One of the presentations that I found interesting was Music & Mental health, since there is a lot of people who struggle with it in todays society. It relates to music because it spreads a message to people who suffer from mental health in order for them to seek help. Depression has also been higher in recent years which cause people to have higher risk of mental health.

If my topic would have been Music and metal health I think the song I would choose are, Breathin by Ariana Grande, René by Residente this song is composed by a Puerto Rican rapper in which he talks about dark moments and depression that he went trough, and one song that I wouldn’t change is 1-800-273-8255 by Logic. I would connect these pieces by talking how they relate to my topic, and how they each have a different way to make the song. And also how each artist expresses mental health in their own way.

Videos:

One song that I considered a “good” song is “Young and Beautiful” by Lana del Rey. This song was used in the main sound track of the movie The Great Gatsby. Mostly the tracks of the movie are jazz combined with pop however the producers of the movie wanted Lana to do something outstanding. This song is categorized as alternative pop, this song is in B minor. This song is in strophic form which means that different verses are sung thought the song however the melody doesn’t change. This song also has a soft piano to create a minimalistic effect, and also in the music video we can see how a synthesized orchestra of strings is used that accompanies Lana’s sweet voice.

I think that one of the units that this song would make a great fit is in Unit 6: Song because there is something about this song that makes it unique form the others. Something that can be discussed about this song is how a synthesized orchestra of strings is used in order to make the song outstanding. Another thing that can be discussed is what the song is trying to convey for example the emotions of the song, the time period the song took place and what story is trying to portray.

Buddhism was “originated 2,500 years ago in india”(National Geographic). Buddhism is practice to relieve ones suffering, through “meditation, spiritual and physical labor” in order to obtain “enlightenment, or nirvana.” In Buddhism music it requires chanting is some way, it also requires of dancing, and some instruments. Chanting is part of the most regional Buddhism.

A song related to Buddhism is a song called, ”Buddham Saranam Gachchami” meaning “I go to the Buddha for refuge”(Meditative Mind). This song is used mostly for meditation while trying to connect with divine forces. it’s also used to clear the mind as a ”freedom of suffering”. In the song we hear three sentences, ”Buddham Saranam Gachchami”, “Dhamman Saranam Gachchami“, and “Sangham Saranam Gachchami“ meaning “I go to the Buddha for refuge”, ”I go to the Dhamman for refuge” and ”I go to the Sangham for refuge”. This song or this chant helps to surrender and bring you peace. This chant is syllabic in other words it only has one or two pitches per syllable.

Works cited:

“Buddhism.” National Geographic Society, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/buddhism. 

Bhatia, Dilpreet. “Buddham Saranam Gacchami Mantra, Meaning and Benefits.” Meditative Mind, 27 Dec. 2019, https://meditativemind.org/buddham-saranam-gacchami-mantra-meaning-and-benefits/. 

Yundi Li also know as ”China’s piano prince” is a famous pianist for the youngest Chinese person to win a price in the chopin piano competition in 2000. Most of the songs that he plays and performed were classical. One performance that called my attention was when he played Chopin nocturne Op.9 No.2. Mostly in the space that he performed were auditoriums, venues, and concert halls. I decided to watch this concert because the song that he plays is one of my favorites, and also because Chopin was a famous composer.

While Yundi Li was performing he closed his eyes in order to concentrate and feel the music while playing. The audience were very respectful towards him by not talking during the performance and they listen to him played all the time until he was finish. The way people were dressed is pretty decent and some people are wearing formal clothes. Something that surprised me was that when he was done playing people didn’t clap right away but they waiting for him to open his eyes, and they also waited for him to stand up. Basically everything from this performance matched my expectations. I can compare this concert with Beethoven’s 1808 concert because in Yundi Li’s performance only a piano was used and it was not seen as a failure as Beethoven’s concert was seen.

In the article ”100 years ago today, ‘The Rite of Spring’ incited a riot in a Paris theater” the author is stating that the riot did happened and that it was seen as one of the most important and violent riots of the time. “Stravinsky’s grand debut ended in mayhem and chaos.” the author explains that mostly all of this performance was disastrous and everyone was being violent. The author is also explaining how the audience didn’t like the performance at all “with a performance at the same theater where it debuted to boos and violence. ” meaning that the performance was full of hate and violence and that’s why the riot started.

In the article “Not Another Music History Cliché” the author is talking about how “the author stated that “the riot never happened ” meaning that the author thinks that this was mostly a myth and a racist act that was happening while the opera was being played for example the author states, ”as the title of Levitz’s essay indicates, these practices were very racist. Thus some in the audience—notably the aristocrats—responded in the way they thought they were supposed to: by laughing.” this show us how it was mostly about an argument of people being racist and fighting each other. It was also perceived as a myth in the text states, “Yet the myth doesn’t just claim that a riot occurred—it asserts that Stravinsky’s music caused the riot.” this evidence show us that the author interprets this problem as a myth and that Stravinsky helped with this riot in order to happen.  

If I were the audience in 1913 I think I would have been surprised and kinda confused. Because it’s a performance that it supposed to give a scary feeling, and I think I would have been confused because I Wouldn’t have thought that something like that could have been portrayed in a dance.

One song that can be compared is ”You Don’t Own Me” this song falls in the R&B/Soul category. This song was written by John Medora and David White. It was first interpreted by Lesley Gore later on Saygrace recorded a more advanced version of the song. Lesley’s gore version was released in 1963, while Saygrace version that feats G-Eazy was released Jun 1, 2015. These two versions have the same tittle but each singer interprets the song in a different way. Lesley’s version doesn’t feat anyone while Saygrace version feats G-Eazy a rapper. The emotions that are being discussed in the song is on how women are not own by anyone and how women don’t want to be controlled by anyone because they like to be free and be themselves.

The rhythm of the song is different as well as the form. In the version by Lesley gore is more delicate and a little bit slow when she sings, while in the other version by Saygrace is more loud. For example in minute 2 with 42 seconds she kinda shows off her voice by hitting these high notes and she makes a difference from the original song. When it’s going to the chorus the beat drops and she sings louder that the verses, and it also has G-Eazy rap which makes the song more striking. The lyrics of both songs are the same however in Saygrace’s song G-Eazy’s rap is added. Another difference is on how the song is recorded, the oldest version is more delicate with instruments in the background while the newest version has more beats. I can say that the newest version can make someone feel empower by all the beats that it has and by how the music was composed.

A piece of music technology that is really popular today is Apple Music. “Apple music launched in 2015,”(What is Apple Music and how does it work?) Apple Music was design as a stream platform “including offline listening” Apple Music let’s you stream when you don’t have internet and that something I really like about it. In order for Apple Music to work offline some songs have to be downloaded or with an option that can make them available offline. there aren’t people that use Apple Music in a way that wasn’t designed for because I think Apple Music is really easy to use for people who are familiarized with the app. I do have experience with this technology I almost use it everyday to listen music that I like.

A pice of music that I choose is “Elsewhere” by EDEN I think this technology helps influence the artist more than the song, because Apple Music is just a streaming app in which I don’t think it affects the song at all. But since Apple Music it’s different from other streaming platforms the song can have some parts cutoff than from the original video. However it affects the artist by gaining more streams and more fans in some way.

Song:

Sources:

Pocket-lint. “What Is Apple Music and How Does It Work?” Pocket, 4 Feb. 2022,

https://www.pocket-lint.com/apps/news/apple/136725-what-is-apple-music-and-how-does-it-work. 

One piece of music that I’m familiar with is The Shade by Rex Orange County. The artist behind this name is Alex O’Connor he is 24 years old, he was born in the United Kingdom. The genre of his songs can be considered Indie rock, Hip Hop music, alternative/ indie, and Lo-fi. The relationship that I have with this pice of music is that I mostly like these type of songs and he is one of my favorite artist. I think that this song can be considered calm in some type of way.

We can see that the melody in this song is decrescendo and the harmony is almost the same thought the whole song. We can also see that the form of the song is the same in the song and the only thing that changes is the rhythm of the lyrics. A musically interest of the song is in minute 2:29 until the end of the song, when he combines different types of his voice to make a different melody with high voices and low voices. “BPM 120, key F”(song BPM)

the link for the song is:

Something that I found really interesting about Romantic era is that composers found inspiration through nature, poetry, paintings, etc,. “The romantics of the 19th century sought inspiration in nature (poetry of Wordsworth, paintings of constable and turner)” (”Music: a social experience, chapter one, page 29). I think if composers from the Romantic era were alive they would found a lot of inspiration in museums like the MET, because there is so much paintings and nature that someone could easily get inspired. Something that I knew from era is that it originated in Europe and slowly began to expand around the world. The textbook describes it as something sad or a love tragedy, I think that romantic music was a way for composers to express what they were feeling.

Composers of the romantic era had a lot advantage by using many instruments from the past to compose their songs as well as poetry. One Major figure in music that I choose from the Romantic era is Frederic Chopin. Chopin’s music does sound how the textbook explains it because it sounds sad Chopin emphasizes romantic music with just the melody of the piano, and doesn’t need to add lyrics for you to understand what the melody is trying to convey. I also think that he can be explaining a romance tragedy with his music but we have different opinions on how to emphasize his music.