Sacha Wunsch-Vincent and Graham Vickery note that the relationship between the artist and the record company is usually contractual which normally last for a limited period of time or number of records depending on the specification of the contract.1 Record companies converts the artistic creation into consumer products alongside investing in artists to expand and market their works.2
A record industry can be said to be doing extremely good if one in ten of the total artist investment in turn out profitable. Noteworthy, most artist often never sell enough to recover the incurred overall cost. Record companies sponsor novice artists from profits, catalogues sales and new releases. Artist must achieve a specified number of copies sold to break even.
The customary recording industry revenue is collected from recordings while the turnover from T-shirt sales, concerts and so forth, normally grow to the artist. Once a music piece has become popular, the music industry package industry in diverse bundles to sell the same consumer the same piece multiple times.1
In times of increasing revenue from sponsorship, merchandised, live touring and declining sales of CDs the industry has experience a shrinking share in the general
1Sacha Wunsch-Vincent and Graham Vickery, Digital Broadband Content: Music,
Working Party on the Information Economy: Directorate for science, technology and industry committee for information, computer and communications policy, 2004, p. 39.
2Barney Wragg, Vice President, eLabs, Universal Music International (UMI) and Ms. Sara John, Government Affairs Head, EMI Music during the OECD Digital Broadband Content Panel (OECD, 2004b).
music revenue. With regard to declining CD sale, the negative outcome of the changing record label approach on the artists returns had to be revisited in terms of digital music sales also which may shift artists returns. 1
Digital rights management (DRM)
Effective DRM technologies have been embraced as the business enablers has for the digital delivery of music as well as for the numerous business models that meet the consumers expectations. In spite of their drawbacks, they may be a significant technical device for protecting the IPRs and have potential of becoming persistent across the overall digital distribution chain.
Through their capacity to secure content, they may motivate the content rightholders to avail content for digitization and ensuing digital sales. By virtue of their ability to offer diverse access schemes to content the, DRMs may afford content aids that are conform to consumer needs including the right to buy time-limited admittance to songs and thereby increasing consumers choice and expectation. Many problems are associated with DRMs.
To begin with the key problems with DRMs appear to have had difficulty in curbing unauthorized access. DRM programmes and technologies should be substantially robust to guarantee the protection of digital content to piracy. Means of harnessing technology to secure intellectual property have been developed and have taken effect.
3European Commission, communication on The Management of Copyright and Related Rights in the Internal Market.
To address this issue, various governments have pledge to develop a sufficient legal protection and useful legal solutions against the circumvention of technological security interventions such as DRMs. These lawful protections are prerequisite for DRMs to function as expected. 1
Second, the expanding adaption of DRM technologies has posed question that the latter may potentially restrict usage rights. Indeed this concern has become a policy basis presumably for consumer association and is apparent in relevant forums. Based on some academics, limits place to private copies can turn out bothersome when they swing the equilibrium between the expectations of copyright holders as well as the public.
DRMs have seldom been known to block legitimate access of content and services, unlike the CD-Rom copy-protection technologies. Nevertheless, designers of DRM, users of DRM-protected product must be equally concerned to ensure suitable usage rights, and players in the market adapting DRM, transparency, privacy, and ease reliability of access.1
Bibliography
European Commission, communication on The Management of Copyright and Related Rights in the Internal Market, 2004, pp. 11
Wragg B, & John S, EMI Music during the OECD Digital Broadband Content Panel (OECD, 2004b). Wunsch-Vincent, S & Vickery G, Digital Broadband Content: Music, Working Party on the Information Economy, Directorate for science, technology and industry committee for information, computer and communications policy, 2004, p. 39.
Music and especially Italian opera had a significant impact upon the poetic style and life of Walt Whitman. Fond of music and fascinated with opera performances, Whitman wanted to spread the idea of the beauty of music to the masses.
The opera performances have become a source of pleasure and inspiration for the poet. Whitman was amused with opera as a multi-layered canvas combining the features of drama, music, dance and poetry and tried to use opera allusions and singing voice for extending the traditional frames of poetry.
The phrases I see and I hear are interchangeable throughout the text of Whitmans poems and appeal to the readers imagination for intensifying the effect produced by other language means and stylistic devices used in his works.
The poems Song of Myself and Proud Music of the Storm which were included into Whitmans collection of poems Leaves of Grass demonstrate the impact of music and opera upon the poetic style, images and rhythmic contour of Whitmans poetry.
Authenticity of Whitmans poems
The collection of poems Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman represents the result of the poets searches for himself and his contribution to authenticity of American poetry.
As it was cited in the book by Skaggs Overtones of Opera in American Literature from Whitman to Wharton, commenting on his works published in Leaves of Grass, Whitman admitted that he needed to find himself and his niche in American literature so that to create those poems first published in 1855 (Skaggs 13).
Whitman acknowledged the influence of Emerson, another outstanding American poet who promoted the idea of authenticity of American poetry and supported Whitman in finding his unique style.
Under the influence of Emersons aesthetics, the traditional American democratic ideals, including those of democratic equality, diversity and self-reliance, have become the central themes of Whitmans poems (Loving 355).
In A Backward Glance Oer Traveld Roads , one of works included into the 1889 edition of Leaves of Grass, Whitman admitted that contributing to authenticity of American poetry was his primary inclination in selecting the themes and motives for this collection of poems: I would sing, and leave out or put in, quite solely with reference to America and today (Skaggs 13).
It is significant that treating his works as songs of democracy, Whitman indicates not only content of his poems, but also their form and rhythmical contour. Whereas Emersons aesthetics had a significant impact upon the selection and molding of Whitmans ideals, the musical rhythms and particularly Italian opera influenced the poets meter-making methods.
Bringing the beauty of music to the masses
Faithful to the ideals of American democracy in his works and personal life, Whitman highly appreciated the music and was aimed at bringing its beauty to the masses in his poems. Whitman rejected the stereotype that only the wealthy elite can understand the aesthetic value of music and emphasized the role of music in public education and civic life.
The poet admitted that making music a regular branch of studies at schools could have a positive impact upon the minds and habits of American youth. Developing his ideas, Whitman pointed out at the vital role of music in establishing the national identity of American people: The subtlest spirit of a nation is expressed through its music and the music acts reciprocally upon the nations very soul (Skaggs 14).
In Whitmans opinion, music and songs can help a nation to express their concerns and feelings. First, Whitman differentiated the music of feeling and the music of art. Later on, in the process of evolution of his views, he concluded that music can become a spiritualizing force for a democratic society and an art form for expressing the democratic ideals in his poetry.
These changes can be explained with the inner conflict in Whitmans soul. He was always fond of music, but when Italian opera first came to New York in 1825, most journalists criticized it for its falsity, and Whitman inevitably undergone the influence of this prevailing negative opinion.
The critics claimed that opera singers sounded unnatural expressing their passion or revenge in songs because people do not sing in real life. However, after closer acquaintance with opera, Whitman was fascinated with its beauty and spiritualizing force and decided to spread its beauty to the masses by interpreting opera in his poems.
Opera as a source of inspiration and vocational necessity
Though Whitman was fond of music in general and appreciated various musical genres, his discovery of opera allowed him to apply its musical forms in poetry. The spiritualizing force of opera was helpful for expressing human feelings and describing their experiences.
Whitmans acquaintance with opera started as vocational necessity. As a journalist, he had to attend and review numerous opera performances. Thus, this vocational necessity allowed Whitman to hear and see the best of European and American opera singers.
First, Whitman like most of his compatriots did not appreciate the beauty of opera because of his outdated musical tastes. However, his journalist practice which coincided with the golden years of opera in America fostered the evolution of his tastes and made opera not only Whitmans favorite form of art, but an important device which the poet implemented in composing his later works.
There is evidence that Whitman continued looking for the opportunities to attend opera performances even during the years of the Civil War (Skaggs 16). Moreover, even after his journalist career was over, the poet sought for opera experiences which remained the source of his amusement and inspiration.
There is historical evidence that the personality of an outstanding opera singer of the period Marietta Alboni and her proclamation of the principles of Aural beauty and nonchalance in opera art influenced Whitmans style significantly (Schmidgall 52).
The years of Whitmans fascination for opera coincided with the years of his work on the poems which later were published in the collection of poems Leaves of Grass.
For this reason, the influence of opera upon Whitmans writing style can be identified in the interplay of images, rhythmical contour and stylistic devices of the poems included into the book, such as Song of Myself and Proud Music of the Storm , for example.
Singing voice in Song of Myself
Aimed at spreading the democratic ideals and the beauty of music to the masses, in translating the power of opera to the wide audience in his poems, Whitman found the opportunities for poetic self-expression and including the singing voice into his works for enhancing their aesthetic value.
It should be noted that opera as an art form is a hybrid genre which incorporates the features of not only music, but also drama, dance and poetry. Opera as a multi-layered canvas attracted Whitmans attention with the variety of opportunities for poetic self-expression.
As a poet, Whitman lacked the methods which can be used in music and dance and decided to incorporate a singing voice into his poetry which allowed him to overcome the inadequacy of words and turned out to be a breath of fresh air into American poetry.
The poem Song of Myself can be regarded as Whitmans aesthetic confession in which he proclaims his main goals for using opera allusions and touching upon the democratic ideals in his works.
The opening of the poem resembles poets sociopolitical identification and proclamation of his philosophical and aesthetic principles (Williams 49). An important principle of Whitmans poetry is celebration of the power of human voice which is connected to the body and can go beyond the primary meanings of words.
In the poem Song of Myself , Whitman proclaims: I am the poet of the Body and I am the poet of the Soul (Skaggs 19). The singer disappears and these are only his pure voice and its sound that are left to for the audience.
Thus, incorporating opera allusions into his works and translating his personal perception of opera into a singing voice, Whitman extended the traditional frames of poetry and intended to reach the invisible dimensions of reality in his songs which would be impossible without using a stylistic device which allowed using the text of a poem as a multi-layered canvas.
The readers of the poems by Whitman are expected to see more than the surface of his words. My voice goes after what my eyes cannot reach (Skaggs 19).
In general, in his poem Song of Myself Whitman explained his understanding of the role of a singing voice in enhancing the aesthetic value of his works and improving their inner working for communicating the democratic ideals and the idea of the beauty of music to the intended audience.
In the poem under consideration, Whitman manipulates the language material, paying special attention to the connection between the speech and the corresponding vision of poetic reality.
Starting from the poets personal amusement, Whitmans fascination of opera grew into his desire to share his impression with this splendid form of art with his audience and translate certain fragments of opera performances in his poems for making them understandable for wide audiences.
Thus, the poems by Whitman were expected to become a bridge between the opera as a form of art and masses whose musical tastes were unprepared for perceiving the opera performances and appreciating their beauty and aesthetic value.
On the other hand, the role of opera allusions in Whitmans poems was not limited to fostering love of music in masses. The singing voice was also significant for enriching the meaning of Whitmans poems and adding special appeals to his works so that to allow readers to see much more than is actually said by words.
Along with devices and multi-layered canvas, Whitman borrowed his extraordinary rhythmical patterns from opera. For example, a well-known literature critic Malcolm Cowley in his introduction to the collection of poems Leaves of Grass, admitted that the structure of Whitman poem Song of Myself was rather psychological than logical (Thomas 212).
This work is more than a mere poem in terms of its rhythm and tone, and is closer to the form of rhapsody. As opposed to his predecessors and even to his own poems written earlier, Whitman used wavelike flow for Song of Myself .
Analyzing the tone of the poem which changes its tempos, raising at the moments of climax and falling in other episodes, it can be stated that the rhythmical contour of the poem resembles a musical progression as opposed to the traditional geometrical figure used by other poets.
Thus, the rhythmical contour becomes an influential factor affecting the readers perception of Whitmans poems which should be taken into consideration for evaluating not only the imp[act of opera forms upon the poets heritage, but also the aesthetic value of Whitmans poems in general.
Hearing and seeing in Proud Music of the Storm
The poem Proud Music of the Storm is another example which illustrates the influence of Italian opera upon the images, language style and contours of Whitmans works.
The singing voice was an effective method use by Whitman in his poems for enriching the meaning of words by influencing the readers perception of the language materials. T
he poetic representations of singing and seeing are interrelated and mutually dependent in Whitmans poetry because even the phrases I see and I sing give way to one another, as it can be observed throughout the texts of Whitmans poems (Skaggs 29).
The experiences of seeing, hearing and feeling are interlaced in the text of the poem Proud Music of the Storm at the intersection of the sounds of nature and the authors opera experiences.
Even admiring the sounds of nature in this poem, Whitman draws upon opera for expressing the depth of his feelings and evoking the intended emotional reactions in his readers.
Praising the music of storm at the beginning of the poem, in the line 75, Whitman mentions Italias peerless compositions and emphasizes the role of opera singers in awakening of his soul. This approach allows communicating the authors idea of the beauty of opera performances and the ability of this art to reveal the deepest emotions and the strongest human feelings.
Whitman recalls his personal associations between the sounds of storm, episodes from opera performances and the feelings expressed by the opera heroes and heroines on the stage.
Describing his opera experiences, Whitman uses the phrases I see and I hear which not only demonstrate the multi-layered canvas used in operas, but also appeal to readers senses for enhancing the effects produced by the language materials.
Coming across the phrases I see and I hear in the text of the poem, the readers are expected to use their imagination for perceiving the images created by the author and hearing the sounds of nature and the singing voice for receiving the poets messages at their fullest.
In the line 94, Whitman mentions Alboni and compares her to sister of loftiest gods (Skaggs 30). This simile and opera allusion demonstrate the authors fascination of opera performances in general and the specific impact of Albonis personal talent upon Whitmans aesthetic taste and poetic style.
Whitman paid special attention to the sound composition of this poem uniting the sounds of the sea and opera into the poetic whole and expresses his claim in the phrases Give me to hold all sounds (I madly struggling cry,)/ Fill me with all the voices of the universe (Skaggs 29).
The poet creates the links between the processes in the world of nature and the motives of the opera performances, associating the sea storm with the plot lines of passion in love, the tragedy of suicide and the outrage of revenge.
It should be noted that the initial title of the poem was Proud Music of the Sea-Storm which was later revised by the author by omitting the word sea which according to the systems of Whitmans poetic concepts, symbolizes the cosmic life processes (Skaggs 30).
Taking into account the fact that his personal interpretation of symbolic meaning of the concept of sea can be not understood by some readers, the pet deleted the word sea so that not to limit the readers imagination in decoding the meaning of the word storm, its sounds and processes.
The lines Poems bridging the way from Life to Death, vaguely wafted in night air, uncaught, unwritten express Whitmans primary concern in creating the sound effects of the storm and communicating his ideas to the readers (Skaggs 30).
Thus, the opera allusions, sound whole and the singing voice used in Proud Music of the Storm intensify the impression produced by the poem upon the readers by involving their imagination for translating the authors symbols and understanding his philosophical ideas.
Conclusion
In general, it can be concluded that love of music and fascination of opera experiences played an important role in Whitmans personal life and development of his poetic aesthetics.
The instances of opera allusions and a singing voice can be detected in Whitmans poems Song of Myself and Proud Music of the Storm which allowed the poet to extend the traditional frames of poetry and intensify the effect produced by the actual language material of his poems, making readers look beyond the surface of the words and using their imagination for not only reading, but also hearting the sounds and seeing the images created by the poet.
Works Cited
Loving, Jerome. Walt Whitman: The Song of Himself. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1999. Google Books. Web.
Schmidgall, Gary. Walt Whitman: A Gay Life. New York: Dutton Press, 1997. Print.
Skaggs, Carmen. Overtones of Opera in American Literature from Whitman to Wharton. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2010. Google Books. Web.
Thomas M. Alexander. John Deweys theory of art, experience, and nature: the horizons of feeling. Albany: State University of New York Press. 1978. Google Books. Web.
Williams, Charles. On Whitman. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010. Print.
Music is the notion that makes people think about the tunes they really adore. There are different genres and directions in music that help it to be in favor of different people. There are many specific qualities which apply to music. Thus, it may help think about something important, remain happy or remember something sad and unpleasant. However, there is an assumption that music possesses useful qualities, it can heal. The healing qualities of music are researched by numerous scholars.
They believe that listening to some specific genres in music it is possible to impact the particular organs in human organism. However, there are other ideas in regards to this belief. Reading an article Sacred and Profance: Music in Korean Shaman Rituals by Keith Howard it seems obvious that music may be used as healing for human soul and body. Using the example of the shaman ritual the author wants to prove that music is healing not only to human soul, but also to human body.
One of the main priorities of shaman rituals is the music which sounds all the time the ritual is in action. Keith Howard is sure that this music can be useful. Thus, listening to music of the ritual which may serve as the stimulant, people can experience block out of the physical environment. Additionally, rhythmic sounds can be used to regularise body activity or to destabilise mental and/or physical behaviour (Howard 1).
Therefore, listening to active and rhythmic music people appear in the situation that their bodies are impacted by the rhythm even though people do not notice this. Human body is a complicated structure. Additionally, human brain has never been researched to the full, therefore, the perception of the music which appears constantly in rhythm might be perceived by the brain and delivered to the human body accordingly.
It is impossible to disagree with the statement that rhythmic music influences human brain and is reflected on the body. Listening to the rhythmic music many people want to dance, they feel how their body seems to be dancing. Is not this the proof that music impacts human consciousness? Dwelling upon the shaman rituals and rhythmic music used there, the author of the article mentions the impact of some particular instruments (double-headed drum and oboe) on human emotions.
Keith Howard is sure that oboe is the melodic instrument considered closest to the human voice since it, virtually uniquely, is capable of the same wide and sudden fluctuations in dynamic, rapid and large melodic leaps, gentle ascending and descending portamenti, and subtle pitch shading (Howard 2). The music impacts human emotion by means of heightening the change of rhythm, tone and other characteristics.
Additionally, the author states that rhythm, whether in perception or action, is emotional when highly developed, and results in the response of the whole organism to its pulsations (Howard 3). Pulsation is a kind of movement. Life is movement, the more people move, the healthier they remain. It seems that shaman rituals are aimed at those who want to remain healthy bearing the healing aspects on the human organism.
The final problem considered by Keith Howard in the article Sacred and Profance: Music in Korean Shaman Rituals is its belonging either to the sacred or secular uses. The author considers the history of the music paying much attention to the instruments and their origin. However, attention is paid to the origin of the music which is played during shaman rituals.
The author believes that it is really important not to distinguish the specific nature of music as being sacred it remains essential for every day of human life. The specific use of the music in such cultures where rituals are important is explained by the close connection of human spirit to the emotional side. Those people got used to rituals and consider them as an essential part of their life.
The rituals are always supported with rhythmic music that helps people remain active. Having a sound mind always presupposes having a sound body. Ancient cultures knew it and their desire to use rhythmic music in their rituals was a great opportunity for people to remain healthy in their everyday life, both physically and mentally.
Therefore, it may be concluded that the article under consideration Sacred and Profance: Music in Korean Shaman Rituals by Keith Howard states about the useful impact of music on human mind and body. The research conducted by the author helps draw conclusions that music is an essential healing for those who use it appropriately.
Rhythmic used during the shaman rituals is a good stimulator for human brain and body. Having an impact on human mind, music influences unconsciousness desire to move their bodies. The influence on emotional state cannot be even considered as everyone knows how music impacts human mood; the rhythm and melody may make a person both smile and cry influencing the general condition of human health.
Works Cited
Howard, Keith Sacred and Profance: Music in Korean Shaman Rituals. Indigenous Religious Musics. Eds. Ralls-Macleod and Harvey. New York: Ashgate: 2000.
The music industry has been in existence for a long time with the respective managing authorities putting up measures to improve the industry. The commitments by the founding personnel have transformed the industry into a successful venture that has changed lives of many people.
For instance, it has created jobs and encouraged many people. Music has brought consolation to individuals through listening. The Royal Conservatory of Music is an excellent example of an institution that has struggled to streamline the music industry from the 1886 through 1947 to 1990s. The institution has experienced radical changes that have brought the industry to heights.
Being among the leading Royal Conservatory of Music, an organisation that was concerned about the music culture and the need to nurture it, there was a need to instil mechanisms that would take it to the next level. Therefore, this called for a visionary leader that would mobilize people and resources with a common goal to prosperity.
The key elements entail; setting up of music training facilities and recruitment of teaching staff that would guide the students through the study. The then appointed leadership in the industry raised the educational level up to higher education. At the same time, expanding the institutions facilities to accommodate the increasing number of student enrolment was necessary.
Setting plans and working towards implementing them is a vital factor that leads to success of any organization. Toronto as a music conservatory institution had to create relationships with other institutions to solicit funds to enable its progress. This led to the creation of other key offices like the examination and registrar that addressed the students pleas.
After the World War II, the institution experienced a significant increase in enrolment. This resulted to management challenges, due to the large numbers. This did not make them loose hope; instead they incorporated new methodologies in the teaching industry.
The facilities in the music industry like pianos and guitars had to be improved to diversify and make the industry more entertaining. The study suggests that most of the Canadian youngsters enrolled for the degree and diploma programs.
The reorganization in the department of music in 1970s by assigning the head in the faculty resulted in a fully-fledged Royal Conservatory of Music. The department had the mandate to organize and carry out its curriculum as an independent body.
This conservatory played a significant role in encouraging people to embrace music as a vocational and humanizing activity in their daily lives. Identifying the gifted children and sponsoring them to pursue further studies in the music industry is part of the institutions program. This worked to encourage and lure many youngsters to fill up the gaps that left by the fore founders in the music industry.
The 21st Century has experienced substantial developments among them expansion of the training programs aimed at developing human potential through the arts and classroom projects that teach the main curriculum through storytelling, dancing, writing of songs and photography.
These new modes of knowledge dissemination have impacted positively on the young children. The children are intrigued when they formulate new songs and share them with their colleagues.
Though the rate at which the world is evolving is high, there is a strong need to embrace culture. Incorporating art work in all learning institutions will play a prominent role in preparing children for creativity. The children will also acquire leadership skills.
Before looking at the popular music of the Uzbeks, it is important to understand who they are and their origin. Most of them live in the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic while the rest live in Northern Afghanistan.
They were not originally part of Central Asia since the region was inhabited by Iranian-speaking people. They emerged as a separate group under Muhammad Shaybani Khan who was a Turkic prince and a descendant of Juch, the founder of the Golden Horde.
Uzbek folk music is basically divided into two categories. The first category is vocal music while the second one is instrumental. There is a wide diversity of folk songs that have emerged over years, most of which draw on daily life experiences.
They are therefore comprised of wedding songs, work songs, love songs, funeral songs, lullabies, epic songs, historical narrative songs and magical songs. Work songs portray the main occupations of the people of Uzbek. They are sung while sowing, weaving, threshing, harvesting and working with metal among other daily activities of the people of Uzbek.
Some of them support the contention of the current regime that the people of Uzbek were subjected to oppression under the old feudal social structure and were always optimistic of a better social order, an inspiration that was only fulfilled under the soviets.
The second type of Uzbek folk music is love songs. They use similes from nature to describe the individuals they talk about. They are usually sung in a lapar style which is a humorous dialogue between a girl and a boy, often in a competitive style. It is aimed at demonstrating the wit of the participants to each other and the spectators (Dickens 15).
The third type is comprised of ceremonial songs which are sung during important rites of passage. For example, Yaryar is a song sung during wedding ceremonies while Yighi is sung during times of lamentations.
Uzbek folk music is also comprised of lengthy epic narrative songs. Epic narratives combine legendary and historical material. Basically, the narratives are poems which are converted into music and may be performed for several nights, involving lengthy memorization on the part of the singers.
At times, they are sung unaccompanied while at other times the singers play a dombira. They are categorized into dast and dastan. In dastan, the singer recites all the contents of the song, but the material is not usually grouped into stanzas. The dast is usually a mixture of sung poetry and spoken prose.
Apart from the folk music of Uzbek, modern pop music in the country is also significant. The emergence of this type of music dates back to the 50s and 60s. Since then, it has been growing and gaining importance among the people of Uzbek. Uzbek pop music has been trying to cope with a difficult process of searching its unique style.
It is comprised of compositions whose style resembles that of techno-soul, rave, rap, Latin rock and reggae. In addition, artistes who specialize in this type of music blindly imitate oriental rock and European groups. In the recent past, it has been accumulating different intonations in terms of content and form. In this sense, positive experience with regard to the national art style interpretation has been observed.
It is important to note that modern pop music in Uzbek has been forming such tendencies like embracing art heritage and repertoires done by prominent singers. As a result, pop versions that represent classic music have been on the increase. In the recent past, this type of music has become common in various public ceremonies such as weddings.
During these ceremonies, traditional renditions of makoms vocal parts done in pop styles and other vocal genres have been common. Such arrangements have been embraced by many television channels and radio stations (Mulladjanov 5).
There is a major difference between Uzbek folk music and modern pop music. As it is widely known, forms of festivity arts which emerged during the initial stages of the development of human civilization took an important part in the history of human beings. Portraying main principles of morality and ideological foundations that characterized individual historical periods, they always depicted national and religious significance.
Modern pop music emerged at times when radical changes were common especially in public consciousness, specifically, when massive dissemination of secular opinions formed the basis of the changes. In such times, major transformations among urban populations took place.
On the other hand, individuals from the bourgeois class and emerging proprietors who possessed economic and political powers became common. At the same time, classes of industrial workers emerged. The classical art forms that were developed by members of the aristocracy were not accepted by many people.
This caused abandonment of the ancient folk culture which consequently led to the development of modern pop music. Contrary to the Uzbek folk music, it was characterized by aesthetic criterion in that it had the capacity to entertain. In addition, its form was simple and the content unsophisticated.
Works Cited
Dickens, Mark. Uzbek Music 2000. Web.
Mulladjanov, Davlat. Art Heritage in Uzbek Pop Music 2012. Web.
Numerous writers have come up with chronicles on the Canadian popular music. The latest book documenting the Canadian popular music is by Ryan Edwardson. The book dubbed Canuck Rock: a History of Canadian Popular Music focuses on demonstrating the history of rock music in Canada.
Edwardson brings out the relationship between rock music and Canadian identity. According to Ryan, government policies and regulations imposed on the popular music led to the countrys identity being entrenched in the music.
The book is organized systematically to bring out the various evolution stages of the popular music. Generally, the book is well organized and in spite of the writer focusing more on socio-cultural aspects, he does not engross the reader in literary conjecture.
The author does not include musical examples nor does he analyze any music. Rather, he focuses on the evolution of the music industry raging from the industrial managers to recording studios.
The book is a priceless resource, a pleasurable read, and a valuable addition to the already existing literature about the Canadian popular music.
Whenever a person hears the term rock music , a picture of drunken nights and smoky bars comes to mind. Most people do not have clear information about rock music. The music is associated with all sorts of negative images and some people refrain from associating themselves with rock music.
However, by reading Ryan Edwardsons book, one is capable of having a clear picture of what rock music actually means. Ryan accurately describes rock music and all that it entails thus making it possible for people to discern it exhaustively.
Besides, the book helps one understand the evolution process of the Canadian music industry. Canuck Rock is a determined assessment of the inception and development of trendy music in Canada starting from the late 1950s to today.
A person with limited knowledge about the popular music need to go through this book to appreciate how it has come about, and how varied stakeholders have contributed to ensure that the Canadian popular music enjoys its current pride.
Edwardson does not focus on English music only; he also focuses on the Quebec music panorama, thus helping readers have a clear view of the global and continental archetypes of the music.
In the book, Edwardson quotes a member of the Quebec band claiming that the band influence does not come from Canada, but from different countries like North America (176).
Apart from competition from foreign music, the Canadian popular music has faced immense political influence. Edwardson manages to bring out the extent of political influence in the music industry by showing how numerous musicians have opted to move to other countries.
From the book, one can comfortably claim that the Canadian identity is, to some extent, curved out of the popular music. Besides showing the chronology of events that have taken place in the music industry, Edwardson has also looked at the current issues that are affecting the music industry.
For instance, he has discussed the rise of music television and Napster. He has also focused on the impacts of technology on sales and distribution of music. He reinforces his arguments with information from other countries like Britain and the United States.
By reading the book, one understands how popular music influences the social, economic, cultural, and technological growth in Canada.
Actually, one may be right to claim that music has shifted from being a consolation for baby boomers through arbitrate class, gender, and generational distinctiveness to embracing a national character.
The main argument in the book is that, before the establishment of Cancon regulations, Canada did not have music industry. Radio stations did not give the Canadian music airtime thus making it hard for the country to identify with its music.
In his book, Edwardson paints radio stations or the media at large as the chief obstacle that made it hard for the Canadian music industry to grow.
He includes tales of how radio presenters scorned Canadian artists, and how they destroyed their music albums without even taking time to listen to the music therein.
The book argues that Cancon regulations helped to restore sanity in the country, thus leading to the emergence of the music industry in Canada.
By writing this book, Edwardson intended to establish a new perspective about the Canadian popular music. He managed to help his readers develop this perspective by taking them through a chronology of events that have taken place in the music industry since the inception of the popular music to date.
He uses varied personal anecdotal and views throughout the book. Various songwriters and singers express their opinions and share their experiences on how the Canadian popular music has evolved. All these factors reinforce the credibility of Ryans arguments in the book.
By looking at where popular music is today, one may think that the industry has not gone through hardships. Nevertheless, Edwardson claims that the Canadian musicians had a hard time in trying to establish themselves in their country.
Most of the Canadians did not believe in the quality of local music. Hence, they preferred listening to foreign music from the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Besides, most of the countrys radio stations were not willing to play local music since they dismissed it as low quality music (Edwardson 56-57).
Ryan persuasively illustrates how the Canadian popular music transformed from being un-national with respect to support, location, intent, content, and influence, to being one of the aspects of the Canadian culture.
Edwardson is consistent in presenting information that supports his arguments. He gives a linear account of events and phenomena that took place during the evolution process.
In this way, he has managed to show how the unfolding of one element even led to another thus helping the reader understand the path that the Canadian popular music has taken since its inception.
The research in support of Edwardsons arguments is credible. He has referred to previous writings and interviews on the subject matter. Besides, to reinforce his arguments, he has referred to numerous historical events.
Moreover, he has included numerous personal quotes extracted from various publications and archives. This clearly shows that Edwardson had done a thorough research prior to writing his book.
Apart from conducting thorough research before writing his book, Ryan also presents his ideas and information clearly. He organizes his information and ideas in numerous chapters. Moreover, he ensures that information in these chapters is in order of its occurrence starting with the oldest and ending with the latest happenings.
Edwardson touches on quite a few genres of pop music to ensure that readers understand his information.
Moreover, he compares the Canadian music industry with other industries like the American and the British music industries thus helping the reader understand the disparities and effects that the other industries had on the Canadian music industry. The book is tremendously informative on the evolution of the Canadian music industry, as from late 1950s onwards.
However, the book does not give details of how the music industry looked like prior to this period. After reading this book, I would wish to understand how the Canadian music industry operated before 1945.
In spite of the author managing to bring out the picture of the evolution of the Canadian popular music, Henderson (Para. 6-10) posits that Edwardson deliberately fails to engage with numerous sources that address issues of performance, identity politics, and popular music.
He deliberately refuses to use the available resources addressing issues that he repeatedly revisits throughout his book. Numerous questions remain answered in this book despite the effort made by the author.
For instance, he does not look into the effects of feminism on the Canadian popular music. Various historians and other intellectuals have come up with information on the impacts of feminism on the Canadian music industry.
Regrettably, Edwardson did not take time to consult these materials thus conspicuously left such a crucial matter unaddressed in his book.
In demonstrating the trend of evolution taken by the music industry, Edwardson looks at varied genres of music. For instance, he looks at hip-hop. Nevertheless, he does not show how race has contributed to the growth or stagnation of the music industry in Canada.
It seems that in coming up with his book, Edwardson tried as much as possible to distance himself with issues to do with gender, race, and social status knowing very well that these factors are some of the issues that go hand-in-hand with all aspects of national development.
He did not intend to focus on issues that might trigger some opposition in his readers. In his approach, Edwardson assumes a doubtful view (Testa 791). Consequently, the approach leads to his book becoming too much materialistic. With the book leaving numerous questions unanswered, this biasness affects the quality of the book.
Throughout his book, Edwardson does not rely on latest materials about pop music in Canada. Instead, he relies on an older book by Nicholas Jennings. Nicholas is renowned for his effort to account for Canadian popular music between 1960s and 1970s.
However, his book does not account for the latest developments that have occurred in Canadian pop music. By referring to Jennings work in compiling his writings, it is hard for him to convince his readers that he has actually dug deep into the latest developments in the pop music industry.
Edwardson repeatedly refers to Jennings interviews as well as his personal opinions on popular music. Nevertheless, he does not build on what he gets from Jennings. Consequently, there is limited originality in this book.
Most of the chapters in the book help the reader understand how the music industry in Canada works and how it has evolved. However, there is nothing new in spite of the numerous researches that support his arguments.
For people who are conversant with the Canadian pop music industry, this book adds little to what they already know.
Edwardsons book hardly adds something new to the field of Canadian popular music. The book contains information that is already known to the public.
He relies on Jennings work, available information from the archives and publications. Edwardson has made no effort to expound what he obtained from other scholars, thus affecting the originality of his work.
However, this argument does not seek to undermine the work done by Ryan Edwardson in any way. Actually, he has done a credible work by gathering brilliant anecdotes that help the reader understand Canadian popular music industry.
Nevertheless, he does not adequately tackle the issues of nationalism and regionalism in his book. Moreover, he does not entirely tackle the issue of dawn of MuchMusic , which is one of the landmarks in the Canadian music industry. The main problem arises in the shortness of his chapters.
Most of his chapters are about twenty pages each. Consequently, most of the discussions in the chapters are abruptly terminated only after arousing the interest of the reader. For instance, the book does not exhaust the discussion about Beatlemania and Canadian Britishness.
The book would be of immense value to individuals seeking to learn more about the Canadian popular music. The book offers clearly articulated information that might be of enormous help to students. Nevertheless, scholars and other academics may feel frustrated due to lack of new discoveries in the book.
In spite of Edwards managing to put across his objectives, a lot could have been done to make the book even more useful. For instance, most of the chapters discuss weighty issues shallowly thus affecting the quality of the book.
In a bid to enhance the quality of this book, Edwardson could have made the chapters wider to give room for an exhaustive discussion of all the vital issues regarding the Canadian popular music. Scholars ought to use what is available to come up with new ideas in a bid to expand the literary work.
Repeating what already exists, even if it is in a different version does not make any difference. Edwards uses scholarly articles and information from artists in compiling his book. However, he distances himself from some of the extremely crucial issues like race and gender, thus making his books resemble the already existing literary works.
No available documentations about the Canadian popular music account for effects of race and feminism on the music industry. Edwardson could have built on what is known to come up with new ideas regarding the Canadian popular music.
Currently, his book adds to already existing literature about the Canadian popular music. Nevertheless, the book does not bring new information about the music industry. Throughout, the book lacks sustained examination of the matter at hand.
Instead, the reader gets the insight of the depth of the matter. In a bid t make the book more appealing and informative, the writer could have ensured that he exhaustively interrogated the issues at hand and come up with decisive conclusions.
The credibility of any literary work depends on the sources used in its compilation. Articles compiled using peer reviewed sources and publications tend to be more credible. Besides, writers that use statistical information and graphics to explain their work appear professional.
In compiling his book, Edwardson has employed numerous scholarly articles and anecdotes from various artists that have come into direct encounter with the Canadian popular music. The use of anecdotes from artists reinforces the accuracy of the books contents.
Works Cited
Edwardson, Ryan. Canuck Rock: A History of Canadian Popular Music. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2009. Print.
It is often believed that the career of a performer depends only on his/her talent. However, one should not disregard that the outcome greatly depends on the managerial skills of the artist and the promotion of his/her works.
Moreover, one should not disregard the cultural environment in which this person lives. This paper is aimed at discussing the careers of two successful performers, namely Michael Jackson and 50 Cent.
They represent dramatically different styles; in particular, pop-dance and hip-hop, but their careers have some common traits.
Certainly, these artists may differ in term of musical genre, style, and influence on other musicians; yet, by looking at their progress, one can see that the success of a performer can be attributed to talent, hard work, and the knowledge of the music industry.
Moreover, without managerial skills it may be difficult for them to rise to prominence. These are the main issues that one can identify.
The career of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson began his career in the early sixties when he was a member of the Jackson 5. This band was managed by Michaels father, Joseph who attempted to promote the band.
One should point out that his musical career began at the time of the civil rights movement was very strong in the United States.
Certainly, one cannot say that his success can be attributed only to the social changes in the country; however, they removed various barriers that prevented many black artists from reaching the popular concert halls or signing contracts with recording studios.
The influence of social environment cannot be disregarded. Additionally, Michael Jackson grew up at the time when Black Arts Movement was extremely popular, and it was aimed at showing that African-American could invent their distinct culture and art.
In his turn, Michael Jackson strived to create his own original style that did not exist before and this style is one of his major achievements. Thus, social and cultural environment affected this artist.
He achieved recognition in the eighties when he became the symbol of an emerging musical style, called dance-pop. This style has such attributes as constant tempo, emphasis on grooves or beats, and catchy lyrics that is more likely to be remembered by listeners (Warner 2003, p. 15).
In the eighties, the name of Michael Jackson was associated with many successful songs and albums. In particular one can mention his studio album Thriller that still remains the best-selling album in the United States and all over the world (Hombach 2001, p. 97).
This album contains many successful songs; among them one can distinguish Billie Jean; this song was written and composed by Jackson. This song is blend of such styles as rhythm and blues (R&B) and dance-pop (Hombach 2001, p. 97).
This composition contains such elements as the unchanging drum beat, synthesizer bass, and chord progression. This song instantaneously achieved instantaneous critical and commercial success in part because of the short video which accompanied this song (Hombach 2001, p. 95).
This video assisted the promotion of this single and contributed to its popularity. Furthermore, when performing this song, Michael Jackson popularized the famous moonwalk (Hombach 2001, p. 95).
On the whole, Billie Jean is an eloquent example of Jacksons work because it demonstrates the diversity of his talents.
At this point, Michael Jackson is regarded as one of the most successful performer in the history of pop music. Since early eighties up to 2008, his songs and videos often received critical recognition.
To explain this success, one should speak about several things. First of all, Jackson was a diversely talented musician and performer. He could work in very different genres such as dance-pop, rhythm and blues, funk, and so forth.
Moreover, Michael Jackson was an excellent dancer who popularized the technique called the moonwalk.
Furthermore, one should not forget that Michael Jackson was an extremely talented composer and poet who wrote many of his songs. This is one of the reasons that explain the musical longevity of this artist.
Additionally, it is important to discuss Michael Jacksons career from the standpoint of management and promotion. As many artists, Jackson had to rely on the assistance of other people who helped him establish contacts with record companies, producers, and other musicians.
At the beginning, Jackson was managed by his father Joseph. Moreover, one should take into account that Jackson has worked a prominent record producer Quincy Jones who promoted many artists like Ray Charles, Steve Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and many others.
His expertise was of great assistance to many performers. For instance, he was engaged in the production of the song Billie Jean. In his book Moonwalk, Michael Jackson recognizes the assistance of this person (Jackson 2009, p. 7). In other words, Quincy Jones assisted Jackson in achieving commercial success.
These examples indicate that a performer cannot always achieve success independently. He/she is assisted by producers, photographers, promoters, directors, choreographers and so forth.
In the course of his career, Michael Jackson was able to cooperate with the best professionals of the music industry. Such an opportunity was not available to many performers even if they were very talented. This is the key issue that should be taken into consideration.
50 Cent and his rise to prominence
The second artist that should be discussed is Curtis Jackson whose stage name is 50 Cent. He can rightly be viewed as one of the most successful rappers of the last decade along with Eminem. Unlike Michael Jackson, 50 Cent does not work in several musical genres; he is primarily a hip-hop performer who does not attempt to incorporate the techniques of other musician.
This genre is characterized by rhyming and rhythmic speech that may be accompanied by turntable beats, guitar riffs, synthesizer grooves and so forth (Brabazon 2011, p. 171). Curtis Jacksons career started in 1996, when he began rapping with one of his friends.
It should be noted that 50 Cent was strongly affected by the cultural and social events of the early nineties. One of them was the war on drugs (Hagen 2004, p. 20). Such themes as violence, rejection of police, drugs play an important role in the songs of 50 Cents who often had problems with law-enforcement agencies.
So, it is possible to argue that Curtis Jackson was affected by the prominent events of that period and this influence was reflected in his lyrics.
It is also important to look at the landmark events in the career of this musician. He first released his song React in 1998, and this composition earned 50 Cent the reputation of a talented rapper, but it was not very successful from a commercial standpoint.
Overall, it was a very important step in his career many producers began to pay attention to his works. He achieved success in the music industry in 2001, when he began to work with Eminems manager Paul Rosenberg who promoted Eminems albums (Brown 2005, p. 127).
The cooperation with Paul Rosenberg was of great help to 50 Cent because this producer helped Jackson promote his albums and sign contracts with studios.
Moreover, with the assistance of Paul Rosenberg, 50 Cent managed to establish his own recording studio. On the whole, Rosenbergs knowledge of music industry greatly assisted 50 Cent. This is another issue that people should not forget because an artist should possess managerial skills.
One of Jacksons most successful albums is Get Rich or Die Tryin released in 2003. Many of its singles ranked very high in many charters. Among them, one can distinguish such a composition In Da Club (Brown 2005, p. 150).
It was written and composed by 50 Cent, Elizondo, and Dr. Dre (Brown 2005, p. 150). Therefore, unlike Michael Jackson, 50 Cent strongly relies on the cooperation with other musicians.
The song In Da Club was received very well by press and mass media. 50 Cent was praised by reviewers for his performing technique and musical accompaniment that included guitar riffs, horns and even organs.
Overall, one can argue that this song exemplified many typical features of hip-hop, but it also contains some distinctive elements, such as guitar riffs. This is why this song received recognition of critics and listeners. In part, due to this song, 50 Cent rose to prominence.
It has to be admitted that the popularity of 50 Cent cannot be compared to that one of Michael Jackson. 50 Cent can indeed be viewed as one of the most talented rappers, but he has never been called a king of a certain musical genre.
Michael Jackson has often been called the King of Pop, but one cannot say the same thing about 50 Cent. This is one of the main distinctions between them. Still, Curtis Jackson still remains a popular rapper whose compositions enjoy popularity among listeners, especially those ones who like hip-hop.
However, there are some similarities between Michael Jackson and 50 Cent and it is necessary to identify them. Both of them received the assistance of professionals who worked in the music industry.
Without the skills of such professionals, these artists might not have achieved critical and commercial success. Furthermore, both of them were affected by the social and cultural environment of that time. These are the main similarities between them.
Conclusion
Michael Jackson and 50 Cent definitely produced long-lasting effect on the musical genres in which they worked. They are viewed as role models for many aspiring musicians.
The success of these performers can be attributed to such factors as talent, and skillful management which are of great help to every person who works in the music industry. The discussion of these examples can be important for many musicians who attempt to achieve success.
Without knowledge of music industry, promotion, and managerial skills, they may not be able to attain popularity and recognition. In many cases, this outcome can be achieved only through cooperation with the best professionals.
References
Brabazon, T 2011, Popular Music: Topics, Trends & Trajectories, SAGE, New Haven.
This paper investigates current trends in turning the brain waves into music, through surveying the literature on the methods of turning Electroencephalography (EEG) waves into Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) music. The effects of the music on the human body are well known and documented, where different types of music can have a beneficial effect on peoples mood and psychological state. The trend of somewhat a reversed operation acquired an interest recently, where it was used in therapy purposes, and called neurofeedback. The proposed research aims at providing a simple and portable system that will be able to generate MIDI output based on the inputted data collected through EEG collecting device. Yet, at first, it is vital to formulate the major research and identify both practical and theoretical implications of this study.
Rationale for the study
The key task and research questions
The main issue that should be addressed is how to translate Electroencephalography waves into MIDI output. However, to cope with this task, we need to answer several sub-questions. They are as follows:
How to correlate EEG waves with quantitative characteristics of the sound (pitch, tempo, rhythm etc)? The main hypothesis is that alpha beta and theta frequency brands can correspond to different notes.
What methods of monitoring and analysis should be employed to transform brain waves into music, namely: 1) power spectrum, 2) Hjorth. 3) Discrete Fourier Transform and so forth? It may be prudent to use them in turn and compare the data, collected in this or that way.
Which technologies are most suitable for recording and interpretation of brainwaves? Due to financial restrictions, we intend to use Pendant EEG which is believed to be most portable and least expensive EEG unit.
How to position electrodes on the cranium?
Which parts of the brain are directly responsible for the creation of music?. At this point, we can say that both hemispheres are involved in this process. Some scholars think that the right hemisphere deals with special elements like pitch whereas the left is responsible for the structure and progress of the melody (Heslet, 2).
What are the major stages in the process of sonification of neural signals?. This process will consist of the following stages: 1) data acquisition 2) data preprocessing: 3) intermediate representation (the creation of visual and sonic map); 4) visualization and sonification (Brouse et al, 9).
What are the impacts of neurofeedback music on the psychological state of the person?. It is believed that neurofeedback music may have therapeutic effects on the patient. Additionally. It can influence his or her emotional state.
Benefits and implications
The study can be beneficial in many ways, where the therapeutic effects of listening to the music created by the brain waves document many cases of treating health problems. Although the methodology of the conversion of brain waves is still in need of clarification and further, listening to the music created by the brain was seen to treat insomnia, and stress, as well helping in increasing concentration focus and energy. (Bob Groves, 2005a, Bob Groves, 2005b, Grant, 2008, Megan and Writer, 2007) Studies also proved the potential of the music as a part of a neurofeedback in improving attention abilities in clinical groups and healthy people. (Gruzelier and Egner, 2005). Additionally, neural music will help people with disabilities in creating an intermediary interface through which they not only will be able to create their music, but also use the musical output as a controlling device. (Steenson, 1998).
Another practical implication of this work is the development of interactive music systems. The study of electroencephalography waves and their translation into sounds can give rise to new forms of musical expression (Livingston & Miranda, 1). The data, derived in this way can be of great assistance to psychologists, who often struggle to evaluate a patients emotional state (Arslan et al, 2). Sonification of bio-signal can become a very useful tool for them. This area of study is of great interest to medical workers, as it enables severely impaired to communicate or even control mechanical tools (Miranda et al, 81). Additionally, the findings can be adopted by the developers of musical applications. Overall, this question is a part of a larger discipline, which is called BCI (Brain-Computer Interactions). Many scientists attempt to work out methods for the manipulation of computers (Miranda & Boskamp, 3). The results acquired in the course of this research can be utilized for the development of BCI systems.
Overall, the belief that EEG can be used to generate sounds is not new. It dates back to early seventies. Since that time, researches have always tried to construct devices which can render these signals into sound. One of the most challenging difficulties as to how to interpret EEG waves. Most importantly, scholars attempt to correlate them with the quantitative characteristics of music: namely, pitch, rhythm, tempo, melody and so forth. The key task is to make the most accurate representation of brainwaves and it has yet to be performed. Numerous attempts have been made, but at this moment, none of the technique as well as technologies can be regarded as infallible.
Another point which requires in-depth examination Is the construction of technologies that can adequately capture EEG waves (Browse et al,3). It has to be admitted that Musical Digital Media Interface has already been adopted by many neuroscientists to monitor brain waves in real time (Hofstadter, 10). Nonetheless, the sophistication of conversion software has enabled researchers to better use EEG signals to control MIDI (Zhang & Miranda, 3). In this respect, it should be pointed out that the positioning and number of electrodes are also of great concern to the researchers as they need to ascertain which parts of brain are directly responsible for creating melody. In this study, we may need to alternate several variants of positioning.
Apart from that, at this point scholars cannot decide which one of EEG analysis is the most effective: there are many of them: 1) power spectrum, 2) event-related potential, Hjorth, 3) spectral centroid and many others (Miranda & Boskamp, 4) Under some circumstances all of them can be used quite efficiently. So, it may be prudent to test them in connection with MIDI.
Thus, it is quite possible to argue that this research has theoretical and practical implication: its findings can be adapted to help people, who can suffer from hearing impairments. The sonification of EEG can be of great value to the developers of musical applications: either technologies or software solutions. On the other hand, this study of this question can be beneficial from theoretical point of view: it may outline the best methods of measuring, analyzing and converting brainwaves.
Methodology and validity of the experiment
The approach taken can be seen through the transformation of the EEG data, which will be collected by an EEG collecting device into a raw data. The approach is influenced by the interface described in the article Brain-Computer music interface for composition and performance by Eduardo Reck Miranda, where different frequency bands will trigger corresponding piano notes through, and the complexity of the signal will represent the tempo of the sound. (Hofstadter, 2009) The correspondence of the sound and the notes will be established through experimental work, where data of participants of a test group will be gathered and analyzed, putting intervals for brain frequencies for different notes.
Naturally, a great number of experiments have already been conducted to investigate EEG signals into music. We may mention the experiment, performed by a group of scientists, headed by Filatriau, who created EED driven audio-visual texture synthesizer (Filatriau et al, 3). This system allows presenting these waves graphically and then converting them into music. The authors have established that the intensity of the sounds is controlled by the level of energy in the alpha, beta and theta frequency bands (Filatriau et al, 3). In part, this study demonstrates that such experiments are quite feasible. Moreover, these findings should be taken into consideration while developing conversion software.
The research by Andrew Brouse et al can be used as a guideline for our experiment. Their work is relevant to this discussion because it marks out the major stages of EEG analysis: namely 1) data acquisition 2) data preprocessing: 3) intermediate representation (the creation of visual and sonic map); 4) visualization and sonification (Brouse et al, 9). This model is crucial for the algorithmization of EEG conversion programs. In other words, these are the key processes which they need to perform.
As it has been previously noted, several methods of analysis can be applied to control MIDI: one of them is DFT (Discrete Fourier Transform). It is necessary to break EEG waves into numerous frequency bands and reveal the distribution of power between them (Miranda & Boscamp, 2). Although its primary application is the monitoring of emotional state of the patient. It is equally reliable in neuroscience of music. It is of the crucial importance to examine the results of Hjorth analysis. This technique enables to evaluate activity, complexity and mobility of EEG wave. This is a powerful instrument for the creation of visual and sonic texture of the signals. We need to alternate these methods to get more comprehensive description of EEG waves. Furthermore, combined use will allow us to determine their effectiveness for this specific task.
The system for studying brainwaves and their sonic representation includes the following components: 1) the sender of EEG signal (in other words, the subject or patient); 2) analytical processor; 3) music engine and MIDI (Hofstadter, 10). This model appears to be most applicable in this situation.
It should be borne in mind that EEG waves are extremely difficult to capture and measure: because the transmitter and the receiver are separated by meninges, cranium and the skull. This is one of the reasons why neuroscientists use many electrodes as they strive to intensify the signal. Yet, in this case, twenty electrodes will suffice. There is another important component of research methodology: it is the sampling of the population. The subjects should be randomly chosen. It is also critical to measure their EEG signals at different times. This approach will enable us to better represent emotional state of the subjects. The observations, made in the course of this work should be compared and contrasted with evidence, accumulated by medical workers and psychologists.
The final stage will be to assess the effects of such music on the subjects. It is often hypothesized by medical workers that it can either evoke positive or negative emotions. Some therapists rely on it while treating patients. Undoubtedly, we will not be able to use it for therapeutic purposes, but we may at least observe peoples reactions to the music generated by their consciousness.
Among the specific devices that can be used for this research is Pendant EEG , which can be considered as the most portable and inexpensive EEG unit on the market today. The device can record and analyze the waves along with the possibility of transferring the data to the computer and subsequently to EEG analysis software. Accordingly, the choice of the MIDI output can be justified by the simplicity of the sounds, where the General MIDI standard 2 is universal across vendors and manufacturers, supports several channels, and can record the characteristics of the sounds such tempo, decay time and vibrato. (Pisano, 2006). This device is critical for collecting and measuring EEG waves. Yet, its beneficence will also depend on the use analysis techniques that have been discussed previously.
Timelines
The research will be divided into several stages, including the preliminary notes assignment, the development of conversion software, and the analysis of the study group, where the results of the composed music will be measured based on several criteria the music perception and the satisfaction level. At this stage, it is hardly possible to speak about the exact scheduling. The primary task would be to develop the system of monitoring, measuring and interpreting brainwaves. Furthermore, we will need to find subjects who would agree to participate in this project. Recording sessions can take approximately one or two weeks. Again each subject must participate in two sessions. The interpretation of data and its translation into music will be the most time-consuming part of this process. Only afterwards we will be able to examine the effects of these sounds on physical and psychological state of the subjects.
Contribution
The study can contribute to the field of the neurofeedback, by providing criteria tools for assessment. Additionally, the methods of notes assignment through average intervals of waves of bandwidth will be tested to establish the similarity between the waves and notes in different groups. Hypothetically, this study can significantly contribute to the knowledge of electroencephalography waves and their musical representation. The findings can be utilized by for the development of BCI systems. Furthermore, the results of the research can be of great use for musical applications. Translation of EEG waves into sounds has grown into one of the most promising and challenging areas of neuroscience. Overall, the proposed research can be a valuable contribution the understanding of the research questions.
Works Cited
Arslan, B., Brouse, A., Castet, J., Lehembre, R., Simon, C., Filatriau, J. J. and Noirhomme, Q. Real Time Music Synthesis Environment Driven with Biological Signals , Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, 2009.
Brouse, A., Filatriau, J.-J., Gaitanis, K., Lehembre, R., Macq, B., Miranda, E. and Zenon, A.. An instrument of sound and visual creation driven by biological signals . Proceedings of ENTERFACE06. 2006.
Coutinho, E. Miranda, E. R. and Cangelosi, A. Towards a Model for Embodied Emotions , Proceedings of the Workshop on Affective Computing: Towards Affective Intelligent Systems, 2005.
Filatriau, J. J., Lehembre, R., Macq, B., Brouse, A. and Miranda, E. R. From EEG signals to a world of sound and visual textures 2007.
Groves Bob. Brain music therapy tunes into trouble; Waves used to help with ups, downs . The Record, 2005.
Groves Bob. MUSIC FOR YOUR MIND THERAPY TURNS BRAIN WAVES INTO MUSIC TO SOOTHE OR STIMULATE . Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
Grant Alexis. MENTAL HEALTH / Brain may benefit from its music / Tunes composed from patient brain waves may relieve anxiety, insomnia . Houston Chronicle, 2008
Gruzelier J. & Egner, T. Critical validation studies of neurofeedback . Child and Adolescents Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 2005 14 83-104.
Heslet Lars. Our Musical Brain. (n. d.). Web.
Hofstadter, K. Investigate the use of EEG data for sonification and visualisation in a creative environment. Creative Music Technology. 2009, Anglia Ruskin University.
Livingstone, D. and Miranda, E a). ORB3 Musical Robots within an Adaptive Social Composition System , Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference 2005
Livingstone, D. and Miranda, E. R. Composition for Ubiquitous Responsive Environments , Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference, Miami, 2004.
Megan, K. & Writer, C. S. SOOTHED BY YOUR BRAIN WAVES; THERAPEUTIC WHEN CONVERTED TO MUSIC. Hartford Courant. STATEWIDE ed. 2009.
Miranda, E R. Brain-Computer music interface for composition and performance , International Journal on Disability and Human Development, 2006 5(2):119-125.
Miranda, E. R. On the Music of Emergent Behaviour: What can Evolutionary Computation Bring to the Musician? , Leonardo 2003, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 55-58.
Miranda, E. R. and Boskamp, B. Steering Generative Rules with the EEG: An Approach to Brain-Computer Music Interfacing , Proceedings of Sound and Music Computing, 2005.
Miranda, E. R., Sharman, K., Kilborn, K., Duncan, A. On Harnessing the Electroencephalogram for the Musical Braincap , Computer Music Journal 2003, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 80-102.
Pisano, J. MIDI standards, a brief history and explanation. MustTech.net 2006. Web.
Steenson, M. W. Brain Music Points to Mouseless Future 1996. Wired. Web.
Zhang, Q. and Miranda, E. R. Multi-Agent Simulation for Generating Expressive Music Performance , Proceedings of World Congress on Social Simulation, 2008.
Music is probably the most abstract and difficult to understand the sort of art. For centuries scholars have been trying to explain the purpose of listening to music, creating it, and the way it can impact a human mind. Schäfer, Sedlmeier, Städtler, and Huron state that the common aim of listening to music is to regulate arousal and mood, to achieve self-awareness, and as an expression of social relatedness (2013, p. 1). Despite the numerous and often contradictory findings regarding the phenomenon of music, there are no doubts about the powerful connection it has with a human mind, emotions, feelings, and actions.
Music and Psychological Mechanisms
The music is not just a collection of random notes, but a story told in universally understood language. According to scientific research, music is believed to connect people to their personal past experiences and, thus, to manipulate peoples emotions and feelings. Listeners are not only able to percept the aesthetics of the musical composition but understand its deeper meaning.
The compositions people add to their tracklists, and the musicians they prefer may tell a lot about how their minds function. Taste in music often depends on such factors as age, gender, temperament, and views on life. The genres people favor usually reflect appropriate psychological behavior and predispositions. In her article for Medical Daily, Lizette Borreli (2015) describes the study, according to which the preferences of blues, jazz, and folk are more typical for open-minded and adventurous individuals. At the same time, people admiring pop, electronic, and dance music is usually friendly and extroverted (Borreli, 2015, para. 3).
Impact on learning and productivity
Numerous studies have discovered the effect the music might have on learning abilities and work performance. One of the most famous theories on that matter regarded as a so-called Mozart effect (Lesiuk, 2005, p. 177). The scientists noticed the positive impact of this particular composer on thinking and creativity. Teachers often practiced playing classical music in a classroom during the exams and recommended implementing such an approach nationwide.
Lesiuk (2005) investigated the influence of listening to music at the workplace among computer system developers. She states that computer designers have to be creative and produce the work that is innovative and applicable at the same time. They work under pressure and often depend on a particular mood and inspiration. The individuals that felt optimistic and calm after listening to certain tunes processed the information faster and showed better productivity (Lesiuk, 2005). Music often helps people to cope with stressful situations at work, reduce the anxiety and think more clearly. The others, on the other hand, listen to the energetic music to create a positive environment in the office and increase the speed of task performance. Professional athletes claim that music makes them feel stronger and more confident, and achieve higher results during training and competitions.
However, individual aspects and certain criteria should be considered before implementing the idea of music at a workplace. Thompson, Schellenberg, and Letnic (2012) argue that sometimes unsuitable music can do more harm to the productivity and concentration of the team. The scholars discovered that loud and fast music tends to disrupt reading comprehension (Thompson et al., 2012, p. 1). In general, however, the scientists agree that an appropriately selected musical compositions stimulate the positive team spirit and increase the creativity.
Conclusion
People listen and write music due to the number of reasons, most of which are still unclear to the scientists. However, the deep connection between music and human psychological mechanisms was noticed many centuries ago. Musical preferences reveal a lot about peoples personalities and life experiences. There is a lot to be discovered about the way music communicates to the human brain, but it is apparent that it has a powerful impact on learning capabilities, creativity, and productivity of an individual.
Lesiuk, T. (2005). The effect of music listening on work performance. Psychology of Music, 33(2), 173-191.
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Within recent decades the chances of a child being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder have increased dramatically. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is the term used for a collection of compound disorders of brain development. These disorders can run a range of difficulties in social contacts, as well as in various types of communication; it often manifests in repetitious behavior. The abundance of disease identification takes place because of improved related methods and awareness. Some believe this is due to the increased recognition of an autism spectrum disorder with doctors as well as parents, caregivers, teachers, and other individuals that may care about children.
There is a plethora of investigations that reveal the benefits of music therapy for individuals with ASD; hence, this theme seems relevant to discuss. First, it will be explored why this therapy is for people with ASD. Second, the research will reveal the focus of music therapy for individuals with the disease. Third, it will be discussed whether findings support the efficacy of the treatment. Fourth, it will be examined if music therapy may be considered as an efficient alternative treatment for ASD. Due to the eagerness to develop preventive therapies after a child has been diagnosed with autism, parents and paraprofessionals rush into alternative methods to counteract the challenges.
In understanding the effects of music therapy, the literature of music therapy as an alternative treatment for children with autism spectrum disorders will be reviewed. Such an undertaking seems relevant because discovering whether music therapy helps people with ASD or not is essential. Moreover, it is necessary to understand the effectiveness of the method compared to other alternatives and how useful it is to increase the quality of life for people with autism spectrum disorders and their families.
Appropriacy of Music Therapy
To begin with, it vital to provide a definition of the phenomenon being discussed. Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program (AMTA, 2012, p. 1). Its efficacy as an alternative treatment for children with ASD has evolved significantly over the last few decades. It has been considered as a tool for the contribution to the development of ASD children. Under this therapy, they are more likely to improve various skills they have difficulties with. The influence of the related musical methods has helped many people with ASD in their struggle against different developmental challenges in daily experiences.
Music can stimulate both hemispheres of a brain, which is among the most crucial reasons why it has become an instrument used in autism treatment. Dissimilarities in brain activities refer to progress in the framework of behavioral indicators. In these cases, the strength of the connection between auditory and motor areas were found to be significantly related to improvements in social communication (Stavropoulos, 2019, para. 5). It means that children who had the most substantial increases in brain connections demonstrated the most significant behavioral improvements. Similarly, children who had decreased connections between auditory and visual brain areas showed more improvements in social communication (Stavropoulos, 2019, para. 6). Moreover, Heaton (2005) claims that the investigation shows that individuals with ASD may have a heightened musical aptitude and sensitivity to musical elements, yet similar skills of music perception as compared to typically developing peers. Thus, a therapist may apply a song or instrument to maintain cognitive activity to help build self-reflection and develop social relations. Another cause why music therapy may be used is to facilitate autistic childrens learning to improve overall relationships with peers.
Focus of Music Therapy
The valuation process of music therapy is destined to obtain an understanding of a persons functioning while being involved in various developmental musical experiences. This therapy intervention plan is also founded on the evaluation results. By connecting music with activities, as well as continuous training, the brain areas used for speaking may be strengthened and developed. It should be mentioned that the described method has been recognized and is widely applied as a crucial part of treatment for plenty of disorders to develop skills such as self-reflection or communication. The above benefits contribute to the fact that this therapy is perceived as an integral element of healing plans for individuals with ASD. Investigations revealed that music interventions utilized for autistic children and teens can improve their social contacts and increase attention. Most recent studies show that music therapy interventions have focused on enhancing individuals abilities and universal functioning.
Crucial Findings of Investigations on Music Therapy
Plenty of additional investigations have shown that children and adults with ASD respond appropriately to the therapy. Usually, persons with ASD perceive music well when little else may grab their attention, which is a great foundation for choosing it as a potential therapeutic instrument. The latter statement has been proved by the scholarly dimension, which allows arguing that the described approach has a considerable scientific foundation.
Within the scope of the profession, peer-reviewed journals for instance, Journal of Music Therapy and Music Therapy Perspectives explore the described method and determine it as an efficient instrument for people with ASD. Then, AMTA has conducted much research on the benefits that music therapy may provide. Investigated clinical consequences have put an emphasis on the application of music to address the following: communication cognition behaviors (problem/repetitive/stereotypic), social skills, and interaction emotional regulation (AMTA, 2012). Moreover, over the past decades, case studies have demonstrated the value of music therapy for people with ASD (Kern et al., 2013; Reschke-Hernández, 2011; Geretsegger et al., 2014). As already mentioned, music interventions have long been considered as an alternative therapy. Nevertheless, many investigations and the above research narrative have supported music intervention as a prospective method to develop social communication of individuals with ASD.
Music Therapy as an Effective Alternative Treatment for ASD
Studies show that early music education is extremely beneficial to all children because it increases the development of gray matter in the brain and helps improve memory. For children who deal with ASD, interactions with others can be complicated; however, the introduction of music may stimulate communications and can contribute to improved social contacting with others. For instance, music interventions may better the process of communication in autistic children through the effects of interactions between brain areas, and positive changes in these interactions take place due to behavioral improvements. The therapeutic use of music is also known for reducing anxiety, improving cognitive functioning, promoting physical rehabilitation, or enhancing interpersonal communication (Brownell, 2002). What is more, studies of early intervention have demonstrated that if autistic children learn together through a game and funny musical activity, they can create a healthy environment where parents and children can bond in a significant manner.
Discussion
Taking the next step in the music therapy research process to be established as an evidence-based treatment intervention, music therapy researchers need to look carefully at this first-generation study to understand the results. It is known from clinical experience that increased musical engagement ultimately results in improved cognitive, communicative, social, and behavioral functioning. However, it is vital that second-generation studies are fielded to provide a more in-depth perspective on high-quality interventions on the efficacy of music therapy. Therefore, it is imperative to investigate this as a non-traditional outlet for autism treatment and not allow it to be overlooked as it was in the past.
Conclusion
To conclude, music therapy may be considered as an efficient tool that can be utilized to address a number of critical issues. Research reveals that many autistic individuals have innate musical talents. The discussed approach provides them with the opportunity to achieve significant results in their developmental experiences. The skills that individuals with ASD obtain through relations with their music therapists and the influence of the described method on their brains help them to interact and communicate with others while also becoming more self-aware. It might be rational to claim that this therapy has proved to be an appropriate instrument to use during the treatment process of ASD. Hence, continuous research on the phenomenon seems relevant and essential option. The primary aim of the subsequent investigations might be to provide further explanation on what music therapy can bring as a recognized and notable treatment approach.
Brownell, M. (2002). Musically adapted Social Stories to modify behaviors in students with autism: Four case studies. Journal of Music Therapy, 39(2), 117-144.
Geretsegger, M., Elefant, C., Mossler, K., & Gold, C. (2014). Music therapy for people with autism spectrum disorder. The Cochrane Library, (6). Web.
Heaton, P. (2005). Interval and contour processing in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 25(6), 787793.
Kern, P., Rivera, N. R., Chandler, A., & Humpal, M. (2013). Music therapy services for individuals with autism spectrum disorder: A survey of clinical practices and training needs. Journal of Music Therapy, 50(4), 274303.
Reschke-Hernanadez, A. E. (2011). History of music therapy treatment interventions for children with autism. Journal of Music Therapy, 48(2), 169207.