Shows that illegal file-sharing and illegitimate duplicating of copyrighted music is the cause for record declines in global music sales and examines lawsuits against Napster and others.
Abstract Napster 1.0 , launched in 1999, allows Internet users to share, upload, and download MP3 files directly from any computer connected to the Napster network free of charge. This paper provides background on Napster and similar sites. This paper examines principals of the RIAA (Recoding Industry Association of America) in suing consumers who disregard the copyright laws, including its lawsuit against Napster. The paper also examines Napster's views and arguments on the lawsuit. The paper includes an outline.
From the Paper "Contrary to recent reports through the RIAA, and despite a wave of lawsuits unleashed by the recording industry, college students appear to be downloading just as much music illegally as they did in past years. The Chronicle reports that they see little evidence that the industry's efforts are presenting any significant impact other than profit making capabilities to new and upcoming legal networks. Music sharing, many experts say, continues almost unabated on college campus networks. The only way for music companies to compete near the same level is by making music easily accessible and cheaper to purchase."
Abstract This paper first talks about Mozart's childhood and adolescent years as a composer and then talks about his compositions during his adult years. The paper discusses Mozart's influence, his technique, his style, and his genius. Several of Mozart's works are cited and described, and the qualities that make them masterpieces are explained.
From the Paper "Born in Salzburg, Austria, on January 27, 1756, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the son of Leopold Mozart, the second Kapellmeister at the court of the Archbishop. From his earliest childhood, Mozart revealed the most extraordinary musical powers and for a number of years, beginning when he was six years old, Mozart appeared throughout Europe, inspiring awe and adoration wherever he went. His first four violin sonatas were published in Paris when he was eight; his first symphonies were performed in London when he was nine; his first two comic operas were completed when he was twelve, and at the age of fourteen, Mozart wrote on commission his first opera seria, produced in Milan in 1770 during his first tour of Italy."
Abstract This paper takes a look at the controversy surrounding MP3 and Napster. The author examines the debate around piracy and the difficulties aroused by this new development.
From the Paper "Technology has always fueled expression. Now, with the MP3 format, people can easily distribute their recordings digitally, with incredible clarity and quality, with personal computers and the Internet. This technology has also fueled much debate about the piracy of copyrighted music. "
Abstract In this paper the author looks at the characteristics of different time periods in music starting with Medieval music and cites examples in each category. The author then moves on to look at some prominent composers, including, (to name but a few), Purcell, Vivaldi, Shutz, Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, and shows how their works demonstrate the traits of the periods previously mentioned. The author concludes with a brief discussion of form and structure looking at various examples such as song form, themes and variations and sonatas.
From the paper:
?Franz Liszt
Liszt was a composer of the Romantic period and was among the first to arrange entire programs of solo piano music. He composed piano miniatures, solo piano music, transcription pieces, symphonic poems and symphonies. Some of his best known pieces include Mephisto Waltz, Totenanz,Leibestraum and the Hungarian Rhapsodies.?
Tags: middle ages baroque renaissance medieval plain chant troubadour music polyphonic motet opera trio counterpoint classical cadences symphony minuet rondo sonata romanticism symphonic poem concerto wagner impressionism debussy twentieth century rigadoon, con
Abstract This paper looks at five musicals, starting with "South Pacific". It uses lyrics from these shows to demonstrate how these musicals have served to raise society's awareness about important issues. The idea is presented that since "South Pacific", musical theatre has expanded its base to reflect the lives of a wider variety of kinds of peoples, resulting in a body of work that more completely reflects both the people of America and the issues they face.
From the Paper "The musical, a form of stage play that includes song and dance, has its roots in the opera but developed its current form in the United States. The unique nature of both diverse popuations and a wide range of sets of values in our country has had a significant effect on topics chosen for the story lines of musicals.
"At the turn of the century, shows by such authors as Victor Herbert told conventional stories of "boy meets girl" love. The main characters all lived some mild variant of a conventional life. They might have gotten themselves into improbable situations, but they were heterosexual, chose partners close to their own age, made a strong connection between love and marriage, and generally reflected the accepted mores and standards of mainstream society. Races did not mix in any significant way. Whites did not fall in love with Blacks. In fact, the main characters, with the exception of Gershwin's all-Black Porgy and Bess, were nearly always Caucasian."
Tags: musical, theatre, drama, society, racial, Gershwin, Herbert
Abstract The paper gives a history of Russian-born Serge Diaghilev and explains how his unconventional ideas of ballet led to the creation of the Ballets Russes in France. The paper lists the people associated with the company and explains the factors that contributed to the success of the Ballets Russes. The author describes the incredible impact that the Ballets Russes had on the world of ballet.
From the Paper "Serge Diaghilev was born of Russian nobility in Perm, Russia, on March 19, 1872. In 1890 his family moved to Saint Petersburg, and at the university there, Diaghilev was supposed to study law, but he soon became enamored with the arts and realized that was where his future lay."
Abstract The paper traces the history of jazz, beginning in the 1920's. It then focuses on the contributions of some of the most notable musicians and composers of the era.
From the Paper "Jazz music is many things to many people. It is the rhythmic beat of a swing band recreated by "Big Bad Voodoo Daddy," or the "Brian Setzer Orchestra." It is Louis Armstrong playing a sweet, soulful trumpet, or Duke Ellington playing the piano in a smoky club in Harlem. "That word jazz is ambitious. Not content with a peer's place in the dictionaries, it has shouldered its way into encyclopedias. Here is the definition given of it in Chambers' 'Encyclopedia': 'Jazz, dance music, generally syncopated, played by a band eccentrically composed. The jazz drummer, a sort of one-man band, provides the characteristic feature of jazz, which is noise. . . . The origin of the word is uncertain. The term has been applied also to noisy proceedings, to loud writing, to eccentric and discordant coloring'" (Osgood 10). Jazz came into the language and the hearts of the American people in the 1920s, and it has never left."
From the Paper "Beethoven spanned the two eras of Classicism and Romanticism. Classicism was, on one level, a preference for balance, while Romanticism was a rage for power. Beethoven used these opposing forces to reshape the symphony as a musicoemotional form, and this was probably the single most important achievement in the development of the Romantic Symphony. Beethoven was also noted for his expansion of the piano sonata and the string quartet. Biographers often emphasize Beethoven as a wretched human being, uncouth, bad-tempered, and often unfair in his business and personal relationships. His personality brought him into constant conflict with publishers, musicians, patrons, family, and friends. His music is highly dramatic, and he was noted for his innovations and the sublimity..."
From the Paper "Beethoven's role as a transitional figure between the classical and romantic periods took several forms. In one sense, it was the composer's mystique, based on nineteenth-century perceptions of Beethoven as "the very type of the artist," that influenced other musicians, and the general reception of his works (Kerman and Tyson 392). In another sense, it was the increased freedom of personal expression in Beethoven's music that exerted the greatest appeal for later musicians. Beethoven, for example, often wrote music that was openly autobiographical "in a way that is unthinkable before 1790," but which struck a positive chord among the Romantics (Rosen 385). And, in a third sense, Beethoven's influence had a purely musical side, as very few musicians of the Romantic era "escaped his influence in technical respects" (Kerman and Tyson 392). Thus, though most.."
Abstract This paper gives a history of the roots of Baroque music and how it evolved within the Baroque era between the years 1600 and 1750. The paper relates to various composers (such as Bach and Handel) who contributed to the Baroque period of classical music. The paper also shows how Baroque music influenced music as we know it today.
From the Paper "Historically, Baroque music introduced embellished melodies, contrapuntal forms and harmonic complexity emphasizing instrumental and vocal contrasts. The Baroque era is generally stated as the time between years 1600 and 1750. The word "Baroque" was derived from the French language and the Italian word "barocco" meaning, "bizarre". It was originally used in reference to the architecture of cathedrals and other buildings at that time. These churches were more elaborate due to the emphasis placed on religion at the time as a result of the socio-political status of the church and state. At this time, the Catholic Church was in full reign over the land, and practically synonymous with the law and the monarchies. The people were devoted to their God and their home, and created such elaborate pieces as a tribute to both. As times progressed, the music changed as well. Baroque music was complexly composed to combine an array of harmonies and melodies that were not before explored in earlier works."
This paper examines the forgotten black roots of rock music in America, its influence on rebelling youth, and the evolution of new popular musical genres.
Abstract Rock and Roll music was both influenced by and influenced the youth movement of the 1960s. The beginnings of Rock music during the 1950s were actually quite rebellious and controversial. This paper puts the development of rock music into a cultural and historical context, drawing on examples such as Wynonnie Harris, Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Bob Dylan. The paper also mentions beatniks and the psychadelic counterculture.
From the Paper "Rock and Roll music broke into the forefront of American culture as the baby boomer generation came of age. During the 1950s, the new musical style helped young people begin to rebel against their parents? generation in a stylistic, subtle, and symbolic way, generating more differences and encouraging a widening of the generation gap. Popular culture tends to disregard the 1950s as a sterile and orderly decade, however, the youth of the 1950s were beginning to rebel much more drastically and blatantly than we are led to believe, and more so than what remains as the lasting image in the historical memory of Americans who were alive at that time. While this music that we now call "oldies" seems so boring and unhip by today's standards, the earliest Rock and Roll music contained sexual implications and a gift of immediate gratification that spoke to the so-called juvenile delinquents of the time. By the early Sixties and the beginnings of the ?movement,? Rock and Roll music had already established itself as a successful form of cultural radicalism, that is, an individuality of spirit and expressive form of defiance against the norm. (The "movement" collectively refers a shift to the "New Left" which supported the Civil Rights Movement, was against the Vietnam War, and opposed the Old Left Liberal methods of working within the system to end poverty and racism by means of a technocracy.) The more the youth rebelled, the more the music changed to suit this rebellion. The lyrics became more overtly political and explicit, and Rock and Roll music began to ?evolve out of artistic necessity,? when new ways to rebel were necessary, in order to keep on rebelling, as it were. Folk musicians began to blend their lyrics and style with Rock music, and wrote songs that were true reflections and reactions to the times and responded to the changing world. By the mid 60s, a youth "counterculture" hit the scene, and Rock and Roll had split into two breeds of music: one which served an industry and popular culture, and another type of music for political activism, which eventually infused itself in the drug-laden hippie subculture."
Correlates treatment of, & attitudes toward, women in opera of the 18th & 19th centuries to social treatement & attitudes toward women during those periods.
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 4 sources, 1988, $ 47.95
From the Paper " The role of women in opera in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries reflected their roles in the society that produced this opera, as would be expected. The roles of both men an women in opera are, of course, heightened from what one would expect in real life and often even beyond what is found in drama, with the grand gesture and the even grander emotion expressed not just musically but in attitudes and behaviors. Catherine Cl"ment finds indeed that the attitudes expressed in the opera toward female characters extended to the female members of the audience:
Where were women in the structure of this edifice" In their place, of course. . . . Nothing comes along to disturb the social pyramid that makes the audience itself an ornament of the opera. Nothing will come later, in the nineteenth century when romantic opera(...)"
Examines the inter-relations between music and mathematics. Discusses the theory and philosophy of music and focuses on the mathematical foundations of such composers as Mozart, Schoenberg, and Cage.
1,575 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 9 sources, 1995, $ 55.95
From the Paper "Music and mathematics are closely linked, and musical rhythm serves as an example of the practical use of different mathematical principles. It has recently been noted in fact that the mathematical regularity of certain music, such as that of Mozart, can be a spur to clearer thinking, at least for a short period of time after listening to a piece of music. Music has a psychological effect that is partly explained by its mathematical regularity, seen in the way music is divided into regular bars, beats, and different note lengths. Psychologists have discovered the importance of patterns in music and in aspects of human behavior. Music satisfies certain human needs for order and rhythm, and mathematics both explains and empowers this process.
Edward Rothstein writes about the relationship between music ..."
Examines the similarities between Mozart's "Haydn Quartets" and string quartets of Haydn. Discusses styles, innovation, themes, balance and order. Includes an outline.
2,025 words (approx. 8.1 pages), 9 sources, 1995, $ 71.95
THESIS: This paper will discuss the ways in which Mozart's
"Haydn Quartets" are similar to the string quartets of Haydn.
I. Introduction
II. The style of Haydn and Mozart
A. The classical style
1. Use of standardized forms
2. Balance and proportion
3. Lightness and elegance
B. Haydn was an innovator of the classical style
C. Mozart took Haydn's ideas and became a master of them
III. Haydn's Opus 33 for string quartet
A. Opus 33 is subtitled "Gli Scherzi" (The Jokes)
1. Uptempo rhythms ..."
Abstract The paper discusses the concept which is generally considered ?Early Music,? - the musical styles associated with the Renaissance period, beginning ca. 1450 and ending around 1600, and the Baroque period, commencing ca. 1620 until the death of Johann Sebastian Bach in 1750. The paper shows how these two styles share numerous musical traits which revolve around the application of stable harmony, polyphony and the progressive movement towards humanistic orientation. The paper shows how this contrasts to the musical style of the earlier Medieval period which was dominated by liturgical chant repertories.
From the Paper "The harmonic language was at times modal but more often than not was based on chord themes, such as rapid triads interspersed with much tonality. In Bach's case, this was known as the circle of fifths, a harmonic sequence with powerful chord progressions which took on the nature of "sweeping dynamics used for expressive purposes, much like modern-day improvisational techniques" (Masterson 324).
The role of dissonance in Baroque music cannot be downplayed, for it was at
times very influential with its long, drawn-out chordal suspensions characterized by appoggiaturas, or an embellishing note or tone preceding an essential melodic note or tone. The application of seventh chords, ninth chords and on occasion eleventh chords contributed to a vast array of melodic dissonance, often identified by large tonal leaps."
