Jonathan Shaw
  • Music Appreciation Spring 2020 (Blackwood)
    • Homework
    • Syllabus & Defining Music Appreciation >
      • Activity : Judging Music
    • 1/30 Instrumentation Class 1 >
      • Instrumentation Follow-Up
    • 2/11 >
      • Texture
    • 2/13
    • 2/18
    • Melody >
      • Evolution of a Genre : Example Assignment >
        • Week 5 Assignment : Evolution of a Genre Assignment
    • 2/25
    • Quiz
    • Rhythm
    • 3/10
    • Virtual Week 1: Harmony >
      • Extra Harmony Material
    • Film Music
    • Sampling
    • Sampling Follow Up
    • The Blues
  • ONLINE Music Appreciation Fall 2020
    • Week 1
    • Week 2
    • Week 3
    • Week 4
    • Week 5 >
      • Evolution of a Genre : Example Assignment
      • Week 5 Assignment : Evolution of a Genre Assignment
    • Week 6 >
      • Film Music
      • Sampling
    • Week 7 >
      • Sampling Follow Up
      • Survey
  • Brass Methods
    • Fingering/Position Test
  • Fall 2019 Honors Appreciation
    • Day 1 >
      • Syllabus & Defining Music Appreciation >
        • Activity : Judging Music
    • Day 2
    • Characteristics of Music - Part 1
    • Instrumentation
    • Texture
    • Melody >
      • Isn't She Lovely
    • Harmony
    • Rhythm
    • Song Meaning / Analysis
    • Artistic Intention
    • Evolution of a Genre : Example Assignment >
      • Assignment : Evolution of a Genre Assignment
    • Song Form
    • Genre Thoughts
    • Sampling
    • Film Music
    • Movie Projects (Examples)
    • Early Blues
    • New Page
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  • Aural Theory II
    • Page 2
    • Practice Test
    • Final Days
  • Aural Theory I
    • Reading Material
    • Tuesday 9/4
    • Class 2 : 9/11
    • Class 3 : 9/13
    • 9/18
    • 9/20 >
      • Matching the Pitch Homework
    • Quiz Listening
    • Class 10/2 & 10/4
    • 10/9
    • 10/11
    • 10/18
    • Dictation Practice
    • 6/8 Piece
    • BassLine Singing
    • FINAL MATERIALS
  • Music Fundamentals
    • Homework
    • Class 2 : 9/11 >
      • Melody
      • Harmony
      • Intro to Rhythm
      • Instrumentation
      • Instrumentation Chart / Song Map
    • Class 3 : 9/18 >
      • Quiz
      • Matching Pitches
      • Matching the Pitch Homework
    • Class #4 : 9/25 >
      • Rhythm
      • More Rhythm....
      • Song Form
    • Class #5 : 10/2
    • Class #6 : 10/9
    • Class #7 : 10/17
    • Class #8 : 10/23 >
      • ID'ing Basslines
    • Class 9 : 10/30
    • Class #10 11/6
    • Mid Term Project
    • Mid Term Project Due Dates
    • Class 12 : 11/13
    • Class #13 : 11/20
    • Class 14 - 11/26
    • Class 15 : 12/4
    • Class 16 : FINAL
  • Music Fundamentals for Sound Engineers
    • Week 1
    • Week 2
    • Week 3
    • Week 4
    • Week 5
    • Week 6
    • Week 7
    • Week 8 >
      • Notation Practice - Test
    • Week 9
    • Week 10
    • Week 12
    • Week 13
    • Week 14
    • Week 15
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Thursday 10/5

Objectives: 
Listening
Artistic Intention
Assignments: 

Some Listening...

Think about the Message , Meaning,  Type of Emotion you are interpreting from these songs
.........
and of course,  what from the song gives you that impression
A thought about Familiarity and Contrast......

as far as content / subject matter are concerned , we are VERY FAMILIAR with these songs
(we could easily find 1000's of others about a similar thing..)

Song Categories


Where does the CONTRAST come from?  
AKA why are they all about the same thing, but still all successful and appealing ?   Why don't we get bored with the content? 
​
Common Characteristics / Themes 
 (**Familiar**) 



​

Unique  Characteristics / Themes 
(**Contrast**)




​

A though 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
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?  

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
Picture
Picture
Set #2
Picture
Picture
Set #3
Picture
Picture
Set #4
Picture
Picture
Set #5
Picture
Picture
How About this? 
This? 
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"




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

​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 

Here is a picture I took one day while stuck in traffic on 130 South at the intersection to Route 73 in Cinnaminson 
Picture
This is a picture I took from an online art gallery of photography
Picture
  • What makes this example more artistic than mine?
    • They have a lot in common - Night time, Traffic jam, red lights etc.  



​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​"

Many Artists / Songs Fall into one category or the other

​------------->>>>>
Picture












Is there a middle ground where the artistic intentions yielded monetary value? 

​<<<----------------


Homework :   Artistic Intention

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!!


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

What is Ed Emberley's Artistic Intention:

Picture
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