhythm and blues, jazz, and gospel. It was the music

that arose out of uniquely black experience in America, and specifically arose of the black r&b

music of the 1950s that incorporated gospel into their music. The white audiences, however, did

not feel the impact of soul until the 1960s, when Motown was formed in detroit. Motown was the


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leading record company for soul music and motown sound, and it was, as Dr. Carson argues,

incredibly hyper-realistic. The songs were recorded to be perfect, all of the styles and

performances were worked out to be as visually appealing and unraw as possible. Stax, the other

African American soul record label, on the other hand was way more raw, and gritty. Further,

Motown often placed huge importance on the group performance setting, whereas Stax relied on

individual artists.a. Ray Charles: I got a Woman

i. Its original soul music. You can hear the huge gospel influence on Charles

voice, and further you can the the lyrics are about sex and love. The music

features other common elements of soul music such as call and response. When

you listen, you can hear that after every line Charles sings, the chorus gives a

three note response.

b. The Southern Tones: It must be Jesus 1959

i. Again another example of soul/gospel. It shows the heavy religious influence, and

it also shows how Ray Charles kinda stole the song above from this one. The call

and response is in this example as well, however, it features the lines, Must beJesus, rather than an instrumental three note burst.

c. The Temptations: My Girl

i. Motown sound- Based in Detroit in the 1960s, Motown sound was a form of

African american soul music that topped white charts and all charts for Billboard.

Motown was founded by Berry Gordy JR, and it combined soul with a more

bright and poppy sound. The Temptations were your standard Motown guy group,

who were famous for this song. The song features a simple electric bass line, and

clear poppy bright elements. Further it features a gospel like quality in the voices

of the singers, It also shows the Motown influence in dance moves, and their

synthetic recorded style.d. The Supremes: Where did our Love Go?

i. Same as above, theyre a standard motown girl group. Synthetic sound, and

appearance, and cleaner, brighter, but still features gospel elements.

e. Otis Redding, Try a Little Tenderness.

i. Hot damn, this is a sexy song. Which is the point: Stax as a record label was the

alternative to motown, and it featured the creation of southern soul and memphis

soul. These other soul genres were much more raw, sounded like live versions,

and featured more of the raw gospel elements. I mean, this song features a

church organ, along with a lot more gospel vocal preaching. Stax music was also

more political in nature...just fyi.

Lecture Two: John Cage and the Avantgarde

1. General History: Around this time in America, there was a split between different types of

composers. While some chose to repeat the past and mimic older styles, such like Samuel Barber,

other composers like John Cage tried to take new approaches to music that would make music

entirely new and difficult to comprehend. Avant Garde composers of this time wrote music

specifically to challenge accepted aesthetics. Cage as a composer studied with Schoenberg and

Cowell in the 30s, and after he wrote serialist music. However, he changed to experimental


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music in the 1940s, and finally in the 50s and 60s became the leading composer for avante

garde music.

a. 1930s and early 40s Cage. During this time period, Cages output seriously reflected his

studies with Schoenberg and Cowell. From Cowell, Cage sought out new sounds

specifically in terms of percussion instruments. He began incorporating strange

percussions such as arranged tin cans. From Schoenberg, he began to incorporatedifferent styles of musical structure, and thus began Cages use of TALA: Tala means

organization by duration, and for Cage that meant that a movement would feature as

many units as those units had measures. So for example a Tala piece would have a 16

Unit Piece with each unit consisting of 16 measures. These measured would be grouped

into contrasting sections of 4+3+2++3+4. This structure of Tala was also referred to as

square root form, since the number of measures in a unit is the square root of the total

number of measures in the music. Further, during this time Cage began experimenting

with making a piano into a percussion instrument, and from this Cage developed the

Prepared Piano. This piano had multiple objects placed on the strings to produce

different sounding results, and often lead to pianos sounding like miniature percussionensembles. (Cage needed to create this process, as he was commissioned to write music

for a ballet, and a percussion ensemble could not fit in the room the ballet was performed

in.)

i. Sonatas and Interludes, Sonata V- We listened to this piece by Cage because it

shows his experimental phase. The piece was written in 1946-1948, and looking at

the score you can immediately see the experimentation in the music. The first

page is nothing but an instruction manual on how to modify the piano, and further

the piece features Cages tala/square root form. The number of measures in this

piece is 40.5, but when both sections are repeated it becomes 81. There are 9

units in this (really composed of four units and a half unit repeated twice) andeach unit has nine measures which in grouped in 2+2+2.5+2.5 Gamelon music

inspired by cowell.

b. In the 40s 50s and 60s however, Cages style changes, and his music of

experimentation simple moves beyond experimentation and becomes purely music of the

Avant Garde. His music here reflects his huge interest in chinese zen buddhism, and

during this time period he argued that music shouldnt preserve the past, but should rather

focus the attention on it. His music of this time period had three main elements, Chance,

Indeterminacy, and Blurring of lines between music, art, and life. Chance was

simply leaving the music up to chance, and letting the music stand simply at it is. The

approach of chance is strange and varied: One chance composition might have you flip a

coin, and if you land heads you play one note, tails the other, and on its side you destroy

the instrument, another piece might have you roll a die to determine the notes you play.

Chance is basically leaving parts of the music up to chance or possibility, in order to

experience the actual sound and happenings of the music. This is contrasted with

indeterminacy, in which the composer would outline generic processes of music, and then

leave these processes to be worked out by the composer. Finally, the blurring of the

musical lines is essentially making the audience think about everyday events as music and


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art. The best example of this would be Cages waterwalk.

i. Music of Changes- 1951. This is a piece of music based off of the divination

processes of the I-ching, a zen buddhist book, in which the a coin is flipped six

times to determine the answer from a list of possibilities. Cage employed the

same process of chance in creating this piece, in which he would flip a coin and

then place possible sounds, dynamics, and rhythms based on the coins results. Theprocess doesnt sound like formal music, or serialism, but rather clomping on the

piano. This chance however, does allow the audience to experience the sounds

as they are. (There is a problem with performers of this piece though, they argue

that this piece has no value, because upon performance you dont get to

experience the chance, or the sound. Rather, all you experience is the random

mesh of notes, which you HAVE to perform. It ruins the fun of the piece, in a

nutshell). Square

ii. 433. The 4 minute and thirty three second long masterpiece of indeterminacy

from cage, which essentially is nothing but a pianist sitting there and not playing,

while the audience stirs up. The trick to this piece is that the audience is supposedto talk, the audiences noise is the music. This is the process outlined in the piece,

so that the indeterminant parts are the random sounds each individual audience

will make.

iii. Waterwalk- This also is an example of experimentation and the blurring of lines

between art, music, and life. The experimentation comes from the fact he

plays...the bathtub, the vase, the broken radio, and plethora of other instruments

that are just everyday items. The everyday items then make this piece an

example of blurring the lines, because Cage shows us how these every day items

can lead to musical sounds. (Its like Stomp the musical show with percussions of

stomping and trashcan lids...but way more extreme.)2. Experimental Music: This essay essentially discusses Cages original objections to the terms, and

then his acceptance of the label towards his music. Originally he hated the term, because he said

that he knew what he was doing, and he was not experimenting. However, he later came to

accept the term because for the listener, the music was experimental. Rather than creating

artificial sounds and making music with a message, Cages music was experimental because

nothing took place but sounds: Those that were notated and those that were not. The silences in

his music opened the doors to the environment, and the openness lead to more beauty and seeing

of all the sounds in the world. Cage further argues that these sounds are important because we

often fail to notice them, or chose to ignore them. However, once we come to accept them

everything is gained.

3. The Scary Purity of John Cage: One of the first and earliest points made in this article is that

everybody thought cage was joking, and got mad at him for it. That was not true, no one was

more serious about their music than cage, says Taruskin. He also argues that others made him

seem like a joker, because he really was more avante-garde than the rest. Further, Taruskin

shows how Cage disagreed completely with the notion that music should be for communication,

and that there was more to music than just audience and composer interaction. Also, Taruskin

shows how some of cages doctrines and performance practices do not actually lead to the


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blurring of lines between art and life Consider 433, Taruskin says art is not brought down to be

blurred with real life sounds during silence, rather the audience is FORCED to listen to the silence

by the acts of the pianist, and this required listening actually brings life up to the level of art. One

of the biggest point Taruskin argues against cages music is that its may seem knew, but its not

really that exciting: The music has clear roots in the music of cowell and Schoenberg, the music

features and aesthetic doctrine of purposeless purposefulness, which has been around sinceKant, and that the music does not blur the boundaries as effectively as Cage would hold, rather it

forces the audience to listen, and further ruins the chance and spontaneity of the music from

the performers perspective.

\


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Lecture Three: The Composer in the American Academy:

1. General History: After the second world war, because of the GI bill, a lot of veterans went to

college. This increase in college admissions increased the number of colleges and the funding for

colleges all across the United States. This total increase eventually lead to the creation of collegesas safe spaces for new forms of music either experimental or modern to be created and marketed

to a niche arguments. Which lead exactly to the music created by Babbitt, Crumb, Rochberg, and

Foss.

2. Milton Babbit: Who cares if you listen?

a. The title pretty much says it all with this article, as Babbit argues that it doesnt matter

who listens to this new form of modernist music. As Babbit is a composer in the

American Academy, this entire article is an argument that much like science, new forms

of music should be placed solely within academia so that music can grow from the new

experiments and creations that isolation in academia allow. Rather than try and argue thatthe new form of inaccessible modernism should conform to the public, Babbit argues for a

couple of reasons that the new form of music should remain isolated.

i. Firstly, he argues that the common man has no heightened sense of musical taste.

If asked why they dont like a piece, they wont be able to give any good reason

why, rather they will just state their preferences for music. (This is a denial that

music is subjective. He essentially says, No, music is not subjective and the

common person cant judge because they are stupid.)

ii. Second, music should be treated like science. Comparing a radio technician with a

theoretical physicist is impossible, so should be comparing a pop composer with a

modernist composer. Like sciences, music should be preserved and expandedwithin the confines of the isolation a university provides.

iii. Isolation is good- Much like with science this isolation results in great applications

of music. For example, certain music processes that grew from isolation are now

used in a variety of other musical devices. Only isolation allowed them to grow, so

in the end it has a purpose.

iv. Without isolation music will cease to evolve. This is a hardline argument saying

that isolation in academia is necessary for musical evolution. (Contrast this to that

of rap music, or any other new form of music that has become so important

across the world. No academia required.)

3. History of Babbitt.He taught at princeton and Juilliard. After the second world war, Babbitt

became the leader of serialist movements in America. He began working with the total serialist

processes of Schoenberg, however, over time he began to expand his serialist output to create

new rows related by tetrachords. Further, in the 1960s he began to use all partition arrays of

interrelated row groups of various lengths, and further he used a time point approach to serialism,

in which duration was divided into twelve units of equal time. Babbitt was also interested in

electronic music later in his life, which leads us to his piece, Philomel.

a. Babbitt: Philomel- This is babbitts most popular work, and it is a combination between


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electronic prerecorded tape music, along with a live soprano singing. This is a very

complicated and modernist piece, and it features a commentary much like a Greek chorus

as the recorded track comments on the acts of the soprano. Further, he uses

sprechstimme and madrigalist word painting much like Schoenberg. This work is very

confusing, and it helps emphasize not only the fact that composers often wrote a lot of

music for virtuosos during this period, but also the fact that these composers were isolatedand did not care about making their music accessible.

4. History of Crumb: Rather than focusing on extensions of serialism and electronic music Crumb

was a composer who began to use quotation of classical music and collage. He is united with

Babbitt because they were both composers isolated in the American Academy (He taught at

Colorado and Upenn). In addition to quotation and college, Crumb is famous for his usage of

unusual timbers. He liked to use electronically amplified instruments

a. Crumb: Black Angels: Thirteen Images from the Dark Land This was an electric string

quartet, especially important here, as it shows his interest in achieving new timbers by

amplifying the stringed instruments and instructing them to play in a certain way. This

piece was born out of tensions in the United States vietnam war, it was a piece of protestmusic. Titled Black Angels, this piece makes a lot of illusions to hell and the dead. The

intervals of 7 and 13 make a variety of appearances however, nothing is more apparent in

this piece than Crumbs usage of quotation. He quotes a lot of shit: Camille Saent Saens

Danse Macabre, Dias Irae, Franz Liszt's Totentanz. A smaller thing to notice about this

piece is the usage of certain modernist extended techniques. Players are asked to talk on

stage, play collegno with their bows, play on the fingerboard. Players are also asked to

perform some virtuosic feats, as this piece requires a violinist to pluck with their left hand

b. Makrokosmos- challenging the layout, making people reconceptualization

5. George Rochberg- Also another composer of the American Academy. Originally a serialist, he

turned away from serialist composition after the death of his son, as it failed to have enoughexpression. Insted, he turned to borrowing material from other works and quoting it. Even when

quoting though, his music often alters the quoted work to various degrees by creating a dialogue

between the composition and other styles. (In this sense, the work does seem self aware, and

beyond modernist. It is both accessible and isnt. It is against the modernism of serialism, and

supposes more than just pure modernism.)

a. Nach Bach- This is Rochbergs famous piece in which he quotes parts of Bachs

Keyboard partita no 6 in e minor, and then alters parts of it, and juxtaposes these tonal

quotations with atonal sections. This ties back to Ives, with the tonal quotation and

juxtaposition.

6. Lukas Foss- Foss was a German born piano prodigy who studied at the Curtis institute, and who

eventually became a professor at UCLA. He replaced Schoenberg, and also used Quotation and

Collage within his music. This quote from Foss can pretty much sum up his life and music, I

became a musician because of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, and naturally my early impulse was

to do it, too, which is what every beginner and every child wants to do. So that's how it started,

and I don't see any need to hide that. Although there was a period in my composing roughly

from twenty to ten years ago during which indeed I ventured out far into a no man's land, as

far as any of my avant-gardist colleagues, if not further, that maybe you couldn't tell anymore in


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those pieces where I from.

a. Baroque Variations: This piece was a prime example of quotation and neoclassicism used

within the American Academy. It featured a variety of baroque instruments, along with

baroque form specifically because the piece quotes a lot of Baroque works, and then uses

these quoted sections as points of evolution and variation. Handel Scarlatti and Bach and

transformed then with clusters. Composed with holes, start with existing and spin and spinout and whole with a whole idea.


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Lecture Four: Band and Choir:

General History: Over the course of a century between the 1800s and the 1900s, woodwind bands also

grew exponentially in America. Most towns had their own wind ensembles, and by the end of the second

world war, most towns had professional bands which would play at parades. Other than pure town bands,

School Bands also grew exponentially during this time period because of the huge influence of instrument

makers. After discovering that not many people would buy their instruments, these instrument makers thenstarted urging for more schools to encourage the arts, and thereby have bands. With the increase of school

bands the number of instrument sales and rentals also increased, thereby making a profit for these

instrument companies.

Importance of School Bands: These school bands further increased the importance of a band as a

standard, and rather than purely performing marches these school bands prompted the creation of a

concert band. Concert Bands/Symphonic Bands are much like orchestras, they play serious work, while

sitting, and the music is written especially for the band. (Its like stand alone classical band)

Importance of Wind Ensembles: In addition to school bands, Wind Ensembles also continued to grow as a

result of increased lobbying from conductors and performers. These wind ensembles succeeded in getting

commissions from modernist composers such as Schoenberg and Milhaud, and were able to continue thetrends of their compositional founders. (Vaugn Williams, Holst, Schmitt, and Grainger are all the original

concert band/wind composition masters.)

1. Karel Husa: Music for Prague

a. We listened to this piece, because it is an example of band music...specifically that of a

wind ensemble. The piece is also more a concert band work, rather than a marching band

work. It is very complicated and political, placing it somewhat in the post-modern political

camp. The music was a response to a failed Czech revolution, and it featured a variety of

allusion and metaphors about Czechoslovakian themes. As far as the music goes, it feels

incredibly static and weighed down. The piece begins very slowly it feels like it takes a

while for the music to move anywhere. (This is due to the static blocks of sound)However, by the middle of the piece, the music begins to move much faster based on the

trumpet entrance. This piece can be considered a culmination of the two sections above:

It was in addition to being a band work, a work composed while in isolation on a college

campus, and it was political. It featured quotation of the Czech hymn Ye warriors of god

and his law.

Choir music also grow during this time period in America, similar to that of band. However, Choir music

was much more linked to religion, as choirs started off as related to the Church, then became integrated

into schools. Further, the choral tradition became interesting across the world again after composers began

rejecting modernism to try and find a medium that was more accessible. (Choir music used in schools was

most often accessible, not virtuosic, had relatable or religious themes.)

1. Eric Whitacre- Lux Aurumque- Composed in the recent year of 2009, this piece is a fine example

of the accessible choral medium. The music is tonal, and easily singable. The music itself is a

virtual choir of recorded videos throughout multiple different countries.


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Lecture Five: Post Modern and the Political.

Outline: What the hell is postmodernism? IT IS NOT, REPEAT NOT, AFTER MODERNISM. Post

modernism is a mode of analysis that was created to go against modernism. Post-modern works are

characterized by contingency, quotation, self awareness, reference to other text. (Something to note:

Postmodernism in this sense is very much so like Brechts epic theater. The works give commentary, and

are not just music for musics sake.)There are some modes of modernist analysis that can also be applied to post modern music, in order to

understand

1. Folk- We can use our discourse to place music in this category. Our discourse for folk

would be based around the ideas of Country, and Rural. We would say music is folky if

it had a lot of country/bluegrass instruments, if the singer sang with a twang

(colloquialism), if the singer wore clothes that were associated with rural america.

2. Art- We use our discourse here to place music into a status high art. Wed use

discourse that discusses the advanced techniques, the seriousness of the music, the

composer's intent, the skill required to write it. To really try and understand an example of

Art discourse, try and describe a beethoven piece, and then describe a Kesha song.(Protip: You probably wont discuss Kesha and the usage of counterpoint/neapolitan

chords).

3. Popular music- We use discourse that hinges around the idea that the music is accessible.

Wed say something is popular if its Basic, possibly wed use discourse that equates

pop music to that of a lower class. Our language would probably also discuss how the

music is simple (I.E. simple tonal language).

Further, there are also modes of authenticity in Post-modern/Modern/Popular/Minimal works.

1. Emotionality- We say something is authentic if we say it invokes emotion. For example, I

could say that a piece by Rihanna isnt authentic because the song gives no emotion to

me. However, I could say that Wrecking ball by Miley is authentic because it inspires rawemotions about her experience in a relationship. The point here is that the Authenticity

we try and give to music by saying how it can create emotions is purely subjective. Its

what we impose on the music to say that it causes emotions, not that the music can

actually do this. While I might cry when listening to wrecking ball because I feel it has

pure emotional authenticity, another person might feel nothing.

2. Primality: Not Originality* Primality is saying that something is authentic because it has

aged, and it is pure. Heres a good example, say that you are a fancy as fuck wine

connoisseur and Im trying to impress you with a bottle of wine. I walk up to you and

discuss the wine with you, and at first you are uninterested because you think the wine

won't be that good/authentic. Next I say then that the wine has been distilled for more

than a year, and its been aged for like...400 years. Because its so pure and primal, you

think that it will be more authentic and thereby you are impressed by me and my wine.

(Again, the authenticity is subjective. Like most fancy wine connoisseurs you probably just

think that the more aged wine is the better and more authentic it will be, and so you

employ this mode of analysis to justify your behavior. In actuality though, you cant tell the

difference between Two-Buck-Chuck from Trader Joes and a bottle of 200 year old Pinot

Grigio.)


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3. Positionality- This is trying to justify something as authentic because of the position its in.

Consider this google doc right here vs. a Carson lecture. Of course if you find something

that differs with Carsons lectures youll believe Carson. He is a professor who has a

fancy degrees and seems smart. I, on the other hand, am just an undergraduate student.

The authenticity you give here is not based on the actual intelligences between the two

people, rather its based on an arbitrary position you believe to be more powerful. Inmusic, this means that you will think Art Music is more important because the composers

of art music are in an academic position, whereas pop music comes from the position of

the common man.

General History: Much like as said before, Postmodernism grew as a response to modernism. Tired of

seeing music just for musics sake/experimentation (as in the case of Milton Babbitt) certain composers

began to reject modernism, and instead seek a more communicative and self aware compositional style.

(This was a growth not only in academia, but in other channels as well.)

Rzewski: Music and Politics- This short reading basically gives an explanation to Rzewskis El pueblounido, jamas sera vencido theme and variations for piano. He justifies political activism in music by: 1)

Saying that it is a persons societal duty to relate their work to a political context, if they do not do this,

they fail. 2) We are taught from the very get-go that music and politics are incompatible, this is a lie.

Music takes political context just because of its use and the audience that hears it.

1. Theme and Variations on El Pueblo unido, jamas sera vencido. - This is by Rzewski, and it is an

incredibly politica piece. Taking the original Chilean protest song/chant El Pueblo Unido, jamas

sera vencido, Rzewski made a series of post-modern variations on the theme that give political

commentary and a sense of self-awareness to the music. The first variation features pointalism as

the textures is spread out across the entire piano. However, the melody pretty much remains in

tact, it is not fractured or broken down or augmented, its just transposed throughout multipleregisters. The 10th version is incredibly avant-garde, and virtuosic. It features cluster chords,

difficult runs, and pointillism, however, the outline of the theme is still there. The 13th version is a

jazzy downtempo version, its really straightforward. The 23 variation is just a virtuosic

interpretation. (The speed is ridiculous, but the standard form is still there.)

Meaning and Quotation in Berios Sinfonia: This article discusses how the usage of quotation affects the

post-modern meaning of Berios Sinfonia. As mentioned previously, a tenant of postmodernist music was

the use of quotation to achieve different effects, and in this piece a crap ton of works both literary and

musical are quoted. Schoenbergs Five Orchestra Pieces, Mahlers Symphony No 2, movement III,

Ravels La Valse, and Ulysses by James Joyce, and The Unnamable by Samuel Beckett is quoted for the

actual spoken text. (The Beckett novel is supposed to be the lyrical cantus firmus for the text, revealing a

post-modern layer of meaning) The musical cantus firmus is based on the scherzo from Mahlers second

symphony, which also provides another layer of meaning to the piece, because Mahler himself was known

for quotation. Essentially, this article argues that Berio uses Mahler, Beckett, and Joyce in order to achieve

an effect of the art being about the artist. In this piece, all of the quotation makes the piece seem about the

actual performance of the orchestra and singers, and it gives the piece a sense of self awareness. The

orchestra and the singers know they are performing, they know the audience can see them, and they begin

to speak to the audience. This process not only makes the piece seem self aware, but it also makes the


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music become a about the artist being trapped as a performer. Further, this article shows how the work is

postmodern, as it challenges modernism. In Berios sequenza one of the last lines is a discussion of

serialism and modern music: What I'm against is the use of serialism in the abstract sense... it becomes a

sort of immobile, static world revolving around itself. Berio quotes serialist music, and then has the choir

comment on it/reject it.


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Lecture Six: Complexity

Toop: On Complexity- This article discusses the differences between Complicated and Complex, and

further explain why complexity is/has been valued in music. As for the reasons as to why complex music

exists, Toop argues that is has always existed. Composers since the start of composition have operated

under the assumption of (Assume X, and then consider what non-X has to offer), which basically seems tobe true. Even in the renaissance once one technique was figured out, it was used for a while and

eventually replaced by something new and complex. Toop argues that complexity succeeds in music when

the complexity is transferred to the aesthetic, basically if we hear a successful modernist work then we

dont say, its complex we say, its beautiful. Toop also argues that complexity should be preferred

over simplicity, because simplicity basically dumbs down music, and ruins its purpose.

Complexity vs Complicated. Complicated usually entails technical difficulty in performing, not

actual complexity. A virtuosic work may just be damned hard to play, not complex at all. Complexity is

rather a subjective perceptual phenomenon in which one can see multiple rich relationships between

pieces/parts of a piece. While we both may see a score and say, Damn thats complicated based on

sheer number of notes, I could end up looking at Cages 433 thinking that piece was complex. (Becauseof the ideology behind it.)

General History: After the postmodern movement began in the late 50s-60s, composers of the

postmodern began to use advanced/virtuosic techniques. Their music, while using these techniques,

became increasingly more complex, and more rich. The reason we lump Berio with Carter here is

because both of their musics have a variety of virtuosic performance techniques with structural levels

within the music.

Berio: Italian composer of the Sinfonia above, Berio was known for his postmodern works. While his

sinfonia seems to incredibly self aware, only some of sequenzas seem to belong to the postmodern camp.Consider Sequenza V vs. Sequenza III. BOTH SEQUENZAS INVOLVE THE USAGE OF

HARMONIC FIELDS: Harmonic Fields are fields of harmonies (Groups of notes) of which the

sequence in sequenza is derived from. Further, while both virtuosic, both have only practical

techniques. He worked his way from the practical end of composition, rather than the

theoretical.

Sequenza V for Trombone is an incredibly postmodern piece. It requires that the trombonist dress up as a

clown, and perform the work. It involves extended techniques such as vocalising trombone sounds, and it

involves the postmodern question of why? When the performer questions the audience with why? he

not only gives the audience the sense that the performer/performance is self aware, but he jokingly asks

the metaphysical question of why? which has become the epoch of postmodernism.

Sequenza III on the other hands lacks such Post-modern political/social value. It does have incredibly

complex usages of the International Phonetic Alphabet in order to make different sounds, along with

incredibly advanced clicking techniques and vocal practices. The piece is entirely virtuosic, but in

becoming so complicated it lacks the overt sense of self-awareness. ONE COULD MAKE AN

ARGUMENT HOWEVER THAT IT IS POSTMODERN, by discussing how the performance with the

performer on stage makes the performer seem afraid and scared of the audience. Further, the performers

actions and expressions reveal the self awareness...


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Elliott Carter: Carter was an American composer who wrote a variety of very complex works. He is a

neoclassical composer, and his music is very much Atonal. He composed in traditional mediums- such as a

string quartet or a wind ensemble, and he studied with Boulanger in France. His famous compositional

invention was Metric Modulation.

Metric Modulation: A meter transformation in which a transition is made from one tempo and meter to

another through an intermediary stage that shares aspects of both, resulting in a precise proportional

change in the value of a durational unit. Carter uses this in his string quartet as well as his tympani pieces

Canaries Metric Modulation results in proportions that bring an richness to the music, such that the is a

huge amount of musical layering. THis layering is highly reminiscent of Ives, who Carter knew in youth.

String Quartet No 2: This piece features a variety of metric modulation, and if I had to know one score for

test, I would recommend looking at this one. Specifically look at page 942 in the book, and notice the

metric modulation in this piece. Other than the atonality and the metric modulation, this piece also features

each instrumental part taking on its own personality. The instruments are all differentiated by theirintervals. The violin a minor third and perfect fifth, the second violin on major sixths and sevenths, the viola

on tritones and ninths, and the cello on perfect fourths and minor sixths.

Canaries- From Eight Pieces for Timpani. "Canaries", a reference to the French Baroque dance, consists

of contrapuntal dance rhythms played at different speeds. Further, this piece is based on flamenco

dancing from the canary island, which technically makes it a couples dance. The music reflects this, as it

has the registers of the tympani signify the couples. The piece plays on ideas of improvisation. And the

metric modulation in this piece occurs with the switching between 3/2 vs 2/2, and dotted rhythms.

Has another metric modulation from 6/8 with use of dotted sixteenths, then he takes sixteenths as eighth

notes in the 3/8 measures. Improvisatory style comes from the unique rhythms in the piece.

Lecture Seven: Minimalism and Post Minimalism:

History: Coming out of the early 1960s, minimalism was an all american trend that developed first in art

and then carried over into music. The trend began as an avant-garde aesthetic that focused on musical

processes themselves, and making the process apparent. Early minimalism absorbed influences from rock

(Philip Glass) African Music, Asian music (John Adams), tonality (all) and finally romanticism. The term

minimalism came from art in the sixties, as the art reduced materials and form to fundamentals in order to

invoke no emotion but rather focus the viewers attention on the work as a whole. Minimalism was a form

of reaction against complexity, and complex art/music. The music came out of New York City and

California (Both east and west coast.) One of the first important minimalist composers was La Monte

Youngwhose process was to sustain harmonies over long periods of time to direct the listeners attention

to minute changes. Terry Rileywho performed with Young also helped aid the creation of minimalism by

focusing on repetition. He focused on making tape loops, and looping small segments of music over and

over again. Think of the IN Cpiece we played in class.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FBaroque_dance&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHSsmjZt2no4H_ASAc7OOVDiW5ftg


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Steve Reich: Like Terry Riley, Reich began experimenting first with electronic music however, he

differed in Riley by adding a process of phasing to loops. Phasing is the process of layering loops on top

of each other in such a way that one loop was slightly shorter than the other and thus gradually moved

ahead of the other. (Best shown in his pieces Violin Phase and Piano Phase.) Reichs phase music allowed

the audience to focus on the gradual process as a whole, and experience the many possible permutationsof those simple ideas, which had no emotional intent, but still allowed for the audience to experience

satisfaction. Later on though, in the 80s, Reichs music changed and he began to use only portions of

minimalist techniques in much larger works, which had more complicated processes. (Tehillim in our

NAWM for example had minimalist phasing, but also meloding canons, differing procedures, also think of

Different Trains and WTC 911. Each of these pieces uses a minimalist process, but expands beyond it.)

Piano Phase: This is just an example of Reichs early minimalist phase approach to music. The

two piano parts originally start at the beginning playing the same part however, the second piano

accelerates faster and then begins to move ahead of the first. In each section where the second

moves more ahead of the first, the music allows the listener to hear specific patterns and differing

parts.Philip Glass: He was another minimalist composer who originally studied in the classical style, he studied

with Nadia Boulanger, but soon withdrew from the classical art music aesthetic to work in minimalism. His

work is often very influenced by Indian music, emphasizing melodiousness, consonance, and simple

harmonic progressions. He was also heavily influenced by Rock and Roll. (Heroes symphony modeled

after David Bowies symphony). Glass also dabbled in Opera, and he composed his Opera Einstein on the

Beach in the seventies.

Einstein on the Beach- Glass: This opera was entirely minimalist, there is no story, no hero

or heroin, no obvious links between music and images. The opera focuses on processes of

gradual change, as some scenes may be a 30 minutes long featuring seemingly static

music. Sometimes the music may explode, but it is still incredibly minimalist. It mainlyfeatures arpeggios, tonal harmony/modal harmonies,.

Koyaanisqatsi- Glasss film that featured natural images juxtaposed with cityscapes.

Music in this also minimalist for the same reasons as above, but as an added bonus IT

WAS USED IN SCRUBS. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOqtnU2faTc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOqtnU2faTc


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Lecture Eight: John Adams- the most well known minimalist.

Early Adams: Early John adams featured the starting of minimalism moving beyond its repetition based

gradual changed roots, at this period his music reflected that minimalism was becoming a style rather than

an aesthetic. Phyrgian Gates is the piece most representative of this transition. The piece features a

process known as gating, in which the music changes from one sets of notes to another. This processallows the listener to focus on the patterns of notes so that they can see the pattern as a whole.

Middle/Late Adams: Adams used minimalist techniques in his later works, but much like Reich he began to

branch out into postminimalism. He also used pop and rock music as influences, but more importantly his

work became more political and complex. Nixon in Chinaand Short Ride in a Fast Machineare two

examples that embody his style here.

Nixon in China: The political opera that focuses around President Nixons historic visit to china, which

was at the time of composition incredibly up to date and recent. (Most people could still remember it.) The

Operas plot goes as so: President Nixon lands in China, and is greeted by Maos premier Chou En Lai.Upon getting of the plane Nixon tries to get a thought out, but he must continuously greet chinese citizens,

causing his thoughts to become broken and repetitive. (This is how the minimalist repetitive looping was

introduced into the piece). After meeting with the Premier, Mao and the president meet, and then have

dinner. They toast to each others peace. The next morning Mrs. Nixon is taken to the glass factory in

China, and she speaks about her role as the first lady. She then tours the rest of Chinas attractions. That

evening the Nixons go to a ballet by Maos wife Chiang Chiing. The ballet is based on the role of chinese

women, and the Nixons are drawn to the Hollywood feel the ballet has. The next and final act features the

end of the presidential visit, in which all of the the characters head back to their room and reminisce. The

opera ends with Chiang Chiing asking Mao if any of the visit was worthwhile, and if it was any good.

The opera features incredibly minimalist usage of arpeggios, arias, and recitative. Further it featurespulsating ideas that constantly evolve.

Arpeggios And Ostinato remain, but it includes romantic genres, and moves forwards.

Short Ride in a Fast Machine: Adams most played piece, it is a an orchestral fanfare that repeatedly

features different gates or collections of pitches that are added. The Rhythm of this piece is typical of

minimalist as it features Ostinatos. The pulse of this piece is also heavily accented by woodblock. For a

more in depth analysis please see the wiki page.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Ride_in_a_Fast_Machine
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FShort_Ride_in_a_Fast_Machine&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFxbP6QVTNZrdzoxaiyQpeTT9vkVQ


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Lecture Eight: Accessible Modernists

History: Much like minimalism and neo romanticism, the appeal to simplicity arose in response to the many

years of post war complex music. However, rather than focusing on repeated patterns, and rehashing

romantic ideas, these composers turned to different methods, such as developmental variation. This new

accessibility also grew out of composers urge to regain audiences. Rather than having little audiences inacademia, the Reagan administration's economic policies of the 1980s (trickle down economics) basically

meant that the arts had to support themselves. The answer to filling more seats was to make the music

way more accessible.

Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: She was one of the first accessible modernist, and the first woman to win a pulitzer

prize in music. Like Schoenberg her music was modernist and atonal however, more importantly it

featured a presentation of the main musical idea at the outset of the piece. She studied with Elliot Carter

and other modernists however, after the death of her husband she turned her jagged style into a form of

more progressive/accessible modernism. (Non traditional tonality)

Symphony No 1: Her First Symphony was an incredibly accessible modernist work. It featured aDeveloping Variation, much like Schoenberg, where the main idea of the music is presented at

the beginning of the piece, and then varied. For this symphony, the main idea is a rising minor

third. The piece features a melody line that is derived from these minor third furthermore, the

piece feature dissonant harmony that is based on a combination of minor third. (If you listen to the

piece, you can hear all of the minor thirds moving in the piano line especially). The piece further

features a gradual development process that is incredibly easy to hear: It starts off with the minor

third interval, and then builds from there. By the near end of the piece the music has evolved into

a very loud cacophony of dissonant minor thirds however, the piece ends by becoming slower and

thinner in texture.

Schnittke (This was Lees lecture, but as it was an hour long lecture about one piece of music, Ima boil it

down.) Schnittke was a Poly Stylist, and furthermore, a postmodernist. His music was filled with

combination and quotation of multiple older styles that allow allusions. Rather than just quoting each style,

Schnittke is famous for defamiliarizing the quotations by having them appear in canons or as polytonal

sections. Schnittke was originally a modernist composer like that of Schostakovich however, during his

middle years he was influenced by the italian composer Nono, who introduced him to serialism. After

dabbling with serialist techniques for a while, he then left the style for polystylism. Some of his Concerto

Grossi featured large choirs with incredibly virtuosic parts. The choir music further featured simple lines

that would divulge into even more parts.

John Corigliano: Much like Schnittke, Corigliano was a polystylist composer from america. He frequently

juxtaposed different styles to convey many meanings, making his music often a stylistic continuum from

baroque to avant-garde. Consider his Red Violin (chaconne) which blended the baroque dance form of a

Chaconne with other musical styles resulting in a blend of characteristics that conveyed meanings from

certain time periods. The whole purpose of the red violin score was to show how the violin in the movie

was used at different times historically, so in order to convey this meaning Corigliano created a leitmotive

and developed it to match certain styles.


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Christopher Rouse: Rouse is another neo-romantic composer who is known for his quotation and

expressive music. We listened to his Flute Concerto, a piece that was dedicated to James Bulgar, a two

year old english boy who was kidnapped and murdered. The Flute Concerto was part of Rouses larger

cycle of works focused on the death. Around the three minute mark in this piece is where Rouses truly

expressive style can be seen. The sounds are lush, yearning, and would usually satisfy someones usage ofEmotionality in discourse. (This piece would be a GREAT example of discussing how emotionality is

used as a way to prove the authenticity of the piece. The rhetoric and discourse used in discussing the

third movement would be filled with charged words associated with emotion.)

Lecture Nine? Spirituality in accessible modernism.

In this lecture we introduced the modes of authenticity for this new accessible music, I stated them above

but Ill restate them here in shorter form.

i. Positionality- If youre in a good position

ii. Emotional authenticity- religious and spiritual, conveys emotions.

iii. Authenticity with age- Old music better

The new spirituality in modernism grew out of the emotional authenticity and authenticity with age. The

older styles that were conveyed with Paert were part of the authenticity with age, the emotional

authenticity with Paert, Gubaidulina and Tavener. This spiritual music (and the simple music above) was

emphasized by diatonicism and tonal centrality. The music often featured white notes, along with clear

textures.

Arvo Paert- Paert was an estonian performer who explored religious and spiritual themes. His music

emulated and imitated gregorian chant, and incorporated the practice of Tintinnabuli, in which a common

sonority will have an open fourth and fifth sound, which will resonate like that of a bell. When these notesappear the entire sound of the music will ring out like a bell, and overtones will be produced. His melodies

in his music were REALLY subtle, they pretty much moved only a fourth in range. He also incorporated

Renaissance polyphony like that of Palestrina.

Seven magnificent Antiphons: We listened to this piece because it shows Paerts style in

full, the music is religious, spiritual (the lyrics are about the king...or god), and the piece

further features tintinnabuli along with polyphony.

Sofia Gubaidulina- She was a russian spiritual composer who was indebted to the post-war avant-garde

music. Her music was religious in russia at a time when russia was purely atheist, Her Piece: Rejoice!

for cello and violin was an etude, it studied chromatics, tremolos, and harmonics. Due to the small

instrumentation it shows the thin clear texture, and further, the music seems to constantly strives upwards.

It has transcending moments in which the violin will reach up into the stratosphere of harmonics into a

plane devoted to god. The cello will do the same thing.

John Tavener- A british spiritual accessible modernist- he studied at the royal academy of London, and he

claimed to be related to the renaissance John Tavener. He was heavily influenced by the Orthodox Liturgy

of east europe however, his music mixed British church practices with Orthodox musical practices. His


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piece, The Protecting Veilfeatured simple accessible harmonies, orthodox traditions (it was a liturgical

work for the feast of mary,) and the music is stagnant. It features one chord, but the forward direction

comes from the use of the cello. So, a good indicator of this piece is if you hear something and the

harmony does not move. The soloist will, but the background will stay the same.

John Rutter: Rutter was another religious composer of the british isles. His music was also incrediblysimple, and straightforward. His music is often Choral, and further, its easily recognizable. It is steeped in

british choral traditions, and is often very bright and simple. You can easily tell a work by Rutter for its

bright quality and happy almost christmas song like sound. Oh Be Joyful in the Lord. I dont really need

to say much about this piece, because its so easy to hear its influences.


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Lecture 10: The American Musical (This will need to be edited by someone who was at the

lecture/knowns musicals better than me.)

History: Early American musical trends grew out of the increased american economy during the interwar

years. As the United States was doing great (up until the stock market that is) more people had disposable

incomes, and thus greater access to music. The greater demand in popular music, along with the advent ofthe radio, new recording technology, and the integration of sound into film, lead to the Golden Age of

Tinpan Alley. Vaudeville shows continued to be a main attraction during that time period, especially in big

cities such as new work- these writers for Vaudeville greatly influenced some of the earliest musical

writing. Musicals were also beginning during this time period however, these musicals were more in line

with a toned down form of opera. These early musicals such as showboat still featured separation

between music and story, such that in these musicals a story event would happen, and then the characters

would sing. (Rather than having a song that integrates vital bits of the plot).

Porgy and Bess: This was not a musical, but rather an opera that combined jazz elements with

that of opera. It was written by George Gershwin, and it shows the earliest of american music based

theater. It was titled and American Folk Opera by Gershwin, who composed the piece to be in betweentotal opera and popular/folk music. Summertimeshows more of the opera influences. I got plenty o

nothin clearly shows the folk and popular elements. The instrumentation features a plucked banjo, and

also some jazz runs/blue notes.

Showboat: Showboat by Hammerstein II is probably the best example of an early american

musical. The show was met with controversy because it required a mixed cast, which was illegal at that

time (basically unheard of to have blacks and whites do anything). The music and staging combines

traditions from american musical comedy, revues, vaudeville, ragtime, spirituals, sentimental ballads, and

march. We specifically listened to Cant Help Lovin Dat Man, which is a sentimental love song that

has a bit of vaudeville and tin pan alley. The musical itself has a very operatic score (showing early

musicals ties to opera) and the opera had multiple themes and motives that were like Wagners Leitmotifs.Later Musicals: As time progressed and America entered the post war years, musicals also began to

change. They became less like Opera, and the music became a driving force of the story.

Oklahoma: (Rodgers and Hammerstein) This musical, building on the innovations of the earlier Show

Boat, epitomized the development of the "book musical", a musical play where the songs and dances are

fully integrated into a well-made story with serious dramatic goals that are able to evoke genuine emotions

other than laughter.[2]In addition, Oklahoma!features musical themes, or motifs, that recur throughout the

work to connect the music and story. The song I caint say no shows the integration of some of these

elements, and we listened to it to notice of musicals. The songs sounds much more poppy, the singer is

more colloquial with her style, the song seems to help drive some of the action of the musical forward. (?)

Bernstein/Soundheim: West Side Story. Based off of ShakespearesRomeo and Juliet. Tonight -

this was one of the first examples where all of the different motifs throughout the piece were brought

together at the end. Coolis the piece that shows the importance of dance within musicals. The

choreography in this scene clearly adds to the musical value, and increases the action.

Soundheim:No place like london from Sweeney Todd. Carson described it as gritty and dark, as well as

sophisticated, artistic, and more experimental(Just another musical example, I have no idea what is
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FMotif_(music)&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNE-4-ai1JDsztZTriV1V_FV15uc1whttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FOklahoma!%23cite_note-2&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFlAwTLY7_lqoB8pJSBfUN-682cuwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FBook_musical&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHgc-PT7eq_B4bgwSQtigl5pR3cLwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FShow_Boat&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNE-1ytpIjS_obdRzB9RGKCIx-js2Qhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FShow_Boat&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNE-1ytpIjS_obdRzB9RGKCIx-js2Q


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different in this piece/what makes it special.) Same goes for Lloyd Weberand Music of the night.

Lecture 11) Rap Funk Hiphop

General History: Rap grew out of the South Bronx, due to its being isolated from the rest of the city. As a

style, the music borrowed heavily from popular african american music, soul funk and disco. (A lot of theearly samples came from these three genres) Rap also evolved from the spoken word poetry of those

living in the south bronx. The serious language and social critique that the spoken word poetry provided

lent a critical aspect to raps language.

Parliament: Give up the Funk- We listened to this to understand what funk music was. Its got a huge

emphasis not on melody or harmony, but more so on drums and bass. We also listened to this to show how

Rap music and early DJs would borrow from Funk.

James Brown: Funky Drummer- we listened to this to see how rap music would borrow and then later

use (and overuse) the drum loop of this piece. While James Brown was like..the king of funk, this pieceplayed an important role for rap music because the drum loop taken from the middle of this piece has

become so tied to rap music (to see the total number of songs this one loop has used, go check out the

wiki).

Chic: Good Times- This was disco of the seventies, which is known by having soaring, often

reverberated vocals over a steady "four-on-the-floor"beat, an eighth note(quaver) or 16th note

(semi-quaver) hi-hatpattern with an open hi-hat on the off-beat, and a prominent, syncopatedelectric bass

line sometimes consisting of octaves. We listened to this piece in order to observe how rap music would

later use and take loops from this piece.

Run DMC/Aerosmith: Walk this Way: We listened to this piece for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the

music shows how rap had evolved to include samples of rock music. Secondly, it shows how Aerosmiths

career got restarted. Thirdly, we listened to this piece to see its effects on the pop music stream. Whereas

Rappers Delight by sugar hill gang reached some level of popularity, this piece reached really high on the

charts and caused critics to declare that rap had entered into the stream of popular music. Also, this is the

first example of new school rap, produced by Rick Reuben. This new school rock featured less focus on

social rupture, but the lyrics were more about boasting.

African Bambaataa: Planet Rock: This piece is a great example of early rap. The rappers in this

song have one purpose, to get people to dance. Their lyrics are about popping and locking and dancing.

Further, the song features African Bambaataas usage of the TR808 drum machine, which has become

immortalized in pop music.

West Coast Rap- It pushed away from straight forward flow in which the lyrics fell on the beat. The

music started to lose time at the end of lines, and even more so the music seemed more laid back and

smoke out.
http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FBass_guitar&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEaqbIdbVICkw8gCQCEU236uKLBQwhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSyncopated&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNF8-quOSwWyRzrkMMvmMID7M_p9hghttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FHi-hat&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNErPmAP4YAugToMHZC3IQvOMrcolAhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEighth_note&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFURBGEn8qtEWXmAIKAa-P8yWCrywhttp://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFour-on-the-floor_(music)&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGbPjUiSzKWhpGOwBzV3v_w_Anpug


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Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotize- This is the example of Gangster rap in the east coast, boasty. we listened

to. Originally growing from the west coast in the 1990s, rather than having the lyrics focus on dancing or

social rupture, the lyrics are all about the greatness and glorification of the rapper. This song also features

an electric bass line that you could relate back to funk and disco. This song is also a big example of

Rubiks Cube flow, in which the flow of the rap does not fall directly on the beat. Instead, the flow has

multiple twists, is more syncopated, and does not usually fall on the beat.

Tupac- Changes: Another example of west coast rap however, in comparison to Biggie, Tupacs music

did feature more of the social changes. Tupac was originally born in New York, he was classically trained

as poet and a spoken word preacher. His music often has a preacher like quality.

Flow Layer and Rupture in Post Industrial New York: This article covers a lot about rap, but the

main ideas are that rap originated as a form of music tied to D.J.s, and Breakdancers (BBOYS). One

of the biggest things to take away from this article and Carsons lecture was that rap began by discussing

poor socioeconomic conditions for the poor minorities living in the SOUTH BRONX(HOME OF RAP.

This will be on the test). Because the Bronx had been divided by a railway, the south bronx became anisolated area filled with poverty. It was a different social layer than the rest of new york, and the music

created in the south bronx was used as a means to rupture or uprise against the poor treatment. The

three modes of discourse/ways we frame rap discussions now are based on the concepts in this paper.

We discuss the Flowof the rapper, which is the way the MC raps. (Literally, the flow is just the style of

the rap, and how well/not well the rappers words flow together.) Layeringwas not only the layering of

musical tracks, but the discussion of the social and structural layers that kept those living in the south bronx

disenfranchised. Rupture, is another way we discuss rap musics purpose. Rap is to rupture society, or

create a musical uprising. (You can clearly see this in the spoken word poetry that rap was based on.

Consider the piece we listened to in class The Revolution will not be televised.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGaRtqrlGy8)

Some of the other important things this article discusses are as follows:

MCs, Djs, Graffiti artists, and Breakdancers were all related. A DJ might spin while wearing a

graffitied shirt, further, early jams or hiphop events consisted of people drinking, breakdancing,

making graffiti sketches, all while a DJ spun records.

All four of the groups above relied on the postindustrial city to spread their art. A graffiti artist

would use a train as a canvas, a DJ would distribute tapes throughout the city. The limited

resources in the city made these artists who they were.

Status and Name were everything: Rappers often picked names that would establish their

dominance, and represent them as cool, such as Ladies Love Cool Jay, or LLCJ. Djs often chose

names that were related to specific technological master, such as Grandmaster Flash. Artists also

had to constantly try and make something new, as being new meant having a higher status.

Scratching by DJs was a form of musical rupture

Rappers used layering by having ambiguous meanings to words. (Piece vs. Peace, etc)

Early DJs were the highlight of rap music and the hiphop scene. It wasnt MC focused.

DJ Kool Herc created two parts of rap music. Firstly, he created the boombox stereo system

associated with older rap known as herculord. These Herculord speakers were based on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGaRtqrlGy8


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Jamaican dancehall speakers, and they were used to amplify sound much more clearly. (Showing

raps links to Jamaica.)Secondly, he created the break beat, which was an extension of an

instrumental break in the music that served as a peak dance point.

Rap had a lot of intertextuality. Walk this Way by Run DMC was one of the first pieces to bring

this intertextuality to the limelight. Intertextuality is the refering to another work within a piece.

Djs battled for territories just like Breakdancers, and the four main hip hop djs (GrandmasterFlash, African Bambaata- who was known for his usage of electric drum machine and the 808).

DJ Kool Herc, and DJ Breakout.)

Grandmaster Flash perfected the scratching technique, and extended the Break beat technique

of Kool Herc by developing the backspin, in which a record was spun backwards so that the

breakbeat could be extended. (Showing how the breakbeat became central, so that people could

dance longer.)

Because DJs got so famous, crowds stopped dancing. In order to bring the dancing back,

Rappers/MCs were invited so that the crowd could focus on something else. These rappers

originally began by boasting, however, the raps purpose quickly became about rupture.

Rappers Delight changed the game for rap and DJs. Though DJs and rappers charged a smallamount to perform at parties, the commercial success of Sugar Hill Gang showed the potential for

rap to be exploited. We Listened to Rappers Delight to notice this. Remember, he said

the dudes in Sugar Hill Gang werent real rappers, they were just guys hired to produce

a record so that corporations could profit.


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Lecture 12) American Pop Music

The modernist discourses were introduced in this lecture. I gave them above however, Ill restate them

again. Folk- We talk about music as folk, think of how you would describe a Reba song. Art- we use

higher discourse that makes it seem that art music is better than folk and popular. Popular- we use

discourse showing how the music is for everyone.

The Beatles- Part of the British Invasion of Rock and Roll in the United States, the Beatles have a really

rich history that we...didnt cover. We talked about a small amount of their influences, but what you can

really notice is that they drew on folk, blues, and R&B. As Carson says, the Beatles were known as the

good guys, the standard rock band. We listened to Sergeant Peppers Lonely Heart Club band for a

couple of reasons. Firstly, it shows how the beatles had developed the technique ofBrian Wilsonin

which tracks were played separately and layered on top of each other. Secondly, it shows how the beatles

evolved. Rather than being The Beatles the band took on a different persona for this album, making the

album a concept album.

The Rolling Stones- These were the British bad boys, who were associated with early metal. (Not reallymetal in our sense, but they were really rock and rollish). They made famous the hot fuzz box effect on

guitar, and their music was much more blues influenced. We listened to Satisfaction to see the fuzz box

effect, to see how their music was more bad boyish (sexual satisfaction), and to see how the repeated one

riff in the song.

The Who- This band was the alternative to the alternative. Their music had minimalist influence, and we

listened to Baba O Riley to see the synthesized looping that is very similar to in C by Terry Riley.

Led Zepplin- This band was incredibly psychedelic, progressive, and based in blues. We listened to

Kashmir, which was a combination of rock, blues, psychedelic music, and progressive rock. The songfeatured a non traditional diatonic harmony, it was rather a modal harmony.

Micheal Jackson- We listened to Jackson for a few reasons. We wanted to see his influence on pop-music

as a whole, which is huge. Further, we wanted to see how he changed the game for music videos in the

80s. His song, Thriller, was the first song by a black artist on MTV, and further it blended soul, r&b, pop

and rock.

Duran Duran- They were 1980s pop art, that was artificial, romantic, disposable, and synthetic. However,

their music shows the outgrowth of seventies glamor into post punk and new wave music. Songs were

expertly crafted to fit and aesthetic.


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Final Lecture) Terrorism and Music

There isnt much to say about this lecture other than the reading and the two pieces we listened to.

Music in Internment Camps: Basically, the article shows how the United States probably (there is a

small chance that there could be error here) used music to terrorize and torture/interrogate prisoners ofwar. The article mentions how the practice was developed during the cold war, but it was brought up

again during the war on terror when used to interrogate middle easterners and their allies. The article

presents a variety of case studies, but there are a couple of common themes between them all. The music

is used in addition to placing the victim in a confined space, and usually used to derive them of sleep and

force them to admit to anything. The music used did not consist just of black metal and rap rather, country

was used, christina aguilera was used, and so was a comedy routine. The music had no other purpose than

to deprive a interrogatee of their senses, make them unable to think, prevent them from sleeping, and to

force them to give answers. On multiple occasions the technique worked: One muslim man broke down

crying admitting to crimes after the military forced him to listen to music, which was against his religion.

(He was also subjected to desexualization, and other practices).

The article lead to Carson asking us some questions about whether it is okay to repurpose music. I argued

that it is inevitable, and has been done so since the beginning of social states. Other people said it was bad,

it was good. I dont think the answers will be on the test, but rather the question and the intent behind the

question might be .

On the Transmigration of Souls: We did not discuss the pure music of this piece. It was composed by John

Adams, same as above, and the music does feature some minimalist elements of repetition along with

simple diatonic harmonies. The piece mentions those who were missing after the WTC attack, and it is

more sombre and reflexive. It does not place someone back in the event.

WTC 911- Reich. This piece has been performed only once, at its premier. It features minimalist

techniques that Reich used in his Different Trains, and many argue that it was just trying to capitalize off

of the events, and was therefore insensitive. Further, the music of this piece places the listener back during

those events, as it is much more hectic, and charged. The first movement alone features a dial tone of a

phone along with actual 911 calls that took place during the attack.

We were also supposed to listen to Springsteens into the Fire and Toby Keiths Courtesy of the Red White

and Blue, but we never got around to talking about them. Either way, one piece seems like a

remembrance, and Keiths piece seems like a vengeful song that somehow exploits the event. EITHER

WAY, we should be focused on the questions here of A) whether it is okay to repurpose music, and B) is

using tragic events for a musical purpose exploitation or just composition?

music history second exam notes

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