The Violin, the cello, the viola, the string bass: An orchestra – who doesn’t love strings?

Okay, I admit that I am a huge classical music geek but I am not ashamed. Ever since I was a young kid I loved listening to music that involved stringed instruments. The first time I used Garageband the first thing that grabbed my attention was the string tracks. For this week I explored the string tracks and added a twist to them.

 String instruments, I don’t get it: Strings instruments are any instrument that produce sound from the vibration that comes from a string (they are also known as chordophones).

When it comes to strings, they can be plucked (like when people pluck at a guitar), bowed (think violins), or striked (a piano produces sound when a hammer strikes the string causing it to vibrate).

There are three types of stringed instruments:

• Harps: the strings are built in the frame
• Lutes: the strings are supported using a neck and a body with a bridge (example: Violin)
• Zithers – the strings are mounted on the body (a piano)

String instruments produce different sounds based on their size, string length, technique, etc. Take for example the Bass- it’s huge- so the air hollow that helps produce the sound, along with its long and thick strings, allow for the instrument to have a deeper vibe. An instrument like the banjo has much thinner, tighter strings – making it more high-pitched.

The Strings Ancestors: Yes the string family, like you and I, have ancestors. String instruments have been documented to date back to 2500 BC in Mesopotamia. In the medival times, a lot of music was played using a Lute.

String Ensembles:

There are various types of string performance ensembles that have been composed for and performed with.

String Orchestra: an orchestra made up only of strings. Instruments include the violin, viola, cello, and the double bass. The group can be 12 to 21 players. They usually plays work by Mozart and Haydn

String Quartet: only uses 4 players – two violins, a viola, and a cellist

Famous Composers who worked a lot with string instruments:

-Franz Joseph Haydn- known as the inventor of the string quartet

-George Frederick Handel – wrote hundreds of hours worth of music

-Ludwig van Beethoven- One of the most popular composer who most people know, he invented musical eras and revolutionized music multiple times.

The piece: So I decided to play with the string tracks I could find on the program. As much as I love the fully acoustic vibe of classical music, I wanted to spice the tracks up with a hip beat, and some edits. I was able to coming the string tracks and layer them with other string loops that could create a beat. On top of that, there is a hip-hop-isque beat that accompanies the strings to give it a small dance flare.

Strings n Hip Hop: 

Gloria Gaynor, Bee Gees, Diana Ross, Village People, and Earth Wind and Fire:

All some of the top Disco artist and groups to date.

Disco is one of those genres that is an acquired taste- most people either love it, tolerate it….or they hate it. But hey, that’s all genres of music right?

But lets get to know disco first! Disco isn’t nearly as popular as it used to be back in the day. The genre was more popular back in the late 1960’s – 1970’s. It started as a dance music movement that spoke to most minority groups in American society: the LGBT community, Latin Americans, African Americans, and women. The movement began as a counterculture to the very popular rock music era. Disco Once disco music began to popularize, it became its own culture including as pretty flamboyant fashion. 

The music was global, becoming popular in the US and parts of Europe. With a lot going on socially in the United States, Disco music served to release anger and anxieties through its bright, colorful, and happy jams. It also played a roll in unifying a divide nation. At disco dance clubs people of different genders, races, and sexual orientation could all come together and enjoy the music, the fashion, and the dancing.

Characteristics:

How do we recognize disco music? Well, it is a combination of elements from genres such as funk, soul, a little salsa, and pop. There are a few traits to look out for:

1. Very bright, leading vocals:

Vocals that are usually singing lyrics about wanting to boogie, feel good music, or empowerment

2. A funky bass line:

The bass is usually syncopated (on the off beats) to add extra rhythm to a song to make it groove more.

3. A groovy drum beat:

The drum beat usually has a 8^th note or 16^th note beat on the hi-hat, add a little base on the up beats and snare on the down beats, pretty much a pattern that people can dance to.

4. Instrumentation:

Disco songs can also include other instruments like bright sounding brass, electric guitar, electric pianos, synthesizers, and strings.

The Piece:

I’m one of those people who likes disco music so I had a lot of fun putting this song together. As I usually do, I base the tracks that I use off of what Garageband considers disco loops. I also played around with some funk/soul tracks for extra layer. There is a simple kind of groove created by the drum track that kicks the whole thing off. The drums are then joined by clavinet- a member of the piano family that sounds like a higher pitched electric piano. The piece also features an electric guitar, a slap bass pattern, and electric piano. Towards the end, a darker, heavier piano track appears – it isn’t very typical for disco pieces but I thought it was a cooler tone and it accented the beat, so I went with it.

Have a groovy day

Can You Dig It? 

Electronic Music.

Come on now, I cannot do a blog of this variety and not include electronic music.

A quick disclaimer: Electronic is almost an umbrella term for a huge variety of musical styles. I am using the genre name for this example since the piece has elements that go with the category; however, there are so many different types and ideas of ‘electronic’ music that I will probably also explore.

Alright, so what is electronic music? As mentioned before, electronica music encompasses house, techno, industrial, trance, and drum and bass. This music is found a lot of the time in rave like scenes and nightclubs. Around the 1990s, electronic music became to advance and become popular.

Think of it like this: As technology advances:

So does music technology:

So what makes electronic music?

I’m glad you asked! By definition: electronic music is technically anything that involves an electronic process (think editing and recording) (thanks Britannica.com). But, if we’re talking more the genre of music, electronica is considered for music that is composed using electronic sounding tracks, programmed beats and drops, pretty much man-made sounds that do not come from a natural sounding, acoustic instrument. Electronic sounds can be generated through multiple sources and mediums. A composer or producer can record averages noises and manipulate their tonality, pitch, and length. Sounds can also be created technologically using various programs and beat pads (in other words, buttons you can push that have different noises that can be used to form beats).

History?

Electronic music has a heart warm background story. The idea was fantasized in starting in the 19^th century with composer wanting to revolutionize the concept of music. This urge sparked the research and advancement of acoustic sciences and how music can be produced. In 1985 a breakthrough happened – the telharmonium – aka the great great grandparent of modern electronic music. The machine was an instrument that took telephone signals and converted them to sounds. Unfortunately it never really caught on, with it being complex and way ahead of its time BUT it would serve as a catalyst for more advancements. By the early 1900s, the electronic organ was produced, a marvel of the time. Fast forward to the the invention of the tape recorder, motivating people to compose more electronic music. Next thing you know, electronic music becomes widely accepted, music studios are built in order to further capitalize on the genre. Equipment advances, new machines, new technology, new programs, and BOOM electronic music takes off as an increasingly popular genre.

The piece of the week:

I decided to combine a few aspects of “electronica music” for this piece. You’ll hear some elements that sound like instruments you might recognize (even a harp); however these records were electronically recorded and manipulated in key signature and tempo. There are plenty of tracks to be found on garageband, almost an overwhelming amount. The song explores a few different ideas, themes, and sounds that I just had fun messing around with.

I actually really love electronic music and all its sub genres, If you don’t listen to it a lot, give it a chance, there’s a little something for everyone in this category.

Melody’s Electric Memories

I know, an African beat is a very strange way to kick off a passion blog, but here we are. I picked this genre because it’s filled with percussion, it’s interesting, and it’s not what you’d expect from this blog.

So what typically goes into African music?

Drums.

Some mallet percussion action.

And even shakers.

Of course there are plenty of other instrumental aspects in the whole genre- including stringed instruments, wind instruments, and more complex ancient instruments- but this time I focused on percussion (I’m a percussionist- so yes, there’s favoritism).

Lets talk background and classification. Africa, as I’m sure you know, is huge. With that being said there are hundreds of different languages and cultures that flourish in the continent. In Ancient Africa, music was used as a means of celebration, religious matters, and storytelling. Certain songs and instrumentations were used for specific task and means. Throughout its history, African music became influenced by outside cultures due to immigration. African styles also spread across the globe due to the slave trade. The songs hold traditional, spiritual, and cultural values that are still cherished today.

Style: Compared to Western culture standards, African music is viewed as miscellaneous, textured, and elaborate. Most traditional African music involves a free form, meaning the tempo can change at any moment. The template for most African music is to have the percussion ensemble drum a very rhythmic pattern. While the instrumental ensemble plays, a soloist instrument will play over the pattern or a vocalist will chant/sing lyrics. There’s a huge variety in instrumentation, lyrics, and uses of African music, but lets see what can be made on Garageband.

Okay but what even is Garageband? I should probably explain. Garageband is a music-making program generated by our good friends at Apple Inc. The program provides hundreds of loops (phrases of music) that range from a power rock guitar melody to an intricate tambourine rhythm. A person can combine loops, or make up their own using different instrument settings. In a quick summary, it’s like having a lot of different instruments, beats, machines, enhancers, and music manipulators all accessible through your computer keyboard. Crazy right? Well, it’s a hobby I picked up in the 6^th grade and have been playing around with for awhile now. I went with this project because I love music and have been in a solid 8 year relationship with it (things are getting pretty serious between us), and I wanted to challenge myself to explore different genres and see just what this application and I could do.

The Piece: Like I said, this week’s genre is African. Granted, there are not many tracks that gear towards a traditional African vibe, but that’s all part of the challenge- working with what I have. This song plays on the percussion favoritism I mentioned featuring drums, mallets, and other accessory instruments. I enjoyed dancing to the sounds of drums as I went; however I found challenges with the limited supply of ‘African’ sounded loops.

(a quick screen shot)

But enough talk, here’s Afrique:

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_sub-Saharan_African_harmony, http://www.britannica.com/art/African-music

1) Garageband Endeavors: A hobby I picked up somewhere in middle school is making music and beats through Apple’s application Garageband. Each week I could explore a different genre, create a piece that I think fits that area of music, and write a blog post reflecting what it was like to make it and my comments on the genre.

2) Trying a new class at the Penn State Gyms every week: PSU offers a wide variety of classes through a gym membership. I could take a new class every week and write a review for the activity.