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Final Blog Post

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      For my final blog post, I chose to discuss how music can bring people together, particularly speaking during a national crisis. During this post, I will be focusing on the United States, and how people from all over the world come here to get a fresh start with freedom and hopes of living the “American Dream.” There are so many amazing songs about this great country of ours that make us proud to be an American, even if we all don’t necessarily agree or get along with one another.        Obviously, the first song that comes to everyone’s mind when they think of an American song is the Star Spangled Banner, but I’m going to focus more on other songs that demonstrate our American pride.      One of these other songs just so happens to be one that I think is just as popular as the Star Spangled Banner, and that would be  God Bless the U.S.A.  by Lee Greenwood. This song was written by Greenwood in 1984 in response to his feelings about the shooting down of Korean Airlines Flight 007,
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Continued Exploration

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           Growing up I recall always listening to Boyz II Men in the car on the way to school. I have loved their music since a young age and still to this day.  Boyz II Men  was originally a 5-person A Capella group, but eventually became a four person group in 1989. The band was made up of Nathan and Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, and Michael McCary. During the 1990s is when they started gaining international success. It began when Boyz II Men released their single “Motownphilly” and “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” in 1991. These hits eventually lead to the group receiving Grammy Awards and selling millions of albums.      Unfortunately, there is only three members of the group today. Michael McCary left the group in 2003 due to health issues. However, in a article written in January of 2016, McCary stated that, “…we were suppose to do a reunion a couple years back and it all came down to money. It all came down to the fellas wanted to split three ways, instead of four way
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Music and the Fictive Dream

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      Can You Feel the Love Tonight composed by Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice is a song from The Lion King, a well known 1994 animated Disney movie. The Lion King was produced by Roger Allers and directed by Rob Minkoff. The song gained its popularity as the movie won multiple awards, including two Oscars for Best Music, Original Song (which was actually  Can You Feel the Love Tonight ) and Best Music, Original Score.      Can You Feel the Love Tonight  was performed by Sally Dworsky (adult singing voice of Nala) and Joseph Williams (adult singing voice of Simba). This performance occurs when Simba, the main character in the film, falls in love with his childhood friend, Nala. They are singing to each other in their heads, basically, because they are too afraid to say what they are thinking to each other. The scene is a very powerful representation of love. Below is the scene from The Lion King where the song is performed.  Elton John Can You Feel the Love Tonight official music
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Role of a Performer

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       Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born on February 20th, 1988, in Saint Michael, Barbados. Robyn, who goes by her middle name, Rihanna, is a singer, actress, and businesswoman. Rihanna was discovered by an American record producer, Evan Rodgers in 2005. Rodgers invited Rihanna to the United States to record demo tapes which were then sent to Def Jam Records. Jay-Z, the CEO of  Def Jam listened to the demos and invited Rihanna to audition, where she left with a 6 album record deal. Rihanna quickly became the youngest artist to score 14 number 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Rihanna's top charting single " Umbrella " from her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007) earned Rihanna her first Grammy Award.      Rihanna who was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012 and 2018, has sold over 54 million albums and 210 million tracks worldwide. She is the only artist in the 21st century to have earned over 30 top-ten songs in th
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Innovations and Evolution of Music

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      There are many subcategories that come to mind when thinking of the Rap genre. When thinking of rap music today, common artists that come to mind are Meg the Stallion or DaBaby. They are what I would consider as "hip-hop" artists. Their style of music greatly differs from the 'old school' rappers such as Tupac or Snoop Dogg. From then to now rap has changed greatly, from the instruments to the lyrics and rhythm.       Typically, rap can be identified by the instruments played in the song. Commonly used are drum machines, keyboards and turntables. Many rap songs today still use these instruments however, they add in modern twists. An example of a modern twist that most rap artist use in todays day and age is autotune. This is a computer device that is used to alter an artists voice.   The word "rap" was originally used as a slang word to mean that someone was talking or  having a conversation. Rap music can be traced back to West Africa where they would
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Take a Musical Trip

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  I come from a very large hispanic family and for as long as I can remember during any family event hispanic music would be playing. Mariachi bands have always sparked my interest. They are so much fun!  The roots of mariachi music go back hundreds of years. Mariachi bands were generally small and not well known outside the region of western Mexico. Violins, guitars, and a harp were the common instruments use to play Mariachi music. The history of Mariachi is largely undocumented. The earliest known reference to Mariachi is in a letter written by priest Cosme Santa Anna in 1852. Early Mariachis did not dress alike and wore what was considered as, "peasant clothing". Mariachis were commonly associated with small, private parties.  After the Mexican Revolution mariachis were not getting business or making money so they started to wander and play for free.  Mariachi was first introduced in Mexico City in 1905. During this time, the Mexican government was involved in cultural pr
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Musical Analysis 2

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  Eminem is an artist that brings me back to my childhood. "Lose Yourself" was written by Eminem and released on October 28, 2002 out of 54 sound studio in Detroit, Michigan. This song reminds me of riding around in my dads old blue pickup truck. Eminem was one of my dads favorite rappers and his music was on frequently as I was growing up. This song stuck with me a little more than other work by Eminem. It is such a motivational song and makes me want to get to work and go after everything that I want because I only have "one shot"! Rhythm  The rhythm in this piece is simple but strong. I believe it gives the foundation to the song. The time measure throughout the song doesn't change giving it a repetitive beat. The guitar chord consistency playing on the downbeat creates an engaging feeling to nod your head to.  Tempo The tempo to this song is a perfect fit for the lyrics. If the song was too fast the meaning and lyrics behind the song would get lost in transl
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