Brass instrument

On the evening of February 21, 2018, I attended a Jamey Aebersold live jazz concert featuring Howard Levy and Chris Siebol at the music building at UIC. Since, I had never been to a jazz concert prior to this one, I did not know what to expect, but since it was my first time, I was excited. In my opinion, the evening’s program was nicely presented. The musicians started by introducing themselves, Howard Levy, an American multi-instrumentalist who switched off with playing the harmonica and the…

When looking at musical piece from a deeper perspective than just how it sounds, it is easy to observe that the piece is telling a story most of the time. Other times, it is much more difficult to analyze the piece from a storytelling perspective. For example, the messages of songs without lyrics are understandably harder to interpret. Looking at music from that perspective shows how music can be identified as a narrative. A theory developed by Walter Fisher called narrative paradigm explains…

The string quartet has been one of the predominant genres of chamber music since the year of 1759. The string quartet consists of four string instruments, usually with two violins, a viola and a cello which performed structured symphonies in the form of four movements. The first movement in Sonata form, Allegro, in the tonic key; the second movement is a slow movement, in a related key; the third movement is a Minuet and Trio, in the tonic key; and the fourth movement is often in Rondo form or…

without breaking the rhythm they had and even occasionally transform their instrument to produce the sound of guitar and piano. The thing I noticed during the performance was that the musicians were trying to voice out the sounds of nature by their music. Some of the sounds I listened were the sound of waterfall, wind, and a mixed sound of an airplane, and a fly. They even sometimes used the unusable parts of their instrument to produce naturally occurring sounds. Overall what I understood from…

Ever since the 1700's people have struck a key on an instrument which in turn makes this little hammer strike the corresponding string to create a sound. This instrument is known as the piano. With 88 different keys on the piano you can imagine just how many melodic sounds it could create. But how did the piano come to be? Or better yet, who created the piano you may wonder. Well, it all began with an Italian keeper of instruments named Bartolomeo Cristofori. When harpsichord manufacturers…

Though it is more complex. The headstock, which is what the tuning keys and the strings are mounted to. Next the strings are pulled over the nut, which holds the strings in place, then over the fretboard. The fretboard is a crucial part of any string instrument. When the string is pressed on a fret, it produces a note. When the notes are played together you get chords and that is what makes up music. Then the chords go over the pickups. Pickups are really, really interesting. Pickups come in all…

The sound of the netted string of beads rattling against the hollowed gourd as the player passionately shakes it rouses the entity to take control of its “horse”. Anyone can clearly see that some of the dancers have indeed been taken over by what certainly seems to be a force separate from themselves. What begins as a violent shaking eventually refines itself to an elegant dance that extends from the contractions of the pelvic section all the way to the toes and fingers. Conga drums…

The Tarantella is one of the oldest Italian folk dance that can be traced back to the middle Ages. Many labelled the tarantella the dance of healing/cure of the sick and courtship. It is also one of the most known, popularized, traditional dance in Italian society. The tarantella is characterized by upbeat music followed by a lead singer. The dance is also accompanied by light and quick steps mixed with teasing, flirtatious gestures between partners. Included in the music is a live 6/8 time…

and all string players to understand the instruments and techniques which are commonly used in performance today, it is just as important to know the origins of these items and concepts in order to fully gain mastery and understanding. While many musicians pay great attention to music history and theory from the Baroque Period onward, the early history of the violin and bowed instruments is sadly undervalued. Ancient String Instruments: String instruments have been a part of our culture for…

the high whistle which greets and closes the piece with its pleasant and erie melody. A introduction of each instrument without the wind brings each part to attention. The main focus - the voice - puts forth his motive towards Leiyla. He discusses “her cousin, a madman” and the almost oppressive message of his love for her. He becomes less and less comprehensible as the other instruments start picking up pace into the third part. Madness is the theme of this section. The voice is hardly…