Abstract This paper discusses the first live release, recorded in March, 1999, of Medeski, Martin, and Wood (MMW), "Tonic", a small New York City club, on the lower east side of Manhattan popular with many well-known artists. The author states the post-modern jazz album used a single pair of strategic microphones. The paper reviews each track and describes how various elements such as walking bass, improvisation and syncopation.
From the Paper "Bud Powell composed track 6, Buster Rides Again. The song is begun by a lightly played piano, which develops the theme. The rhythm section joins in followed by a bass solo accompanied by piano, mriba, and a cow bell. There is a return to the melody then a piano solo accompanied by a walking bass and drums emphasizing cymbal sounds. Bass and piano then go into a call and response until the drums begin a lone solo. Melody is restated and another piano solo initiates the end of the piece."
Abstract This paper gives a history of Mexican mariachi music from its beginnings to present day. It looks at its emergence in the Mexican media with the growth of radio and movies, as well as its influence on American pop culture. The author discusses the changes in mariachi music since its traditional beginnings and how its sounds have become a national symbol of the people of Mexico.
From the Paper "Sombrero's, tequila, and the blistering heat south of the border, are just a few thoughts that come to mind when one thinks of Mexico. Along with these stereotypical images, many people also hear and picture the sound and dress of the mariachi band; Mexico's most nationally celebrated music. Mariachi music went from being the traditional sounds of the highlands of Jalisco to recognition as the music of Mexico. It is quite an achievement to start at such a humble beginning and use the popularity of technology and media to reach the nationally popularity it has achieved."
This paper discusses the career and emotional problems of the musician Charlie Parker and contends that Parker's musical achievements were extremely influential.
1,800 words (approx. 7.2 pages), 3 sources, 1973, $ 63.95
From the Paper "Charles Christopher Parker was born in Kansas City, Kansas. He worked in the bands of Jay McShann, Earl Hines, and Billy Eckstine before forming his own small groups in the 1940s. From his youth, Parker was addicted to heroin. As a result, he suffered from many physical and emotional ills during his last years.".
Parker was an alto saxophonist and composer. He ranks among the most influential musicians in jazz history. He and Dizzy Gillepsie were responsible for the rise of "Bebop," a complex, rhythmic, melodic and harmonic form of jazz that developed in the 1940s. His many recordings illustrate his amazing technique and the richness of his musical ideas. "Charlie Parker recorded more versions of the blues (under a variety of titles) than any other form.". Several of his compositions, including "Confirmation" ... "
This paper examines the changes that occurred in society and the Church because of, or as a reflection of, changes in music and art during the transitional period between late Gothic and Renaissance Period.
2,250 words (approx. 9 pages), 5 sources, 1977, $ 79.95
From the Paper The purpose of this research is to examine the changes that occurred in society and the Church because of (or as a reflection of) changes in music and art during the transitional period between late Gothic and Renaissance.
Early Renaissance art was the natural outgrowth of the new humanism which was replacing medieval thought. The world changed a great deal in the period between the ousting of the medieval ways and the upsurge of humanism and the ways of the Renaissance. As E. H. Gombrich writes in his The Story of Art, in the middle of the twelfth century, when the Gothic style was first developed, Europe was still mainly a thinly populated continent of peasants with monasteries and barons' castles as the important centers of power and education.
The ambition of the Great Bishops' Sees to have immense ... "
This paper discusses the composition form of the motet in England from the late 12th Century to the early 15th Century: Relgious andsecular uses in England; eclectic nature; uses by composers in Gothic & Gregorian forms.
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 5 sources, 1980, $ 47.95
From the Paper "The following research is on the subject of the motet in England from the late 12th Century to the early 15th Century. The motet was a French form of the 13th Century and an isorhythmic form of the 14th and 15th centuries, but after that time it took on a broader meaning. Originally, however, a motet was a composition on a liturgical text for use in church. By the latter 13th century the term was applied to works with secular texts as well, including even those which used a secular melody as a tenor cantus firmus. In the isorhythmic motets of the 14th and 15th centuries the tenors were usually Gregorian melodies, and those motets retained the traditional characteristics of a liturgical cantus firmus, multiple texts, and strongly contrapuntal texture. The isorhythmic motet was a conservative form, and the general evolution of musical style during the late ... "
From the Paper "The Beatles were four gifted musicians from Liverpool, England who were responsible for breaking more ground and revolutionizing more techniques in the rock and roll industry than any band in history. The fascinating discovery is that the Beatles were not the "overnight" success phenomenon that most Americans thought they were. Instead, they were a carefully planned and organized business machine - one uniquely determined to bring the message of "All You Need Is Love" to Americans everywhere. This paper will explore the phenomenon of this British rock group in the context of the turbulent decade of the sixties. Musical, social, and psychological impact will be analyzed in an attempt to assess the Beatle's extremely popular appeal. A conclusion will discuss the capacity of rock and roll as a regenerator and revitalizing force for a stagnant society."
From the Paper "Bela Bartok was a Modernist giant among the musicians of the twentieth century. He was born in a small Transylvanian village in 1881, and he died in America before the world recognized his stature and the value of his music:
He is a linking figure between Schoenberg's atonal and Stravinsky's neoclassic schools. While they invented, he listened and learned and composed in his Hungarian-inflected voice, which remains to this day an exotic strain amidst the pervading German, French, and Italian accents of Western classical music (Swafford 424).
Bartok was an important Hungarian composer who generated controversy because of battles in his native land over the meaning of being Hungarian. There were separatist and proletarian movements in his time that had aims that came into..."
From the Paper "On August 1, 1981, MTV went on the air as a 24-hour, non-stop, commercial cable channel beamed by satellite across the country and offered at no charge through cable companies. MTV offered music videos..short films shot to one song. It became an instant success. Suddenly, rock music became something to look at, not just listen to, and a good video could make or break a band. MTV revitalized the record industry by giving play to new bands that the radio stations were ignoring. Its style influenced movies and TV shows. Even the working title for the Miami Vice original pilot film was MTV Cops. MTV also led to long-form videos, such as Flashdance and Purple Rain. Music videos have even become a postmodern art form, with its own ideology. Overall, MTV had a huge impact on culture in its first eight years.
The definition and application to high school instruction and counseling. Includes function, objectives, techniques, examples, psychotherapeutic theories, stress, disabilities and communication.
4,950 words (approx. 19.8 pages), 32 sources, 1994, $ 135.95
From the Paper "The purpose of this research is to examine the definition and application of music therapy to the high school instructional and counseling setting. The plan of the research will be to set forth an appropriate definition and context in which the practice of music therapy can be identified, to discuss a definition of counseling as applied to the practice of music therapy, and to describe the uses of music therapy in a secondary school setting, particularly in high school. As appropriate, reference will be made to research studies of music therapy that appear to have relevance to the high school setting.
For the reason that the term music therapy combines two simple words in a way that implies their connection to the whole range of psychology subdisciplines, it would appear that a definition of the practice would be simple to arrive at."
From the Paper "Western popular music has long had a major influence on the world music scene, and the massive appeal of rock music since the worldwide impact of the Beatles and other groups from the 1960s has altered the popular music scene in different regions of the world, including the nations of Asia. This change has meant the creation of some cultural tensions as some Asian governments have tried to stem the tide of Western influences and to maintain traditional cultural forms. Such efforts have had only limited success and have often come long after the battle has been won by Western music. The Beatles and Elvis Presley first reached these nations more than 30 years ago, and efforts to hold back the flood have been brought to bear more recently either on specific musical styles or on the general influx of Western ideas and trends, to little avail. In many of these countries, a thriving..."
From the Paper "Paul Robeson rose to national and international fame as a multi-talented black man from the most humble beginnings. Paul was born on April 9, 1898, in Princeton, New Jersey, the son on a man who himself had been a slave. William Drew Robeson, Paul's father, was born into slavery in the small town of Robersonville, in Martin County, North Carolina, on July 27, 1845. The determination to expand himself and succeed was as strong in William as it would prove to be in Paul, for William "escaped as a young man of 15 and headed north to freedom via the Underground Railway." Years later, William "had educated himself in the finest classical tradition and graduated from Lincoln University's divinity school.".
William also showed the determination he would pass on to his son in the fact that it was fifteen years after his escape ... "
From the Paper "African music sounds primitive to Western listeners because it functions, not primarily for entertainment as in the West, but as a vital part of African community life and culture. As one sociologist puts it: "Music follows the African through his entire day from early in the morning till late at night, and through all the changes of his life, from the time he came into this world until after he has left it". Africa is a continent in which almost 800 different languages are spoken; however, the one common thread among all the inhabitants of this huge continent is their love for music and their deep involvement with it .
Africa can be divided into two parts: North Africa and Black Africa (south of the Sahara Desert). Because North Africa is largely influenced by Arabic music, this survey will focus on ... "
Abstract This paper considers the ways in which technology and innovation have challenged the music industry, with an economic perspective in mind, drawing on current articles and supports. In particular, it looks at the move from the LP to the CD and more recently, the innovation of MP3 technology which has forced the industry to make swift choices about marketing strategies. It evaluates the legal aspects of downloading free music from the internet and copyright violations through examples of lawsuits.
From the Paper "Even though bootlegged copies of popular albums had been available for decades, the poor quality of these products limited this impact on the music industry. But the emergence of the MP3 changed not only the way that consumers accessed product, but also the way that artists and their labels contemplated their business. The quality of the product offered by MP3 technology rivaled the CD market, leaving little room for consumer discretion in this regard."
Abstract This paper discusses the cultural icon, Madonna and how she has maintained her popularity by consistently challenging popular perceptions of herself and representations of other women, offering an outward, public identity that defies male control and asserts herself as a sexual subject rather than an object. She is a woman who has reached the peak of celebrity without giving into the structural inequalities or traditional representations that female success in the past has relied upon. It raises the question of whether she can be viewed as a feminist or not since, as a performer and artist, she has undertaken subjects and themes that are controversial, especially in terms of mass public reaction.
From the Paper "The fact that the meaning that Madonna transmits and receives are rooted in representational language and performance causes some problems for her. Some feel that the "real" Madonna is hidden behind her image and stage show, and that her real identity is one that is sublimated behind her public identity. The importance of representation in Madonna's identity is evident as one author, cited by E. Deidre Pribham in her essay on the film "Truth or Dare", questions whether it is all just a big, contrived act, "Everywhere the fabricated, the inauthentic and the theatrical have gradually driven out the natural, the genuine and the spontaneous until there is no distinction between real life and stagecraft" (195). "
This paper discusses a movement that is redefining popular music, social consciousness, and the work of artists such as Eminem, Christina Aguilera and Pink.
Abstract This paper discusses that what is new about the social consciousness movement is who is doing it and the methodology. The paper explains that the most atypical, controversial and seemingly anti social performers, Eminem, Christina Aguilera and Pink, are reaching out to the young people and bringing a positive messages about real life, real feelings, and real hope. The paper discusses the music of these performers and their evolution to social conscious music.
From the Paper "There may be no more controversial performer in popular music today than Marshall Mathers, AKA Eminem. Eminem has been portrayed as a misogynist, homophobic, foul-mouthed punk, but surprisingly he is at the forefront of the new music movement. This change is not going unnoticed. ?Eminem's recent trend is to put out tracks with more of a meaning.? In accordance with the new, more constructive musical philosophy, the song "Lose Yourself", from the 8 Mile soundtrack, is a brilliant anthem to believing in yourself."
