``muSic``

2008-08-11T18:54:00.000-07:00

MUSIC EDUCATION
The incorporation of music training from preschool to post secondary education is common in North America and Europe. Involvement in music is thought to teach basic skills such as concentration, counting, listening, and cooperation while also promoting understanding of language, improving the ability to recall information, and creating an environment more conducive to learning in other areas. In elementary schools, children often learn to play instruments such as the recorder, sing in small choirs, and learn about the history of Western art music. In secondary schools students may have the opportunity to perform some type of musical ensembles, such as choirs, marching bands, concert bands, jazz bands, or orchestras, and in some school systems, music classes may be available. Some students also take private music lessons with a teacher. Amateur musicians typically take lessons to learn musical rudiments and beginner- to intermediate-level musical techniques.
At the university level, students in most arts and humanities programs can receive credit for taking music courses, which typically take the form of an overview course on the history of music, or a music appreciation course that focuses on listening to music and learning about different musical styles. In addition, most North American and European universities have some type of musical ensembles that non-music students are able to participate in, such as choirs, marching bands, or orchestras. The study of Western art music is increasingly common outside of North America and Europe, such as the Indonesian Institute of the Arts in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, or the classical music programs that are available in Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan, and China. At the same time, Western universities and colleges are widening their curriculum to include music of non-Western cultures, such as the music of Africa or Bali (e.g. Gamelan music).

ACADEMIA

Musicology is the study of the subject of music. The earliest definitions defined three sub-disciplines: systematic musicology, historical musicology, and comparative musicology or ethnomusicology. In contemporary scholarship, one is more likely to encounter a division of the discipline into music theory, music history, and ethnomusicology. Research in musicology has often been enriched by cross-disciplinary work, for example in the field of psychoacoustics. The study of music of non-western cultures, and the cultural study of music, is called ethnomusicology.
Graduates of undergraduate music programs can go on to further study in music graduate programs. Graduate degrees include the Master of Music, the Master of Arts, the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) (e.g., in musicology or music theory), and more recently, the Doctor of Musical Arts, or DMA. The Master of Music degree, which takes one to two years to complete, is typically awarded to students studying the performance of an instrument, education, voice or composition. The Master of Arts degree, which takes one to two years to complete and often requires a thesis, is typically awarded to students studying musicology, music history, or music theory. Undergraduate university degrees in music, including the Bachelor of Music, the Bachelor of Music Education, and the Bachelor of Arts (with a major in music) typically take three to five years to complete. These degrees provide students with a grounding in music theory and music history, and many students also study an instrument or learn singing technique as part of their program.
The PhD, which is required for students who want to work as university professors in musicology, music history, or music theory, takes three to five years of study after the Master's degree, during which time the student will complete advanced courses and undertake research for a dissertation. The DMAis a relatively new degree that was created to provide a credential for professional performers or composers that want to work as university professors in musical performance or composition. The DMA takes three to five years after a Master's degree, and includes advanced courses, projects, and performances. In Medieval times, the study of music was one of the Quadrivium of the seven Liberal Arts and considered vital to higher learning. Within the quantitative Quadrivium, music, or more accurately harmonics, was the study of rational proportions.
Zoomusicology is the study of the music of non-human animals, or the musical aspects of sounds produced by non-human animals. As George Herzog (1941) asked, "do animals have music?" François-Bernard Mâche's Musique, mythe, nature, ou les Dauphins d'Arion (1983), a study of "ornitho-musicology" using a technique of Nicolas Ruwet's Language, musique, poésie (1972) paradigmatic segmentation analysis, shows that bird songs are organised according to a repetition-transformation principle. Jean-Jacques Nattiez (1990), argues that "in the last analysis, it is a human being who decides what is and is not musical, even when the sound is not of human origin. If we acknowledge that sound is not organised and conceptualised (that is, made to form music) merely by its producer, but by the mind that perceives it, then music is uniquely human."
Music theory is the study of music, generally in a highly technical manner outside of other disciplines. More broadly it refers to any study of music, usually related in some form with compositional concerns, and may include mathematics, physics, and anthropology. What is most commonly taught in beginning music theory classes are guidelines to write in the style of the common practice period, or tonal music. Theory, even that which studies music of the common practice period, may take many other forms. Musical set theory is the application of mathematical set theory to music, first applied to atonal music. Speculative music theory, contrasted with analytic music theory, is devoted to the analysis and synthesis of music materials, for example tuning systems, generally as preparation for composition.

ETHNOMUSICOLOGY

In the West, much of the history of music that is taught deals with the Western civilization's art music. The history of music in other cultures ("world music" or the field of "ethnomusicology") is also taught in Western universities. This includes the documented classical traditions of Asian countries outside the influence of Western Europe, as well as the folk or indigenous music of various other cultures.
Popular styles of music varied widely from culture to culture, and from period to period. Different cultures emphasised different instruments, or techniques, or uses for music. Music has been used not only for entertainment, for ceremonies, and for practical and artistic communication, but also for propaganda in totalitarian countries.
There is a host of music classifications, many of which are caught up in the argument over the definition of music. Among the largest of these is the division between classical music (or "art" music), and popular music (or commercial music - including rock and roll, country music, and pop music). Some genres don't fit neatly into one of these "big two" classifications, (such as folk music, world music, or jazz music).
As world cultures have come into greater contact, their indigenous musical styles have often merged into new styles. For example, the United States bluegrass style contains elements from Anglo-Irish, Scottish, Irish, German and African instrumental and vocal traditions, which were able to fuse in the United States' multi-ethnic society. Genres of music are determined as much by tradition and presentation as by the actual music. Some works, like George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, are claimed by both jazz and classical music. Many current music festivals celebrate a particular musical genre.
Indian music, for example, is one of the oldest and longest living types of music, and is still widely heard and performed in South Asia, as well as internationally (especially since the 1960s). Indian music has mainly 3 forms of classical music, Hindustani, Carnatic, and Dhrupad styles. It has also a large repertoire of styles, which involve only percussion music such as the talavadya performances famous in South India.

MUSIC THERAPY
Robert Burton wrote in his 17th century work, The Anatomy of Melancholy, that music and dance were critical in treating mental illness, especially melancholia. He said that
But to leave all declamatory speeches in praise of divine music, I will confine myself to my proper subject: besides that excellent power it hath to expel many other diseases, it is a sovereign remedy against despair and melancholy, and will drive away the devil himself.
Burton noted that
...Canus, a Rhodian fiddler, in Philostratus, when Apollonius was inquisitive to know what he could do with his pipe, told him, "That he would make a melancholy man merry, and him that was merry much merrier than before, a lover more enamoured, a religious man more devout."
In November 2006, Dr. Michael J. Crawford and his colleagues also found that music therapy helped schizophrenic patients. In the Ottoman Empire, mental illnesses were treated with music.

roCKKin- its Wat IT is!!!

2008-07-16T08:48:00.000-07:00

ROCK Rock & Roll is often used as a generic term, but its sound is rarely predictable. From the outset, when the early rockers merged country and blues, rock has been defined by its energy, rebellion and catchy hooks, but as the genre aged, it began to shed those very characteristics, placing equal emphasis on craftmanship and pushing the boundaries of the music. As a result, everything from Chuck Berry's pounding, three-chord rockers and the sweet harmonies of the Beatles to the jarring, atonal white noise of Sonic Youth has been categorized as "rock." That's accurate — rock & roll had a specific sound and image for only a handful of years. For most of its life, rock has been fragmented, spinning off new styles and variations every few years, from Brill Building Pop and heavy metal to dance-pop and grunge. And that's only natural for a genre that began its life as a fusion of styles. Rock Styles
Alternative/Indie-Rock:
Industrial, Alternative Pop/Rock, Goth Rock, Lo-Fi, Grunge, Shoegaze, ritpop, Post-Rock/Experimental, Funk Metal, Indie Rock, Paisley Underground, Jangle Pop, ternativeCountry-Rock, Punk Revival, Post-Grunge, Third Wave Ska Revival, Neo-Psychedelia, Riot Grrrl, Space Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Dance, Cocktail, Dream Pop, Punk-Pop, British Trad Rock, Industrial Dance, Madchester, Psychobilly, Ska-Punk, Cowpunk, New Zealand Rock, Chamber Pop, Twee Pop, Emo, Slowcore, Electro-Industrial, Ambient Pop, C-86, In die Pop, Noise Pop, Math Rock, Queercore, Sadcore, Shibuya-Kei, Skatepunk, Garage Punk, Alternative Folk, Neo-Glam, College Rock, Pop Underground, American Underground, Post-Hardcore, Indie Electronic, Punk Blues, Screamo, New Wave/Post-Punk Revival
Art-Rock/Experimental:
Prog-Rock/Art Rock, Kraut Rock, Noise-Rock, Neo-Prog, Experimental Rock, Canterbury Scene, Avant-Prog
Dance:
Dance-Pop, House, Disco, Urban, Hi-NRG, Acid Jazz, Euro-Dance, Club/Dance, Rave, Garage/House, Freestyle, Alternative Dance, Latin Dance, Teen Pop, Latin Freestyle, Dance-Rock Folk/Country Rock: Country-Rock, Folk-Pop, Singer/Songwriter, Folk-Rock, British Folk-Rock
Hard Rock: Blues-Rock, Christian Metal, Hard Rock, Southern Rock, Thrash, Death Metal/Blac k Metal, Glam Rock, Grin dcore, Heavy Metal, Speed Metal, Hair Metal, Arena Rock, Alternative Metal, British Metal, Boogie Rock, Industrial Metal, Rap-Metal, Guitar Virtuoso, Pr ogressive Metal, Neo-Classical Metal, Album Rock, Aussie Rock, Pop-Metal, Rap-Rock, New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Detroit Rock, Glitter, Punk Metal, Stoner Metal, Scandinavian Metal, Goth Metal, Doom Metal, Symphonic Black Metal, Sludge Metal, Power Metal
Pop/Rock: Christian Rock, Pop, Pop/Rock, Girl Group, Bubblegum, Teen Idol, Brill Building Pop, Comedy Rock, Baroque Pop, Sunshine Pop, AM Pop, Celebrity
Punk/New Wave :Synth Pop, Punk, Alternative Pop/Rock, Hardcore Punk, New Wave, Power Pop, Ska Revival, Mod Revival, Post-Punk, New Romantic, No Wave, Proto-Punk, Oi!, Garage Rock Revival, British Punk, Christian Punk, New York Punk, L.A. Punk, American Punk, Straight-Edge, Anarchist Punk, Sophisti-Pop, College Rock
Rock & Roll/Roots Rock & Roll, Blues-Rock, Tex-Mex, Instrumental Rock, Rockabilly, Roots Rock, Surf, Pub Rock, Hot Rod, Rockabilly Revival, Surf Revival, Swamp Pop, American Trad Rock, Jam Bands, Heartland Rock, Frat Rock, Hot Rod Revival, Retro-Rock, Latin Rock, Bar Band
Soft Rock: Singer/Songwriter, Adult Contemporary, Soft Rock, Pop/Rock
Psychedelic/Garage :Psychedelic, Garage Rock, Acid Rock, Psychedelic Pop, British Psychedelia, Obscuro, Acid Folk
Europop Euro-Pop, Euro-Rock, Swedish Pop/Rock
Foreign Language Rock Rock en Español, French Pop, Foreign Language Rock, Italian Pop, Asian Pop, Japanese Pop, Japanese Rock, Hong Kong Pop, French Rock, Aboriginal Rock
British Invasion British Invasion, Psychedelic, Merseybeat, British Blues, Mod, British Psychedelia, Freakbeat, Early British Pop/Rock Ask 20 people for a definition of rock & roll and you'll get 20 different answers, for everyone has their own idea of what the music is and what it should do. And that's good, because if rock & roll could be defined with a simple, concise description, it would've died sometime in the mid-'60s. Rock & roll defies categorization: you can't trace its origins back to one particular source, you can't define its content with words like "rebellion" or "sexuality," and you can't pinpoint its sensibility with one clever catch phrase.More than any other genre of 20th century music, rock & roll has stood the test of time on the strength of its diversity — the diversity of the countless producers, engineers, songwriters, vocalists, and musicians who create the stuff. The hierarchy in anyone's personal history of rock & roll is predestined to include dozens of eclectic names and song titles. And the things people think rock & roll should do vary as wildly as the artistic approaches of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones Some think it should be full of rebellion, anger, and venom, and they point to the early work of the Who, the Rolling Stones, or the Sex Pistols or to the rantings of some contemporary agit-popster. Others may see it as a vehicle for romantic expoundings, positing their arguments with an armful of doo wop singles and the complete works of Phil Spector. Still others may argue that the music is simply a white bastardization of black blues and R&B; these people can point to just about any post-'50s group and make a convincing argument. But rock's origins aren't so easily defined. Many critics and historians credit Jackie Brenston's "Rocket 88," recorded in 1951 at Sam Phillips's Sun Studio in Memphis, TN, as the first "rock & roll" record. Its driving beat, over-amped guitar riffs, blaring horns, and automobile-as-sexual-metaphor theme lend weight to this theory. What about the blues-laced prewar country work of Jimmie Rodgers or the vivid imagery and pathos in the oeuvre of Hank Williams? What about the prewar and postwar gospel that provided much of the foundation for not only rock & roll but for blues, R&B, and soul? What about the swaggering jump-blues that proliferated in the Midwest and on the West Coast during the '40s and early '50s? What about the Delmore Brothers' choogling, revved-up acoustic country? What about the high, mournful wail of Bill Monroe and the Stanley Brothers? What about the raucous assault of blues pioneers such as Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Little Walter Jacobs, and Sonny Boy Williamson?The diversity of rock's origins may explain why the Rock, Pop, & Soul chapter of the All-Music Guide is the most variegated section of the book. With over 20 critics applying their opinions and critical idiosyncrasies to the canon of 20th century popular music, the variety of music highlighted is certain to be eclectic, to say the least. Whatever your personal definition of rock & roll may be, that eclecticism is necessary, if only to give an accurate overview of what's out there. It also means, however, that not every starred or bulleted album is going to fill everyone's needs. Someone may think Michael Bolton is a pockmark on the face of contemporary pop; someone else may think he's inherited the white soul-man traditions of Van Morrison or the Rascals. Whatever your opinion, in the pages of this section there's a bulleted album recorded by Bolton We realize no one is going to agree with every critical assessment found in this chapter, and no one should; if they do, they probably aren't asserting their own personality quite as strongly as they should. And some may squabble that we've included contemporary and vintage soul, doo wop, and jump-blues within the rock and pop section. But without the artists who've worked and continue to work in those genres, the rock & roll section of any book (or record store) would be considerably smaller — and far less interesting.What this chapter should do, however, is act as a guidepost for the curious, a map to guide readers through areas of music they may not find on their own. You may already know about a lot of the music discussed here, but maybe you'll find a record that somehow slipped through the cracks of popularity. Or maybe you're interested in tracking down the finest album by an obscure New York noise band or an overlooked doo wop quintet. Odds are, you'll find them both somewhere within these pages. Keep in mind, though, that regardless of how painstakingly the All-Music editors have worked at making this a definitive portrait of what's good in rock, pop, and soul, it is not definitive — there's no way any one book ever could attain that goal. But if it makes one person purchase an album by an artist they've never heard of, if it makes somebody decide once and for all to dig into the roots of American music to find out where the Rolling Stones got all those cool old songs, the All-Music Guide has accomplished its task. You, the reader, will be the final judge of its success. ROCK IS WAT ITS ALL ABOUT!!!!