What I Learned About Music - Final Blog!

What I learned about my topic –Music – was the origins of Rock and Roll music, as well as the bands that originated it, and where it came from. This blog will talk about my interests in music, and what I learned while researching  about different types of music, bands, songs, and origins of where they came from.

                I’ve learned a lot about my topic, and I’ll only continue to learn more. There’s almost countless knowledge to music, because of the countless genre’s and millions of artists in the world. In this blog, I will talk about what I have learned while participating in this lesson, as well as the most rewarding aspects of it, and why I had a fun time talking about it. Some of the most difficult and challenging aspects was researching. Researching was kind of difficult because you had to find credible sites that the information was accurate. Another difficult aspect of this unit was having a specific variety of options to choose from instead of having the freedom to choose anything you wanted to, except the one post that was our choice.                

                Some of the most rewarding parts of this lesson were the facts that we got to express our interests in what we like, and get to talk about them in an open and free environment. I really liked doing this because it gave me a chance to express my love in music, and see what other people like in my “Blog Family”. In my opinion, this was an easy topic that I chose, because I know a lot about it, and I continued to learn more. The fact that there is a huge variety of music in the world, as well as video games that involve music, such as Rock Band, Guitar Hero, etc, it was easy to learn about different kinds of music, and learn to appreciate the artists and songs for what they believe in. There are always new songs and artists being recognized, and none of them are “bad songs”. There’s no such thing as a bad song. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion about music. Just because you don’t like the song, doesn’t mean it’s bad, it just means you don’t appreciate it for what it is, and what the artists of the song meant by it.

All in all, blogging about something I enjoy and sharing it with whoever may have read my blogs. Music is an inspiration to me because it’s fun to play instruments. Instruments are another way to express your love for music. There’s so many different instruments, and they all have their own unique sound that makes the song that much more enjoyable. Some genre’s, like hardcore rock, involve different genre’s in their music. Some of them include some orchestra, while others include techno.  I may continue to blog about this, or any other topics. I haven’t decided yet, but what I will keep doing is listening to music and expressing the reason I love it!

Top 10 Favorite Video Games and Series

This is a list of my top 5 favorite video games of all time.

5: My #5 favorite games is the Pokémon Series for the handheld consoles. These games are great, even though many people think they’re childish. They were originally meant to attract the younger audience, but they’re more enjoyed by teens and young adults. These games all have the same aspect: Catch Pokémon, Beat the 8 Gyms and beat the Champion. But they always introduce new regions in the Pokémon world, as well as new challenges and gym’s to battle. They’re always fun to play and travel around, finding the Legendary Pokémon and items.

4: My #4 favorite games are the Kingdom Hearts Series. This series is amazing, combining the bright and happy Disney characters and aspects, to the dark and mysterious aspects and characters of Final Fantasy. This series also has quite a bit of humor in them. There are currently 6 games in the series. The first and second for the PS2, Chain of Memories for the Gameboy Advanced, Birth By Sleep for the PSP, and 358/2 Days and Coded for the DS. While the two games for the PS2 are the main games, these ones for the handheld consoles are required to play to fully enjoy the game. They are side stories of the main story, but without them you couldn’t understand some of the aspects of the game. This series in general is extremely fun, but my favorite of them all is Kingdom Hearts 2 for the PS2.

3: My #3 favorite game has to be Super Mario 64. This game is another classic and is always fun to play. It was remade for the Nintendo DS with added characters, levels, and challenges. While I prefer the original for the Nintendo 64, the DS is just as fun. This game has been around for many, many years, and Mario is still extremely popular, and will be for years, maybe decades to come. This is one of the first Mario games ever, and is the best one, in my opinion.

2: My #2 favorite game is definitely Secret of Mana. While this game isn’t very popular, it’s extremely fun. It was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in 1993. It was one of the very first games I have ever played and beaten. While the graphics of this game aren’t great; because it was made in the early 90s, it’s incredibly fun. It’s a very long and enjoyable game with a great storyline. It’s not too challenging, but there are some things in the game that are semi-hard to overcome. This game is amazing; I love it and always will.

1: My #1 favorite game of all time is The Legend of Zelda:  Ocarina of Time. This is my favorite game of all time because it’s a classic game and the first game for the Nintendo 64, made with 3D graphics. The game was re-made for the Nintendo GameCube in 2003. This game has been around since I was very little, and I’ve been playing it since I was little. This game is always fun, even after beating it hundreds of times. I’ll forever love this game and it will always be my favorite.

Hardcore vs. Classical Music

Hardcore

Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. Most bands followed the traditional singer/guitar/bass/drum format. The songwriting had more emphasis on rhythm rather than melody. Hardcore vocalists screamed, chanted and used spoken word poetry. Drummers would play fast D beat one moment and then drop tempo into elaborate musical breakdowns the next. Guitarists were not afraid to play solos, octave leads, and grooves as well as tapping into the various feedback and harmonic noises available to them. The guitar sound was almost always distorted and amplified. With two minutes being considered a lengthy hardcore song, most of the songs were short and rushed. The late 1980s saw the development of post-hardcore, which took the hardcore style in a more complex and dynamic direction, with a focus on singing rather than screaming. The post-hardcore style took shape, in Washington, DC within the community of bands on Ian MacKaye's Dischord Records with bands such as Fugazi, Nation of Ulysses, and Jawbox.

Similarly emo's origins also trace back to late 80s Washington, D.C. Minor Threat fan Guy Picciotto formed Rites of Spring in 1984, breaking free of hardcore's self-imposed boundaries in favor of melodic guitars, varied rhythms, and deeply personal, impassioned lyrics dealing with nostalgia, romantic bitterness, and poetic desperation. Other D.C. bands such as Gray Matter, Beefeater, Fire Party, Dag Nasty, also became connected to this movement. The style was dubbed "emo" or "emo-core".^[

Classical

Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times.The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, which is known as the common practice period.

European music is largely distinguished from many other non-European and popular musical forms by its system of staff notation, in use since about the 16th century.Western staff notation is used by composers to prescribe to the performer the pitch, speed, meter, individual rhythms and exact execution of a piece of music. This leaves less room for practices such as improvisation and ad libitum ornamentation, that are frequently heard in non-European art music (compare Indian classical music and Japanese traditional music) and popular music.The term "classical music" did not appear until the early 19th century, in an attempt to "canonize" the period from Johann Sebastian Bach to Beethoven as a golden age.The earliest reference to "classical music" recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary is from about 1836.
http://www.pahardcore.com/
http://www.ehow.com/about_5436680_classical-music-information.html

Music Interview

In this interview, I interviewed my best friend Scott.

1)      What is your favorite band/artist?

My favorite band is Of Mice & Men.

2)      What kind of music do you like?

I’m into all sorts of music, but mostly hardcore screamo/dub step music.

3)      How often do you listen to music?

I’m always listening to music. Anytime I can, whether it’s in school, at home, or out at someone else’s house. Anywhere I can, I’ll be listening to music. It’s my life.

4)      Do you play any instruments?

I play three instruments: Guitar (acoustic and electric), Drums, and Keyboard.

5)      What’s your favorite instrument?

My favorite instrument is the drums. They’re my favorite instrument because they are the heartbeat of any song. The rhythms of the drums are so catchy and there’s always ways to have fun while playing them.

6)      Are you in a band?

Yes, I am in a band. The band’s name is called “Shadow Rising” and it’s a hardcore screamo/dub step/techno band.

7)      Can you sing?

Not really. I have sung before, but I’m not very good at it, which is why I am the drummer in my band instead of the singer.

8)      Have you ever been to a concert?

I’ve been to a lot of concerts. Some of the ones I’ve been to are Of Mice & Men, Bring Me The Horizon, We Came As Romans, Black Veil Brides, A Day To Remember, I Set My Friends On Fire, The Devil Wears Prada, and a lot of others.

9)      How low long have you been into this genre of music?

I’ve been into this type of music since I listened to my first screamo band (The Devil Wears Prada) in 2006. Ever since then, I’ve been in love with this genre, and have been listening to it ever since.

10)  Who is your favorite musician?

My favorite musician is Andy Biersack (Andy Six), the lead singer of Black Veil Brides.

http://underthegunreview.net/2010/03/15/of-mice-and-men-second-and-sebring-music-video/#

The History Of Music - Review

This blog is a review of my topic: Music.

Rock and roll’s most distinctive element is rhythm, and nearly every musical style that helped spawn rock music has a powerful beat that makes people want to dance. The roots of rock rhythm were born centuries ago in African tribal music, with its strong drumbeats that highlighted the second and fourth beats, or “back beats,” in each four-beat measure. Also known as syncopation, when the back-beat is emphasized, this type of rhythm makes people want to clap their hands, tap their feet, and dance. In a very real sense, this syncopation is the heartbeat of rock and roll.

Another aspect of tribal music that found its way into rock and roll was the traditional vocal style known as call and response, in which a song leader sings a line and group of singers repeats it. This singing techinique was brought to American shores by black slaves who modified it for use in Christian gospel singing. The call and response style was also used in work songs, known as field hollers.

By the end of the nineteenth century, African American musicians were using modified call and response, syncopation, and field hollers in a new style of music called blues. Blues songs took as their subject matter the appalling prejudice, discrimination, and poverty under which most African Americans survived at the time. The lyrics gave musical expression to the broken hearts, loneliness, homelessness, and intolerance that people routinely faced. These songs, which incorporated three basic chords with their flexible gliding melodies, or “blue notes,” lie at the roots of rock.

At the beginning of the 1960s, rock-and-roll music was in sorry shape. The founding fathers of rock had been silenced: Elvis was drafted into the army in 1858, and that same year Little Richard found religion, renouned his rock-and-roll lifestyle, and quit the entertainment business to preach the gospel (Kallen, 2003). The Beatles, and its members John Lennon, guitarist, Bassist, Paul McCartney, Lead guitar, George Harrison, and drummer Ringo Starr took the world by storm in 1960, and rock-and-roll as we knew it, has been changed into what we know and love now.

Top 10 Favorite Bands

In this blog I’m going to tell you my top ten favorite bands, and give a brief explanation of each of the bands and why I picked them.

10: Miss May I

Miss May I is a metalcore band from Troy, Ohio. I picked this band as my number 10 because they have a lot of good songs that I always listen to; however, most of their songs are just screaming and hard rock. You can barely understand the lyrics, and the music is just insane, but still awesome.

9: Attack Attack!

Attack Attack! is an American metalcore band from Westerville, Ohio. This band is my #9 because I love this band and their songs, but I’ve only been listening to them for a short time, so I don’t really know much of the lyrics or anything. Once I get to know them better, they might be higher up in the list.

8: A Day To Remember

A Day to Remember is an American rock band from Ocala, Florida. Founded in 2003. This band is #8 because they mix up their songs between screamo and hard rock. Their songs are great, and easy to understand. They’re also very catchy.

7: Asking Alexandria

Asking Alexandria is an English metalcore band from York, North Yorkshire. Founded in 2008. Their songs are great to listen to and very catchy, and a good mix between rock and techno.

6: Of Mice & Men

Of Mice & Men is an American metalcore band from Costa Mesa, California. This band is extremely good. I love their songs, and always listen to them. Their songs are a great mix between screaming, soft singing, and hard rock.

5: I Set My Friends On Fire.

I Set My Friends On Fire is an experimental rock band from Miami, Florida, was formed in 2007. ISMFOF has great music, great guitarist, drummer, and singer. Has a nice mix of hard and soft rock, as well as techno. I haven’t known of them too long, but from what I have heard of them, I really like them.

4: The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada is an American metalcore band from Dayton, Ohio. I love this band because I have been listening to them for many years, and their songs are very catchy and are great to listen to no matter what your attitude is.

3: We Came As Romans

We Came as Romans is an American post-hardcore band from Troy, Michigan. This band is amazing. Their songs are an amazing mix of techno and hard rock. Most songs are mostly screaming, but with some great soft singing thrown in to even it out.

.2: Bring Me The Horizon

Bring Me the Horizon are a British metalcore band from Sheffield, Yorkshire, who formed in 2004.This band is extremely hardcore, and all of their songs are amazing. Their videos always give a laugh. This band definitely deserves to be my #2 favorite band.

1: Black Veil Brides

           Black Veil Brides is an American post-hardcore band formed in 2006 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Black Veil Brides definitely deserves to be my #2 because their songs, even though they aren’t all that screamo, the lyrics have meaning behind them, and I have been listening to this band since they formed in 2006. They are my all time favorite band

Music

In this blog, I'm going to teach you how to play the drums. The first step to play the drums is by counting. Without being able to count, or understand the time signatures on sheet music, you'll be useless behind the drums. The most basic drum beats are in time signatures of 4/4, meaning there are 4 counts per bar(or 4 counts before the beat repeats). From here, you want to follow your counting with your dominant hand. "With this hand, hit the hi hat on every count. The rest is actually quite simple, now that you are counting, simply add your bass drum and snare drum on the counts. Add your bass drum on 1, and the snare on 3.  This will be your basic drum beat." Now that you have learned the basics, you’ll be able to see how beats are built around the pattern. This is the basics of most rock beats. You’ll also have to practice controlling your drumstick and drum rudiments (pre-made exercises that will help you build limb independence and creativity). Learning rudiments will help you build independence and speed. It’s best to pace yourself at first to make sure you have a feel for the drum set and your drumsticks. Start with the two most common rudiments, the single stroke roll and double stroke roll. Become very familiar with that basic 4/4 groove, so you can play it at different tempos. You can do almost anything with the drums. They’re a great way to express your self, and show your interest and style in music. It’s also a great pastime, and good exercise.