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Author Topic: Music, Musicology and Music Education!  (Read 4339 times)  Share 

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angewina_naguen

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Music, Musicology and Music Education!
« on: May 20, 2020, 10:34:16 am »
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Hey, everyone!

Something I've been wanting to do for a while is setting up a thread and sharing my love for music! At university, I study a Bachelor of Music (Music Education) with a major in Musicology (the alliteration is outstanding). The wonderful thing about being a musicology major is that I am constantly immersed in the innerworkings of music and have the privilege to engage with music from a variety of perspectives. One thing musicology seems to lack, at least as I found during my time in school, was accessibility. I wanted to find a way to combine both my passion for music history and analysis with my desire to share the joy that music grants us, whether we are everyday listeners or those interested in understanding music at a more complex level. What better place than here on the forums  ;D

My goal is for this to be similar to a book club but with music recommendations from yours truly! Whether it's classical music, jazz, to Kpop and rock, I hope my observations and analysis can help enrich your listening experience and to increase your awareness of the uniqueness of each song/piece/potentially whole symphonies. I would also encourage for you all to share the music you also like and challenge me to analyse them too  :D I'm open to answering questions, generating discussions and expanding this thread beyond being an educational resource to being a space for us to all occupy as a community of learners. 

Watch this space for my first post soon!

Angelina  ;D
« Last Edit: May 20, 2020, 11:48:01 am by angewina_naguen »
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angewina_naguen

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Re: Music, Musicology and Music Education!
« Reply #1 on: May 20, 2020, 11:45:17 am »
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I'm going to start off this thread with one of my favourite pieces of music!

Background Information
  • This Pas de Deux is from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker (1892), one of his most beloved ballets to this day and a Christmas favourite for many. In the ballet, it's performed by the Sugar Plum Fairy and Prince Coqueluche.
  • When Tchaikovsky was provided with the commission for this ballet, he was given extensive and detailed instructions on how the composition should play out. While this might be restrictive by today's standard, this was fairly common practice in the time period. That didn't mean the composer didn't have opportunities to exercise creative freedom (if he didn't, we wouldn't have some of the most amazing works of music ever!)
  • The very first instrument you hear in this Pas de Deux is a celesta. Tchaikovsky first discovered this when he was in Paris and thought it would represent the Sugar Plum Fairy's character appropriately. It's a distinct part of his score and contributes to this otherworldliness The Nutcracker embodies.

Analysis and Observations
  • This entire number in the ballet is based on two descending passages, one which uses the pitches from the major scale and the other which uses the relative minor scale. Symbolically, we could associate this constant tension as some kind of conflict between the divine, the glorious and with the mundane, the suffering. I find the first entrance of it with the cello to be one of the most magical moments of the entire ballet.
  • Tchaikovsky is a master of simplicity. His melodies are easy to listen to and he relies a great degree on repetition to develop them. That being said, he really knows how to use the instruments available to him which, in this case, is an orchestra, to create drama and magnificence.
  • I am a huge fan of the way he uses percussion and brass in this number. Considering it has such a gentle, sweet and almost heavenly start, the use of percussion and brass really assist in transforming the material into something more aggressive, assertive and agonising even. The strings are incredible but I think it's even more impressive how he uses the surrounding forces to colour the music. You can really feel it at 3:24 in the recording I have above!

Additional Comments
  • As a child, I was obsessed with the Barbie version of The Nutcracker and the scene where she's dancing with the Prince remains perhaps one of my favourite choreographies of this Pas de Deux. The key is different from the original and the orchestration is also slightly differently at times but nevertheless just as gorgeous. I know it's probably blasphemous that I've basically chosen an animated version of the pas de deux over actual performances of it but without this movie, I wouldn't have appreciated the pas de deux or the music as much as I do now. I've included it below for your viewership!
  • This was my chosen piece for my end of semester presentation in my first semester of university. After spending months analysing it (and crazily pulling together a 10 minute presentation in two days), I could talk for hours about how this single number encapsulates the essence of the entire ballet. This is definitely a number I would be happy to answer further questions on if anyone had any!
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Partyking1234

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Re: Music, Musicology and Music Education!
« Reply #2 on: May 20, 2020, 03:54:51 pm »
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It's surprising that movies such as the Barbie series were so heavily enriching themselves in classical music and us as kids would never have properly understood the musical context! Now doing my own BachArts/Education, you really understand the importance of classical music to see how we got to where we are now. The piece is definitely a beautiful one and a staple of Tchaikovsky's works :) very keen to see more updates with this!  :D

angewina_naguen

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Re: Music, Musicology and Music Education!
« Reply #3 on: May 20, 2020, 05:46:28 pm »
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It's surprising that movies such as the Barbie series were so heavily enriching themselves in classical music and us as kids would never have properly understood the musical context! Now doing my own BachArts/Education, you really understand the importance of classical music to see how we got to where we are now. The piece is definitely a beautiful one and a staple of Tchaikovsky's works :) very keen to see more updates with this!  :D

Precisely! Many cartoons make use of some of the best classical music works out there  :D My favourite symphony, which I'll bring up later in another post, was also featured in a Barbie movie so there's definitely a trend there  :) Excited to see more of your posts here too!
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katie,rinos

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Re: Music, Musicology and Music Education!
« Reply #4 on: May 20, 2020, 10:15:06 pm »
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Super keen to read/listen to this!!  ;D
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Re: Music, Musicology and Music Education!
« Reply #5 on: May 20, 2020, 10:40:17 pm »
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Great idea for a thread  :D
Hope to see a lot of analysis from everyone

angewina_naguen

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Re: Music, Musicology and Music Education!
« Reply #6 on: June 27, 2020, 11:02:00 pm »
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    For your late Saturday night enjoyment, I have a Japanese OST to share!

    Background Information
    Ichiban no Takaramono was released as the fifth single of the anime soundtrack for Angel Beats . It is arguably one of the most popular songs from the OST and is well-known by the Japanese anime community.

    There are three versions of this song, two of which were used as the endings of the anime's 10th and 13th episodes. Each version has its own set of lyrics, mood and character whilst still retaining the essence and message of the song. The version I have chosen for this post is the Yui Final Version.


    Analysis and Observations

    Ichiban no Takaramono follows a standard pop song structure (Introduction, Verse 1, Chorus, Verse 2, Chorus, Instrumental, Chorus, Chorus Repeat, Coda) and yet, it is six minutes in length. The reason for this is a combination of the song's slow tempo and numerous episodes of instrumental breaks. There is an introduction, a small instrumental break between the first chorus and second verse, an extended instrumental break and a coda. While the voice has a prominent, melodic role, the importance of the other instruments in the music is highlighted in these instrumental episodes. As we sift through the several layers and colours in the music, it is incredibly satisfying as a result that the song both starts and ends with a simple, acoustic guitar. The other instruments which you can hear in the song are strings, piano, electric guitar, bass guitar and drums, all of which give the song a nice blend of ballad, pop, rock and film music styles. In short, this song is a great example of how instrumentation can be used to build momentum and create variety in the music.

    Modulation, also commonly known as key changes, is significant to this song from both musicological and narrative perspectives. The song starts and has its verses in F major, contrasting with the choruses which are in A major. A major is the mediant key of F major which is fairly unusual and almost unsettling as an area to modulate to. However, this decision to have modulation embedded in the structural fabric of the song to can be attributed to the meaning in the lyrics; we have the singer reminiscing over her fondest memories before accepting with bittersweetness that she has to let go and move forward from them. We also have an uplifting key change from A to B flat major for the Chorus Repeat. While this is a fairly typical direction for music to modulate, up by semitone, for it to happen directly after a chorus is rare. Fittingly though, the lyrics that unravel as this occurs are "Going round-and-round and flowing, time is ever-changing." I see this key change as a final embrace and acknowledgement that change is inevitable but memory is immortal, alluding to the song's title and final lyrics "my most precious treasure." The song stays in B flat major for the rest of the song which has a subdominant relationship with F major. This is a far more stable tonal relationship and acts, therefore, as a resolution to this unrelenting tension between joy and sadness that governs the rest of the song. I could do an entire harmonic analysis of this song to illustrate just how effective it is in conveying the lyrical content but these are the major tonal areas that are explored and my theories why.

    The singer, LiSa, predominantly uses her chest and mixed voice in Ichiban no Takaramono. Her belts hold a great degree of strength in them but my favourite parts of the song actually come from the brief moments she transitions to head voice and sings lightly just before the chorus. By prefacing the chorus with these breathier vocalisations, the timbre and power in her belts are even more pronounced.


    Additional Comments

    There is something raw and natural about the song, as if it were a direct expression of someone's experience. I discovered after I watched the anime that the singer, LiSa, is also the singing voice for the character Yui in the anime. I think this is a key reason why the song carries an immense amount of emotional weight, whilst still being able to reach and resonate beyond the context of the anime.

    When I analysed this all the way back in Year 10 English as part of my first ever musicology assignment, one of the assessment requirements was to criticise something about the music. I found this quite difficult to do at first because I just love it way too much and to fault it was going against all the positive commentary I was making in my assignment about why the song is so musically interesting.  Eventually, I admitted that to a listener with perhaps less patience or understanding of the song's meaning, the six-minute length might be a bit excessive. This was one of the first instances that I felt a calling towards music criticism as a student and realised that critiquing the music is not rejecting or hating on it, but as a means to empathise and accept alternative views. I hope to advocate a similar mindset to analysing music in my own classrooms in the future.

    To really grasp how gorgeous this song is, whether you are interested in watching the anime or not, I have attached a link to the lyrics both in Japanese and with the English translation here. As both an English tutor and aspiring Music educator, my instincts always gravitate towards the lyrics whenever I encounter intriguing musical material to gain a greater comprehension of the compositional choices. Although the song is in another language, I think music is able to communicate and invite curiosity and fascination, two reactions that do not need translations to occur to the listener.[/list]
    « Last Edit: June 27, 2020, 11:09:52 pm by angewina_naguen »
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    angewina_naguen

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    Re: Music, Musicology and Music Education!
    « Reply #7 on: September 16, 2020, 11:25:03 am »
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    Hey, everyone!

    I'm keen to do another analysis post some time after my big wave of assessments these next two weeks. Which of the following songs would you be interested in seeing me discuss?

    - Fool's Gold (One Direction)
    - A movement from The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires (Astor Piazzolla)
    - Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles)

    I will be doing all of these at some point anyway but thought I'd get your thoughts on what you'd like to see first!

    Angelina  ;D
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    Partyking1234

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    Re: Music, Musicology and Music Education!
    « Reply #8 on: September 16, 2020, 12:18:52 pm »
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    I'd personally love to hear analysis about Fool's Gold!  ;D

    katie,rinos

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    Re: Music, Musicology and Music Education!
    « Reply #9 on: September 16, 2020, 12:25:57 pm »
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    I also want to read about Fool's Gold (but either's cool)!  :D
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