side show

Side Show: The Musical

There are many topics to discuss about the musical performance. It features a variety of aspects that captivate my attention from the wild behavior of the performers or the corresponding light show to deviate the audience’s attention.

Performers and Audience

The performers for the musical feature the twins, the Connor brothers, and Jake the wild cannibal. The supporting lineup is also very involved with the main cast as they play the attractions. The interaction between the performers between each scene is very noticeable and different as well. Paying attention actually helps as I could see some noticeable jokes being made visually and sometimes on cue to lyrics. I think what amused me during the first scene with this performer interaction was a girl with a doll. A guy keeps his hand over her eyes but as the dancers are moving around she is constantly staring at them, giving off a sense that she could potentially be identified in character as a lesbian. By personal judgment I could be wrong but it is a girl character in a dress that is sporting the behavior. There are also other radical displays of interaction either between performers or the performers to the audience. Mainly Jake when the ensemble behind the set cues up the jungle type theme. He wildly dashes and jumps around from the walkway leading to the stage, and I forgot to mention the attractions came from the walkways from both sides of the theater towards the stage, with the spotlight on him as he makes his way to the center while making loud noises. If that wasn’t shocking enough another performer to audience interaction is one of the attractions biting off the head of a toy chicken and trying to give the body to the audience within musical. Which brings up another interesting aspect of the musical and there is an audience within the musical outside of the audience in the seats watching the musical. They are more responsive and show more character to possibly just about everything that happens on stage whereas the other audience only noticeably laugh or give a shocked response to something major. For the record Daisy is on the left and Violett is on the right, since she is right most of the time anyways. I don’t know if this was due to a lack of props but in one of the scenes the performers gather together to form a human boat for the leading cast.

Music and Time/Space

The music is always playing, from start to the break and then from the break to the finish. The music sets the mood and helps guide the performers for their singing. One of the many examples of setting the mood is the jungle wild crazy theme song for Jake’s entrance. The music doesn’t do this alone as the lighting of the theater compliments the music almost every time. The whole room was dim while the drums were beating and search lights were rotating around the room before finally focusing on Jake as he makes his way to the center. Another way for the music to change the mood is the lead characters during the scene after the break when they think to themselves. The ensemble begins to play a nonpulsatile tone setting off this atmosphere allowing the character to be deep in thought. The lighting isn’t all just for show and effects but also directs the attention of the audience in the seats to the characters most involved with the scene. I believe the most creative use of the white lights were during the second half of the play where the twins’ spotlight was removed and in doing so they stopped their movements and appear frozen while the spotlight shifts over to the brothers and Jake as they sit and discuss dinner plans. Once the conversation was over the spotlight shifts again and the twins resume what they were originally doing.

Overall Sideshow the Musical gave off a performance that harnesses performer interactions with each other and the audience. The music wasn’t alone in creating atmosphere as the lighting system helps direct the audiences’ attention to what is important in the play as well.

most awesome blog post ever out of all of my old ones

Foo Fighters is a rock band that is classified as post-grunge or alternative rock. The genre emerged during the 1980s, and about the same time as when Foo Fighters started. This variation of rock adopts some styles of punk but mainly to identify that new rock songs were hitting the scene, moving away from rhythm and blues. Tagging music with the label "alternative" can be difficult since the term is used to describe change, or a difference to the current music at the time. Strangely enough there isn't a music style adopted by alternative rock since it wasn't really meant to be well known unless the crowd decides to spread rumors. Alternative rock may not have a music style but the lyrics written have a certain trend releveant to political issues and personal issues. Post-grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock, adopting with it the way lyrics were written but instead of not aiming for commercial popularity, the music is aimed for mainstream success with the same lyrics. This means that the music features distorted guitars. Foo Fighters also has a habit of switching between quiet verses and a loud chorus (demonstrated later in the listening guide). There is also an element of melody but its rhythm is mixed in with the bass and drums, but its easy to catch as it is the motif of the song.

Listening Guide
Everlong, Foo Fighters
0:00 They had a long night, skip it.
0:27 Music finally starts, at first it begins with the electric guitar aided by the bass. Afterwards the second guitar joins in with the drums.
0:58 Dave Grohl, the vocal lead starts off. The first verse has a break inbetween that lets the motif of the song be heard before he continues the lyrics.
1:50 The chorus of the song is played. Along with the motif following afterwards.
2:33 The second verse starts differently but after "and now I've known you've always been" it repeats the same words from the first verse before going into the chorus.
3:26 The music and lyrics stop this is a common occurence in many of Foo Fighter's song with only Dave's guitar playing before being joinined in with the rest of the instruments. The tempo picks up quite considerably.
3:58 The chorus again minus two words "she sang", marks the end of the song.

gullah geechee

The Gullah are an ethnic group of Americans from South Carolina and Georgia with origins from Africa. Their music

culture stems from different elements of their heritage. Of the cultures in Africa listed I was familiar with the

term Wolof which is the culture belonging to Youssoo Ndour. The Gullah in order to survive in slavery and still

keep their African heritage combined their differences to give themselves an identity. The dance, chants, music,

singing of the many cultures were brought together to make a new form.

The Gullah culture isn’t all just dance and music, they also delve into the fine arts and crafts. The music of the

Gullah since its origins are rooted in Africa feature many drums ranging from small to large. The dances are also

radical with body movement and arm gestures. The dancers in the community will be cheered on by people watching

along side the drummers who are excited to celebrate. The singing aspect of the culture starts off with a melody

but quickly breaks down to a form of rap. The rap portion tells a story regarding the Gullah and their hardships of

old.

It's not jazz again.

Jazz at the atrium was the only performance I could make it due to a hectic work and exam schedule so the information might seem repetitive to my ethnography post. The difference will be the size of the audience and the presence of food. I think the environment change and a shift to a different type of jazz is still worth writing about.

The performance lasted about two hours with me arriving late and this week’s jazz at the atrium featured Freddie Jones and his band. The music pieces played are sometimes merged together or there would be a break as the band plays a new song. The tempo is not consistent since the improvisation of jazz kicks in with sudden changes. What I did notice was never slow like classical music.

Freddie Jones’ jazz features himself as a trumpeter and his band with keyboard, bass, guitar, and drums. With this combination of instruments the texture of music is polyphony. Also looking at Freddie himself he pauses at times during the performance and starts again, several times in fact. I didn’t really notice any disharmony in the music as there wasn’t a chord struck out of place or the trumpet just awkwardly changing notes. The flow of the music gave off an inconsistent rhythm. After listening to a while there, I’ll hear the same melody being played again but differently by some of the instruments and it was almost as if there is ornamentation being added.

The music would change the mood of the atmosphere depending on the presence of the other members. It is hard to explain but the impact causes the audience to stop what they are doing and face the band to listen. Other times they’ll just continue eating. I guess what I’m seeing is a shift from active and passive listening depending on the individual’s taste. The audience will almost unanimously shift their attention when the tempo picks up. It is entertaining to watch people bob their heads to the beat of the music and the applauses are very loud. The food seems to taste better with a live band playing in the background but it might’ve just been me starving. The audience as a whole ranges from college students to adults past their forties. I didn’t really get to interact with the audience much but they showed plenty of attention to the band.

The performers in Freddie’s band will show a varying degree of interaction. Freddie himself being the lead doesn’t really interact with the audience much but he will occasionally look around and if not then he would stand in place. The band members don’t really move their feet but will move their bodies to the music. They show plenty of enthusiasm with the music and get along quite well on stage.

Jazz at the atrium is a weekly occurrence at the Dallas Museum of Arts. The performances are free with a different band each week, the band that played while I was there featured Freddie Jones. His music played in the background of a meal will either steal your attention or make your meal taste better with the shifts in tempo and ornamentations that are almost randomly used throughout the performance.

Opera

Madama Butterfly (1904) is created by Giacomo Puccini about a Japanese woman and her American lover. Opera showcases performers interacting with orchestral music. The relationship of the two creates of almost being able to understand music visually. In this particular performance both performers are female with the portrayal of the American lover taking precedence the entire YouTube clip.

Performer

The lead performer showcases interaction with her onstage companion, who demonstrates almost little movement while sitting on her legs, and also demonstrates gestures towards the audience. The gesture, while it points at the audience, the performers are looking into empty space.

Music

The music coincides with the singing, as the singer raises her pitch so does the orchestra. The embellishment appears in the music and the singing in some parts. The texture of the music is polyphony with the instruments featuring a standard orchestra. The tempo of the music will speed up or slow down according to the singer though it is probably rehearsed in a way that both of them are done at the same time. The cadence is found near the end where the singer raises her pitch and slowly the music goes on as the performers leave the stage.

Thoughts on Avatar

Avatar's music features a blend from the world, quite literally. While the article that interviews Wanda Bryant states the method of music selection, they weren't exaggerating on how the otherworldly sounds came to be. The music culture for the Na'vi was convincing with the help of a ethnomusicologist, and was really different to listen to. The film score and the Na'vi music is new and original, I find it hard to separate their differences but I only got to watch the film twice. First time for entertainment, and second time to listen to complete my objectives.

Orchestral Jazz and here I thought it was DSO

Introduction

My music ethnography will be based around the Lincoln Center Orchestra, but however I will not be focusing just on the orchestra alone as Wynton Marsalis was present during the performance. This includes jazz music which will complicate my analysis though it shouldn’t be too big of an issue since all my research is done, hopefully. What I hope to cover in this music ethnography is how jazz backed by an orchestra creates an interesting research topic.

Methodology

My method of research at first was vague as I expected to deal only with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra alone. In my ignorance, I ignored concert dates and what went on in those concerts until the week before the music ethnography report was due. Thinking quickly and getting back up to speed I purchased a ticket for a Friday show and conducted my field work at the Grand Tier seat which is possibly the farthest seat away from the stage, on the third floor, which made the performers look like ants. So this brings the conflict of my original research, since I did not expect to include the presence of jazz music combined with the Lincoln Center Orchestra. This seems dire but I can work with it because now it is not just about an orchestra, this is an orchestra with jazz. After the concert I had to take a look and see who Wynton Marsalis was, and what he did besides play a trumpet on stage. Overall he is pretty much what I witnessed him on stage; he plays a trumpet and deals with jazz. Though that does not give him justice since according to his official website he also composes music, is an educator, and finally a music director. The biography on his website goes in depth with his personal life and tracks down all his major accomplishments. While this covers only Wynton Marsalis I have yet to cover the Lincoln Center Orchestra since this is after all two music categories smashed into one ethnography report. The Lincoln Center Orchestra also has their own website with a history and numerous biographies. The Lincoln Center Orchestra does not specifically deal with classical music, as their orchestra is comprised of trombones, saxophones, trumpet, bass, drums, clarinet, and piano. This group of instruments can be categorized into membranophones, aerophones, and a chordophone. My understanding of an orchestra was woodwinds, brass, percussions, maybe a keyboard, and string instruments. These categories list too many instruments and are not relevant.

Aspects of this Music-Culture

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is mainly a culture of music catered towards jazz. While the group also performs some classical pieces, their main focus is dedicated to jazz using their soloists and ensemble players (JALC Biography). The orchestra is versatile in their performances, as they are focused on jazz appreciation to the point that the orchestra will perform arrangements from other orchestral jazz composers such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and several others. The orchestra music playing style is standard. They have not done anything that appears to be special and research seems to indicate this. Although the orchestra has their very own composer, Wynton Marsalis, he has released several albums as he seeks to draw his audience in with his jazz composition. The orchestra spends a third of the year on tour, and I have been a witness to their concert in the Meyerson Symphony Center, which houses the Dallas Symphony Orchestra performances.

Orchestral Jazz was developed in the 1920s and will mainly be played by an orchestra specifically designed for it. What this means is the selection of instruments is vastly different from a classical music orchestra. These performers are professionals and to find the origins of Orchestral Jazz is to look at the jazz genre itself. The origin of jazz is subject to most controversy though through research the birthplace of jazz was agreed upon to be in New Orleans. The controversy is the culture of people that specifically created this but jazz is a genre that has many elements from blues music. However this doesn’t create a barrier from anyone playing it specifically. As long as the performer themselves loves jazz music they’re more than encouraged to try.

Orchestral Jazz fits into a general category of jazz but specifically the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is specifically orchestral jazz. Orchestral jazz features some lyrics although there wasn’t any during the performance last weekend. Orchestral jazz is composed by many people but in particular for the Lincoln Center Orchestra, the music director Wynton Marsalis, has done many compositions for the group and also performs them alongside the orchestra. The compositions created by Wynton have received awards and they were influenced by the 1920 jazz artists in the JALC biography.

Fieldwork

The information on my fieldwork and its majority can be found in the methodology section. This section will list the interview that accompanies the concert. A music enthusiast friend of mine who has a solid background in music studies attended many concerts before and he also attended the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra concert. My first question to start conversation was about the music culture behind jazz. He tells me that the overall performance had elements of blues, ragtime, and improvisations. My follow up was to talk about the impact of the performance on the audience. The answer was really detailed with the focus of the performance on Wynton Marsalis. Wynton had many soloist moments in each piece of music and he draws the audience in with his techniques on the trumpet. Just as you think he will continue to lead on the orchestra starts up again to harmonize with Wynton and the orchestra supports him.

Conclusion

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis is something completely unexpected. I thought I was going to see some classical music and to give an analysis over that but instead I’m doing one about Orchestral Jazz which turned out to be a new experience.

Works Cited

Marsalis, Wynton. "Jazz at Lincoln Center". Jazz at Lincoln Center. 3-10-2010 . http://www.jalc.org/about/apdf/2009%20General%20JLCO%20Press%20Kit.pdf

Marsalis, Wynton. "Biography - Wynton Marsalis official website". 3-10-2010 . http://www.wyntonmarsalis.org/biography/

Weinstock, Len. "The Origins of Jazz". 3-10-2010 .http://www.redhotjazz.com/originsarticle.html