Music Faculty Concert

The song I enjoyed the most at the Music Faculty Concert was the song How Insensitive and Lamento. The combination of all four elements of music performance (music, performers, audience, and time and space) made this song stand out to me as the most enjoyable song at concert. The music in and of itself contributed greatly to the music performance, mostly due to the style of music that was being played. The song was reflective of a “smooth” jazz type of style, which made it stand out among the other songs, all of which were not even close to jazz. The very nature of the “smooth” jazz allowed the music to contribute to a relaxed atmosphere that engaged both the audience and the performers with the “groove” of the music. The performers themselves were engaged in the music they were playing which was evident through their body movements that “grooved” in time to the music. The obvious engagement of the performers was then reflected through the audience as some audience members could be seen “grooving” to the music as well. The fact that both the audience and the performers were engaged in the beat of the music meant that the usually wide chasm between performer and audience, which tends to occur in many classical performances, was bridged in this musical performance. The time and space also helped to contribute to this relaxed groove that was inherent in this performance. The concert was on a Friday night, which means that the audience most likely was already in a relaxed mood, because of the weekend. Also, the venue was relatively small which made it easier for the audience to feel engaged with the performers. Overall, the performance of How Insensitive was a great musical performance in which all elements of music performance were perfectly intertwined together.

Blog Post 2

I would like to study the jazz music-culture in Dallas for my music ethnography. There are two main types of jazz ensembles you will find in Dallas. The first kind is a small ensemble of two to three people you will find in jazz clubs in downtown Dallas, such as the Brooklyn Jazz Café. The jazz groups at these clubs will typically play a “smoother”, softer jazz due to the environment in which they are playing. However, they will occasionally venture away from this “smooth” jazz music depending on the musician performing. The second kind is the larger ensemble groups, usually found in high schools and universities. These ensembles typically play a much wider array of jazz music, since they have more instruments and therefore more flexibility in manipulating the texture of their sound. The jazz band at UNT is world renown for their jazz band, and never ceases to amaze. I will be focusing on this second music culture of jazz in my music ethnography. The primary instrumentation of a large jazz band includes saxophones (alto, tenor, and bari), trombones, trumpets, keyboard, drums, and occasionally electric guitar or other percussion instruments as needed. The jazz culture as a whole focuses on improvisation much more than other forms of music. The jazz culture in Dallas differentiates itself from the jazz culture as a whole in that the jazz culture here in Dallas draws a much greater listening base than in other regions, partly due to the talent in the region. While the jazz culture here in Dallas mostly attracts other musicians (or people who were in a music program at one time in their life), they also have another following, albeit this non-musician following typically consists of older adults. The jazz culture here in Dallas continues to draw together these two groups of listeners to further be impacted by the complexity and difficulty of this very entertaining form of music.

A Music Culture That Has Influenced Me

One of the music cultures that has most influenced me is Christian Contemporary Music (CCM). This music was all I grew up listening to. Not only, did I hear these songs at church, but I would also listen to the same songs all the time at home. Artists such as Steven Curtis Chapman, Third Day, and Michael W. Smith were some of the primary artists that I feel exemplified the music culture I was immersed in (I have linked a music video of each). As a music culture, this type of music was often used as worship music in churches worldwide for the Christian community and helped to bring together the Christians in their faith, as well as to God. The many songs that pertain to this culture provide something that no other type of music can provide for a Christian; they provide a spiritual value and often allow Christians to feel closer to God. This music culture has impacted me in much the same way as it has impacted the rest of the Christian community. I have gone to church my whole life and the inspirational music in this culture has been a significant contributing factor to the development and transformation of my faith. I feel like these songs helped me to grow closer to my God, and have helped me to still feel connected to my faith after all these years. If I had never been exposed to this music culture, I believe my life would have turned out very differently. In particular, I believe that if it weren’t for this music culture I wouldn’t have gone on my three extensive mission trips across the world, much less still be involved in a church today. This music culture has really contributed to who I am both emotionally and spiritually.