Em's Thoughts On Music

 MUSICIAN SUCCESS DURING COVID-19

When Covid-19 first became widespread, of the first industries to take a hit financially were the arts. Discussing the music industry specially, there were many instances of hindrance within financial success. Despite all of that, there are still ways to be financially successful during the pandemic. Live performances, of course, were one of the first things to go. Artist who still wanted to perform began using live-streaming platforms, and for financial gain would sell tickets to come to the shows. I’ve personally been to Emily Kinney’s, which she did for free on Instagram and Facebook Live, and Jinkx Monsoon’s, which they sold tickets for as part of a digital festival through StageIt. It was a solid stand in for live shows and still brings financial gain for the artists if they choose to sell tickets. It also opens the doors for more people to see it, as people all around the world can tune in and the tickets are usually cheaper.  There are few challenges with this, however. One is that it is not exactly the same as live shows. For the audience, there is not the same atmosphere of being surrounded by everyone, the anticipation for the show, and experience of being in the same room with the artist you bought tickets to see. On the performer’s end, there could be the potential of burnout, similar to what students are experiencing with zoom. The amount of time spent staring at a screen and major change in energy in the room could lead livestream concerts to be less successful, but are still a valid option. 

Another option for musicians making money during covid-19 are outdoor, socially distanced, mandatory masked, live concerts. In this case, there is the atmosphere on both artist’s and audience’s end which allows for them to create an upbeat energy. Here, musicians get to perform and share their music live. Over the summer, someone who graduated a year before me in high-school did a concert like this. I have seen outdoor concerts similar to this around where I live in Victoria as well. However, there are many safety risks associated with this. At the end of the day, it is still a crowd meeting in person, which greatly increases the chance of spread. Thinking as a singer, I would not be able to perform with a mask on, and that would for for wind and brass instrument players as well. When it comes to money, attendance is limited greatly, therefore limiting money. Another way to earn money as a musician is through tips and merchandise sales. This is money primarily going into your pockets directly and can add up quickly. Merchandise specifically gives the buying something that they would in return as well. However, this also requires you to already have a following, as a market is needed for the sales. There is also the risk, though less so, of spreading covid-19 through air travel. To conclude, these are very complicated times for musicians to work through, however, there are still ways to share music and make money.

THE FUTURE OF MOVEMENT EDUCATION

With the music education system as it is now, there are many things that need to be changed for advancement to happen for both future musicians and music academia as a whole. One of the main things that must happen the dismantling of the racist framework that our education system, and music theory specifically, is built off of. One thing that should be at least talked about is the fact that Heinrich Schenker was a literal nazi. This alone adds to the discussion of how much of music history and theory is left out the music canon and ignored in favour of what a specific set of people deem “good” enough to learn, and how prevalent their biases are. The repercussions of some people’s deep-rooted hatred is still felt today and is actively effecting students educators, which needs to change for the future. 

Adam Neely mentions in his video the theory of both European and Indian classical music and how it is incredibly similar, yet there is specific terminology for each of that does not make sense to use in case of the other. Within that statement alone, there is a lot to unpack. If that is just from two types of classical music, there has to be specific theory for each type of classical music that must be used for it. This is something that should be added to the school music curriculum in the future. Something else that Neely mentioned is what makes music good in different cultures. For example, in Africa dance is one of the primary factors in considering what is good music. When considering that, European classical music would not be considered good by those standards, since it is harder to dance to. Again, this only touches the surface of what makes music good in other cultures. Research on this should be added to the curriculum and taught to students so they have a universal understanding of what makes good music and how that changes from culture to culture. 

When considering the quote “the practice that neutralizes the common sense intuition of the most privileged members of society as objective knowledge” to my instrument, there is a lot to discuss. I am a singer who primarily focuses in musical theatre, there is often a lot of emphasis put on straight, white men. It leads to a very one-sided view of what is considered “high art” in the industry and benefits those who are already privileged instead of opening up the way to new artists. For example, the first lesbian story ever be on Broadway was Fun Home, and that was only in 2015. Broadway is more focused on making money than allowing the art form of musical theatre to advance and allow for diversity and creativity. There is change happening, as can be seen with the success of Hamilton, but there is still a long way to with representation on Broadway. In both music education and the professional world, there need to be changes made to grow from and dismantle the racist framework the industry was built off of and remove the barriers caused by elitism in the field. 

THE GOLDEN RECORD PROJECT

Music and noise are both key elements to the human experience, as discussed throughout the course, which would be a great example of what life on earth if we were to send a record to aliens. They are often used to express what words cannot, and can recreate emotions of everyday life. 

I will begin this by saying that, on principal, I would never work with Elon Musk, no matter how cool the concept is. With that fact aside, there is a lot that I would want to make sure goes into The Golden Record Project. Conversation, pain, and coming of age are all key aspects of life that aliens would have to understand to understand our society, as aliens most likely do not experience the same things that we do. Conversation is what builds our relationships, it is how others gain an opinion of us and how our relationships with others flower. Those relationship also do not exist without pain and heartbreak. We are also culturally fascinated with growing up and how growing up changes us, as is resinated through film, theatre, and music. To capture these experiences, I would send honest conversations from people around the world, I “Dreamed A Dream” from the musical Les Miserables, and “Night Changes” by One Direction. 

Honest conversations from people around the world would give aliens an idea of what humans are actually like and how we function in our everyday lives. These conversations would be from friends, family, lovers, and more. They would be of people just authentically existing in the moment, giving any non-human listeners an idea of what we do everyday and how we communicate with the people we love or hate. There would also be as many language as possible captured in the recording. Diversity is what makes humans so interesting, which would need to be expressed when sending this recording to space. I could only imagine the recording being found and the aliens just examining the different tone within the voices and the expression varying from culture to culture. They could also examine how people in different cultures talk to one another and how love and hate are expressed within the different parts of earth. Another key aspect is storytelling. This is a key aspect of cultures and has existed for many, many years. Humans are naturally drawn to tell stories, as witnessed in many form of art. These honest conversations that happen in everyday life, where people are authentically themselves, are a key aspect of our society that is necessary to share. 

“I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables captures Fontaine’s pain and explains her life tragedy. While it could be considered an extreme, the emotions that Fontaine is is experiencing are a part of the human experience. The music and lyrics are composed in a such a way to make the listener feel Fontaine’s pain. What she has experienced is unfair, as life is at times, illustrating another factor of human experience. The song is also, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful musical theatre pieces ever written and from one of the best musicals. Les Miserables is overall a piece of art that I believe aliens need to see and “I Dreamed a Dream” is an excellent choice to send to space. 

Something else that is important to the human experience that the media loves to explore is growing up and coming of age. A song that exemplifies those themes is “Night Changes” by One Direction. It is about a relationship that is continuing through life’s changes and growing up. If this song were heard by the extraterrestrial, I believe it would properly convey this important human experience. It is also an example of popular music, which is another important aspect of life to share. Not only that, it is a good song from a good album. A lot of the disregard of One Direction is rooted in misogyny due to the fanbase primarily being teenage girls, and the patriarchal idea that teenage girls cannot like something because it is good. Anyways, if aliens got to listen to this without the societal connotations, it would convey the experience of growing up with those you love in a human society. 

There are many experiences of human life that are crucial to understanding it. A few of these are connection, pain and suffering, and coming of age, which are shown in honest conversations between loved ones, Les Miserables’ “I Dreamed a Dream”, and One Direction’s “Night Changes”. All of these sounds and songs would show aliens what the human experience is like if it were a part of The Golden Record Project. Music and noise allows those listening to feel, and would be a great communication device. 

Since covid-19 struck our society, the arts have taken a massive financial hit and artists have had to learn to adapt. Discussing musicians specifically, many hinderances were put in place when it comes to success in the industry. Already, there are a few ways to still make money as a musician in the context of the pandemic. One the the main ways that musicians are working is through streaming live shows. Personally, I have been to a few free ones, specifically Emily Kinney and Jinkx Monsoon, and it has been a good stand for right now, but is nowhere near the same experience as a live show. One way to make money from this would be through selling tickets instead of just live streaming for free. It provides a similar experience, fans from all over the world can come, and money is still being made from the sold tickets. Some challenges from this are the fact that it is not exactly the same. There could also be a sort of burn out, similar to what students have noted experiencing with zoom. The amount of time starring at a screen, repetitiveness, and it not quite being the same experience could lead both the artists and the audience to grow tired of it. Live, socially distanced, outdoor concerts are another option, when not in a complete lockdown of course. Back in the earlier days of the pandemic, someone who graduated a year before me in high-school and her boyfriend did one of these in their town. Again, this brings back something next to normal. Musicians get to perform live again and share their music. However, this environment does greatly limit attendance, therefore limiting money.  There are also more safety risks associated with it, as at the end of day there is a big crowd meeting in person. Thinking personally as a singer as well, I would not be able to wear a mask while performing, same with wind and brass instruments. Tips and merchandise sales are another way, although a decent following is needed for market. Overall, these are very complicated times for musicians to work, however there are ways to perform and share music.

Dr. Munarriz considered the term “Latin American Music” to be problematic because there are so many different kinds of music within Latin America. A simple way of putting it, there is music of the Indigenous people, African people, and Europeans. There is so much diversity trying to be summarized into one category. I do agree with his position because it makes the most sense. By putting all this music into one category it is only furthering the Eurocentric way that music is taught, as there is so much in Latin American musics to study but it is lumped into one category. It diminishes the value of the difference cultures that came together to create the different kinds of musics.

The different between Latin music and Latin American music is that Latin music is more general, covering music from Spanish speaking countries, while Latin American music is referring to music from Latin America that incorporates music from both the Indigenous people and the African slaves being transported to North America.

Ostinatos is a continually repeated music phrase or rhythm. It is the structural scaffolding of the Latin American musics, primarily how it functions the in the Caribbean. It is not structured by a single instrument, but instead a combination is used to create it. It presents these notes as support for improvisation and other things to happen over top of it.

Habanera Pattern involves the colour, texture, and role of a performance practice. It is used in different Latin musics and Latin Jazz pieces, and is a form of syncopation. One way of identifying it is the ability to repeat the phrase “café y pan” with it.

OOIOO – Polacca 

In this song there are quite a few moments of participatory discrepancy. The first is at four minutes and thirty seconds. At this moment, the drums, guitars, and vocals are all doing freely existing in their own space. There is defiantly a sense of coordination. It works as if they are all in the same room exciting together working on similar topics, but doing a different part. The more extreme example of participatory discrepancy begins at six minutes and twenty on seconds. This part is an example of organized chaos. Here there is freedom in all of the instruments which you can here all in their own. Through the chaos, you are able to hear how they all work as individuals to create the entire sound.

Sly & The Family Stone – Spaced Cowboy

In this song, the moment of participatory discrepancy is during the instrument solo beginning at two minutes and thirty-one seconds. During this part, the solo is very different than what is going on during the typical instrument lines. It again is occupying its own space and simply existing alongside the others. The contrast from the different instrument lines works in its favour, as it allows for more emphasis on the solo.

Patato and Totico – Agua Que Va A Caer

In this song, there is participatory discrepancy in another solo beginning at one minute and twenty eight seconds. During this part the guitar and drums exist in the same space and due different things as well. The instruments work together to create a slightly chaotic atmosphere and which contributes to the overall feeling of the pice. The sounds all work together to create the artist’s desired musical effect.

There are many changes that must be made to music education for advancement to happen within both future musicians and music academia. One of the main things that must happen is acknowledging and dismantling the racist framework that music theory is based off of.  An example of this is that it should be taught  that Heinrich Schenker was a literal nazi. This note alone brings up the discussion of how much music is left out of or is ignored from the canon due to theorists racism and antisemitism. The repercussions of someone’s hatred is still greatly effecting the education of students today, and this needs to be changed. There is so much history and culture that should be integrated into a university music education. As Adam Neely mentions in his video, there is music theory in both European and Indian classical music that is incredibly similar, however the terminology for one would not work for the other. This is incredibly interesting and it should defiantly be discussed in the future. What different cultures consider to be music should also be added to the curriculum. As was also mentioned in Neely’s video, dance is one of the primary factors in classical African music, and some European classical music would not be considered music by those standards. What would be considered good, classical music in different cultures should be a topic that is discussed in the future of music education. As a singer who tends to focus on musical theatre, there is a lot of emphasis put on white men throughout that. There is elitism in the musical theatre industry, with such a focus on what a select view consider “high art”, that benefits those who are already privileged. In the future of music education, there need to be changes made to grow from and acknowledge the racist foundations it was built on, as well as challenge elitism in the field.

For my selection I chose to listen to Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Movement 1”. During the forty minutes that I set aside to listen to the piece, I began to notice how complicated and how many layers there were in the song. Through each listen, I noticed how each instrument section had its own unique part that contributed to the overall sound of the piece. For example, the steadiness keeping beat below the melody that had its own changes which compliment the melody. Through repeated listening, the complete fullness and richness of all parts of the music and how the different lines compliment each other.  Another thing that stood out to me through repeat listening was the moment at the ending of the piece where it sounds like it was going to finish but does not. Upon first listen, it took me by surprise and made me anxious more than anything. However as I kept listening, I learned to appreciate how that moment was used to create a greater anticipation for the end of the piece. Throughout the the entire experience of repeat listening, I gained a greater understanding of the different parts within and general appreciation for “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Movement 1”.

The primary ethical implication of playing music exclusively from the past is how much past music that is referenced and played is both western and white. Diversity is critical when it comes to creating art and there is so much history that is ignored throughout standard education. Only playing past music also severely limits and artistic growth. Music would not be able to evolve as it has, which would greatly hinder any further advancement. Everything would eventually just be a bunch of copies of one another.

If it were the case that I could not perform any music from the past, there are still a wide variety of songs that I could perform. My musical background is primarily in musical theatre, so there is the entire area of contemporary theatre. One of my personal favourite pieces from contemporary musical theatre is “Me and the Sky” from Come From Away. Another song that I would perform is “To Be So Lonely” by Harry Styles. The song has both an interesting melody and fun guitar line that build throughout the song.  One more song that I would play is “Call Me” by Blondie. This has been one of my favourite songs since I was a kid and I thoroughly enjoy singing and its guitar part.

To me, Nietzsche’s quote means to accurately interpret anything, you need to take into account both the present and the past. Knowledge of both of those times is crucial to development within any aspects of life. You need to take into account everything that has happened and is happening to keep progressing, or history will repeat itself.