Eric F. Clarke
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195151947
- eISBN:
- 9780199870400
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195151947.003.0003
- Subject:
- Music, Psychology of Music
This chapter is focused on an analysis and discussion of the soundtrack of Jimi Hendrix's performance at Woodstock of the “Star Spangled Banner”. This sound recording is used as a more extended ...
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This chapter is focused on an analysis and discussion of the soundtrack of Jimi Hendrix's performance at Woodstock of the “Star Spangled Banner”. This sound recording is used as a more extended demonstration of the ways in which the ideas introduced in the previous chapter can be applied to music. It is argued that the approach can be used to identify a general character of “instability” functioning in the recording in three domains: the domain of sound events; the domain of musical materials; and the domain of cultural practices. All three of these are specified in sound relative to suitably enculturated listeners.Less
This chapter is focused on an analysis and discussion of the soundtrack of Jimi Hendrix's performance at Woodstock of the “Star Spangled Banner”. This sound recording is used as a more extended demonstration of the ways in which the ideas introduced in the previous chapter can be applied to music. It is argued that the approach can be used to identify a general character of “instability” functioning in the recording in three domains: the domain of sound events; the domain of musical materials; and the domain of cultural practices. All three of these are specified in sound relative to suitably enculturated listeners.
John W. Troutman
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781469627922
- eISBN:
- 9781469627946
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469627922.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
Since the nineteenth century, the distinct tones of kika kila, the Hawaiian steel guitar, have defined the island sound. Here historian and steel guitarist John W. Troutman offers the instrument's ...
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Since the nineteenth century, the distinct tones of kika kila, the Hawaiian steel guitar, have defined the island sound. Here historian and steel guitarist John W. Troutman offers the instrument's definitive history, from its discovery by a young Hawaiian royalist named Joseph Kekuku to its revolutionary influence on American and world music. During the early twentieth century, Hawaiian musicians traveled the globe, from tent shows in the Mississippi Delta, where they shaped the new sounds of country and the blues, to regal theaters and vaudeville stages in New York, Berlin, Kolkata, and beyond. In the process, Hawaiian guitarists recast the role of the guitar in modern life. But as Troutman explains, by the 1970s the instrument's embrace and adoption overseas also worked to challenge its cultural legitimacy in the eyes of a new generation of Hawaiian musicians. As a consequence, the indigenous instrument nearly disappeared in its homeland. Using rich musical and historical sources, including interviews with musicians and their descendants, Troutman provides the complete story of how this Native Hawaiian instrument transformed not only American music but the sounds of modern music throughout the world.Less
Since the nineteenth century, the distinct tones of kika kila, the Hawaiian steel guitar, have defined the island sound. Here historian and steel guitarist John W. Troutman offers the instrument's definitive history, from its discovery by a young Hawaiian royalist named Joseph Kekuku to its revolutionary influence on American and world music. During the early twentieth century, Hawaiian musicians traveled the globe, from tent shows in the Mississippi Delta, where they shaped the new sounds of country and the blues, to regal theaters and vaudeville stages in New York, Berlin, Kolkata, and beyond. In the process, Hawaiian guitarists recast the role of the guitar in modern life. But as Troutman explains, by the 1970s the instrument's embrace and adoption overseas also worked to challenge its cultural legitimacy in the eyes of a new generation of Hawaiian musicians. As a consequence, the indigenous instrument nearly disappeared in its homeland. Using rich musical and historical sources, including interviews with musicians and their descendants, Troutman provides the complete story of how this Native Hawaiian instrument transformed not only American music but the sounds of modern music throughout the world.
Murray Campbell, Clive Greated, and Arnold Myers
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198165040
- eISBN:
- 9780191713675
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198165040.003.0009
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
This chapter discusses the acoustical principles underlying the behaviour of plucked and hammered stringed instruments, including the effects of the point of attack and the nature of the plectrum or ...
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This chapter discusses the acoustical principles underlying the behaviour of plucked and hammered stringed instruments, including the effects of the point of attack and the nature of the plectrum or hammer on the frequency spectrum and timbre of the sound. The significance of the feel of a string and the technique of pitch bending are explained. A survey of the historical development of plucked and hammered stringed instruments includes descriptions of lyre, psaltery, cittern, dulcimer, and cimbalom; and discussions of the evolution of harps, lute, and guitars. The construction and functioning of the modern lute and guitar are described, and current methods of performance on harp, lute, and classical guitar are outlined.Less
This chapter discusses the acoustical principles underlying the behaviour of plucked and hammered stringed instruments, including the effects of the point of attack and the nature of the plectrum or hammer on the frequency spectrum and timbre of the sound. The significance of the feel of a string and the technique of pitch bending are explained. A survey of the historical development of plucked and hammered stringed instruments includes descriptions of lyre, psaltery, cittern, dulcimer, and cimbalom; and discussions of the evolution of harps, lute, and guitars. The construction and functioning of the modern lute and guitar are described, and current methods of performance on harp, lute, and classical guitar are outlined.
Walter Aaron Clark
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780252041907
- eISBN:
- 9780252050596
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5622/illinois/9780252041907.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
Spanish émigré guitarist Celedonio Romero gave his American debut performance on a June evening in 1958. In the sixty years since, the Romero family—Celedonio, his wife Angelita, sons Celín, Pepe, ...
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Spanish émigré guitarist Celedonio Romero gave his American debut performance on a June evening in 1958. In the sixty years since, the Romero family—Celedonio, his wife Angelita, sons Celín, Pepe, and Angel, as well as grandsons Celino and Lito—has become preeminent in the world of Spanish flamenco and classical guitar in the United States. Walter Aaron Clark’s in-depth research and unprecedented access to his subjects have produced the consummate biography of the Romero family. Clark examines the full story of their genius for making music, from their outsider's struggle to gain respect for the Spanish guitar to the ins and outs of making a living as musicians. As he shows, their concerts and recordings, behind-the-scenes musical careers, and teaching have reshaped their instrument’s very history. At the same time, the Romeros have organized festivals and encouraged leading composers to write works for guitar as part of a tireless, lifelong effort to promote the guitar and expand its repertoire. Entertaining and intimate, Los Romeros opens up the personal world and unfettered artistry of one family and its tremendous influence on American musical culture. It features a gallery of forty photographs as well as appendices providing a chronology, genealogy, list of albums, and a summary of Romero publications, editions, and educational materials.Less
Spanish émigré guitarist Celedonio Romero gave his American debut performance on a June evening in 1958. In the sixty years since, the Romero family—Celedonio, his wife Angelita, sons Celín, Pepe, and Angel, as well as grandsons Celino and Lito—has become preeminent in the world of Spanish flamenco and classical guitar in the United States. Walter Aaron Clark’s in-depth research and unprecedented access to his subjects have produced the consummate biography of the Romero family. Clark examines the full story of their genius for making music, from their outsider's struggle to gain respect for the Spanish guitar to the ins and outs of making a living as musicians. As he shows, their concerts and recordings, behind-the-scenes musical careers, and teaching have reshaped their instrument’s very history. At the same time, the Romeros have organized festivals and encouraged leading composers to write works for guitar as part of a tireless, lifelong effort to promote the guitar and expand its repertoire. Entertaining and intimate, Los Romeros opens up the personal world and unfettered artistry of one family and its tremendous influence on American musical culture. It features a gallery of forty photographs as well as appendices providing a chronology, genealogy, list of albums, and a summary of Romero publications, editions, and educational materials.
Maurice Peress
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195098228
- eISBN:
- 9780199869817
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195098228.003.0012
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
This chapter presents the detailed story of another historic recreation, this time on the stage of Carnegie Hall where in 1912 the Clef Club concert took place. New challenges were met: an unusual ...
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This chapter presents the detailed story of another historic recreation, this time on the stage of Carnegie Hall where in 1912 the Clef Club concert took place. New challenges were met: an unusual mix, the forming of a new Clef Club orchestra that included thirty strummers — ten each of mandolins, guitars and a rare harp guitar, and banjos — all of whom read complicated music very well; a boys' and men's choir; and a concert orchestra including eight pianists and various soloists. Will Marion Cook's dialect song, “Swing Along” for chorus and orchestra stopped the show as it did sixty seven years earlier.Less
This chapter presents the detailed story of another historic recreation, this time on the stage of Carnegie Hall where in 1912 the Clef Club concert took place. New challenges were met: an unusual mix, the forming of a new Clef Club orchestra that included thirty strummers — ten each of mandolins, guitars and a rare harp guitar, and banjos — all of whom read complicated music very well; a boys' and men's choir; and a concert orchestra including eight pianists and various soloists. Will Marion Cook's dialect song, “Swing Along” for chorus and orchestra stopped the show as it did sixty seven years earlier.
Williams Martin
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195083491
- eISBN:
- 9780199853205
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195083491.003.0028
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
As Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang emerged during the 1920s, and Charlie Christian emerged in 1939, Django Reinhardt was the “jazz” guitar soloist. He learned jazz music initially from phonograph ...
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As Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang emerged during the 1920s, and Charlie Christian emerged in 1939, Django Reinhardt was the “jazz” guitar soloist. He learned jazz music initially from phonograph records from the United States. Yet by the mid-1930s, he had performed with the best American jazz artists such as Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, and Benny Carter. And his own records manifested not only how well he had learned from his jazz lessons, but also how magnificent were his guitar solos. Django Reinhardt was a Belgian-born, French-raised musician whose passion was in American jazz.Less
As Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang emerged during the 1920s, and Charlie Christian emerged in 1939, Django Reinhardt was the “jazz” guitar soloist. He learned jazz music initially from phonograph records from the United States. Yet by the mid-1930s, he had performed with the best American jazz artists such as Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, and Benny Carter. And his own records manifested not only how well he had learned from his jazz lessons, but also how magnificent were his guitar solos. Django Reinhardt was a Belgian-born, French-raised musician whose passion was in American jazz.
Martin Clayton
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195331370
- eISBN:
- 9780199868087
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331370.003.0004
- Subject:
- Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
This chapter discusses the ways the guitar—particularly as employed for “Western” genres such as rock and jazz—is theorized at a local level in India. The text includes extensive quotation from ...
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This chapter discusses the ways the guitar—particularly as employed for “Western” genres such as rock and jazz—is theorized at a local level in India. The text includes extensive quotation from interviews with Indian guitarists carried out between 1998 and 2001, discussed under the following headings: “Origins and Identities” is concerned with the ways in which musicians theorize the origins of the instrument and its associations with regional, religious and other identities; “Networks” outlines the implication of the guitar in national and international systems allowing the mobility of musicians, repertory, and equipment; and finally “Music” discusses ways in which the guitar's repertory is theorized that cut across the Indian/Western division. The chapter argues that more studies of local theory are necessary even—perhaps especially—where mass-mediated global styles such as rock and jazz are involved.Less
This chapter discusses the ways the guitar—particularly as employed for “Western” genres such as rock and jazz—is theorized at a local level in India. The text includes extensive quotation from interviews with Indian guitarists carried out between 1998 and 2001, discussed under the following headings: “Origins and Identities” is concerned with the ways in which musicians theorize the origins of the instrument and its associations with regional, religious and other identities; “Networks” outlines the implication of the guitar in national and international systems allowing the mobility of musicians, repertory, and equipment; and finally “Music” discusses ways in which the guitar's repertory is theorized that cut across the Indian/Western division. The chapter argues that more studies of local theory are necessary even—perhaps especially—where mass-mediated global styles such as rock and jazz are involved.
Kiri Miller
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199753451
- eISBN:
- 9780199932979
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199753451.003.0005
- Subject:
- Music, History, American, Ethnomusicology, World Music
This chapter focuses on two musicians who have used YouTube and their own websites to develop multimedia online curricula for teaching rock guitar and drums. David Taub’s NextLevelGuitar.com and Nate ...
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This chapter focuses on two musicians who have used YouTube and their own websites to develop multimedia online curricula for teaching rock guitar and drums. David Taub’s NextLevelGuitar.com and Nate Brown’s OnlineDrummer.com have each attracted thousands of students from around the world. The chapter shows how Taub, Brown, and their students have strategically adapted traditional pedagogical strategies and reshaped teacher-student (and student-student) relationships in a virtual transmission context. This chapter also addresses online teachers’ encounters with copyright law. Aspiring guitarists and drummers often seek out lessons because they want to learn to play songs by their favorite artists. Musicians routinely teach copyrighted material in private lessons, but publishing song lessons online can leave them vulnerable to account deletion or legal action. While bringing lessons into the digital public sphere makes them accessible to many more students, this new context also imposes new constraints on repertoire and teaching style.Less
This chapter focuses on two musicians who have used YouTube and their own websites to develop multimedia online curricula for teaching rock guitar and drums. David Taub’s NextLevelGuitar.com and Nate Brown’s OnlineDrummer.com have each attracted thousands of students from around the world. The chapter shows how Taub, Brown, and their students have strategically adapted traditional pedagogical strategies and reshaped teacher-student (and student-student) relationships in a virtual transmission context. This chapter also addresses online teachers’ encounters with copyright law. Aspiring guitarists and drummers often seek out lessons because they want to learn to play songs by their favorite artists. Musicians routinely teach copyrighted material in private lessons, but publishing song lessons online can leave them vulnerable to account deletion or legal action. While bringing lessons into the digital public sphere makes them accessible to many more students, this new context also imposes new constraints on repertoire and teaching style.
John W. Troutman
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781469627922
- eISBN:
- 9781469627946
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469627922.003.0006
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This chapter focuses upon the interwar years, when musicians and dancers formed a strong Pacific Islander community in Southern California, one that fostered a sense of camaraderie and belonging, and ...
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This chapter focuses upon the interwar years, when musicians and dancers formed a strong Pacific Islander community in Southern California, one that fostered a sense of camaraderie and belonging, and enabled them to work in the motion picture studios and nightclubs that increasingly sought their labor. It also traces this community’s role in influencing guitar design innovations exhibited by Weissenborn, National, and Rickenbacker guitars, which led to the first mass produced electric guitar. Hawaiian musicians such as Sol Ho‘opi‘i, Eddie Bush, and Dick, Al, and Lani McIntire thrived in Hollywood and later in New York City at the Hotel Lexington during this period, although they continued to face significant challenges. While they expanded the American public’s interest in the steel guitar, particularly through the new mediums of radio, “Polynesian” clubs, and motion pictures, they continued to face an industry unwilling to acknowledge their talent and strong work ethic and uninterested in distinguishing their music from the offensive, pseudo-Hawaiian songs peddled by non-Hawaiian songwriters.Less
This chapter focuses upon the interwar years, when musicians and dancers formed a strong Pacific Islander community in Southern California, one that fostered a sense of camaraderie and belonging, and enabled them to work in the motion picture studios and nightclubs that increasingly sought their labor. It also traces this community’s role in influencing guitar design innovations exhibited by Weissenborn, National, and Rickenbacker guitars, which led to the first mass produced electric guitar. Hawaiian musicians such as Sol Ho‘opi‘i, Eddie Bush, and Dick, Al, and Lani McIntire thrived in Hollywood and later in New York City at the Hotel Lexington during this period, although they continued to face significant challenges. While they expanded the American public’s interest in the steel guitar, particularly through the new mediums of radio, “Polynesian” clubs, and motion pictures, they continued to face an industry unwilling to acknowledge their talent and strong work ethic and uninterested in distinguishing their music from the offensive, pseudo-Hawaiian songs peddled by non-Hawaiian songwriters.
Edward L. Ayers
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195086898
- eISBN:
- 9780199854226
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195086898.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, American History: 19th Century
This chapter discusses the Southerners passion for singing, playing, and dancing. The instruments of choice were guitars, banjos, and pianos. The songs range from bouncy pop songs to sentimental ...
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This chapter discusses the Southerners passion for singing, playing, and dancing. The instruments of choice were guitars, banjos, and pianos. The songs range from bouncy pop songs to sentimental songs and “coon” songs which were parodies of black language, styles, and aspirations. The birth of a distinct Southern music and its development is also discussed in this chapter. A form of black music called “patting juba” emerged among the black Southerners developing into “ragged” music which became a national sensation. This chapter also describes the birth of jazz music and blues. Music has long been a part of the Southern lifestyle and its effects can be seen in all aspects of life in the New South.Less
This chapter discusses the Southerners passion for singing, playing, and dancing. The instruments of choice were guitars, banjos, and pianos. The songs range from bouncy pop songs to sentimental songs and “coon” songs which were parodies of black language, styles, and aspirations. The birth of a distinct Southern music and its development is also discussed in this chapter. A form of black music called “patting juba” emerged among the black Southerners developing into “ragged” music which became a national sensation. This chapter also describes the birth of jazz music and blues. Music has long been a part of the Southern lifestyle and its effects can be seen in all aspects of life in the New South.
Peter Manuel
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195177893
- eISBN:
- 9780199864843
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195177893.003.0004
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition
This chapter provides an analysis of flamenco guitar and song: The Musical Elements of Flamenco; Flamenco Guitar; Soleares; A quién le contaré yo, sung by Juan Talega; and Is There an Indigenous ...
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This chapter provides an analysis of flamenco guitar and song: The Musical Elements of Flamenco; Flamenco Guitar; Soleares; A quién le contaré yo, sung by Juan Talega; and Is There an Indigenous Flamenco “Theory”?Less
This chapter provides an analysis of flamenco guitar and song: The Musical Elements of Flamenco; Flamenco Guitar; Soleares; A quién le contaré yo, sung by Juan Talega; and Is There an Indigenous Flamenco “Theory”?
Kiri Miller
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199753451
- eISBN:
- 9780199932979
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199753451.003.0003
- Subject:
- Music, History, American, Ethnomusicology, World Music
This chapter argues that the Guitar Hero and Rock Band video games have inspired new modes of engagement with popular music. It addresses gameplay as a developing genre of collaborative, ...
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This chapter argues that the Guitar Hero and Rock Band video games have inspired new modes of engagement with popular music. It addresses gameplay as a developing genre of collaborative, participatory rock music performance that is generating debate about the nature of musical and performative authenticity. The chapter analyzes the games’ implicit models of rock ideology, their sometimes-sincere/sometimes-ironic constructions of rock heroism, and heated reception debates about whether the games foster genuine musicianship. It explores players’ ideas about musicality and creativity, focusing on players who have significant experience playing traditional instruments. Playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band isn’t just like playing a real instrument, but it’s nothing at all like just listening to music. The affective experience of making music is bound up with embodied performance, and these games compel bodily engagement.Less
This chapter argues that the Guitar Hero and Rock Band video games have inspired new modes of engagement with popular music. It addresses gameplay as a developing genre of collaborative, participatory rock music performance that is generating debate about the nature of musical and performative authenticity. The chapter analyzes the games’ implicit models of rock ideology, their sometimes-sincere/sometimes-ironic constructions of rock heroism, and heated reception debates about whether the games foster genuine musicianship. It explores players’ ideas about musicality and creativity, focusing on players who have significant experience playing traditional instruments. Playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band isn’t just like playing a real instrument, but it’s nothing at all like just listening to music. The affective experience of making music is bound up with embodied performance, and these games compel bodily engagement.
Kiri Miller
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199753451
- eISBN:
- 9780199932979
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199753451.003.0004
- Subject:
- Music, History, American, Ethnomusicology, World Music
This chapter addresses public gameplay performance contexts for Guitar Hero and Rock Band. What does it mean to be a live performer of a pre-recorded song? These games inspire physically virtuosic, ...
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This chapter addresses public gameplay performance contexts for Guitar Hero and Rock Band. What does it mean to be a live performer of a pre-recorded song? These games inspire physically virtuosic, visually engaging performances, staged in a variety of social contexts: players compete in game tournaments, post performances on YouTube, and form instant bands with friends at Rock Band bar nights. They also engage with the gender and sexuality norms of rock performance, sometimes turning their gameplay into over-the-top rock drag. As players and their audiences create these performances, they collaborate with game designers and recorded musicians in stitching recorded musical sound and performing bodies back together.Less
This chapter addresses public gameplay performance contexts for Guitar Hero and Rock Band. What does it mean to be a live performer of a pre-recorded song? These games inspire physically virtuosic, visually engaging performances, staged in a variety of social contexts: players compete in game tournaments, post performances on YouTube, and form instant bands with friends at Rock Band bar nights. They also engage with the gender and sexuality norms of rock performance, sometimes turning their gameplay into over-the-top rock drag. As players and their audiences create these performances, they collaborate with game designers and recorded musicians in stitching recorded musical sound and performing bodies back together.
Jeffrey J. Noonan
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781934110188
- eISBN:
- 9781604733020
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781934110188.003.0004
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This chapter examines the role of the guitar in the banjo, mandolin, and guitar (BMG) movement in America during the period from 1880 to 1900, and explains that the BMG movement, instigated by S. S. ...
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This chapter examines the role of the guitar in the banjo, mandolin, and guitar (BMG) movement in America during the period from 1880 to 1900, and explains that the BMG movement, instigated by S. S. Stewart’s Banjo and Guitar Journal, only served the magazine’s unstinting devotion to the banjo and an unrelenting desire to make money. It also discusses the evolution of BMG clubs into mandolin orchestras, the distrust of the traditional guitar, and the emergence of American guitar soloists.Less
This chapter examines the role of the guitar in the banjo, mandolin, and guitar (BMG) movement in America during the period from 1880 to 1900, and explains that the BMG movement, instigated by S. S. Stewart’s Banjo and Guitar Journal, only served the magazine’s unstinting devotion to the banjo and an unrelenting desire to make money. It also discusses the evolution of BMG clubs into mandolin orchestras, the distrust of the traditional guitar, and the emergence of American guitar soloists.
Robert Fink, Melinda Latour, and Zachary Wallmark (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- October 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780199985227
- eISBN:
- 9780190908027
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199985227.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
The Relentless Pursuit of Tone: Timbre in Popular Music assembles a wide spectrum of contemporary perspectives on how sound functions in an equally wide array of popular music. With subjects ranging ...
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The Relentless Pursuit of Tone: Timbre in Popular Music assembles a wide spectrum of contemporary perspectives on how sound functions in an equally wide array of popular music. With subjects ranging from the twang of country banjos and the sheen of hip-hop strings to the crunch of amplified guitars and the thump of subwoofers on the dance floor, this volume attempts to bridge the gap between timbre, the purely acoustic characteristics of sound waves, and tone, an emergent musical construct that straddles the borderline between the perceptual and the political. The book’s chapters engage with the entire history of popular music as recorded sound, from the 1930s to the present day, under four large categories. The chapters in Part I, “Genre,” ask how sonic signatures define musical identities and publics; Part II, “Voice,” considers the most naturalized musical instrument, the human voice, as racial and gendered signifier, as property or likeness, and as raw material for algorithmic perfection through software; Part III, “Instrument,” tells stories of the way some iconic pop music machines—guitars, strings, synthesizers—got (or lost) their distinctive sounds; and Part IV, “Production,” puts it all together, asking structural questions about what happens in a recording studio, what is produced (sonic cartoons, rockist authenticity, empty space?), and what it all might mean. The book includes a general theoretical introduction by the editors and an afterword by noted popular music scholar Simon Frith.Less
The Relentless Pursuit of Tone: Timbre in Popular Music assembles a wide spectrum of contemporary perspectives on how sound functions in an equally wide array of popular music. With subjects ranging from the twang of country banjos and the sheen of hip-hop strings to the crunch of amplified guitars and the thump of subwoofers on the dance floor, this volume attempts to bridge the gap between timbre, the purely acoustic characteristics of sound waves, and tone, an emergent musical construct that straddles the borderline between the perceptual and the political. The book’s chapters engage with the entire history of popular music as recorded sound, from the 1930s to the present day, under four large categories. The chapters in Part I, “Genre,” ask how sonic signatures define musical identities and publics; Part II, “Voice,” considers the most naturalized musical instrument, the human voice, as racial and gendered signifier, as property or likeness, and as raw material for algorithmic perfection through software; Part III, “Instrument,” tells stories of the way some iconic pop music machines—guitars, strings, synthesizers—got (or lost) their distinctive sounds; and Part IV, “Production,” puts it all together, asking structural questions about what happens in a recording studio, what is produced (sonic cartoons, rockist authenticity, empty space?), and what it all might mean. The book includes a general theoretical introduction by the editors and an afterword by noted popular music scholar Simon Frith.
Williams Martin
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195083491
- eISBN:
- 9780199853205
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195083491.003.0014
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
Scott LaFaro was one of the most influential jazz bassists, best known for his collaboration with the Bill Evans Trio. LaFaro started to play clarinet at the age of fourteen and he studied during ...
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Scott LaFaro was one of the most influential jazz bassists, best known for his collaboration with the Bill Evans Trio. LaFaro started to play clarinet at the age of fourteen and he studied during high school. Steve Swallow was a jazz double bass and bass guitarist/composer; he was one of the leading jazz bassists and was noted for his musical collaborations with Carla Bley, Gary Burton, as well as Jimmy Giuffre. He was the first jazz musician who switched entirely to bass guitar. Gary Peacock was an American double bassist. After his military service in Germany, he worked on the west coast during the 1960s, where he worked with Bley and the Bill Evans trio.Less
Scott LaFaro was one of the most influential jazz bassists, best known for his collaboration with the Bill Evans Trio. LaFaro started to play clarinet at the age of fourteen and he studied during high school. Steve Swallow was a jazz double bass and bass guitarist/composer; he was one of the leading jazz bassists and was noted for his musical collaborations with Carla Bley, Gary Burton, as well as Jimmy Giuffre. He was the first jazz musician who switched entirely to bass guitar. Gary Peacock was an American double bassist. After his military service in Germany, he worked on the west coast during the 1960s, where he worked with Bley and the Bill Evans trio.
Robert L. Stone
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781617031403
- eISBN:
- 9781617031427
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781617031403.003.0008
- Subject:
- Literature, Folk Literature
The electric steel guitar has been the dominant musical instrument for more than fifty years in a number of African American Pentecostal churches, notably the House of God, whose steel guitarists are ...
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The electric steel guitar has been the dominant musical instrument for more than fifty years in a number of African American Pentecostal churches, notably the House of God, whose steel guitarists are known for their distinctive playing styles and repertoire. In 1995, the Florida Folklife Program produced a cassette album titled Sacred Steel: Traditional Sacred African-American Steel Guitar Music in Florida. The album, licensed by Arhoolie Records, was distributed internationally and received critical acclaim. Today steel guitar music is more popularly known as Sacred Steel. It was in Philadelphia that the steel guitar was probably first used in a religious service, but Florida, home to fifty-three House of God churches, has produced many of the denomination’s most influential steel guitarists. This chapter, which focuses on Sacred Steel as a musical tradition in Florida, looks at the career of steel guitarist Willie Eason and two other musicians who influenced many younger Florida steel guitarists: Aubrey Ghent and Glenn Lee.Less
The electric steel guitar has been the dominant musical instrument for more than fifty years in a number of African American Pentecostal churches, notably the House of God, whose steel guitarists are known for their distinctive playing styles and repertoire. In 1995, the Florida Folklife Program produced a cassette album titled Sacred Steel: Traditional Sacred African-American Steel Guitar Music in Florida. The album, licensed by Arhoolie Records, was distributed internationally and received critical acclaim. Today steel guitar music is more popularly known as Sacred Steel. It was in Philadelphia that the steel guitar was probably first used in a religious service, but Florida, home to fifty-three House of God churches, has produced many of the denomination’s most influential steel guitarists. This chapter, which focuses on Sacred Steel as a musical tradition in Florida, looks at the career of steel guitarist Willie Eason and two other musicians who influenced many younger Florida steel guitarists: Aubrey Ghent and Glenn Lee.
Peter Manning
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195144840
- eISBN:
- 9780199849802
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195144840.003.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Theory, Analysis, Composition
Advances in the newly established field of electronics were preparing the way for less costly and more compact approaches to the generation of synthetic sound. The direct current arc oscillator ...
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Advances in the newly established field of electronics were preparing the way for less costly and more compact approaches to the generation of synthetic sound. The direct current arc oscillator appeared in 1900, and by 1906, Lee De Forest had patented the vacuum-tube triode amplifier valve. Progress was slow but steady, and by the end of the war, with the industry well established, several engineers were able to investigate the possibility of using the new technology for the construction of electronic musical instruments. The primary motivation behind most of these designs was a desire to create additions to the conventional orchestral range, with an underlying hope that composers could be persuaded to provide a suitable repertoire. The devices that emerged were thus intended primarily to satisfy traditional ideas of musical writing. Some indeed, such as the Neo-Bechstein Piano (1931), were little more than modified acoustical instruments, using special pick-ups to capture naturally produced vibratory characteristics for the processes of electronic amplification and modification. The best-known modern example of this class of instrument is the electric guitar.Less
Advances in the newly established field of electronics were preparing the way for less costly and more compact approaches to the generation of synthetic sound. The direct current arc oscillator appeared in 1900, and by 1906, Lee De Forest had patented the vacuum-tube triode amplifier valve. Progress was slow but steady, and by the end of the war, with the industry well established, several engineers were able to investigate the possibility of using the new technology for the construction of electronic musical instruments. The primary motivation behind most of these designs was a desire to create additions to the conventional orchestral range, with an underlying hope that composers could be persuaded to provide a suitable repertoire. The devices that emerged were thus intended primarily to satisfy traditional ideas of musical writing. Some indeed, such as the Neo-Bechstein Piano (1931), were little more than modified acoustical instruments, using special pick-ups to capture naturally produced vibratory characteristics for the processes of electronic amplification and modification. The best-known modern example of this class of instrument is the electric guitar.
Walter Aaron Clark and William Craig Krause
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780195313703
- eISBN:
- 9780199332373
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195313703.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
This book is the first-ever biography of one of Spain’s greatest musicians in the modern era. Composer, conductor, and impresario Federico Moreno Torroba (1891–1982) had a long and productive career, ...
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This book is the first-ever biography of one of Spain’s greatest musicians in the modern era. Composer, conductor, and impresario Federico Moreno Torroba (1891–1982) had a long and productive career, during which he witnessed many dramatic changes in the social, political, and cultural life of his homeland. And yet, despite the vicissitudes of Civil War, dictatorship, and the gradual return of democracy and prosperity, he remained firmly committed to his goal of composing Spanish music rooted in the fertile soil of regional folklore and the daily life of his fellow Spaniards, especially in his native city, Madrid. Torroba composed over seventy works for the stage and nearly a hundred works for the guitar, among a wide variety of other vocal and orchestral compositions. Not only was he prolific, but his works for the stage and the guitar have also found a permanent place in their respective repertories. Torroba’s music has enduring appeal precisely because it exhibits the passion and verve of the songs and dances that inspired it, whether a Cuban habanera, a Castilian seguidillas, or an Andalusian bulerías. And yet, despite its accessibility and popular appeal, Torroba’s music reveals consummate craftsmanship and a true maestro’s careful attention to dramatic and musical detail. This biography tells not only the story of Torroba’s life but also of his native land and its music during some of the most turbulent and intensely creative decades in Spanish history.Less
This book is the first-ever biography of one of Spain’s greatest musicians in the modern era. Composer, conductor, and impresario Federico Moreno Torroba (1891–1982) had a long and productive career, during which he witnessed many dramatic changes in the social, political, and cultural life of his homeland. And yet, despite the vicissitudes of Civil War, dictatorship, and the gradual return of democracy and prosperity, he remained firmly committed to his goal of composing Spanish music rooted in the fertile soil of regional folklore and the daily life of his fellow Spaniards, especially in his native city, Madrid. Torroba composed over seventy works for the stage and nearly a hundred works for the guitar, among a wide variety of other vocal and orchestral compositions. Not only was he prolific, but his works for the stage and the guitar have also found a permanent place in their respective repertories. Torroba’s music has enduring appeal precisely because it exhibits the passion and verve of the songs and dances that inspired it, whether a Cuban habanera, a Castilian seguidillas, or an Andalusian bulerías. And yet, despite its accessibility and popular appeal, Torroba’s music reveals consummate craftsmanship and a true maestro’s careful attention to dramatic and musical detail. This biography tells not only the story of Torroba’s life but also of his native land and its music during some of the most turbulent and intensely creative decades in Spanish history.
Adam Gussow
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781469633664
- eISBN:
- 9781469633688
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469633664.003.0002
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This chapter explores the origins and meaning of the phrase "the devil's music," paying particular attention to the way in which black southern blues performers, male and female, contest the term. ...
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This chapter explores the origins and meaning of the phrase "the devil's music," paying particular attention to the way in which black southern blues performers, male and female, contest the term. Africa, through the mechanism of the slave trade and the condemnation of instrumental music by Islamic clerics, offers one possible origin for devil's music concept. The prelude to the demonization of the blues and its representative instrument, the steel-stringed guitar, is the evangelization of the slaves and the demonization of the fiddle during the second Great Revival. As blues emerged in the Mississippi Delta early in the Twentieth Century, blues musicians like John Lee Hooker, Robert Johnson, and the Mississippi Sheiks, along with an irreverent "young modern" generation of black youth, mocked the hypocrisy of black ministers and spurned the religious certainties of their parents and the church.Less
This chapter explores the origins and meaning of the phrase "the devil's music," paying particular attention to the way in which black southern blues performers, male and female, contest the term. Africa, through the mechanism of the slave trade and the condemnation of instrumental music by Islamic clerics, offers one possible origin for devil's music concept. The prelude to the demonization of the blues and its representative instrument, the steel-stringed guitar, is the evangelization of the slaves and the demonization of the fiddle during the second Great Revival. As blues emerged in the Mississippi Delta early in the Twentieth Century, blues musicians like John Lee Hooker, Robert Johnson, and the Mississippi Sheiks, along with an irreverent "young modern" generation of black youth, mocked the hypocrisy of black ministers and spurned the religious certainties of their parents and the church.
