Musical Essay Online For Free - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2391 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Music Essay Type Essay any type Did you like this example? The nature of musical communication and the framework of thought, feeling and behaviour within which this communication takes place. Musical communication is commonly associated with place or location; for instance a piece of music will often bring about a flood of memories recalling the place the piece was heard, perhaps the people in whose company the time listening to the piece was spent and certainly the mood of the piece. A piano recital is the cultural event we will focus on, using specific examples of piano recitals held around the world, drawing on reports about those recitals from performers and audience alike. The framework of thought, feeling and behaviour which takes place at a piano recital is different from any other cultural environment, primarily because it the most special and intimate of instruments, one which connects the player with the listener in intimate and unmediated communication, in a pure communicative act. The piano is an instrument which evokes extraordinary passion, requires considerable dedication and patience, together with skill and flair to bring about a perfect percussiv e performance. There are a number of key players in a piano recital, not least the composer who communicates his art to the pianist and onwards, through the instrument, to an audience. The composer is the translator of musical ideas into a symbolic form, usually the twelve semi-tone scale on a musical stave. The standard Western musical notation is a treble clef and a bass clef. Each note can be between lines or on a line and the piece is given a time signature denoting the rhythm of the music. Other symbols signify changes in tone, pace, volume and feeling. The behaviour of the player is also communicated from the composer to the pianist using symbols, including Italianate adjectives, although with more modern piano pieces the Italianate is often replaced with words from the composers usual vocabulary. Examples include piano, meaning quiet and forte, meaning loud. The nature of this communication is symbolic, or in the words of Roland Barthes, the literary critic, semiot ic Barthes (Barthes 1977) views semiology as underlying all communication, an empire of the signs that extends over film and photography, music criticism and reading and writing as historically situated activities. He identifies two natures of music: There are two musics (at least so I have always thought): the music one listens to, the music one plays. These two musics are totally different arts, each with its own history, its own sociology, its own aesthetics, its own erotic; the same composer can be minor if you listen to him, tremendous if you play him (even badly) such as Schumann. (Barthes 1977, p. 149) We will employ this distinction between passive and active to our discussion of the piano recital, where passive music is the music we listen to and active music is the music we play. Schumann is the composer we will focus on when discussing the cultural event that is the piano recital. Robert Schumann was a significant figure in German musical romanticism. (Jensen 2001) Schumann specialised in writing lyrical piano music and songs, but also composed notable orchestral choral and chamber works. He literary output was motivated by his love of literature which informed his musical criticism and composition. He was forced to abandon his career as a pianist after critically damaging, with a strengthening device, a finger on his right hand. Schumann wrote piano works that were a linking of short sections, such as Kreisleriana and Carnaval. Linked together, these sections paid extreme attention to detail, forming an interlocking composition. A talented music journalist, he was editor on one of the most significant journals of his day, Die Neue Zeitschrift fà ¼r Musik. In 1840 he wrote over a hundred songs, a year that became known as his year of song, including the song cycles Dichterliebe and Liederkreise. Schumann suffered from depression and mental instability as a result of syphilis and died in an asylum. Schumann believed tha t musical communication was under attack from virtuoso players who had little thought or feeling for music. His mission statement was given in his journal Die Neue Zeitschrift fà ¼r Musik, which, perhaps in spite of its name suggesting new music, promoted music proven by history music which had withstood the test of time. His era saw the rise of piano virtuosity from players who wanted to become celebrities in their own right without recognition of whose music it was they played, going so far as to compose pieces without thought about the framework of the musical communication, preferring technical complexities over clearly communicated music. Their ignorance of the thought, feeling and behaviour of composers, said Schumann, was philistine. He thus founded the Davids bà ¼ndler, or League of David, named after the biblical King David, who composed music, wrote poetry and slew the Philistines. Barthes speaks of piano recitals as an active form of music that has declined in practice to almost extinction where the piano has been forsaken for the guitar recital: The music one plays has disappeared; initially the province of the idle (aristocratic) class, it lapsed into an insipid social rite with the coming of the democracy of the bourgeoisie (the piano, the young lady, the drawing room, the nocturne) and then faded out altogether (who plays the piano today?). To find practical music in the West, one has now to look to another public, another repertoire, another instrument (the young generation, vocal music, the guitar). (Barthes1977, p. 149) Barthes interest in the piano recital as a cultural event for a particular social grouping, the bourgeoisie, is part of his semiotic history, analysable through the distinction between active and passive: Two roles appeared in succession, first that of the performer, the interpreter to whom the bourgeois public (though still able itself to play a little the whole history of the piano) delegat ed its playing, then that of the (passive) amateur, who listens to music without being able to play (the gramophone takes the place of the piano). (Barthes 1977, p. 163) We muster cognise that Barthes is writing from a French point of view and that his critique of the piano recital as bourgeois is not necessarily relevant to our discussion of the piano recital as an event instructive for an analysis of the nature of musical communication, although it does give some behavioural insights of the social roles of the performer and the audience at a cultural event, despite its over-politicisation of the framework within communication occurs. There is something more peculiar about Barthes role in the study of culture, namely that whenever a term is difficult to define, translators forget their native English tongue, as in this example, again discussing the piano: The melody succumbed to its salon image, this being a little the ridiculous form of its class origin. Mass go od music (records, radio) has left it behind, preferring either the more pathetic orchestra (success of Mahler) or less bourgeois instruments than the piano (harpsichord, trumpet). (Barthes 1977, p. 187) This is not biased criticism: the death of the French language is acknowledged by Barthes himself, therefore it seems right for us to acknowledge his language together with his semiotics as being nothing more than an exercise in textual ambiguity and irony. (Barthes 1977, pp. 187 188) The melody is not significant for the history of the piano recital and is perhaps more relevant to another form of musical communication, such as the voice, however. From Barthes we do have one definable framework within which musical communication takes place: the political. What Barthes shows is that the nature of music is to some degree governed by the environment in which it takes place, namely the background and political situations of the participants, who in the case of the piano rec ital are, according to Barthes, middle class. As a descriptive fact, the piano player and the passive audience will behave according to certain middle class conventions or thought or feeling, though what such middle class behaviour might be is not discussed by Barthes, who confines himself to semiological vagueness. How is culture to be evaluated ? According to its origin? Bourgeois. Its finality? Bourgeois again. According to dialectics? Although bourgeois, this does contain progressive elements; every one of them bourgeoisified. There are some who finally prefer to give up the problem, to dismiss all culture. (Barthes1977, p. 211). If piano recitals are to be dismissed as culture, then we would be obliged to reject Barthesian discourse as overly polemicized, concerned overly with the political and insufficiently with the communicative, because the music of the piano is not bourgeois. Far from it, as Schumann argued, the piano is an instrument through which thoug ht, feeling and behaviour can be transmitted; and although Schumann was not completely apolitical, his compositions must be musical first and foremost. Musical events such as a piano recital have a specific format. Firstly the audience is seated in front of stage upon which there is a piano. The stage marks the boundary between the active musician and the listeners, who with their programmes know the pieces that will be played, before the recital starts. Secondly, the pieces (whether they are by Schumann or another composer) are performed. Finally, the passive element joins the active element during applause, concluding the event. Musical communication can take the form of quoting ideas from previous musical compositions in new ones. Schumann borrowed from Beethoven, Clara Wieck, and other composers. For the cultural event that is the piano recital, this is the nature of musical communication, because it is history and allows us to place Schumann, or other composers of p iano music, in historical context. Continuing with the example of Robert Schumann, we can say that Schumann borrowed from Beethoven because he came afterwards. Schumann built upon the musical framework left behind by Beethoven in the piano recitals Schumann attended, so much so that he could incorporate Beethovenian thoughts, feelings and behaviour into his own compositions. Amore prosaic framework of musical communication is the biographical context of Robert Schumanns life. Schumann was born in 1810 and died at the age of 46, in1856. He was a major figure in German musical romanticism, amongst the leading composers of his day, whose communications are highly regarded. The descriptive term of the time was Neu-Romantisch, or Neo-Romantic, the earlier Romanticism being associated with composers of Beethovens period. We should not try to define the meanings of feeling, thought or behaviour within a discussion of German Romanticism. The movement is its own framework, with Schum ann at its editorial front, writing for the Davids bà ¼ndler. Piano music is its own form of musical communication. The music played at a recital is not only a communication from the composer to the audience; it is also a communication of the ideas behind the music, such as in Schumanns case from Beethoven, to the audience. An educated audience will be able to hear these audible messages. The programme notes may even identify an idea to the audience explicitly, for instance in a performance of Carnaval, where the final section is March of the Davids bà ¼ndler against the Philistines. Similarly there is a quotation of a musical theme, also in Carnaval, called Papillons. (Jensen 2001, p. 83) The mood of the piece Carnaval is quixotic, a description that may also be used of Schumanns nature, because he loved to incorporate cryptic communication within his compositions. For instance, Schumann received the idea for the musical mottos that serve as the basis of Carnaval from the name of the home town, Asch, of a female correspondent. (Jensen 2001, p. 119) There are three combinations of Asch possible, in musical notation: S, C, H, A; AS,C, H; A, S, C, H. All but two of the twenty-one compositions that make up Carnaval use the latter two, which from the German musical system transcribe to the notes A flat, C, B, or A, E flat, C, B. Schumann decided to call the mottos Sphinxes. (Jensen 2001, p. 150) Each of the pieces comprises a musical representation of a masked ball during carnival season. Jensen describes Schumanns behaviour laconically and contradictorily: It says much about Schumanns naivete that he was convinced the sphinxes in themselves would create something of a sensation and sales of the work as if there were widespread interest in such musical games. But for much of his life Schumann was fascinated by puzzles and ciphers, particularly if they could be applied to music. His interest in ciphers was one that was common to not a fe w writers andarti1sts associated with German Romanticism; Friedrich Schlegel, for example, described art as inner hieroglyphic writing. (Jensen 2001, p. 151, citing Dieckmann 1955, p. 311) We should recognise this relationship between codified musical communication and German Romanticism. It was shared by other writers: Schumanns interest in cipher, number symbolism, and musical/word puzzles is frequently encountered in his writings. [] Such an approach permitted him to add both mystery and extra musical significance to his works. [] An entire section of Aesthetics is devoted to the creation of secrets and hidden identities, all for the delight of the unravelling of little knots for the reader. (Jensen 2001,pp. 152 153, citing Richter 1973, p. 195) In conclusion, a framework of communication, we have shown, can be semiological, cryptic and political. Barthes semiological analysis of a piano recital tends towards the political, with his disdain for the bourgeoi s influencing his dislike of the politics of those attending piano recitals. If Schumann is played at a piano recital, there are semiological frameworks of musical communication derived from Schumanns interest in musical code. What is certain is that the historical context for each, the composer and the cultural analyst equally, is of paramount importance Without musical communication with Beethoven, Schubert would not have composed vastly different piano pieces, not to mention the pieces he composed for other instruments; and without a French social milieu Barthes might have had more tolerance for the piano recital as an excellent cultural event through which to investigate the nature of musical communication. As an event, the piano recital will generate a flood of memories for the active player and the passive audience, whose mood will be affected by the communication of thought, feeling and behaviour of the composer and by the music. Therefore historical is probably the bes t discussion of the specific type of cultural event that is the piano recital, because the music is historical, as is the event, and the environment. Don’t waste time! 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Annotated Bibliography On Gsm Systems - 795 Words

5. GSM MODULE A. Introduction This is a plug and play GSM Modem with a simple to serial interface. It is use for sending SMS, Calling (Answer and decline calls), and other GSM operations that are controlled by simple AT commands from micro controllers and computers. Highly popular SIM300 module is used for all operations. It comes with a standard RS232 interface for easy interface of modem to micro controllers and computers. The modem consists of external circuitry like the power regulation, external antenna, SIM Holder, etc.. needed for experimenting with the SIM300 module. B. Features †¢ Uses most popular SIM300 GSM module . †¢ Provided with Standard serial RS-232 interface for easy connection with computers and other devices . †¢ Provided with Serial TTL interface for easy and direct interface to microcontrollers. †¢ Power on/off control, RING and Network LEDs for easy debugging. †¢ On-board 3V Lithium Battery holder with appropriate circuitry for providing backup for the modules’ internal RTC. †¢ Used for GSM based Voice communications, Data/Fax, SMS,GPRS and TCP/IP stack . †¢ For controlling Standard AT commands can be used . †¢ Provided with On-board wire antenna for better reception. †¢ External antenna can also be added through an SMA connector. †¢ Adjustable serial baud rate from 1200 to 115200 bps and 9600 bps by default is allowed. †¢ Less power consumption of 0.25A during normal operations and around 1A during transmission. Operating Voltage: 7 – 15VShow MoreRelatedManaging and Organizing for Innovation in Service Firms a Literature Review with Annotated Bibliography30787 Words   |  124 Pagesfirms A literature review with annotated bibliography annika schilling andreas Werr stockholm school of economics Title: Managing and Organizing for Innovation in Service Firms. A literature review with annotated bibliography Author: Annika Schilling Andreas Werr - Stockholm School of Economics Series: VINNOVA Report VR 2009:06 ISBN: 978-91-85959-47-1 ISSN: 1650-3104 Published: Februari 2009 Publisher: VINNOVA - Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems / Verket fà ¶r Innovationssystem

Centre of Arts Essay Example For Students

Centre of Arts Essay Analysis Company Analysis The goal for The Center of Arts is to provide a hands-on experience for Brock students, high school students, and community users as an educational and cultural resource. It also has a goal of successfully attracting thousands Of visitors annually to Brock university. While at The Center of Arts, it focuses on stimulating the cultural interest in the arts Within the Niagara Region through its live performances and professional entertainment. One of the centers strengths is that it has been successful in attracting thousands Of visitors annually to Brock University. An abundant social network of loyal customers brings with it a strong market. As a result the Center, receives reduced artistic fees because of volume booking. The weakness for the center is that of those loyal customers, not all of them buy tickets in advance. Ticket sales are disappointingly low for the first performance, Halo. Customer Analysis The decision process in this particular case is to make a decision on what alternatives to choose about the ticket sales, discounts, and giveaways. A decision and/or solution to the reaction of how prepaid customers tee about the given alternatives are also the topic of discussions. While we could offer discounts to Gold and Platinum members who did not purchased tickets, complaints and dissatisfaction with members who already booked and prepaid is an issue. In todays sociably there are issues with every alternative you try. IV. Selected Marketing Strategy The strategy was selected because it appeals to an extensive range of target markets or The descriptive and vivid brochure attracts readers attention through an excellent Distribution channel. This major promotional item for The Centre of Arts, Halo in particular, is a visual brochure which makes appealing to the distribution channels. These channels include the enters Gold and Platinum members, the centers database, internal mail, local hotels, libraries, and is continuously being distributed at the box office throughout the performing season. Direct mail is also a contributor through one of the channels which allow the marketing strategy to grab the attention of all audiences in the target markets. This strategy is also aimed at inclusive and well established distributors who Will enjoy spreading word-of-mouth to colleagues, or acquaintances. An enthusiastic entertaining experience would greatly be motivation to spread word-of-mouth. The location of this theatrical reference, Halo and many more takes place at Brock university. The university allows a seating of 538 people to attend these cultural performances. Market Development occurs in the days before Halo is to be performed through alternatives and options to fill the seats, The alternative is to give free tickets to volunteers or people who recently made some contribution to Brock University community.

Sometimes you have to dance with the devil to get out of hell. free essay sample

I stood in front of the mirror yet again. Slowly applying the skin colored concealer over the purple circle surrounding my eye. I wondered if I could hide it to avoid the questions, to protect my boyfriend, the predator. I had spent all of seventh grade chasing my crush. He was the first boy I swore to be in love with. The only person I would do anything for. I wanted him with a passion. I thought about him night and day. I started conversations about him. I even planned my routes in between classes, just to get a passing glance at him. My whole life revolved around him, and to put a grin on your face, yes I did get the man I wanted; I was his first girlfriend, first kiss, and first time. Yes, that would be the perfect fairy tale story, if that was what this was about, but no, this is not about the butterflies I felt when we were together or about how we magically fell in love. We will write a custom essay sample on Sometimes you have to dance with the devil to get out of hell. or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This is about how I was his first, first victim. I will never forget the first time. The first time a hand was laid on me with force. A hand whose job was to cause pain, and create harm. The first time my boyfriend, who I loved and gave everything to, hit me. It was another ordinary day at Bleyl middle school. I had met up with Chris in between classes, wrote him notes during, and ate lunch with him. We were the known couple. Everyone knew of our love. It was â€Å"Us† â€Å"them† or â€Å"we†. This particular day it was time to leave seventh period. I was of course the first to cross the threshold leaving the class. I rushed to our meeting spot as always. As I turn the corner I was shocked to see him there first. A wide grin swept across my face. It left as fast as it had appeared when Chris took my hand into his and lead me towards the gym without a spoken word. â€Å"Where are we going babe?† only silence filled the air as he kept leading me. â€Å"Is something wrong?† we descended the stairs leading into the gym. He kept walking, pulling us behind the bleachers. I was excited to be alone, yet worried, as he still remained silent. I was standing back against the wall. Suddenly I was aware of his weight slowly adding onto mine. Once more I called out. â€Å"Babe†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I was answered. â€Å"Did you think I wouldn’t find out, that word didn’t get around?† I was silent unsure of his words meaning. â€Å"I know you kissed him.† Shocked I stood still, racking my brain for anything that made sense. I had no idea what he meant. â€Å"Kissed who? You’re the only one I kiss.† â€Å"You can’t lie anymore, I know the truth.† His eyes suddenly lost the light brown hue I loved; darkness seemed to take over. I was suddenly aware of the rustle of shoes from those rushing to class. I could hear the minute hand moving on the clock above. We were out of sight and alone. Then I felt the stinging. My cheek was fiery hot. All I saw was the slowing of Chris’s hand after it made contact with my face. I watched as his face again became familiar. The features of my lover returned. The pain began to subside and Chris grew frantic muttering words that ran over each other trying to get them out. Then I heard â€Å"It will never happen again.† Somehow I ended up in my next class on time, trying to calculate how all that happened in five minutes. As time bore on we didn’t mention it, like an unspoken agreement. Yet the knowledge of the memory remained. We continued our routine, seeing each other every chance we got, but our routine took a powerful spice. He became my punisher, judging my wrong doings and providing a sentencing. He had choked me, bruised, crashed, and on a special occasion dragged me across a field by my hair. I had grown accustom to it, it happened everyday for two years. Chris never missed a chance, weather it be at school, my house, or his. The pain was unreal but I believed it was a trade-off. A mere opportunity cost for love. I was no longer an individual. I was one of sixty percent of women who have been abused in a relationship. Forty percent of women have reported being in an abusive relationship, while twenty four percent have never reported their ab use. As quoted from National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. Love binds many things. Love bound me into torture. I never left chris. One day he just never showed up and I learned he transferred schools. His Number was changed and he left to live with his dad. The last time I saw him was when he walked away and I laid sprawled across the floor unable to move. I may have never left him. I wouldn’t have gotten out. Who knows if I would had died or suffered my entire life. There are a millon what ifs, but I do know I survived. I survived and was molded into who I am today. I am a headstrong, driven, indepent women. I can not claim I am no lnger a statistic because I am. I’m one of ninety percent of survivors. I know the importance of life. To cheerish freedom and my opportunities. I know to put my needs first, but I know how to do this while being a team player. This experience did not ruin me, it molded me into one hell of a strong human being. I do not want people s pitty. I want the opportunity to make something of myself, to share my knowledge. I am who I am today because I can get through anything. I still stand in front of my mirror. No longer to hide my bruises, but to show my scars. I have tattooed a purple ribbion in my skin. A symbol of domestic abuse survivor. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I am strong.