Richard E. Rodda's View On Minimalistic Music

“I'm always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life.” Miles Davis’ passionate statement describes the distinctive innate ability to formulate music that transcended all musical genres, generations and nationalities. According to Bernal, Davis moved Jazz forward through his constant search for brand-new musical expressions. (Bernal) His creations catalyzed the methodology of written compositions and improvisations during a transitional era for jazz musicians. While highlighting his accomplishments as an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader and composer, this paper explores the impact of jazz modality within a studio environment and the usage of improvisations during live performances. The researcher seeks to discover the legendary steps travelled by Davis that changed jazz music and musicians for years to come.

“I don’t need words – it’s all in the phrasing” – Louis Armstrong. In this quote, we can see that Louis speaks through his music, he has no need for words because the “phrasing” (Musical term regarding composition) speaks for him. He expresses his emotions through his music and can radically blow minds with the simple blow of a trumpet. Louis Armstrong spoke through his music and his ideas could only be developed by his music. By this quote, it is apparent for us to see that he developed and redefined music through his actions. He single handedly redefined jazz by developing new styles and genres unseen to anyone in that time period.

“Did you know in the 1920ś”, American imports were numerous songs, and musical elements that referred to places or cultures considered to be exotic to Americans? (Pope) The 1920’s tied together a bunch of events from the decade to even the next decade. This decade separated the genre of jazz from ragtime and the blues. (Funk & Wagnalls) The 1920’s had opened up opportunities for musicians in many ways from getting jobs to earning money, and or getting to hear the snazzy new sounds of the 20’s. The technology of music was a weightful impact not only on the 1920’s but also the 30’s, 40’s, and so on. The decade was truly the age for sound, it spread like a wildfire after cries of anathema and hatred tore open

In the main quadrangle, I struck up a conversation with a UChicago student. When I asked him what he was majoring in, he said with a completely straight face, “Religious Studies and Astrophysics”. While other institutions might satisfy one of my interests, UChicago can satiate them all.

Many listeners in this plane hold an individual attitude because the music always seems to play a role in the listener’s life, where as it might reminds them of something or someone. The author talks about how the question of “how close should the intelligent music lover wish to come to pinning a definite meaning” (Copeland, 1939). It becomes personal, going in their mind the true meaning of what they are listening to, yet they are unable to explain it. This helps the listeners to experience different types of feeling.

Roger’s and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music is arguably one of the most well known films that many can admit to watching at least once in their lifetime. People all around the world have found this musical inspiring, as it documents growth and hope amidst the horrors of World War II. This incredibly well written film is based on the story of the Von Trapp family who escaped Austria when the Nazis invaded it during the war. Part of what made this movie so interesting on so many different accounts was the music that accompanied the vivid and exciting scenes. Without music, many could agree that our world would be a sad, quiet, dull and depressing place. In John Harrington Edward’s book God and Music, he states, “In simplest definition,

This article will provide insight as to who William Grant Still was and what he did to illuminate his brilliance, and why he deserves to have his name forever etched in music’s history. Very few composers back in Still’s prime have been able to concoct memorable musical works of art. Although many have tried, few etched their name in music’s timeline. Listening to one of his pieces titled “Suite for Violin and Piano, Mvt. III” it becomes audibly evident of how jazz came to be what it is now. Still cut a path to new heights when it came to jazz. He set new bars for the blues and jazz genre. He went down in history as a memorable, musical milestone for the musical arts and an inspiration to a plethora of African American musicians to come.

Music helps people communicate how they feel when they just can't find the words to say it. It gives people a way to express who they are inside through many different forms. Music can be found throughout history. In this report I am going to discuss different musical periods in history with two artists or composers works representing that period.

An uncanny dark mood envelops the title track, a solemn piece composed by the bandleader to be performed by piano trio formation. It opposes to the Parisian charm of Andrew Hill’s “Snake Hip Waltz” whose bohemian feel is instantly absorbed. The amiable melodies blown by Jones, who opts for a post-bop language, encounter Ortiz’s titillating voicings. The pianist’s movements demand clever and intuitive responses from Waits, who nails

Daniel Felsenfeld began his self-proclaimed “uninspiring” musical journey in High School. During this time he labored over musical pieces that left him feeling unfulfilled. His conflict of disinterest in Chopin Preludes and Beethoven’s Sonata led Felsenfeld to move on from professional music lessons to performing at piano bars.

Aaron Copland broke musical compositions into different categories. Modern compositions changed from the romantic era and classical era. Modern music took on a more artistic presence. There were different styles of music, i.e. impressionism, symbolism, expressionism, experimentation, and consonance & dissonance. During this period music can be confusing. Music can change time, tempo, dynamics, and mood very fast. This music can also be easy on the ears to quite difficult to listen to. “It is natural enough for the uninitiated to imagine that all problematic music may be safely damned under a single heading. But actually, even in the old days of "ultra-modern" music, a great many different kinds of music were grouped indiscriminately together,

Aaron Copland and Igor Stravinsky have been regarded as having being two of the greatest composers in the field of orchestra. In so many ways the two composers were similar and different in their compositions. Igor Stravinsky’s success as one of the greatest composers of the 20th century and the most influential musical innovators of all-time has been regarded as inspirational for countless musicians, key among them Aaron Copland. However, in equally many ways they were also different, beginning with their nationalities and certain aspects of their musical style. While Copland’s style has generally been likened to that of Igor Stravinsky many authors have agreed that Copland’s style owes a lot of its foundation to Stravinsky, even though the

Edith Borroff was born in New York City, on August 2, 1925. Her father and mother both musicians and very popular at that, were Marie Bergerson and Ramon Borroff. Her parents were very accomplished pianist. Her mother graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelors and also a Masters. She then went on to receive her Ph.D from Yale University. Her mother was the first woman to ever teach in the English Department of Yale. Her father was not very much spoken of. Of course since her parents were musicians, it was only natural that Edith start her career with music at infancy. The music within Borroff definitely came naturally, she was even writing her own pieces of music at the age of six. This skill and dedication for many doesn’t

Music is a philosophical issue, and a reader must understand various factors to understand and feel the music. Copland and Hamad express their understanding of music which involves the manipulation of notes and presents a more intellectual approach to enhancing the appreciation of music. In spite the fact that Hamad is creative and makes music magical, I believe that Copland presents more regarding the listener in a way that can improve the understanding of music general music listening process.

The phenomenon of contemporary jazz composition is not well represented in jazz literature and academic sources. Although composers in this genre have shown an enormous development and a clear evolution in terms of style, form, technique and orchestration in the last forty years, there is little scholarly material in print on the subject. With the culmination of the swing era and the near-disappearance of the big bands, jazz composition morphed rapidly leaving almost no trace in academic writing of its evolution, more evidently since the 1960’s. Ron Miller states, “traditionally, a jazz composition was an arrangement for big band that was composed by the arranger. Most of the earlier jazz composition textbooks (and there were few) took that approach.”