Music on Television

I watched CSI from 11am-12pm on November 19th. The opening scene didn't use any music. After the crime was set up for the audience, the theme song by the Who began playing. Right after the theme song played the first set of commercials began playing. The first commercial was for a new series called Band of Brothers. The series looks as if it it going to be about the military. The music in the commercial was mostly played by drums. Most of the other commercials played during this break had little or no music. The commercial for lysol wipes had their signature whistled tune at the end of their adverstisement. Once CSI came back there wasn't much music except when the investigators were searching for clues. The music played eerie piano music that grew louder when the investigator would find something. Most of the music played during the second commercial break had little or no music. A KFC commercial using football players as their spokesmen used trumpets in the background which sounded close to a marching band. An iHome commercial used techno music during its commercial. CSI continued with little music except when the investigators were along working on evidence or further looking for evidence. Most of the commercials played during the third commercial break had little or no music. A commercial for the movie "Invictus" coming out in December is about the World Cup. Most of the music playing during the preview was stadium music corresponding with the cheers of the crowd at the game. Another commercial that used music was for Mucinex DM which showed little cartoon germs inside a person's lungs dancing and singing along to the "Cough a Cabanna." A public service announcement about Carbon Dioxide emissions played eerie music that contributed to the seriousness of the pollution. The last scene of CSI where they are booking the suspect was like slow marching music. The closing credits used the theme song to the show just without words.

Music in Movies: P.S. I Love You

I chose to analyze the music of the movie "P.S. I Love You." "P.S. I Love you" is about a woman, Holly, who is grieving over the loss of her husband. The movie shows flashbacks of their relationship as well as Holly trying to move on and forming a new relationship. Her husband was Irish so there are several scenes that take place in Ireland. Most of the music played during these scenes is Irish. This is an example of the music setting the time and place of the film. There is not much music played just as background music in this film. But if there is music playing in the background it usually had an Irish sound to it because Holly's husband was Irish and the film focuses on the remembrance of her husband. There are many examples of music used for psychological underpinnings. A major example of this is during Holly's husband's funeral. At the beginning of the funeral the music is somber. As the funeral comes to a close his best friend who is also his band mate takes a shot over his ashes and one of their fast beat Irish sounding songs plays. Everyone begins smiling and laughing in remembrance of him. Another example of music used for psychological underpinnings is after the funeral when the Holly goes home and lies down in her bed alone and begins crying. There is a light somber music playing in the background. An example of music used to tie scenes together is when the movie shows flashbacks of their relationship. As they show flashbacks of them meeting and falling in love there are a few love songs played that almost creates a montage of their relationship. One example of music used as a theatrical buildup is when Holly begins seeing a new man and they kiss for the first time. As they leaned in the music grew louder and faster which created anticipation. After they kissed though the music came to a halt and they began laughing because they had realized there was no chemistry.

Music in Movies

The movie I chose to watch is Twilight. Throughout the whole movie the music is dark and eerie to correspond with Bella slowly finding out that Edward is a vampire. A lot of the music played in the movie is by the piano and has a slow tempo. Also a lot of the music seems as if it is played in minor because of the eerie feeling to it. In one particular scene she is looking up things on the internet about vampires and the eerie music gets louder and more intense as she is finding more and more things that she believes are about Edward. At another point in the movie the music does speed up a little bit. During the chase scene where Bella is being hunted down by vampires the music is very fast, loud and intense followed by a calm piano piece after the chase and fight are over. I believe the music contributed very well to the theme and feel of this movie.

Paul Lansky

I listened to "Wordless" by Paul Lansky. The piece sounded as if it were being played on a keyboard. The only indication that the music was synthesized by a computer was the sound quality and some background sounds he used as effects. Some of these effects sounded as if someone were singing along with the piece. Other effects sounded like the flow of water. I listened to some of his other pieces and realized that many of his pieces include effects such as these.

Sound Recording

The song I listened to from the Library of Congress was "Pretty little dark blue Eyes" performed by Charles P. Lowe. It is an instrumental piece including both the xylophone and the piano. The sound quality of the recording was not very good. In the beginning of the piece you could barely hear any music over the static. Towards the end of the piece the piano grew louder but I was never able to hear the xylophone. From what I heard of the song, it had an upbeat tempo that seemed as if it were played in major. Although the sound quality of the piece was not very good I understand why so many people were excited about the production and use of sound recordings at that time.

Music Notation

Today's notation has worked for centuries and I believe that it's a good system that is relatively easy for musicians to learn and understand. But if I were to come up with my own system I would use something that is completely universal such as colors. The 7 colors of the rainbow would be used for the 7 notes A-G. Also how the note is shaded in would represent a 1/2 notes, 1/4 notes, and so on. The shade of each color would determine if the note is sharp or flat. The use of colors would be great because colors are universal but there are so many shades of each color that there may be some confusion amongst musicians. It would also be hard to correctly and legibly shade in the note to represent some of the smaller notes such as 1/16 notes. I believe that the notation we use today works best.

Structure of 2 Songs

The song I listened to from my own collection is "Smile" by Uncle Kracker. The song is upbeat and has a happy feeling to is so I believe it is played in major. The tempo was moderate, most likely around 80 beats per minute. The structure of the song is A B A' B C B' B where A represents the verses and B represents the chorus. C represents a bridge that occurred towards the end of the song right before the last chorus was played. The texture of the song is homophonic with vocals accompanied by a piano, drums, and guitar. From the structure it is obvious that the form the of the song is repetition with some change.
The song I chose to listen to from NAXOS was a Cello Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 5, No. 2 by Beethoven called "Allegro molto piu tosto presto." From the name one may think that this piece is extremely fast but I found it to be about 120 beats per minute. The structure of the piece was A B A C. From this structure I determined that the form of the song is repetition with some change. The C represents a part of the piece where the tempo increased dramatically. The texture of the song was homophonic and the melody was conjunct or comprised of steps.

Electrophones

While listening for electrophones within four different genres of music I was surprised how much each of the genres incorporated such instruments. Even while listening to the country station I could hear the use of the electric guitar. But as I suspected the use of electrophones was very minimal on the country station. Most of the songs incorporated the use of the acoustic guitar rather than the electric guitar. I also listened to a rock station. One of the songs I heard was "Walk this Way," by Aerosmith where I could definitely hear the use of an electric guitar. Most of the other songs played on the rock station included electrophones such as the electric guitar, bass, and keyboard. The third station I listened to was a pop station. I heard the new popular song by Miley Cyrus called "Party in the USA." The use of a synthesizer was very prominent in this song as well as the electric guitar. Most of the other songs played on the pop station included the use of synthesizers and other electrophones such as the electric keyboard. The final station I listened to was a rap station. As I suspected none of the songs I heard on the rap station included the use of electrophones.

Aerophones

I played clarinet for 4 years when I was in grade school and I still recognize the sound of one in classical pieces. While listening to DPR I heard many pieces that included the clarinet as well as many other aerophones. Another instrument I could clearly recognize in many of the pieces was the flute. In one piece I listened to, the flute was very prominent and was accompanied by clarinets as well as oboes. I also listened to a piece that used the trumpet to produce a very upbeat tempo. This piece also included a tuba I believe. The last piece I was able to listen to was mostly played by string instruments. I couldn't make out any trace of aerophones throughout the piece.

Keyboards

In my opinion the instrument that has has the greatest impact on what we as a society know as music is the piano. The piano can be heard in every genre of music. Many times an idea for a piece is formed on the piano. The modern day piano, or keyboard, has also greatly impacted society. The keyboard has made music more accessible for people. Not only is it cheaper, it is also easier to learn to play. The keyboard has also made it possible for musicians to "synthesize" music. Keyboards or "synthesizers" allow musicians to generate a variety of sounds. The keyboard also allows musicians to add different instrumental sounds without ever even having to touch an instrument. Keyboards have greatly impacted many different genres of music including rap, r & b, and jazz.

Guitars

Today I listened to 15 minutes of a rock, rap, country, and jazz station in order to determine the role of guitars. Before this exercise I had never thought about the different use of guitars among genres of music. The first station I listened to was a rap station. Guitars were absent from the rap station entirely. In fact most of the music played on the rap station was synthesized. The second station I listened to was a rock station. The rock and rap station were like night and day in that the guitar was very prominent on the rock station. At some points the guitar was even the main focus of the song on the rock station. The third station I listened to was country. In all of the songs I listened to I heard the guitar being played. The last station I listened to was a jazz station. I don't believe I heard the guitar being played in any of the songs I listened to.

Chordophones

During the one hour I listened to DPR I believe I heard 3 distinct pieces. The first piece I listened to was performed on the piano with no accompaniment. The second piece I heard mainly consisted of violins but at some points during the piece I believe I heard cellos being played as well. The third and final piece was played by a complete orchestra in which I heard violins, cellos, oboes, and bass among many other different types of instruments. Because of our discussion in class I tried to listen for a clavichord but I could not hear one being played in any of the pieces I listened to.

membranophone

In order to make a membranophone I used plastic wrap and a plastic measuring cup. I wrapped two layers of plastic wrap over the opening of the plastic measuring cup. I then used a pen to bang on the top of the plastic wrap (membrane) in order to make a sound.

idiophone

In order to make my instrument I took three glass mugs and filled them up with varying amounts of water. The first mug I filled entirely with water. The second mug I filled halfway with water. And the third mug I filled 1/4 with water. I then used a wooden spatula to bang on each of the mugs in order to make a beat. The mug with the most amount of water made the lowest sound whereas the mug with the least amount of water made the highest sound.

SHMRF

One of my favorite songs is The Scientist by Coldplay. Starting with the sound of the song, the texture is homophonic like most popular songs. The song is sung by Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay, accompanied by a melody and the piano. Because of the singing the song has a somber feel to it but if you listen closely to the piano it sounds like it is played in major. In regards to the rhythm the tempo went from slow to moderate. The melody was formed of mostly steps. The contour took the shape of a roller coaster, going up and down. As in most popular songs today the form was repetition with some change. The melody stayed the same while the lyrics changed. Furthermore I enjoy this song because of its beautiful, meaningful lyrics.

24 Hours of Music

Over the course of 24 hours I have heard many different forms of music. As I walked to classes I listened to my ipod. Even with my ipod in I could also hear emergency sirens in the distance. Once I got to class the conversations of students combined the clicking of pens formed a type of music. Later I heard music while driving to and from work. At work music played in the background while people dined. The clanking of glassware and silverware at work also formed a type of music. Later while I did my homework I played music on my laptop. I also heard the background music of the television in the next room. Later I fell asleep to music playing on my laptop. Early the next morning my alarm went off. As I ate breakfast and got ready for class I listened to music on my laptop. On my way to class I stopped by my friend's place in the student neighborhood and could hear many different types of music coming from his house as well as the houses surrounding his. Walking to class I heard more music coming from houses in the student neighborhood. Finishing up my 24 hours I listened to music on my computer while typing this blog.

Music in Silence

While sitting in silence for 30 minutes I heard many different forms of music such as the rhythm of the air conditioning going on and off. I also heard doors opening and closing and the footsteps on the stairs of students rushing to make it to class. I also heard the wind produced by cars passing on Irving Ave. I could hear the conversations of my roommates mixed with the background noise of the television in the next room. Finally I could hear the faint noise of the birds and the insects singing outside my window.