Music in Movies

                Music paints a picture if you listen close enough.  Have you ever noticed the background music in movies?  Well I have.  The music matches the kind of scene that is being played out in a movie.  Some of my favorite pieces of music in movies comes from the Pirates of the Caribbean.  The music can be really fast paced in a moment of action and then slow down and be soothing in a more relaxed scene.  The music expresses the feelings and especially in Disney movies it portrays each feeling with different sounds. 
                Long ago when silent films were first invented, music was added to give expression to the two-dimensional image and also commonly covered up the noise that came from the projector.  The majority of silent films were accompanied by full orchestras with pianists and organists.  Scores were books of music published that had ideas for scene music and it was Birth of a Nation that was the first film to have a score composed specifically for it.
                Some film scoring history has allowed composers to make perfect scores for each movie based on the characters and plot.  One of the most influential composers was Bernard Herrmann who broke tradition and created music that greatly enhanced the films that he wrote for.  In the 1980’s film scoring underwent another major revolution and for the first time it became possible to score an entire film with only one performer.
                Most music heard in films is soft enough to just give a general effect and doesn’t over power the scene and there can be added effects of fading in and out.  The music is mostly done by string instruments and technology has added sounds that can’t be made by instruments. 
                While music may be good for a film, some music that is added can also be distracting and take away from the scene.  Most music is not played when people are talking during an active scene, but sometimes there is music that is played too loudly and can ruin a whole scene because people can’t tell what the scene is supposed to be about and what the people are possibly saying. 
                Most movies have theme songs and there are many that people remember.  There is the shark sound from Jaws and the Addams Family Theme song.  The purpose of a theme song is to establish a mood for the show and provide an audible cue for the beginning of a show.

Practice

              To be a good musician a person needs practice.  For many people it can be a repetitive struggle and a chore, but there are a few people out there that enjoy practicing.  I personally don’t enjoy practicing because I would rather be watching television or doing something else, but in the end I still have to practice.  There can be individual practice and also ensemble practice as a full band.   

                For my band, practices are every morning for one hour and then on Mondays they happen from 6-9 p.m. and Saturday is an all-day practice.  There may be a few extra practices thrown in during the week, but that doesn’t happen too often.  For an ensemble to get better each person would need to practice individually first and then show up to ensemble practice ready to rehearse.  A common saying is practice makes perfect. 

                What should a person play during practice?  To start practice someone should do a warm-up.  Warm-ups can consist of scales, easy short warm-up songs, and long tones.  Scales can be boring and hard to memorize, but it helps improve memorization skills and remembering what is sharp or flat in a key signature.  Warm-up songs can be found in music books and are just meant for blowing a few notes and getting a person’s mouth ready to play.  Long tones are extremely helpful and are used to expand how many octaves a person can play.  A person would pick a base note (really low note) and play half and octave up and keeping going up half octaves until they can’t play any higher.  Long tones would be done chromatically so after doing the note A long tones the person would move on and do the note B long tones.  After doing that for several practices a person should be able to play higher and higher until the instrument is no longer capable of playing any higher.  After doing proper warm-ups a person would work on whatever music needs to be practiced for an ensemble rehearsal or other band rehearsals such as honor bands.  During practice a person should practice something until they can’t get it wrong.  My instructor taught me the penny or stick trick.  A person would line up seven pennies or pencils on the stand and when you play something correctly with no mistakes you would take away one penny or object and keep doing that until there are no pennies left.  If you mess up you would have to put all the pennies back on the stand and start over.  Practicing can be repetitive, but it is meant for improving someone’s playing skills.

Marching Band is a Sport

                Many people think that marching band is just for entertainment during halftime for football games.  Well, those people are wrong.  I am currently in marching band and have been since my freshmen year.  Marching band for me is a sport and an excellent way to improve a person’s character.  As my band director would say, “Performing for halftime during football games is just practice and getting you prepared for competition.”  Marching band is a sport because there are many practices and performances for competitions.  Yes, there are marching band competitions.  Marching band is not all about entertainment for football and I think it should never be considered that.  When the band performs during halftime many people don’t enjoy it and are quite rude.  Being one of the band members and marching onto the field to only hear the sounds of people booing is offensive and only upsetting.  Most if not all band members hate performing for football games because people are talking during the performance and mock the band.  Marching band is so much more than that and many regular (non-band people) don’t recognize it as a competitive sport.
               Marching band is most definitely a sport.  The coaches are the band directors, the captains are the drum majors, and the rest of the band is the team.  For band the team is often considered the family because during the season we have to spend a lot of time together and get to know each other pretty well.  Practices are probably the hardest thing for marching band because everything is repetitive and practices happen so often.  To be an excellent band each person has to memorize their own spot and music, so it is more like an individual person relying on themselves to memorize stuff rather than the team.  To get the full effect every single person needs to play 100% of the time and know where their spot is in the formation because being off by one or two steps can be really obvious.  There is no bench for marching band so everyone has to perform and commit to a long season.  The band is only as strong as its weakest member.  Many schools can choose to hold auditions for marching band because so many people want to be in it, but for my school we allow anyone and everyone in.  Marching band is my life and one of the best social activities in school.

School Dances and the Beat

               Many teenagers go to school dances, but what about the other teenagers that don’t go?  A common excuse is that they don’t like dancing or that they don’t know how to dance.  Today, dancing isn’t always learned and perfected when attending dancing socials, many times dancing in the modern age is commonly just felt through the beat and lyrics. 
                School dances can be memorable and many times that all depends on how good the DJ was.  There are always the classical songs that are played at gatherings like the Chicken Dance (also known as the Birdie Song) and the Hokey Pokey.   Many songs though are normally fast paced and meant for freestyle dancing and street dancing.  During school dances it is really easy to spot the people that like dancing and the people that don’t like it as much.  The dancing people normally let the music take control and their bodies just flow with the music.  Those people that like dancing are normally in the middle of the room dancing with a lot of people while the other people stand around the outside of the room socializing.  The people socializing normally have a certain sway to them and seem to be bobbing to the beat.  Some of the socializing people nod their head to the beat and many others sway or tap their foot.  Even the people who may not enjoy the dancing may still enjoy the music.  A lot of times the beat that people are dancing to would be the bass guitar, drums, and piano.  Those instruments play notes that are the defining points in a song and help subdivide each phrase or measure.    
                The beat of a song has each person dancing a different way.  Some people may shake their butts to the beat, tap their foot to the beat, nod their head, move their arms, and even violently shake their heads to the beat.  Rock and hard metal music normally has people pounding the air with their fists and shaking their heads back and forth to the beat because of the way the music is played.  While slow music may not have people fist pumping the air, people still sway to the beat and are captured in the moment by music.  The beat of music can be defined as a pulse, tempo, and rhythm.  Rhythm in music is a repeating sequence of strong and weak beats.  While looking at or hearing music in detail may be difficult, it is usually easy to hear the beat of a song.

                 

Dancing and Singing

               While some people can sing, other people can dance.  The way people dance is like the way a person sings because dancing is just another expression and is shown through body movement while signing is an expression heard through vocal sound.  If a person is talented enough and has a lot of coordination it is even possible for them to sing and dance at the same time.  Dancing can be a talent learned while singing is normally a gift that is hard to pick up on.
                Many songs that are played on the radio today have people singing in them with combined background music.  Songs are normally created to sell easily and be catchy so people will want to buy it on iTunes or another music store.  If the song has decent lyrics and a person who is able to sing them well then it will be easier for people to like and enjoy.  While having the song sell on iTunes many people want to see the official music video on YouTube and have the song relate to dance moves and imagery of other sorts.  For a person to be in a music video the main concern is dancing because singing can always be added later and inserted into the video, but the people who do live performances have to normally dance (or walk around stylishly) and sing at the same time.  Those people would be the main performers and the focus on stage.  Music is created for entertainment and there are a lot of different elements to the music like dancing, singing, and instrumental noise.  Each song is normally made to be easily remembered and sung or hummed even when the song is not playing.
                Has anyone ever heard a person hum a song or sing it and then the next thing you know the song is stuck in your head?  Well, music can be contagious.  Music may not be a disease that is passed from person to person, but it is a sound that easily passed from person to person.  Music is very catchy and is a wonderful thing.  A song can instantly put a person in a good mood and stick in their head even after the song is over.  Having the song being stuck in a person’s head would be like having a broken record playing the same chords over and over again.  The catchy songs that get stuck in someone’s head can be called “earworms”.  These songs are either loved and make the person happy or the songs are hated and just stuck in someone’s head.    

Dancing at a Young Age

             There are many different varieties of music and because of that there are many different styles of dancing.  Dancing is creative and can be used to express people's feelings, used in entertainment, in fitness and work, or just having fun.
              Going through childhood each parent invests in their children’s future and pays for lesson in dancing or possibly some type of sport or activity.  Many girls took ballet lessons when they were young and if they enjoyed that then their parents would have invested in more dance lessons and they would have explored more styles of dancing.  Those styles of dancing could include but are not limited to jazz, hip hop, and cheer dance.  Going through life there are more and more opportunities to use those dance lessons.  Some people have continued in music and dance later on in life because being introduced to music at a young age may have helped each person develop their own personality and likings for it. 
                In school there are many different activities in the performing arts and dance lessons at a young age could help a person get into the dance team, show choir, and possibly even the cheerleading team.  Even if a child didn’t pursue dance later on in life they could have chosen another activity involving music and other creative things.

                Dancing can be really hard at first and at a young age hand and eye coordination can be very tricky.  If a child was to take dance lessons many of the dance moves may be made simpler so children can learn and do it easier.  As people grow up though, the brain develops more and people are capable of doing more difficult things.  That is when dancing becomes more interesting and exciting.  Dancing can use most parts of the body and if chosen maybe only a few at all time; it all depends on what the dancer is trying to express.  Each different expression leads to a new style of dance and below this is a link of many different styles of dance that may be fascinating and be of interest to you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dance_style_categories
                             If a person was to continue in the dancing profession or just likes to dance a lot there are many benefits that dancing provides to each person and being a professional dancer is even more beneficial.  Dancers have been known to be disciplined and have increased muscular strength. As I read through an article about music and dancing, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood institute commented that dancing also prevents heart disease and reduces stress and tension for the mind and body.  While dancing can be for fitness and possibly a profession, dancing can just be used to have fun and enjoy music. 

Music and Religion

              There are many different types of music.  The different types of music can be listed in genres.  The list is endless and below this paragraph I will put a link of all of the different types.  Within the genres there are also different sections.  For example, Jazz is a genre and in that genre there are about 16 different types.  Below this is a list of genres and also sections within a genre are shown.  This link shows that there are a lot of different types of music that people don't even realize are out there.
http://www.musicgenreslist.com/
                In this post I will focus on one type of genre; inspirational – Christian and Gospel.  Music can be a way of communicating praise with one another.  In many ways Christian music also known as gospel music is soothing, saddening, and inspirational.  Music has a way of speaking to each person in a different way and sometimes music can trigger different emotions.   The gospel style of music is normally sung in unison and harmony with sometimes even having a lead singer.   Songs are performed with passionate enthusiasm and spiritual inspiration. 
                Within the gospel genre there are different types and many fit into the category of old gospel and new gospel.  Some of the old gospel songs can be found in church hymnals and considered to be traditional gospel and the new gospel songs are contemporary gospel.
                With this type of music playing with people’s emotions, each person may have a different view and understanding of the lyrics in the song.  For example “Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)” by Chris Tomlin might make someone sad because the song often relates to death and being sent to heaven while others may be inspired and feel happy because it means that they are being set free and God has ransomed them. 
                  Music has also been proven to stimulate memory and often times certain gospel songs are sung to make a point and have each person who hears it remember the message easier than reading the Bible.  Gospel messages in each song can tell a person that he/she is not alone, that God loves them and many more different inspirational messages.
                While emotions can affect the way someone comprehends the song, memories also play a major roll.  Has a memory ever been related to a song somehow and affected the way you listened to it?  For me it has.  A song that I love and have related to a memory is “Lazy Song” by Bruno Mars.  Every time I listen to it I remember having an awesome summer and wishing for a perpetual summer.   

Generations of Music

http://www.trinity.edu/mkearl/socpsy03/erarhythms_files/frame.htm

            I looked through this power point of information and was fascinated by how much music has really changed from generation to generation.  There is always popular culture during a time period and popular music.  The type of music that was popular during a time period reflected what was happening during that time period.  Unfortunately the music that people listen to today will end up being old music that probably doesn’t sound cool compared to the future generation of music.  As I have noticed, music does seem to expire.  There will always be the “classics” that people love listening to, but many songs will just disappear from the ear and be forgotten. 

            Has anyone ever noticed how not only music has changed, but also the way that people listen to music?  Soon iPods and Pandora will be like records and collect dust.  Although records may not be popular culture, there is still a minority of people who will always cherish the good old days.  My big question is what will the next music device be and what kind of music will my future kids listen to?  If you have any ideas please feel free to leave comments. 

            The style of music is so different compared to a hundred years ago and what type of instruments used has also changed.  Below this is a wonderful link that has descriptions of the different types of instruments through time and around different parts of the globe. 

http://www.ancientmusicireland.com/page/instruments-through-the-ages.html

            The tempo of music has also changed.  When I listen to many old songs, they have a slower tempo compared to today’s music.  Music can be composed to a certain tempo to make it a high tempo dancing song or possibly a slow waltz.  Have you ever heard the beat?  As a band member, I often tap the tempo and can sometimes tell what time signature the song is in.  Many people might not look that deeply into a song, but through time many songs have been composed at a faster tempo.

            Music through generations is extremely diverse and shows the different culture of each time period.  Music changes in the blink of an eye and is affected by what major events take place.  What will come of the next generation of music?

Music, music, and more music.

               There are all different kinds of music. Some people consider music to be a thing to dance to, others like to play it with instruments, some may sing it, and many will just listen to it. Music is a way of life and a way that people tend to express themselves. 
                When someone is listening to music, the way they feel is a major factor in the way the song is understood.  When a person is sad and listening to music many of the depressing lyrics tend to stand out and that song can be viewed negatively and supporting that sad mood.  When someone is happy and listening to music many of the inspiring and cheerful lyrics stand out and that song can be viewed positively and just make that happy person feel even better.  Music is just another factor to the way someone may feel.
               Music can be encouraging and a sense of therapy.  Have you ever seen someone singing and jamming out to the music in their car?  Well if you haven’t, you are missing out on some good laughs.  I would be one of those weird people that you would see driving and jamming out to music.  Sometimes the music would be turned up so loudly that the car would shake to the beat and the music could be heard all the way to the other person in the next lane.  As many people are driving to and from work or school, one of the common things that they do is listen to the radio.  There is always that one station that someone loves and can’t wait to hear each day.  Listening to music in the morning before starting a work or school day can be encouraging and often times wake someone up.  The music just prepares someone for what may lie ahead.  After a long day the radio is a sense of therapy and relief.  I feel like the music at the end of a long day is telling people that they just survived another day and that things can only get better.  Often times just listening to a piano or soft sounding instrument play can be relaxing.  Some spas play soft music to please the customers because is sets a calming mood and soothing tone throughout the place.  Music is basically a free therapy session.
                Music is my best friend and has so many awesome qualities and sounds that guide me through life.