Violent Entity Music Project

Music is a magical gift we must cultivate and nourish. Casals says music fills him up with the wonders of life and the incredible marvel of being a human. Berstein says it is enriching and ennobling. Music teaches us to appreciate the wonders of life.

Music builds up the skills of creativity, cooperation and communication and helps us to see the world from a new prospective. We are introduced to the myriad rhythms, richness and diversity of human life. Music has a great power of bringing the world together.

In today’s busy and hectic world people young and old look for an opportunity to chase away their blues with good music. There is a variety of music available in the market these days. You can even download music from the net on to your computers and from there to your mobiles. No family function or gathering is complete without a good DJ system – everyone dances together enjoying themselves for hours. Music and a good voice are God’s gifts to humans. Even animals have now been proven to respond to music.

A disc jockey or a DJ is a person who selects and plays prerecorded music for an audience. In 1934 American commentator Waller Winchell coined the term “disc jockey” the combination of “disc” and “jockey” which is the operator of a machine.

In 1943 Jimmy Savile launched the world’s first DJ dance party playing Jazz records in England. In 1947 he became the first DJ to use twin turntables for continuous play.

In 1947 the “Whiskey-a-go-go” night club opened in Paris, France, considered to be the world’s first discotheque or disco deriving its name from the French word, meaning a nightclub where the featured entertainment is recorded music rather than an onstage band.

There are several types of disc jockeys –

Radio jockey – They introduce and play music that is broadcasted on AM, FM, shortwave or digital stations.

Club Jockey- Select and play music in a bar, club, disco or a rave.

Hip hop jockeys- They select and play music with multiple turntables with one or more backup.

MCs Reggae disc jockeys- In Reggae, the DJ is a vocalist raps, beat boxes or chats over digital music recording.

Mobile disc jockeys- They travel with a portable sound system and play at a variety of functions like birthday parties, marriages, and a variety of other events.

DJ equipments:

-The music recording is done in a DJ preferred medium eg. Vinyl records, compact discs, computer media files.

-A minimum of two devices to play sound recording for alternate back and forth to create continuous playback of music.

-A sound system for amplification of or broadcasting of the music.

-A DJ mixer, an electronic two channel mixer with a cross mixer with a crossfader to go from one song to another.

-Headphones used to play one recording while the other is being played to the audience.

-A Microphone so that the DJ can introduce songs and speak to the audience.

Several techniques are used by DJs as means to better mix prerecorded music like cueing, audio mixing of two or more sound sources. Club DJs use turntable techniques like cutting, scratching, needle drops etc. In part two of this article we will learn more about music.

One genre that appeals to most everyone is pop music owing to its light and catchy qualities. Pop music is so aptly called because it is a categorization that is largely based on the popularity of a song. There is no clear and distinct parameters to classify a song as pop music. For the most part, its popularity should translate to records sold and radio air times.

Pop music is a combination of various styles influenced by the evolving music forms. The development of pop music is one that is progressive, rolling over from generation to generation to snowball into its current form. As this is so, pop music has taken so many forms through each decade to reflect the musical preference of a particular generation.

Rich Vocals

During the 50s, popular tunes were those that were vocally rich with a string accompaniment and a vocal chorus back up. Country music and American folk music were great hits along with variations of standard formats. Great American songbook classics, crooners and big band singers adopted other musical techniques to give their music a modern twist. The listening public lapped these enhancements up and caused songs like Mack the Knife and Singing the Blues to top the charts. In contrast to these classics, rock and roll likewise rocked the American music industry with fast and infectious beats of Rock Around the Clock, Heartbreak Hotel, and Tutti Fruitti. These tunes not only rocked the airwaves, they also rocked the dance floors.

All in the Band

The next decade brought in what is called as the novelty song characterized by humorous lyric combined with melodies that are simple yet catchy (i.e. Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, California Girls, and Good Vibrations). Worthy of note is the fact that the vocal harmonies and lyrics of these songs revolved around Californias surf, girls and cars. Thus the label Surf pop. Other popular music during the sixties were youth-oriented band music in up-tempo beat, I Want to Hold Your Hand,Cant Buy Me Love, Downtown, and To Sir With Love.” African American music likewise joined the popular music scene with its doo-wop style that gives prominence to melodic sounds and vocal harmonies. Rhythm and blues as well as Motown soul music were also chart-toppers during this period.

Cacophony of Sounds

From the 1970s to the present, pop music is as diverse as they come. A slowdown in musical tempo was seen in the early seventies when folk-based artists took center stage. Popular during these times were songs written by the singers themselves. Tempos picked up again towards in the second half of the decade when disco-dancing became a favorite pastime among the youth. Dance tunes Play That Funky Music, Staying Alive, and YMCA dominated the airwaves and the disco scene.

The 1980s and 1990s music scene was composed of music soundtracks, international hits, rock and roll, and pop icon duets. Another music development in this decade is the advent of charity records where artists put their talents together to raise funds for a cause. Particularly characteristic of the last two decades are the prevalence of songs by female artists like Mariah Carrey, Celine Dion, and pop icon Madonna. The new millennium kept with soulful ballads, hip hop pieces and dance tracks. Movie soundtracks remained chart-toppers.

Pop music is a genre that will always be around. People will always listen to music and music labels and radio stations will continue to track what songs people are listening to. For as long as people are playing and listening to music, there will always be a chart-topper.

Most modern musicians take sheet music for granted. Sheet music abounds in printed form and can even be downloaded from the Internet. It’s a far cry from the days of oral tradition. Centuries ago, there were few ways to pass on music other than to “hum a few bars” until the listener caught on.

The available manuscripts had to be painstakingly marked out by a transcriptionist and were limited in number. In fact, while many songs were known on a wide scale, they were likely spread about by travelling minstrels and troubadours. They were certainly not available in printed form at the local music shop.

Prior to the invention of the printing press in the mid 15th century, very few private citizens owned or had access to sheet music. The ones in existence were owned by a few wealthy noblemen. Because the only way to publish written music was to copy it by hand, it’s little wonder that sheet music was scarce.

The process took long hours and careful copying skills, plus access to the right materials. Before the printing press, the only songs available in written score were sacred songs. Most of these were chants used in liturgical services. Virtually no secular music scores existed prior to the 15th century.

The invention of the printing press in 1439 changed the history of sheet music. This is in spite of the fact that the earliest methods of reproducing musical scores were almost as painstaking as copying music by hand. Italian printer Ottaviano Petrucci may be considered the “father of sheet music.”

He developed the first method for reproducing sheet music. He was also granted an exclusive patent for his work, giving him an early monopoly on the business for several years. His method involved three stages. The paper was pressed three times. First, the staff was printed. On the second impression, the words were added. The final impression laid down the notes.

The downside to the process was that it was time-consuming and expensive. This made it relatively impractical for the average citizen to own sheet music. However, technology evolved over the years. Eventually, better and more efficient methods of printing were developed.

Most of the earliest music that was published was sacred music. In fact, the printing, distribution and publication of music were largely controlled by the church for several centuries. Eventually this changed, and soon music companies found themselves in the thriving business of music publishing. The retail distribution of sheet music took off in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This was in spite of the fact that there was no means for promoting particular songs or artists, like radio or television.

The popularity of sheet music prompted many governments around the world to examine the issue of copyright and pass their own laws in that regard. With copyright becoming a worldwide issue, the Berne Convention of 1886 established a universal principle regarding copyright. Today, approximately 76 countries around the world adhere to this standard.

Of course, technology continues to evolve. Radio, television and the Internet have posed new challenges to the ability of governments to enforce copyright laws. Sheet music can now be downloaded straight from the Internet, often illegally. Notwithstanding this, the annual sale of sheet music ranges in the tens of thousands today. Music-publishing software has brought the printing of music full circle from the days when stolid monks sat writing music with a quill by candlelight.