Rock Band

- Gideon Hunter
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Before we get ahead of
Sounds quite inter-
ourselves, we might want to
esting but yet kind of bor-
know what music actually is.
ing, so when was the first
Music is, as defined from dic-
musical instrument in-
tionary.com, the art or science of
vented? According to Na-
combining vocal or instrumental
tional Geographic and
sounds (or both) to produce
www.flutekids.eu, the first
beauty of form, harmony, and
instrument ever invented
expression of emotion.
was the bone flute, which is
Now that we know
what we are talking about,
who invented it? How did it
originate? Music was not invented nor concocted. Music
was more found or discovered.
Birds would always sing, wind
would whistle, and waves would
calmly crash. Music was always
in existence. The first forms of
exactly how it sounds. This
was discovered from thousands of years ago suspected to be used by warriors
and witch doctors. This instrument was carved from
mammoth-ivory and professionals say it may have been
used as a war horn.
From then on the
music predicted were simply our
flutes turned to wood and
own voices. This was practiced
bamboo and instruments
back around 500 B.C. in many
Were being invented
churches and cathedrals, ac-
around every corner. Most
cording to Sheperd Universty
of which you know such as
webpage from webpag-
the guitar, drums, clarinet,
es.shepherd.edu, where main
cello, bass, etc.
form of music during the Middle
Ages was the Gregorian chant,
named for Pope Gregory I. The
Gregorian chant was a simple,
monotonic (meaning only able
to produce one note at a time)
chant of repeating versus used
to “enhance church services.
http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs31/f/2008/216/4/c/premade_background_01_by_chulii_stock.jpg http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1582582/YouTube-clip-wins-Austrian-monks-record-deal.html
"Photo: Bone Flute Is Oldest Instrument, Study Says." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 02 May 2013.
"FLUTEKIDS." Flutekids. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2013.
Classical instruments
In today’s world it
(or acoustic) are instru-
is impossible to count up
ments that have their own
all the different kinds of
frequency generator and
instruments we have cre-
supply their own resonator.
ated. Instruments are be-
Having their own frequency
ing created everyday and
generator is talking about
musicians are making in-
what on this instrument
struments every time they
makes the noise. This can be
get the chance. From put-
anything such as strings, lips,
ting strings onto a shovel
reeds, or air columns. For ex-
or cutting holes in a piece
ample, instruments that fall
of pipe to making complex
under “Classical” category are
keyboards with thousands
violins, cellos, guitars, pianos,
of sensors to create any
trumpets, etc… The resonator
sound you could imagine.
is talking about the holes in
According to Wikipedia’s
the instruments or airways
List of Instruments we
that the frequency's bounce
know there is well over a
off in order to make noise.
few thousand different
Just as if you’re blowing air
kinds of instruments we
into a bottle, it makes noise.
know of so far. This includes many foreign musical devices and if we included literally everything
that made music, there are
infinite possibilities. All of
these music makers fall
into roughly three different categories: Modern
instruments, Classical
instruments, and percussion instruments.
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Modern instruments are instruments that also have a frequency generator but need some sort of amplifier
to fully produce sound. An amplifier can
be anything from a computer, to a speaker,
to an actual guitar or bass amp. Also in
the modern instruments category, invented in the beginning of the nineteen
hundreds, was the synthesizer. A synthesizer is an instrument cable of creating infinite amounts of sound. You play it like a
piano or keyboard you are able to change
the tones and noises it produces. Modern
techno and pop music rely heavily on synthesizers to produce the exact noise they
want, but you can find synthesizers everywhere in music.
The last category musical
instruments falls under is percussion instruments. According to dictionary.com
A percussion instrument is any object
which produces a sound when hit, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or any other action.
Some instruments you may know of that
fall into this category are drums, marimba,
cymbals, xylophone and many more. Many
people don’t realize there are other percussion instruments than drums. But in
fact, there are numerous amounts of instruments that resemble piano keys or
strings that are considered percussion
when hit by hands, sticks, or mallets.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jSMPr53mmfg/Tbd9CvPXB6I/AAAAAAAAAAo/N-u0ZtmiUmg/s1600/frequency+map.gif
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Guitar_play.jpg
http://www.sidymaiga.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/sidy_drumming-
http://images.esellerpro.com/2225/I/254/2/lrgscaleTDP4030_3.jpg
With all these instruments
in mind, we now are able to
choose which one would sound
the best to our general taste in
music. Every single instrument is
unique in its own way. Each is
played differently then the next, has
its own sound, and its own frequency. To the right is a chart taken from
www.independentrecording.net. It
shows common instruments’ ranges
of frequencies. If the instrument is
more on the left, it has a lower pitch
and frequency, on the right it has a
high pitch and frequency. Musicians
use instruments with different
frequencies and put them with
others to form unique and entertaining music. Each instrument plays
its own part in a band or orchestra.
Now we will learn how to
create a song, and to do that, we
should know a few things first.
song as a whole.
Harmony is our next key ingredient to forming a song. It is an
They key products to creating an
order of chords or notes in which make up the song. The harmony is
awesome song are Rhythm, Melo-
repeated through out the song and will change depending on the
dy, and Harmony. All things you
chorus or verse of a song. For example in a rock and roll band, the
know about, but just may not
rhythm guitar would be producing the harmony, repeating the same
have known exactly what they
chords, while the lead guitar would make up the melody.
were called or how to use them.
First thing to know is Rhythm,
Rhythm is the basic temporal element of music. According to dictionary.com it is
“the pattern of regular or irregular
pulses caused in music by
the occurrence of strong and weak
melodic and harmonic beats. “
Rhythm can just be though of as the
pace or temp of the song. How the
The melody of a song, taken from leonardbernstein.com, is
“a rhythmical succession of single tones producing a distinct musical phrase or idea. “ It is easy to think of it as the part of the song
that usually comes in at the chorus and is easily remembered. In
many songs , if the instrument is not playing the melody, the singer
will sing the lyrics in the melody. It is remembered so often because
of how distinct and repetitive it is in the song.
Now that we know that melody, harmony, and rhythm are
making up the roots of every song, it is now important to learn how
to create the music with the instrument of our choice.
beats go. It is the foundation of the
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jSMPr53mmfg/Tbd9CvPXB6I/AAAAAAAAAAo/N-u0ZtmiUmg/s1600/frequency+map.gif
Every instrument has its own special sound wave. Above is a chart taken from amath.colorado.edu
that displays the different sound waves produced by some orchestra instruments. Starting from violin to
trumpet, flute and oboe. Every sound wave is different, and that is why each instrument has its own
unique sound compared to the next. If an instrument is higher, or plays a higher pitch the waves will look
close together and depending on the amplitude
it will be higher or lower. (as seen in the graph
to the right.) If the instrument is lower or plays a
lower pitch the waves will be ore spread out and
again, depending on the amplitude, it will be
lower or higher. These waves vibrating are what
cause sound which we can turn into music.
Trumpet
http://i.cmpnet.com/audiodesignline/2008/03/sound7_fig1.45.jpg
Education.com
Flute
Every song, every sound or
noise produced in this world is created with notes or chords. All the
notes and chords in the world are
made up with just 12 keys. Starting
with middle C (where the red dot
is) and counting the white keys,
there is C,D,E,F,G,A,B. Just like the
alphabet it goes in order. Then
there are the black keys. The rea-
A chord progression can go from
son they are labeled twice is be-
two chords repeated to any
cause it depends on who is read-
number of chords. Chord pro-
ing it. If the black key is to the
gressions repeated are what
right of a key it is a sharp. If it is to
make up the harmony of the
the left of the key, it is a flat. If a
song. The melody, on the other
key does not have a black key to
hand, if we are talking about pi-
the left or right, the next white key
anos is literally on the other
is labeled sharp or flat depending
hand; the right hand. Many pro-
on the position. As you can see,
fessional composers are around
the E and F key has two names as
music so much they can think of
well as the B and C. All instruments
melody's that they want to hear
consist of these notes, even drums
in music and transfer them onto
can be tuned to certain notes to
their instrument of choice. But
match others. To the right you can
many other musicians don’t do
see a guitar neck with the strings
this, but improvise to come up
and the names of the notes and
with an awesome melody
where they lie on the fret board.
Improvising is coming
Notes can be sorted into
scales, which are a series of notes
in some order by frequency. There
are over a hundred of different
types of scales around the world.
There are major scales, which
sound pleasing to the ear. Minor
scales that produce a sad or dark
tone. Then Hindu, blues, and many
more. These scales distinguish music all around the world. It is what
gives different genres and foreign
music its own unique sound.
Within these
up with something on the spot
scales we are able to cre-
or quickly. Many people are not
ate chords. Chords are
aware of how easy improvising
made when you take a
can be when taught. They won-
group of three notes or
der with all of these notes and
more and play them.
chords how is it easy. It is easy
Once you have a chord
because all you have to know is
that sounds pleasing, you
the scale you are in. Improvising,
can now work on creating
in music terms, is coming up
a chord progression. A
with something on the spot in
chord progression is any
the same scale. It originated in
series of chords that rely
the roaring 20’s when this new
in a scale.
form of music began to emerge.
http://howtoguitar.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/notes-of-the-guitar.png
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jSMPr53mmfg/Tbd9CvPXB6I/AAAAAAAAAAo/N-u0ZtmiUmg/
s1600/frequency+map.gif
That music was Jazz. As you may
know jazz for the squeaky trumpets and trombones and random
noises. But if you go and listen to
jazz improvising, you will realize
that all none of the notes played
are out of scale or sour. They all
relatively sound like they belong
with the harmony. As I said before it is easy to do.
For example we will look
into the C scale. The C scale is all
of the white keys on a piano
board. For the harmony, the left
hand will be playing through a
chord progression. While the left
hand is busy with the harmony
the right hand can hit any of the
white notes on the piano. Some
may sound stronger or better
then the other but as long as you
hit the white keys you are improvising. This technique improves
with time being responsible for
many famous pieces and songs.
Many artist will do this in order
to come up with the melody,
others may just improvise the
whole time.
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http://www.piano-keyboard-guide.com/images/piano_notes.JPG
http://www.nuttyhistory.com/
http://www.caralagreen.com/wp-content/
uploads/2010/10/Improvisation2CharlieParker1.jpg
Rolling in the Deep
Tik Tok
Paparazzi
– Adele
– Ke$ha
– Lady Gaga
Baby
Fearless
Stairway to Heaven
– Justin Beiber
– Taylor Swift
– Led Zeppelin
Music is an art form, a constant, and a unique way to express emotions and feelings, why
would you want it to be like everyone else's music? Above there are five charts based on recent pop
songs taken from musicmachinery.com and a non-recent song from the 1970’s.The graphs go clockwise, starting at 45 degrees, and shows the songs layout; Intro, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Verse,
Chorus, and Outro. The lines between the circle connect parts of the song that are similar to each other.
The reason this is important is because with the five pop songs, they are nearly the same song. The
lines correspond right with the next forming the same shape in every song. This is common in most of
the popular music now heard on the radio. The last song up there is Stairway to Heaven written by Led
Zeppelin. As you can see, the lines are much different than the other five. The connect in different spots
and in all is formatted differently. This song is an original and unique with no repeating lines other than
guitar and some lyrics. Compared to the five pop songs above, they could have been factory made and
no one would know because they are all the same format.
One problem that many artist and pop musicians suffer with is the four chord song. It is said
that you can take the same four chords and repeat them and pump out every pop song ever made in
the last 40 years or so. The key can be changed so different people may be able to sing but the same
chord progression is used. The stand-up comedy rock band by the name of Axis of Awesome
http://musicmachinery.com/2012/11/19/visualizing-the-structure-of-pop-music/
performed a set where they sand upwards of
38 songs. They claim they have been a rock
band for years but have never had a hit, and it
is because they haven’t created a four chord
song. Although the band did this for laughs
and comedic value they did have a good point,
again looking at the charts they are all formatted the same, all using the same structure and
repetitive content.
So perhaps, if anyone out in the world
strives to become a pop artist, if you know the
right people, have a semi-decent voice, and
can memorize four chords you are on your way
to becoming a new popular musician with a hit.
Sungha Jung has become a youtube sensation with his acoustic guitar covers of songs as
well as origionals. He has been able to play on
stage with professionals and has learned , at the
age of 10 to accomplish what most guitars wouldn't be able to in years.
Although it seems quite easy to be-
Shaun
come a pop hit, making music is actually a
tough thing to do...Well for some at least.
There is a small percentage of people in the
world who are able to do an outstanding
job at a skill or art. Those people are called
prodigies. They are able to develop incredible skills compared to others. Prodigy, defined from dictionary.com is a person, esp. a
young one, endowed with exceptional abili-
Sungha
ties. Quite often they will appear in the music
scene.
In 2005 a young boy by the name of
Shuan Hern Lee was 2 years old and just
touching the piano keys for the first time. Being taught by his father, he was picking up the
concept incredibly fast. By 2007, Shaun was
now only 4 years old yet was able to perform,
by himself, Waltz by Beethoven, a famous
composer.
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How did you get started with music /when did
it start?
I've always been really into music. I started band
as early as I could then I started playing guitar
when I was 12. All I did was practice, all day and
night. I was very obsessed. I had no friends for
years haa.
Why did you choose this career path over others?
Music was something I was always good at, I figured it'd be foolish to not give it a shot. It's like
getting your masters in engineering and becoming a lawyer. I put so much work into getting to
know my instrument, I didn't want to just keep it a
hobby.
Who are your influences?
I started out being really into Jimi Hendrix, Kirk
Hammett, and Tom Morello. Now tho, John Scofield, Charlie Hunter, and crazy drummers are
more influential to me.
What is your favorite instrument and why?
Guitar, because it's such a diverse instrument. You
can go your whole life and barely scratch the surface of it. There's so much of it to learn.
What advice would you give to new musicians
or kids who want to be musicians?
BE SOCIAL. Get to know other musicians, club
owners, the community, everybody, good or bad.
A lot of 'good' musicians will never succeed because people don't know they are musicians. A
smile and a handshake go a long way.
“A smile and a handshake go a long way.”
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1582582/YouTube-clip-wins-Austrian-monks-record-deal.html
"Photo: Bone Flute Is Oldest Instrument, Study Says." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 02
May 2013.
"FLUTEKIDS." Flutekids. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 May 2013.
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http://howtoguitar.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/notes-of-the-guitar.png
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http://www.caralagreen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Improvisation2CharlieParker1.jpg
http://musicmachinery.com/2012/11/19/visualizing-the-structure-of-pop-music/
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http://news.cnet.com/i/bto/20080310/musicchart.jpg
http://bergmark.org/why.html
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_definition_of_melody_harmony_and_rhythm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_musical_instruments
http://webpages.shepherd.edu/BREICH01/
http://musicmachinery.com/2012/11/19/visualizing-the-structure-of-pop-music/
http://www.elpin.com/tutorials/musicalchord.php
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