Music can be Harmful

              While music is a wonderful thing to listen too, it can be harmful at extreme volumes.  It can also be rather annoying if it is the music that you don’t like and other people are playing it really loud and making a scene.
                Have you ever had an ear ache after listening to music for so long or by listening to music that was way too loud?  Hearing loss can occur after a one time exposure to extreme volume or it can be resulted from listening to music a high volumes over a longer period of time.  If you have a smartphone, a common feature is volume safety when listening to music with headphones or earbuds.  When turning up the music to a louder volume that can cause safety concerns, a message pops up with a warning about listening to music at this volume can cause hearing loss and other possible health conditions.  While many people ignore that little message and continue to turn up the volume, I would advise that next time you do that, think of the possible hearing loss that you will be causing in the future.
                Many older people have to wear a hearing aid because of hearing loss.  Although listening to music a loud volumes may not be the only cause, it is still a contributing factor.  Ear protection is encouraged when there is a planned loud event (gun firing or tractor pulls).  As I have been to both, I would highly recommend each person to invest in a good pair of ear plugs because the volume produced by those events is so loud that sometimes ear plugs still let in the loud volume. 
                Not only is loud music harmful, it can also be obnoxious and annoying.  Going to a party with loud music may be fun, but what about talking to your friends?  A person has to scream in their friends’ ear if they even want to be heard.  Music is wonderful at a safe volume and it is important to protect your ears from possible harmful sounds.  Please consider this blog post the next time you listen to music or anything that may end the possibility of having good hearing at an older age.
                Below this is a link that scientifically discusses what causes hearing loss and the type of frequency at which things are normally heard. 
 http://www.dangerousdecibels.org/education/information-center/noise-induced-hearing-loss/

Death of Michael Jackson

            With the death of many famous musicians, Michael Jackson’s death will never be forgotten. As a young kid I had no idea who he was until I heard that he died and then everything about him went public and was always on the news. Musicians make a great contribution to society and many people love and become attached to musicians or other famous people.
            Michael Jackson was an amazing artist and singer, but many people remember him by his skin color.  Michael Jackson was born African American and later in life he had an appearance of a Caucasian person.  There were and are still many rumors about what happened to his skin and whether or not he purposely did it to himself.  Just like any other musician, their personal life is put out so the public can see it and criticize it. 
            Michael Jackson started his career out as being part of the Jackson 5 and he later broke off from the group and become an award-winning solo pop singer.  His career ended when he suddenly died in 2009. On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication after suffering cardiac arrest at his home in Los Angles. His personal physician, Conrad Murray, said he found Jackson in his room, not breathing and with a weak pulse. A call was placed to the police and paramedics arrived at the scene and later on Michael Jackson was pronounced dead at the Ronal Reagan UCLA Medical Center. The Los Angeles County Coroner concluded that his death was a homicide and Michael Jackson’s personal physician was convicted on involuntary manslaughter in 2011 and served a two-year prison sentence. Jackson’s death triggered an outpouring of grief around the U.S. and the rest of the world. It caused the selling of his music and songs from the Jackson 5 to increase dramatically. A public memorial service for Michael Jackson was held on July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The service was broadcasted live around the world and Jackson’s death ranked number one on VH1/VH1 Classic’s list of 100 Most Shocking Moments in Music.
            It is amazing to have one person make such a dent in music history.  Just like a family being separated from a relative, the nation lost a treasured person who will never be forgotten.  For more information and a biography about Michael Jackson, please click on the link below.
http://www.biography.com/#!/people/michael-jackson-38211#synopsis 

Music in Stores

                I am not talking about the music that is being sold in stores, but the music that is being played in stores while customers shop.  Music is also normally being played when a person goes into any building that is providing a service to people.
                Music is selected to be played in a store by the type of audience that shops there and the type of products being sold.  It would be weird if the blues was being played in a store that was selling clothing to young teenagers that would prefer to listen to pop music.  Why is it that stores play music?  I often ask myself that and never truly understand why.  It could be to entertain the workers and keep them awake so they don’t fall asleep on the job, or it could be to entertain the customers and provide a warming environment that would encourage them to buy more stuff.
                I came to more conclusions and did some research online and found out that background music being played in a store can cause several different customer reactions.  Louder music (loud enough to be heard, but not ear-piercing loud) causes customers to go through a supermarket faster and doesn’t reduce the amount of product being sold.  I personally have never noticed that, but I also don’t pay too much attention to the volume of music.  Low-tempo music causes customers to mover slower, which in return causes them to buy more products.  Also the style of music affect the quality of product being bought.  Classical music versus pop music at a wine store leads customers to buy more expensive products and increases the volume of product being sold.
                Music seems to always make time go by faster and by playing music when callers are on hold, it has been proven that is it more likely for the customer to stay on hold longer before hanging up.  I would definitely agree with this because I would much rather listen to music than hear a static sound or no sound on the other line.
                Pasted below is a link that discusses an experiment that was done to prove that the style of music affects what is being bought and how much of a product is being purchased.  A study was done over the type of music in a wine store.  It was French versus German music and if French music was being played, then French wine would be bought and vice versa.
http://www.acrwebsite.org/search/view-conference-proceedings.aspx?Id=7467

Zumba

         Let’s get ready to ZUMBA!  Zumba is a fun dancing program that combines music and dance to create a vigorous workout.  While Zumba may seem a bit intimidating at first because of all the different dance moves, it is really fun once you learn what to do and find a style of dance that fits you.  Zumba is so much fun that you don’t even realize that it is actual exercise.  It is dancing to the beat and energizes each person who does it. 
          Zumba has different styles of dance that make up different programs.  A common dance type is Latin based and it is very upbeat.  I prefer the Pop music style because it includes songs that I know and can sing along to.  The dance moves that a person learns from Zumba can be applied to regular dancing and make a person more active when they are not specifically doing Zumba, but when they are listening to music and dancing.  Ricardo Marmite, a representative of Zumba, said “It is not a dance class, it is a party! No one is judging you by your dance abilities, just have fun and feel the music.”  He is correct in saying that; Zumba is not a dance competition, it is meant to be fun and get people to dance to the music.
          Many people are curious about how people know how to dance to the songs, but through repetition, memorizing the dance moves becomes easy.  There is always a person who is leading the group in a class or demonstrating the dance moves if it was to be done individually in a home through a CD.  Dancing gets easier the more you do it and the more into it a person gets.  Dancing with Zumba is fun because the music is in sync with the dance moves and it creates a fun musical experience. 
         Zumba is made into many forms.  Zumba can be purchased at a store through a gaming device, done in a class, or even watched through a DVD.  I currently have Zumba for the XBOX 360 and enjoy it.  While there are many different programs for Zumba, they all give the benefit of making a person feel more toned and invigorated.
        To find out more about Zumba, click on the link below and it will take you directly to the official Zumba website that has information on classes and every other thing a person would want to know about Zumba.
http://www.zumba.com/en-US

Music with Exercise

                Listening to music while exercising is fun and motivational.  Exercising can be a hassle and boring, but listening to music while exercising helps pass the time and can push a person to have a more challenging work out.  Playing music while exercising can also help reduce outside noise, which allows a person to focus on what they’re doing.
                Each person prefers a different type of music to listen to while exercising.  Many people like listening to music that is energetic and has a fast beat, but some people prefer to listen to the music that they would normally listen to at any time of the day.  By asking several different opinions on the type of music that people like to listen to, I have not yet heard that people like listening to sad or depressing songs.  If someone was to listen to that music while exercising, I don’t think it would be encouraging or help a person work out. 
                I know from experience that time flies when listening to music.  It’s like getting lost in a song and then realizing that four minutes has just gone by.  Music provides a great distraction for people and listening to music can make people less aware of how tired and exerted they are.  Exercising can be annoying if you’re at a gym because there are all the sounds of people panting, feet running on treadmills, and the sound of machines going.  Inserting earbuds and zoning out the rest of the world (or gym in this case) is the best thing ever.  There is no more noise, and you can’t even hear yourself breathing heavily. 
                The fast paced music really makes a person want to work harder and keep going while exercising.  The rhythm in the music stimulates the brain and can assist in self-paced exercises.  The beat can help a person determine when to lift a weight or what pace a treadmill might be set at (when the foot hits the treadmill can be when the beat is in the music).  Music makes people want to move and can change the mood of a person while exercising.  If a person can choose the music that they like listening to, it can draw away the negative thoughts about exercising and can encourage a person to work their hardest. 
                Music is an amazing thing and there are so many benefits to listening to music while exercising.  Please consider listening to music the next time you exercise; it changes the whole experience of working out and brings a work out to the next level.

Sheet Music Application

                There are many applications for free on any electronic device, but the ones that are needed always cost too much money.  An application that all music oriented people need is a sheet music reader.  Being able to upload a file containing your sheet music would be extremely helpful because wherever you go, you would have easy access to it. 

                To all the technology people out there, please make an application that is free and can sight read sheet music.  I would if I could, but unfortunately I am not the technology savvy person that I wish I could be.  If I were to design the app, I would make it to where the phone or electronic device would take a picture of the music and then automatically have the application write in all of the counting and fingerings.  It would then be helpful to have the user choose which instrument to use and then have the application play back exactly what the sheet music is supposed to sound like.  I personally struggle with sight reading, so if I could hear the rhythm first and see the counting, it would make life and band a whole lot easier.  If I needed to, I would be willing to pay a couple dollars for an application like that, but free is always better. 

                There are applications out there that people can compose music and then the device would play back what the person has written in for music.  If I was really struggling with reading a certain line, I guess I could use an application like that and compose the music and then listen to it.  That process would take a lot longer and would just be a hassle. 

                Along with being able to have the music play for you, the music then would always be available to you wherever you and your device go.  While it may not be a good idea to carry around an instrument wherever you go, notes and rhythms can always be looked at.  Sometimes the best practice comes from just looking at the music, rather than playing it.  This occurs because after playing music for a while, a person’s hands and mouth become tired; so the quality of the practice may not be the best.   

                Having music on file in a device is always a good idea.  Some people lose music like crazy and having a backup location for your music would be a wise idea.  With technology these days, a person would just have to locate a printer and choose to print the music if it was lost.  No more coming to band unprepared, the music would never be lost. 

                Please leave a comment below if you know of an application that I am talking about.  I have researched a lot and have had no luck at finding my dream application that could benefit me in my music career.

Movements in Music

                Music is created by movement, and movement is commonly acted out by people.  To make music a common thing to do is use an instrument.  Common instruments used in band today can be played by using keys or valves.  There are of course percussion instruments that use mallets and other tools, but a common thing that all instruments require is movement. 
                Whether it is movement of someone’s finger, movement by hands, or possibly movement by breathing, all require concentration and controlled muscular movement by people.  Hand and eye coordination are very important when playing a musical instrument because a person has to be able to look at music and play what is seen at the same time. 
                Each key or valve when pressed down can play a different note and with that different octaves can also be played by pressing down another key or adjusting the position of a person’s lips on the mouthpiece.  There are many different movements involved when playing an instrument and many movements are just second nature to an average band kid.  The tapping of a foot to keep tempo, the inhaling of air to breathe into the instrument, the movement of hands and fingers to play a note, and the movement of a person’s eyes to look at the music and at the director.  It is all part of a complex system that many people take advantage of.  All of these wonderful movements helped create the music that many people listen to today.
                While playing a note happens by several movements combined, switching to a different note adds another movement.  To create crisp notes, a person would need to use air to cut off the note or use their tongue.  By tonging a note it ends it and can lead to another note and help with accenting and different styles of playing.  Moving your lips can also create different styles of playing and helps with vibrato.  Vibrato is when a note changes in pitch and it can help produce a stronger or richer tone.  Vibrato is usually played when there is a longer note and is can be achieved by moving your lips in and out of the mouthpiece slightly for a brass instrument or another way is moving your jaw if you play a woodwind instrument.  Vibrato normally needs to be practiced to fully get the richer sound and can take getting used to.  Each movement creates something new in music.

Failing an Audition

                While most people don’t think about the negative things involving music, there are many downsides that music has.  Music isn’t all bad, but sometimes it can make a person feel terrible.  Those depressing songs that make a person want to cry is an example.  Why was music created to make a person feel sad, music is supposed to be uplifting and music is meant for people to enjoy?  What about the auditions and many failures that a person experiences in their music career?  Those events can be very negative things that music has to offer.  Music is just another mystery in life that can be viewed positively and negatively.
                Failing an audition is terrible and can be heartbreaking.  All the time that a person took to prepare for the audition is wasted and feeling that a person isn’t good enough to make it in is even worse.  While failing an audition might be terrible, there are always good things that come from an audition.  Each audition helps a person have more confidence in playing in front of other people.  Musically, each person is better because of the experience of preparing for an audition and doing an audition.  While not getting accepted for an audition may feel life ending, it really isn’t. 
                While attending an audition, my experience was different compared to other people doing the same thing.  Each person has a different experience.  Some may have a wonderful experience because they were accepted, or felt comfortable in doing the audition because they were well prepared.  Other people may have a horrible experience because they weren’t accepted and they maybe weren’t as prepared so the whole experience was nerve-racking.  Tears are normally always shed during an audition.  A person may cry because they are so proud of themselves and can’t believe that they did a good job, while others may cry because they didn’t make it in and all of the time that they spent on it is now wasted and can never be taken back. 
                Once again, failing an audition may be horrible, but there are benefits.  Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be and there was something better out there.  Auditions are only small milestones in a person’s life and are only as important as a person makes them to be.

Music Auditions

                Music auditions can be very stressful and time consuming.  To get into certain band programs or even having a band try and book a performance at an event, there are going to be auditions involved.  To get accepted is an honor and to not get accepted can be discouraging.  There are many different types of auditions and some can be done through recordings, on stage in front of an audience, or just in a room with a judge.  Many people prefer to do recordings because if they mess up, they can always re-record and perfect the audition.    

                Being a band member, I have done many auditions and have still not gotten used to playing for a score or being judged.  I have observed many people doing auditions and each person handles it differently.  I have seen many people shake and turn red in the face, some people have even fainted because they were so nervous.  There are a few people who don’t get nervous and I would consider those people to be lucky.  A common phrase is “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”  Auditions aren’t life or death situations and shouldn’t be worried about as if they were.  While auditions may determine a person’s future if they are involved in music for a career, they don’t always drastically change a person’s life if they are a high school or middle school band kid.

                Auditions normally consist of an etude, which is a piece of music that can be found challenging and showing how well a person can play.  Auditions become more complicated as a person moves up in music.  Some auditions require people to memorize scales, have solos, and do several etudes.  While that may sound scary, practice makes perfect and helps a person succeed in an audition. 

                There can also be written auditions for some honor bands and other programs.  It would be like a person submitting a resume for a job application.  The written audition would show all of the achievements a person has had in band and many details about the individual person.  Written auditions aren’t always effective because a person can have many achievements that are honorable for a school, but compared to many other people, they are just little accomplishments that don’t determine anything.  I speak from experience, looks can be one thing, but sound quality and ability of a person musically is another.  Auditions are tickets into many band opportunities and should be taken seriously, but at the same time shouldn’t make a person feel terrible inside.

Pandora

              Music can be listened to in many different ways.  In the current time many people use the internet to listen to music.  Pandora is a common musical app for free that people can enjoy.  I love Pandora because it offers free music that each individual person is interested in. 
                Pandora has many different stations that people can choose to listen to and within each station a person can choose to like, not like, or skip a song.  Pandora then can personalize each station because it knows what music the person like to listen to. 

                There are only a few cons to Pandora.  Pandora is free to use because of all the ads it has.  Many people complain about listening to ads, but there is the option that a person can pay a monthly fee and not have ads.  It’s not like there is an ad after each song.  I barely hear any ads and when I do it only stays on for 30 seconds or less.  Another con would be that a person can only skip so many songs before that station says that no more songs can be skipped for that hour.  Once a station gets personalized the skip button shouldn’t have to get pushed too often because the station would only play the songs that a person likes.  Pandora can also sense a general theme in the music that a person likes, so if there is a new song and it is similar to songs that a person likes then it will be added into that station. 

                Pandora also has the option of having the station be an artist and artists that are similar.  It helps having that option because if people like the sound of a certain artist and the songs that the artist sings then it can find similar artist that a listener may have never known about. 

                When listening to a song on Pandora, if a person were to click on the picture of the album or the more information button it will show information about the song artist, lyrics, and other information that a person might want to know.  There is also an option of buying the sound track. 

               Updating Pandora regularly is beneficial because recently there was an update that included a sleep timer and alarm clock.  That can be really convenient especially when listening to music and trying to fall asleep because then Pandora wouldn’t be running all night long and wouldn’t use up a lot of data for internet connection. 
                Pandora is a great musical device to listen to and I highly recommend it for everyone and anyone who likes to have control over the music that they listen to.

Using a Mouth Piece

             Sharing a mouth piece with another person is just like sharing water with them.  Well, I don’t really think so.  As a brass player I have to empty my spit valves often because I spit when I blow into my mouth piece.  Think about sharing that spit infested mouth piece with another person.  Well that is just gross and another way to spread diseases between people.

                I would highly recommend people to buy a spray disinfectant for mouth pieces if they are in band.  Trying other people’s instruments are fun, but how would know when the last time someone cleaned their mouth piece was?  Trying out an instrument without having proper instruction could potentially harm the instrument or the person’s mouth. 

                Have you ever had a band director take your instrument and show you how to play it?  Well I have.  Being a brass player I can instantly wipe off the mouth piece and continue on, but what about the woodwind players that use a reed?  The band director would have licked the reed and then played it, the spit would then be imbedded into the reed and be soaked in there along with your spit.  I would say that it would be more disgusting having your band director use your mouth piece than having a friend use it because at least with a friend you might have a slight idea if they are sick or where their mouths have been.

                It is highly recommended that a person doesn’t eat right before playing their instrument because leftover food particles could be in a person’s spit and transferred into the instrument where it can eat away at the inside of the instrument.  It can produce a bad smell in the instrument, create rust, and also affect the tone of an instrument.  As an experienced musician I would recommend that a person wash out their mouth with water and gargle water before playing because it can help get rid of anything in a person’s mouth.  If you play a brass instrument and smell your mouth piece and notice that it has a weird smell, then it is time to clean your instrument. 

                One would think that it is common sense not to chew gum when playing an instrument, but still people do it.  I personally would choke or get the gum stuck in the instrument.  Chewing a piece of gum would just send unwanted fluid into the instrument and make it disgusting.  A person also would have a harder time playing and not get the best tone quality or performance possible.  Just please don’t chew gum while playing an instrument.

               

Marching Band as a Gym Class

              Since I am in band I have a full schedule and am not able to take a gym class.  A common question over marching band and gym is if marching band students can get gym credit during marching season.  My school offers it while many schools don’t.  An article was published a while back and it mentioned marching to the beat is a great form of exercise. 
                Being a band member I know that the band gets a lot of exercise during marching season because of all the competitions and daily practices.  The problem is convincing over people to think that band members get enough exercise and don’t need any more by adding another class to their schedule. 

                There is a lot of physical involvement, especially for the lower brass instruments and drum line.  Carrying those big instruments through a seven minute show is pretty hard and almost everyone is panting and about ready to collapse after a performance.  My band director once said “You don’t get muscles like these playing the flute.”  I loved hearing that because often people complain about how hard it is to hold up an instrument and then all the low brass players (including me) look at each other and smile knowing that they wouldn’t be able to last a minute holding up our instruments.

               Total steps of a marching band member are almost three times higher than the average person because of so many practices and steps during a show.  During a practice there is always warm-up and people don’t just warm-up by playing music.  All the instruments get set down and there are stretches and jumping jacks.  It would be like a normal warm-up if a person was to take a gym class.  Each band practice is long and there is always a lot of marching with repetition.  Since things have to be repeated, a person would have to go to an original spot or a previous set (formation).  Instead of walking to that spot the band members have to run and get there quickly or the set will happen without them and they would get into trouble and probably owe laps.  Did I mention that people do laps?  If a person is late or not paying attention, they will have to do a lap or two around the track and possibly push-ups.  Band members may not do as much physical activity as the football team, but we still do more than the average person would do if they had a gym class every other day.