Class 13: Tuesday 11/20

Objectives:
Genre TimeLine - DUE NEXT WEEK

Assignments: 
DUE:  Sampling Ted Talk

Genre Timeline
Jazz Big Band : 1920's -- Present

Early Example : Late 1920's

Duke Ellington - Jubilee Stomp (1928)
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• Instrumentation -  Trumpet/Saxophone/Trombone (1-3 of Each), Drums, Piano, Upright Bass 

•  The "Big Band" is defined by its instrumentation of Multiple Horns with a rhythm Section
• At this point, The biggest purpose of the big band is as accompanying music for Swing Dance ( There was very poor recording technology at this point, and almost no amplification , so there had to be live music for all dancing)
• Some other Early Players : Fletcher Henderson , Harry James ,  County Basie

A predecessor to Big Band:   Louis Armstrong Mid 1920's

In Between......

1930's

40's

50's

Middle Examples: 1960's

Frank Sinatra - Fly me the Moon (1964)

• Instrumentation - Much Larger - More Horns , Possibly Strings, Much Louder Recording, and now with the introduction of Vocals as the main featured instrument .  This was an influence of other popular music at the time (early Rock and Roll , RnB, Country ETC) 
  • ​Part of this is as a result of new technology, for in 1920 good microphone / amplification technology was less available. 
• Big Band is now very much a popular music form, and has officially moved away from the 'Dance Band' era.  Other Contemporary performers such as Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis jr. are selling out large Theatres of audience members coming specifically to see them perform.  This is different from playing in a Dance Hall where the band was there as background music.  

In Between....

Late 60's

70's

80's

Current Example: 2007

Airmen Of Note - Spain  (2007)

• Much Bigger Sound, Louder Sound.  Instrumentation has not changed much from the 60's (although this song omits the singer and strings)
• Much More intricate composition, much longer song.  
• We can hear a much more refined set of musical skills from the both the musicians and the composer. This is MUCH faster, and there are far more notes to be played. 
• This is definitely not about dancing , as the tempo would be way to fast for any dance tune.  This is about showing off Artistic Skill. 
• ​Many different instruments take a soloist roll, contrasting with the 60's where the feature instrument the entire time was vocals.  Now it is really more about showing off the band as a whole.  
• Another thing to note is that this song is a Big Band Version of a song called "Spain" that was released in the 70's

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Very Current Example

Some Concluding Thoughts:

• One thing I noticed is that by the time we are in the mid 70's / 80's, as far as the popular genre goes, the evolution seems to halt substantially.  By this time there is influence of Funk / Rock / other popular music genres, and its doesn't seem to branch out much from these in later decades .  (except for in obscure, experimental examples which most likely did not sell very many records----->>>>>>)
• For me, Big Band really start coming into it's own around the 1950's when it becomes it's own art form and music genre, rather than a byproduct or something attached to Swing Dance.  
• What is TRUE Big Band Music?  I think the best examples of authentic big band music can be found in the 50's/60's.  This is when the music flourished and became it's own art form.  Some else could argue that the True Music was when people were dancing to it in the 30's, but I consider that more of a predecessor ( like field hollers -> Blues)

Evolution of  A Genre / Genre Time Line

We Are going to 'Ted-Talk' this project.  We will do the same thing as we did last week with the sampling Ted Talk.  

Step 1
Select Genre
Select 6 songs within Genre – you need 2 for each period (beginning, middle, end)
Convert songs to MP3 Format
Drop 6 Songs in Garage Band
 
YOU SHOULD HAVE THIS DONE AFTER TODAY'S WORK PERIOD
 
Step 2
Write Script for each example
Record Script into phone
Email to self as MP3 and Drop into Garageband File

YOU SHOULD HAVE THIS DONE , OR CLOSE TO DONE ( NOT DROPPED INTO GB) FOR HW
 
Step 3
Edit / Mix

You will Turn in :  
MP3 File
Script 

Instructions: 

Step 1 :  Choose a Genre
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Give some background on the genre. This should include things like:

-Approximate year of when the genre started
-A couple of the first songs/recordings of the genre
-Some Important or influential artists within that genre
- Some modern / present artists within that genre

You may choose any genre, but Remember to make things as easy as possible on yourself. 
******** The more the genre has changed over the course of it's life, the more differences you will have to talk about******
***** Stick to larger, broader genres - example "house" music would be a sub genre of "electronic dance music" *****
Step 2:  Choose Recordings

Pick SIX SONGS (single songs not albums) from within your genre

You may pick any songs from within your genre with one requirement
 You must pick:
2 from EARLY in your genre's 'life'
2 from the MIDDLE of your genre's 'life'
2 from CURRENT example

 Example: 
Rock:
 Life =  1950's   -   Present
Early ; 50-60          Middle ;  80 - 90        Late  ;  2010 - present

Jazz:
Life - 1920's - Present 
Early ; 20's        Middle ; 60-70        Late;  20-pres

Be selective here ; remember you want to pick songs that best exemplify the evolution of the genre - I.E. your Current example should sound VERY different from your older example. 


Step 3: Analysis and Examination
For each example, provide a brief but detailed analysis - Listen to your examples a few times and try to come up with as many of the musical characteristics and components as possible. These could include, but are not limited to:

Repetition, Originality,  Instrumentation, Artist Background**,  Recording Quality,
Texture (thick/thin) , Possible uses, Familiarity/Contrast,
Pictures it paints in your head , Memories it reminds you of,
Melody - Delivery, What/who is providing it, their vocal qualities,subject matter, lyrics/word choice,
Rhythm - Delivery, What is providing it, Explicit/Implicit

*******This should be in Paragraph form*****

Give concrete observations about the examples !  -  We should be able to hear the things you are talking about when we listen to your examples.  
Step 4: Interpretation


These are some questions you should answer, however you are not limited to these: 

- ​Summarize / give a brief synopsis of the evolution/changes that have occurred in the genre
- What do you think has been the biggest change in the genre?  
- What were some EVENTS and PEOPLE that were instrumental to the Evolution of the Genre? 
- What is your idea of the "true" genre? The Early examples or the Modern Examples? Why? 
*****Example Genres that work well :  Rap/HipHop , Country , Rock & Roll , Blues , Jazz*****

Things to Think about : 
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Skills used from last class: 

• Converting Youtube to MP3
• Dropping in to

Things we want to build on from last project :

• Better Mixxing / editing.  Place your voice over in a place in the song that makes a little emore sense,

Things to add in description :

• Instrumentation, year, Band, background, things that are unique to this style.
• FOCUS ON THINGS THAT CHANGE THROUGHOUT THE LIFETIME OF YOUR GENRE

Song Selection ;

• Choose songs that are very different so you have a lot to talk about
• Must have a song spaced equally in the life of your genre : Beginning, Middle, End

Grading :

• Must include entire song in file, we should hear : Song , Dialogue, Song End
• Mixing;   We must be able to hear your voice, and the song