Music What Is It?

1. Sound 2. Time 3. Emotion

Like a pebble in the water, sound travels outward in all directions from it’s source. Vibrations in a solid, liquid, or gas capable of being detected by the organs of hearing. Sound is measured in – Volume – Pitch Sound by itself is not music.

A system by which intervals are measured. In music this is known as rhythm. Time by itself is not music.

Any feeling such as joy, sorrow, hate, or love arising subjectively rather than through a conscious mental effort. Emotion by itself is not music.

“Sound, Time, Emotion”

So Music is made of Sound, Time, & Emotion.

Music Means Different Things to Different People  Life experiences directly effect what music means to you.  Every experience involving music effects the way you perceive the music around you.

Common Musical Experiences  Prenatal – music heard from the womb  Singing for fun  Hymns or gospels at church  Music classes at school  Television, radio, recordings  Background music  Malls, elevators, offices, phones, etc…  Attending or performing at concerts

Aspects That Effect Your Perception of Music Family Peers Religion School Past experiences Availability How have these aspects effected you and your perception of music? Skip

Family Your family heritage (culture) is a strong influence on your musical perception. – Children spend their early years hearing music their parents and relatives enjoy. These experiences make this music familiar. Music outside the family norm is considered unusual or foreign –Examples may include Polka Bands or Indian Chants – During a child’s rebellious years, they often perceive their parent’s music negatively and search for their own. (Kids and their Rock and Roll) Back Next Skip

Peers During a child’s adolescence and through out the rest of their lives, peers have a major influence on what music is good. People are always willing to influence your judgment of music by giving you their opinion about what is currently good or acceptable. “Top 10 lists” This is a subjective topic and everyone must make up their own mind. Back Next Skip

Religion An individuals religious beliefs strongly effect their musical experiences. – Many religions depend on music to communicate their beliefs and traditions. – Some religions ban music completely. – Some religions allow only specific instruments or songs to be performed in their church. Back Next Skip

School Many schools make music an integral part of a child’s education. Music classes teach the fundamental elements of music as well as expose students to different styles of music from around the world. Music classes teach cultural differences and similarities, expanding a child’s perception and understanding of a global society. Back Next Skip

Past Experiences Music stimulates memories and emotions Positive or negative experiences become associated with certain music. – These experiences strongly effect a persons emotional reaction. Examples; –If a parent sings lullabies and bedtime to a child, the child may feel a sense of calm from hearing the music. –A couple’s favorite song stimulates emotions depending on where the couple are in their relationship. –A song played at a loved ones funeral will stimulate memories of that individual and the experience. Back Next Skip

Availability Before recorded music, all musical experiences came from live performances. If there was no musician, there was no music. Many family traditions of making music were passed down through the generations. During the middle ages, European minstrels strolled between the villages making up songs to tell the villagers of their experiences. Music made the stories easier to remember, more entertaining, and provided information from one village to another. This was very important to the masses who could not read or write. Today, we hear many varieties of music due to the abundance of recordings and vast availability. We are now able to listen to music performed around the world right in or own homes. Next Back

What I Think About Music Is Determined By My Experiences.

When Students Are Taught Music, They Learn Many Subjects.

Music Teaches; Science – Acoustics – Sound Waves – Pitch Frequencies Cycles Per Second – Dynamics Decibals – Timbre of Sounds Series of Overtones BackNext

Music Teaches; Mathematics – Division of Time – Fractions – Spatial Reasoning – Sound wave cycles BackNext

Music Teaches; Language – Music notation is an international language. – Musical expressions are derived from several foreign languages – Many foreign languages are used in vocal music. BackNext

Music Teaches Social studies & history – Every culture can be identified through it’s art and music. – Each time period of a culture provides stylistic changes in their music, providing us with an ear to the past. BackNext

Music Teaches; Physical Education – Performance requires coordination between mind and body. BackNext

Music Teaches; Reading – Brain functions for reading music are the same as reading text. – More time spent reading music has proven to help overall reading scores. BackNext

Music Teaches; Art – Stimulating creativity – Allowing freedom of expression – Enhancing self-esteem BackNext

People Learn Many Subjects While Learning Music.

Alright! Alright! You Don’t Have to Yell! We’ve Covered – What music is made of – How people are influenced by music – The many subjects taught through music

To Really Understand Music It Must be Performed or Heard.

Click Here to Clap or Sing Along One of the Classics for Band

So, you’ve learned everything there is to know about music.