This is part of a research project I’m doing for my Psychology of Music class at NYU, thus the formal tone. The backbeat is a ubiquitous, almost defining feature of American popular and vernacular music. Clapping or snapping on the backbeats is generally considered by musicians to be more correct than doing so on the [...]
Filed in Dance, Music, Race and Identity, Science
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Also tagged africa, america, backbeat, dance, drumming, hip-hop, james brown, jazz, neuroscience, nyu, race, rhythm, rock, swing, syncopation
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Quora user Andrew Stein asks: Musicians: How do you deal with playing songs that have very monotonous parts? I’m going to use James Brown’s Sex Machine as an example. Don’t get me wrong, I love the song. However, the rhythm guitar seems to be nothing but 2 chords played over and over and over with [...]
Filed in Music, Race and Identity
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Also tagged africa, classical, groove, james brown, looping, meditation, Music, prince, quora, repetition
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Because I’m old and out of touch, most of these are pre-2012 songs that were new to me this year. Nas — “The World Is Yours” In 1994 I was not paying attention to hip-hop at all. My loss. Blackalicious — “Swan Lake” More vintage 1994 hip-hop. Samples three different cover versions of the Stylistics’ [...]
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
For Paul Geluso’s Advanced Audio Production midterm, we were assigned to choose two tracks from his recommended listening list, and compare and contrast them sonically. I chose “Regiment” by David Byrne and Brian Eno, and “Little Fluffy Clouds” by The Orb. Recorded ten years apart using very different technology, both tracks nevertheless share a similar [...]
Filed in Copyright and Authorship, Key Musicians, Music, Recording, Sampling
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Also tagged brian eno, dance, david byrne, digging the crates, eighties, electronica, mixing, Music, nineties, nyu, paul geluso, production, Recording, Sampling, synths, the orb
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The most fun Music Technology class I’m taking this semester is Advanced Audio Production with Paul Geluso. A major component of the class is learning how to listen analytically, and to that end, we were assigned to pick a song and do an exhaustive study of its sonic qualities. We used methods from William Moylan’s [...]
Filed in Composition, Music, Recording
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Also tagged ableton, analysis, attention, big boi, hip-hop, janelle monae, melodyne, michael jackson, Music Theory, nyu, omnigraffle, paul geluso, production, r&b, Recording, visualization
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There’s no single standard method for notating pop, rock and dance songs. Some musicians write everything out in standard western notation; some don’t write anything down at all; many fall somewhere in between. One such compromise system in widespread use is the lead sheet: Other systems for song documentation include chord charts and the Nashville [...]
Filed in Composition, Music
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Also tagged ableton, beatles, carly rae jepsen, dance, diana ross, disco, eric b & rakim, hip-hop, michael jackson, nile rodgers, pop, rock, song structure, songwriting, visualization
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Friday, February 17, 2012
Here are three stories about the relationship of funk to the avant-garde. Meshell Ndegeocello at Tonic In my twenties, I forced myself to experience a lot of very highbrow avant-garde music: free jazz, experimental electronica, and various combinations thereof. One such experience was a show at Tonic. I forget who was on the bill exactly, [...]
Filed in Composition, Improvisation, Music
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Also tagged atonality, bb king, blues, free jazz, fusion, ira newborn, jazz, meshell ndegeocello, miles davis, soul
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Friday, November 18, 2011
Ella Fitzgerald lost some of her range as she got older, but her soul and phrasing got deeper and deeper. The series of duet albums she did with Joe Pass late in her life are exquisite.
Filed in Key Musicians, Music
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Also tagged age, drumming, ella fitzgerald, Improvisation, jazz, joe pass, max roach, miles davis, quora, soul
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The first time I heard Manu Dibango’s “Soul Makossa” was courtesy of Motorcycle Guy, a prominent Brooklyn eccentric who drives around on a tricked-out motorcycle bedecked with lights and equipped with a powerful sound system. I encounter him every so often and he’s always bumping some good funk, soul or R&B. One night, he was [...]
Filed in Composition, Copyright and Authorship, Dance, Key Musicians, Music, Sampling
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Also tagged a tribe called quest, big daddy kane, bjork, boy george, boyz ii men, cameroon, charles hamilton, copyright, dance, david mancuso, digging the crates, duala, eighties, Evolution, fugees, geto boys, jay-z, kanye west, kool moe d, lord tariq and peter gunz, manu dibango, memes, michael jackson, poor righteous teachers, pop, rihanna, songwriting, soul makossa, thriller, will smith
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Thursday, October 20, 2011
The bassline is neglected by most non-musicians. But if you want to write or produce music, you quickly find out how important it is. The bassline is the foundation of the whole musical structure, both rhythmically and harmonically. The best basslines interlock with the drums and other rhythm instruments to propel the groove, without you [...]
Filed in Composition, Dance, Improvisation, Key Musicians, Music, Sampling
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Also tagged 808, art blakey, bass, beatles, black sheep, bootsy collins, charles mingus, daft punk, dance, digable planets, duke ellington, electronica, groove, herbie hancock, hip-hop, james brown, janet jackson, jazz, john coltrane, kanye west, ladysmith black mambazo, looping, michael jackson, miles davis, morphine, paul simon, pop, rock, sequencing, talking heads, teddy riley
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