Analysis of Music
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One of the advantages of breaking rules and exploring beyond is that one comes out with something that has never been experienced before. For this reason, Beethoven and The Beatles established themselves in the music industry because they created a norm that every new artiste followed. Composers that followed them always tried to be like them.
On the other hand, there is a cost in breaking the existing musical rules. People always want to hear what they love from their past musical experiences. Introducing a new genre may not auger well with the popular style. Despite being radical composer, Beethoven actually composed what people liked.
R. Murray Schafer has been successful in breaking the musical composition rules. One of his radical music was East, composed in the year 1972. It was totally different from the traditional techniques at that time. It had slow glissandos and the performers sung and hummed on top of playing the instruments. Generally, Murray employed his compositional creativity to challenge his listeners as well as the performers of his music.
The spice girls joined the Pop music in the 90s and became successful. Their strength was largely due to the perfect combination of each individual talent and voice in addition to their youthful vigor.
Michael Jackson broke the rules of the existing Pop music and introduced a style that was outstanding for four decades. Michael introduced sophisticated musical dance styles such as the moonwalk and robot largely evident in his 1982 album named The Thriller.
Question Two
Franz Schubet’s The Weathervane and Celine Dion’s The Power of Love In his song, Die Wetterfahne (The Weathervane), Franz Schubet talks about a young man who is in love with a beautiful lady but has not won her heart. On the other hand, The Power of Love by Celine Dion describes the lovely situation that exists between two lovers who are living together.
“The wind plays with the weathervane
On my lovely darling's house.
I thought already in my delusion,
She whistled from the poor fugitive.” (Theory of Music, 2009)
“Lost is how I’m feeling lying in your arms
When the world outside’s too much to take
That all ends when I’m with you.” (Azlyrics.com, 2015). The two verses talks about love. The verse taken from Franz Schubet describes a situation whereby a man is in love with a woman but some situations can’t allow them to live together as lovers. On the other hand, Celine Dion’s verse is the opposite of Franz’s verse. She describes a situation between intimate lovers who are always together. Despite being composed several centuries apart, the theme of love is evident throughout the two songs. Franz Wetterfahne’s The Weathervane clearly expresses the true feelings of two people in love. In a similar way, Celine Dion’s song expresses the beautiful joy of two lovers. Apart from sharing some similarities, there are some difference between songs composed several years and the modern songs. The old music had some pattern of melodies which is different from the current music largely described by its rhythm rather than the message and melody. The modern day singers share some similarities with Schubet. Most modern music is dominated by the theme of love just as Schubet addressed in some of his songs. The theme of love is covered by a large number of artistes in the modern world. The language used to explain the feelings of love is still used in the modern world. Modern day songs generally follow in the footsteps of what Schubet did in his time. The use of instruments like the piano is still prominent. Similarly, most of the modern songs are just about three minutes longer as it was with Schubet’s songs. If Schubet lived in the modern day world, he would definitely be like Adele. The major similarity between Adele and Schubet is the way the two convey emotions in their songs. Adele describes a relationship that has ended while Schubet describes his feelings in a more direct manner.
Question three- Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye When I listen to this song, the first picture that comes into my mind is that of two people who are intimate. On the same note, the song portrays a man who has been overcome by his intimate feelings of his woman. The male lover is trying to convince his fiancé to go to bed with him but she is reluctant. This is why the man tries to justify his intensions by asserting that sexual healing is good for him. On the same note, the man is trying all means to justify how life is difficult living without his lover. The song Sexual Healing by Marvin Gaye is about a man who is in love with a woman but the woman is taking long to accept the man’s proposal. The man then goes ahead to convince the woman that he cannot live more without her. He uses sexual gratification as an immediate symbol of love. Therefore, he says that he can no longer hold back his sexual feelings meaning that he must have his lover next to him. Sexual healing reminds me of the time that I was madly in love but could not convince a certain woman to accept me as his man. There comes a time when lovers are desperate for each other but the situations can’t allow them to meet. The feelings of love become overwhelming and one is only left wishing that his lover could be around him. Such is the situation explained by this song.
Question Four Verdi’s Otello and the Act III Scene 3 of William Shakespeare’s Othello share significant similarities. In both cases, there is a misunderstanding about the issue of faithfulness. In Otello, Desdemona is falsely accused of being in a secret relationship with Cassio and she was later killed by her husband. Similarly, Othello doubts the faithfulness of Desdemona with Cassio until she reminds him that it was Cassio who had convinced her to accept Othello when they were courting. However, there is some difference as well. In Shakespeare’s text, Othello gives chance to his wife while in Verdi’s text; Otello kills his wife before realizing that he was duped into doing so. It is now clear that Otello’s friends never wanted him to stay with his wife though it took Otello time to understand the reality. His friends had been busy working on a way to separate him with his new wife Desdemona but Otello thought his military success was enough to secure him a wife and a good marriage. He realizes the mistake he has done but there is no chance to correct them. As a result, Otello finally kills himself as well. Verdi uses music in his text to help in setting up the tone of the play. Indeed music helped in creating tension and hence giving the audience to predict what is to happen in the next stage of the play. The text in the music was moving the audience because it marched with the text of the play resulting to a progressive flow of the melodies.
Question Five
Modern Music Representing America (American Dream by Rihanna) The American Dream by Rihanna represents the actual life of ordinary Americans. The misconceptions that America is a paradise on earth are clearly explained by this song. The lyrics encourage Americans to keep on with their daily work as part of building the real America that they want- The American dream. When I first heard this song, the first message that it portrayed was that America is just a place like any other place in the world. It is a country where everyone is working hard to make ends meet. Most importantly, the song portrays that Americans are hardworking and they are ambitious to achieve their dreams. The piece is about the daily life in America. Everyone is busy working hard to achieve their personal goals in life. The song encourages Americans to keep on working hard for the betterment of America. This is evident when Rihanna says that Americans hold their breath in order to actualize the American dream. Non Americans who hear this song would definitely be surprisded. Everyone believes that America is a country full of opportunities. People believe that there is no struggle for survival in America. However, Rihanna puts it clear that most Americans actually struggle to make the American dream real. I like this song because it exposes the reality beyond life in America. People listening to this song would definitely have a clear understanding of what takes place in America rather than have a vague perception of life in America.
Question six
Stir it up by Bob Marley The music is from the Jamaican culture. The language used in the Jamaican music is a mixture of different languages due to constant interaction of different cultures in Jamaica. Though the official language is English, the Jamaicans speak a different dialect which may not directly translate to modern English. The traditional instrument played in this music is the guitar. Jamaicans are very popular with the guitar in their music. The bass is the dominant key in the Jamaican reggae. It was much publicized by Bob Marley during his time and it has since evolved and established itself as p[art of the Jamaican music culture. The American music is very diverse. It incorporates the hip hop, R n B, Blues, Jazz among others. However, pop music has been very popular. The major difference between the American and the Jamaican reggae is the tempo. The Jamaican reggae is very slow while the American music uses a fast tempo. On the same note, while the Jamaican reggae uses mainly guitar, the American music uses a combination of different musical instruments including the piano, violin, guitars among others. Generally, Americans enjoy a variety of music rather than a specific type of music. I like the Jamaican reggae because of its slow tempo. It is soothing and cool. Reggae music is also easy to dance and sing along because. On the same note, most of the traditional reggae music convey religious or ethical message which is beneficial to the entire society.
Question seven
Endless Summer by Fennesz This song is very experimental because it incorporates a mixture of complex sounds together. The guitar blends well with the music and there are clear and effective changes in chords as the song progress. The song also has some noise which makes it perfect and more experimental. In addition to that, Endless Summer was composed in a very intelligent and unique style making it outstanding from others. Though the song wonderfully uses electric guitar chords, it is a bit different from most of the music from the same genres. The presence of noise is limited in the song unlike most songs in the same genre. It is pretty and on can easily hum it as it sings. The choice of guitar strings is also perfect for the song. Anyone listening to this music will certainly react positively to its rhythm. The brilliance in the music is fascinating and makes it good to listen. The song is also exhilarating and good for dance club. I personally like this music because of its good tempo. The fact that I can dance and sing the song makes it a lively and entertaining song. The song is also noisy in a way giving one a chance to shout out and relieve tension while entertaining as well. Given that the song has been in existence for a longer period of time makes it good to listen to. It carries memories of many years ago and hence explaining the perception of issues during that time.
Question Eight
Franz Schubert I will consider interviewing Franz Schubet because he is considered as one of the greatest composers of all time. He is also considered the last composer of classical music and the one who radicalized music by introducing romantic melodies. Franz is also known to be one of the few composers who broke the rules of music to start a different style. The interview with Franz will definitely seek to get understanding of his compositions. The first question will be why he decided to break the rules of musical composition during his time. I will also ask him to explain what his expectations were when he decided to break the rules and introduce a romantic style of musical compositions. I expect Franz to explain that what made him to break the rules of musical composition was the desire to introduce a new genre of music into the industry. This is because the next generation of composers followed in the footsteps of Franz in their compositions. Franz expected every new composer to explore their styles of composition so as to come up with unique music. Franz would not recommend copying what other composers do because he himself clearly established his style. The influence of Franz Schubet on the music world is great. He introduced a new style of music which became a norm for most of the music composers after him. We still listen to Franz’s music because they were original and different from others. A good example of the best music by Franz is the Serenade.

References
Azlyrics.com,. (2015). CELINE DION LYRICS - The Power Of Love. Retrieved 12 August
2015, from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/celinedion/thepoweroflove.html
Theory of Music,. (2009). English translation of Schubert's Winterreise, poems by W Muller. Retrieved 12 August 2015, from https://theoryofmusic.wordpress.com/2009/07/18/english-translation-of- schuberts-winterreise-poems-by-w-muller/