Week 4
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Objectives:
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Assignments:
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REVIEW
Instrumentation by Genre
With what Genre of Music would we generally associate the following instruments ?
Classical or Rock or Country or Hip Hop
Classical or Rock or Country or Hip Hop
With what Genre of Music would we generally associate the following instruments ?
Classical or Rock or Country or Hip Hop
Classical or Rock or Country or Hip Hop
With what Genre of Music would we generally associate the following instruments ?
Classical or Rock or Country or Hip Hop
Classical or Rock or Country or Hip Hop
With what Genre of Music would we generally associate the following instruments ?
Classical or Rock or Country or Hip Hop
Classical or Rock or Country or Hip Hop
Often (even though we don't think about it) Genre is defined almost purely by instrumentation. Therefore if you like a certain genre, one of the biggest things you actually like about it is the nomination of timbres used in that genre
Variables when dealing with instrumentation.......
- Mixing Different Instruments and Timbres
- The amount of instruments / Timbres used in a song
??? Can you think of any trends in the music you like to listen to ? think of your song list that you submitted ... any similarities in the combination of timbres OR the amount of Timbres used ???
Timbre Listening
For the Following :
1. How many Timbres do you count?
1. How many Timbres do you count?
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2. Can you name them ?
Questions :
- What are things that make this activity Hard?
- Do you think the # of Timbres can have an effect on what we use the music for
or if we like certain music?
- Do you think recognizing the instruments can have an effect on what we use the music for
or if we like certain music?
Questions :
- What are things that make this activity Hard?
- Do you think the # of Timbres can have an effect on what we use the music for
or if we like certain music?
- Do you think recognizing the instruments can have an effect on what we use the music for
or if we like certain music?
Song Interpretation / Analysis
Music and Emotion - Watch the first 3 minutes.....
Remember that this is a big important concept when thinking about Music and Music Appreciation :
We Deliberately listen to specific Music because we have an intended outcome as to what it will do to us
AND
Sometimes we can use this intended outcome to accompany and assist us with Activities that correspond with those intended emotional outcomes
Song Meaning =
>>What are we as listeners taking away from the song?<<
>>What emotional Effect is the song having on us (or, could the song have on someone?) ? <<
And Finally
What are we hearing in the music that makes us interpret that emotion from it?
Two Important Questions when interpreting a song
1. What emotional effect could this song have one someone ?
2. What are we hearing in the music that makes us think that?
Example :
One of the following songs is supposed to represent ANGER and one of the following examples is meant to represent RELAXATION. Can we make a guess as to Which is which?
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What are we Hearing in the music that makes this easy to answer?
LIST: What are things we Hear in music that convey emotion to us?
1. Lyrics / Words / Poem
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
....................
This is why music is artistic - It is a physical medium from which we can interpret specific emotions
Think of any art form .... Visual Art/Painting/literature/dance/film... we can interpret and extract emotion from things that we are hearing and seeing
It is also a Human Quality - Other species cannot interpret emotions from music / art
THE BIG QUESTION:
How do we do it?????
What makes these songs Happy ?
What makes these songs Sad ?
We can type into google " Songs about ____________ " and a big list will pop up . For all of those, how does the music support the emotion it is supposedly about ?
Playlist by Subject
Song Categories
Even though many songs are about specific stories, they can be broken down into some basic emotion
Activity :
1. Pick one of the following Emotions and find a song that you think well represents that emotion.
2. Tell us 2 things you are hearing in the MUSIC OTHER THAN LYRICS/WORDS/POEM/STORY that make you think think it is about that emotion
Joy
Fear
Relief
Everybody will be asked for 1 !
2. Tell us 2 things you are hearing in the MUSIC OTHER THAN LYRICS/WORDS/POEM/STORY that make you think think it is about that emotion
Joy
Fear
Relief
Everybody will be asked for 1 !
Another Way of asking this is:
"what do we hear in the music that supports the Emotion / Story in the Lyrics?"
"what do we hear in the music that supports the Emotion / Story in the Lyrics?"
SO....
for all these songs, the music is DEFINITELY doing things to support the emotion , but we don't necessarily think about that when we listen to it.
This is what I mean when I say that today, we really depend on the lyrics of a song to determine it's meaning and how we will relate to it.
for all these songs, the music is DEFINITELY doing things to support the emotion , but we don't necessarily think about that when we listen to it.
This is what I mean when I say that today, we really depend on the lyrics of a song to determine it's meaning and how we will relate to it.
What if we take away the crutch of having lyrics?
Now we have to depend solely on the musical characteristics to interpret and emotion/meaning
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Thoughts.....
Some song meanings are VERY DIRECT AND OBVIOUS - it is EASY to hear the EMOTION or MEANING immediately !!
And example of this from above might be Carmina Burana.... or...... Example
Some songs are more SYMBOLIC and VAGUE when it comes to the song meaning
An Example of this from above might be Sukiyaki ...... or ....... Example
This has to do with HOW the artist wanted us to interpret the song.....
Did they INTEND for it to be easy ?
or
Did they INTEND for it to be harder and take more thought?
Some song meanings are VERY DIRECT AND OBVIOUS - it is EASY to hear the EMOTION or MEANING immediately !!
And example of this from above might be Carmina Burana.... or...... Example
Some songs are more SYMBOLIC and VAGUE when it comes to the song meaning
An Example of this from above might be Sukiyaki ...... or ....... Example
This has to do with HOW the artist wanted us to interpret the song.....
Did they INTEND for it to be easy ?
or
Did they INTEND for it to be harder and take more thought?
Activity
Everyone Find a song that is Either direct / obvious / Easy to understand, and a song that is more Symbolic / vague and Hard to Understand ...
And as always... Give us a couple things about the song that make it that way
And as always... Give us a couple things about the song that make it that way
So... We can split how we interpret the song meanings into 2 Categories
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Direct / Obvious / Specific
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Vague / Symbolic / Generic
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The Old Apartment
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When interpreting a song, let's try to :
1. Make an observation
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Landslide
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Key points Here:
- To get an interview with the writer about specifically what the song is about is a luxury we usually don't have
- Even though we didn't know the exact story she was talking about (how could we without the interview) we can interpret at least some emotions that she was feeling from being in that situation - these emotions are much more generic and easier to relate to - Even though we MIGHT have actually been in the same situation at some point , we can still relate to the song even if we haven't.
???? IF we can interpret an emotion , and can relate to the song from that emotion, does it really matter if we know exactly the song was about ??????
A thought about Interpreting a Message
So there are a couple things at play when we are trying to extract some kind of meaning/message/emotion/vibe from a song
1. What is does the artist wants me to take from this song
2. How I am actually feeling while listening to the song
So there are a couple things at play when we are trying to extract some kind of meaning/message/emotion/vibe from a song
1. What is does the artist wants me to take from this song
2. How I am actually feeling while listening to the song
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1. Observing the Artist's Intention
This comes from making observations about the song's characteristics. - Lyrics (words/poem) -Melody Delivery - Accompanying Music : genre,Instrumentation, texture, Harmony ETC. We are trying to answer the question: "What is the artist trying to tell me?" |
2. Interpreting a personal Meaning
This comes after our initial observation of the songs characteristics, and we reflect upon that content thinking about our own personal experiences - People/Memories/Experiences We are trying the answer the question : "Who do I relate to this song" |
Thoughts about observation/interpretation:
- Observations should be objective - aka similar no matter who we ask
- Interpretations are personal, or Subjective, and will differ from person to person
-Observation and Interpretation COULD be the same thing, or they COULD be different.
FURTHER
Does this matter to the success of the song?
- Observations should be objective - aka similar no matter who we ask
- Interpretations are personal, or Subjective, and will differ from person to person
-Observation and Interpretation COULD be the same thing, or they COULD be different.
FURTHER
Does this matter to the success of the song?
Artistic Intention : Visual Art
For the following sets of painting, take 2 minutes and decide what you think was the intention of the artist that painted/drew them. (I.E. What was the artist's goal when he/she made the art)
Set #1
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Set #2
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Set #3
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Set #4
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Set #5
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What are we thinking about?
- The subject Matter : What is it ? How is it Portrayed?
Artist: "What is my Art about and how Am i presenting it"
- The Type of Audience they are trying to reach:
Artist: "Who do I want to like my Art"
-They Type of Reaction they want out of their audience:
Artist: "What do I want people to feel when they See/hear my Art"
- The subject Matter : What is it ? How is it Portrayed?
Artist: "What is my Art about and how Am i presenting it"
- The Type of Audience they are trying to reach:
Artist: "Who do I want to like my Art"
-They Type of Reaction they want out of their audience:
Artist: "What do I want people to feel when they See/hear my Art"
Narrow our Criteria
Now what if we try to Narrow down our judgement of their intention to this spectrum (remember, we are speculating about the INTENTION of the artist, not necessarily the real life outcome):
$$$$$ ------------------------------- vs. ------------------------------- ART
Now what if we try to Narrow down our judgement of their intention to this spectrum (remember, we are speculating about the INTENTION of the artist, not necessarily the real life outcome):
$$$$$ ------------------------------- vs. ------------------------------- ART
What is Art? What is Artistic? And What ISN'T ?
Art: the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
Key words: Creative Skill / Emotional Power
I.E.
Artistic = Did the artist use their creative skill to make us feel something
Key words: Creative Skill / Emotional Power
I.E.
Artistic = Did the artist use their creative skill to make us feel something
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Here is a picture I took one day while stuck in traffic on 130 South at the intersection to Route 73 in Cinnaminson
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This is a picture I took from an online art gallery of photography
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What is Ed Emberley's Artistic Intention:
SO......
With all are (Visual / Dance / Cinema / Film ) We must consider the INTENTION OF THE ARTIST and what THEY WANTED FOR THEIR ART
Did they want it to be:
Viewed in a museum? Admired by the masses and the Elite?
Sold for a lot of $ ?
OR
Is it meant to be an expression of Emotion?
Possibly without an intended audience?
Does it matter if anybody listens / views it?
?? What is the Artist's list of priorities for what they want for their art ??
AND
Does this make a difference to us as the audience?
Do we think about this when we listen to music / look at art?
Quick activity:
1. Can you think of a song where the artist's intention was REACH MASSES OF PEOPLE AND MAKES LOTS OF MONEY
(think of our judgement criteria - monetary success)
1. Can you think of a song where the artist's intention was to EXPRESS EMOTION THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF THEIR ART
(think of our judgement criteria - Artistic Skill)
This is a question of:
ART --------------------------VS.--------------------------$$$
?'s
How did you we decide which end of the spectrum any given song ends up closer to?
What makes it sound Artistic ? What makes it sound $Valuable$
One thing these two have in common ( Art / $ ) is that one big goal is to reach PEOPLE , The Difference is in the
WHY
Artist #1 - " I want to get my album on iTunes/Youtube so I can sell a million copies and get Rich and Famous"
Artist #2 - " I want to get my album on iTunes /Youtube so a million people can hear my message! "
Does the Third Type exist?
Artist #3: "I want my Music to be on youtube so it can reach millions of people and they can feel my message - and it did, and they all bought it on iTunes and i made millions and got famous"
What makes it sound Artistic ? What makes it sound $Valuable$
One thing these two have in common ( Art / $ ) is that one big goal is to reach PEOPLE , The Difference is in the
WHY
Artist #1 - " I want to get my album on iTunes/Youtube so I can sell a million copies and get Rich and Famous"
Artist #2 - " I want to get my album on iTunes /Youtube so a million people can hear my message! "
Does the Third Type exist?
Artist #3: "I want my Music to be on youtube so it can reach millions of people and they can feel my message - and it did, and they all bought it on iTunes and i made millions and got famous"
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Many Artists / Songs Fall into one category or the other ------------->>>>> |
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Is there a middle ground where the artistic intentions yielded monetary value? <<<---------------- |
Activity
Instructions:
For the following examples, plot each song on the "$ vs. Art Spectrum"
1. Which Side of the spectrum does it fit most appropriately ?
- Why did you think this? What from the music or your prior knowledge of the song/artist makes you think that way?
2. Aside from $$ and Art, were there any other intentions at play
3. Come up with a group answer (sentence form) for : What makes a song Artistic
Things to think about (as proof for your answer):
The Subject : What the song is about, what is the artist saying about it?
The artist: who they are, what they are like, what are they trying to say, what mood were they in when they created to the art
The audience: Who was the artist trying to reach? What did he want to say to them?
I Will collect these from everyone at the end of class!!
For the following examples, plot each song on the "$ vs. Art Spectrum"
1. Which Side of the spectrum does it fit most appropriately ?
- Why did you think this? What from the music or your prior knowledge of the song/artist makes you think that way?
2. Aside from $$ and Art, were there any other intentions at play
3. Come up with a group answer (sentence form) for : What makes a song Artistic
Things to think about (as proof for your answer):
The Subject : What the song is about, what is the artist saying about it?
The artist: who they are, what they are like, what are they trying to say, what mood were they in when they created to the art
The audience: Who was the artist trying to reach? What did he want to say to them?
I Will collect these from everyone at the end of class!!
Song List:
1. Thrift Shop
2. I'm the Slime
3. Anaconda
4. Tears in Heaven
5. Tribute
6. I Don't Wanna Live Forever
7. Space Oddity
1. Thrift Shop
2. I'm the Slime
3. Anaconda
4. Tears in Heaven
5. Tribute
6. I Don't Wanna Live Forever
7. Space Oddity