Music Essays

What Are We Singing When We Sing Imagine? Introduction This is a world full of conflicts, different opinions and even wars. Whenever we try to persuade others to believe what we believe, whenever we spend uncountable time and money fighting for what we think we are meant to, there is always a song that gives … Read more

Punk music originates from mid-70’s America, with roots in ‘Trash Culture’ of the 60’s and the Underground Rock movement of the 70’s. Punk emerged in the music scene in New York City’s Lower East side. Some of the bands associated with the newly emerging genre of music were, The Ramones, Television, Blondie and many more. … Read more

Aesthetic identity is the relationship between social groups/classes and artistic genres that begin to represent each other due to cultural alignment. This could be in the sense of visual arts, music, literature, or any form of art. In history, there are evident patterns of social groups, and their general interests that form the foundation of … Read more

In “Creativity in a Nutshell”, Margaret Boden distinguishes between “psychological” or “P” creativity and “historical” or “H” creativity: According to Mike Radford, P creativity “comes about while thinking inside the box,” the construction of new combinations of existing ideas that make sense within the context of conceptual space, [its] rules and parameters” (57-8).  By contrast, … Read more

Introduction “My kind of composing is more like the work of a gardener. The gardener takes his seeds and scatters them, knowing what he is planting but not quite what will grow where and when – and he won't necessarily be able to reproduce it again afterwards either.” (Eno, ) It is statements like this … Read more

When the French government sponsored the “Exposition Universelle” in 1889, which showcased brilliant, almost revolutionary music and artwork from all over the world, Claude Debussy found himself a new direction. At the Exposition, there were musical ensembles representing all genres of music – including famous European composers and even music from India, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, … Read more

My Extended Project Qualification topic choice is the ‘Mozart Effect’. I have decided to focus on the effects of classical music, especially Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major Key K.448, and its effects on cognitive ability and spatial reasoning. As well as this, I will be looking into the original 1991 … Read more

Piotr Ilitch Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer of the Romantic era, born on May 7, 1840AM in Votkinsk, Russia. His works include symphonies, concertos, operas, ballets, chamber music, and a choral setting of the Russian Orthodox Divine Liturgy. Some of these are among the most popular theatrical music in the classical repertoire including the ballets … Read more

From a musical perspective, Australian rock legends AC/DC are known more for their ‘mammoth power chords’ and influential rock sound rather than the inner workings of the band as business. Founders Angus and Malcolm Young put the band together all the way back in 1973 and established their dominance and rock sound with huge hits … Read more

Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978) was a Soviet-Armenian composer and conductor who, along with Shostakovich and Prokofiev, was considered as one of the great Titans of Soviet music. He wrote in virtually all genres including symphonies, ballets, chamber works, and concerti. Well described by music critic Edward Greenfield: Khachaturian’s music notably outshone other Soviet contemporaries in creating … Read more

The song “Take the A Train” was written by a man named Billy Strayhorn. Strayhorn played piano and wrote arrangements for Duke Ellington’s band. The song eventually became a signature opening piece for Duke Ellington and his Orchestra. After a show in Pittsburgh in 1938, Strayhorn played a piece for Ellington. He copied the orchestra’s … Read more

Music is enhanced by history and very much rooted in its surrounding cultures. To discuss how this impacts our understanding of music history, we must first define what history is before we attach this to music. So, what is history? There are many ways in which this question could be answered, but in its most … Read more

Music is enhanced by history and very much rooted in its surrounding cultures. To discuss how this impacts our understanding of music history, we must first define what history is before we attach this to music. So, what is history? There are many ways in which this question could be answered, but in its most … Read more

Christian Anthony Goldsmith Meares Intro: Definition of Prog Progressive Rock was born off the back of the counter culture movement of the 1960’s – if not somewhat ironically, the counter culture of the 60’s created its own counter – counter culture with musicians who were more focussed on making music which required more involved listening. … Read more

Vaporwave is a musical subgenre and culture that came to fruition in the modern digital age. The term “vaporwave” was coined in 2011, by record producer Will Burnett after hearing the works of many artists of the time (Galil). Vaporwave is an American based genre with roots in chillwave, ambient and avant garde music. The … Read more