Time and Space
During the first weekend that Side Show was available for the public eye at the University of Texas at Dallas, that first Saturday night (April 10th) was not a full house. Not even half of the theatre was filled by the time the show officially started. At this time, the first three rows of the theatre seating were completely filled while the fourth and fifth rows had a few people here and there. The show started in a very timely manner, with more people (mostly students) slowly coming in late as the show went on. I found it very interesting that the first row of the audience was on the same level as the stage and the university theatre was smaller than I had imagined.
Music
I have been to live musicals before, but I noticed that in Side Show, the orchestra rarely ever stopped playing. Maybe I had never realized it before because I have never had to analyze a musical or maybe it did not play as often as this one, but the orchestra was playing during scene changes and times where I would normally think it to be a dead time in a play. Though most of the time the orchestra was playing during scene changes, occasionally the singers would sing along as well, while moving objects for the next scene. The music that played in between these scenes normally set the tone for the upcoming scene. For example, it was quick and upbeat right before a lively and fun scene, but it was slower and had less ornamentation when the next scene was on the serious side. The music had a very westernized sound to it. Clarinets, flute, bass, guitar, trumpet, horn, saxophones, tuba, drums, percussion, and oboes made up the orchestra, along with the director, piano, and assistant director. The music was definitely a pulsatile homophony and contained each classification of instruments – chordophones, aerophones, membranophones, idiophones, and electrophones.
Audience
Much of the attendees seemed to be family of those in the performance because I saw many older couples, adults, many family-looking groups with kids that were probably brother and sisters of the performers. There were some students there as well, probably to support their friends, but the families far out-numbered the students. Part of the reason could be that it was on a Saturday night, a student’s prime night for going out. The first three rowed were completely packed with people, with the first row being on the same level as the stage. It was obvious to me that those first few rows were more attentive to the show. I was in the third row and I could see those who were in front of me were absorbed in the play, but when I glanced behind me, many were texting and whispering amongst themselves. Having the first row of seats on the same level as the stage allowed the performers to interact with the crowd on another level that I have never seen before. Because of this, the first couple of rows didn’t really have a choice but to pay attention, because you wouldn’t want to be caught off guard by the performers. In the beginning, it was obvious that the audience was not too sure of when the appropriate time was to clap. They tried to clap after long song, especially by the girls, but many times they were interrupted by another actor who began their line. As the night went on, the timing for applause improved greatly.
Performers
It was difficult to analyze much about the performers because they were put behind the entire scene, almost out of sight from the audience. At the very beginning, I could see about six of the musicians, but soon, even they were covered up and the only players I was able to see consistently was the drummer and the electric guitarist. I realize this is a musical, but I was surprised to see that even simple dialogue, many times, was sung instead of plainly being stated. The interaction with the audience made the atmosphere of the crowd much different than it would have been without it. When the “Cannibal King” came into the crowd when he was introduced, it was as if this musical was daring to be different, and grabbed the audience’s attention very quickly. I also noticed that the actors and actresses seemed to make a lot of eye contact with the audience, which is normally a bad thing when performing in a show, but in my opinion, it just added to the interaction that they had with the audience.
Overall, this musical had many different aspects and a unique atmosphere that I had never experienced before. From the interaction of the performers with the audience to the constant playing of the orchestra, the show was a type of folk performance – it was put on for the enjoyment of their own community. Though the theatre was smaller than imagined, it allowed for a special bond for the audience to take part in.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Blog 12 - New Wave Rock
New wave was known as a subgenre of rock of the early 1980s. This subgenre is a great example of rock because it contains all of the elements that rock is known for. The example band that I am going to use to display this subgenre of rock will be the Talking Heads singing the song that I would imagine that most everyone should recognize, called “Burning Down the House”. (I apologize, I couldn't get this particular video to show up on the blog, but here's a hyperlink to it.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNnAvTTaJjM
First, the guitar is a very important component to rock, whether it be the bass guitar, the electric guitar, or the acoustic guitar. However, most of the focus and emphasis of the music came from the electric guitar, as was common in rock. Next, there are only four players in this band. Each of them plays an instrument: the acoustic guitar, the electric guitar, the bass guitar, and the drums. However, three of them sing as well, the drummer being the exception. The size of this group is identified as a small ensemble. The fact that three of the four musicians sing as well proves the emphasis on singing that rock had. Though normally the lead singer may be the one that stands out in appearance in order to make a statement and stand out from the rest of the bands of the time, the whole band had the image, instead of just the head singer. In their music videos, as well as in the recording studio, they had a creative use of technology. If anything, their video should prove this, and also that it was not just blending in with other bands at the time, but it was an emotional, powerful style that no other band had tried quite like this before. They had an excitement and energy that couldn’t be ignored, which came through very loudly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNnAvTTaJjM
First, the guitar is a very important component to rock, whether it be the bass guitar, the electric guitar, or the acoustic guitar. However, most of the focus and emphasis of the music came from the electric guitar, as was common in rock. Next, there are only four players in this band. Each of them plays an instrument: the acoustic guitar, the electric guitar, the bass guitar, and the drums. However, three of them sing as well, the drummer being the exception. The size of this group is identified as a small ensemble. The fact that three of the four musicians sing as well proves the emphasis on singing that rock had. Though normally the lead singer may be the one that stands out in appearance in order to make a statement and stand out from the rest of the bands of the time, the whole band had the image, instead of just the head singer. In their music videos, as well as in the recording studio, they had a creative use of technology. If anything, their video should prove this, and also that it was not just blending in with other bands at the time, but it was an emotional, powerful style that no other band had tried quite like this before. They had an excitement and energy that couldn’t be ignored, which came through very loudly.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Blog 11 - The Gullah
The Gullah people are an African American people that came to the United States as slaves and were known for their cultivation of rice. They were very isolated and did not have as much interaction with whites as the north did, and were therefore able to keep a tighter grasp on their traditions and way of life. All of their customs have a deeper meaning than what may be realized. Their stories, arts and crafts, funerals, dance/music, and even their diet has reason(s) of why they perform them the way they do.
The Gullah dance and music in particular, is more than just entertainment. This is their way of expressing that they are not inferior to anyone, and their “resistance to slavery”. They believe and want the focus of the dance not to be any of the physical moves or physical sound, but the depth of expression and the meaning behind the expression to be what is understood by their folk performance. It’s about expressing their gratitude for their ancestors continued resistance to slavery and the freedom that they fought for and still have now. As simple as it may look and sound, the Gullah attack another whole world of their own to it that their community understands and is thankful for.
The majority of the music comes from the drums, but some of those who were dancing and some who were watching also had a type of shaker that made noise as well. Anyone in attendance was encouraged to dance, shout, or whatever you needed to “if the spirit moved you”.
The Gullah dance and music in particular, is more than just entertainment. This is their way of expressing that they are not inferior to anyone, and their “resistance to slavery”. They believe and want the focus of the dance not to be any of the physical moves or physical sound, but the depth of expression and the meaning behind the expression to be what is understood by their folk performance. It’s about expressing their gratitude for their ancestors continued resistance to slavery and the freedom that they fought for and still have now. As simple as it may look and sound, the Gullah attack another whole world of their own to it that their community understands and is thankful for.
The majority of the music comes from the drums, but some of those who were dancing and some who were watching also had a type of shaker that made noise as well. Anyone in attendance was encouraged to dance, shout, or whatever you needed to “if the spirit moved you”.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Performance Report 1 - It's a Small World After All
Introduction/Time and Space
On April 2, 2010 Laura Thao and her assistant Kyle performed at Central Market in Fort Worth, Texas. The atmosphere was very laid back. The music wasn’t the main focus of this event, but more of a type of background sound. This event took place outside on a patio where people were eating, talking, and drinking while their kids played. There was a child’s playground right next to the stage, enabling the children to sit on the ledge right behind the performers, almost as if they were on stage themselves. This greatly showed how laid back it was. Though most of the patio was open to any type of bad weather that may occur, the stage is covered with a roof.
Audience
The majority of people were families. This event allowed the parents to drink and have a good time catching up with one another while their kids also got to play with other children. Not everyone was listening, but those that were sitting closer to the stage seemed more attentive. Right in front of the stage, little girls and boys were dancing to the music, causing the musicians on stage to smile at them occasionally. Most of the crowd would applaud after each song, especially those in the front. There were lots of kids, running around, dancing, screaming, but no one seemed to mind. It was a very chill environment. The adults could bring their own beer; some were even spilling it all over the place. It was interesting to me how though the people may not have seemed very attentive, I did get several looks from people, as I was by myself, carrying around a notebook and taking notes. I assume that they were just curious of what exactly I was doing there and taking notes about.
Performers
The musicians on stage, Laura Thao the guitar and Kyle on a drum, seemed very relaxed. They were not a popular type of music style, but more of a folk music To match the audience, the performers were also very relaxed and comfortable. The guitarist, who was also singing, asked at least a couple times, if the audience could hear her, and to my surprise, they crowd responded quite well. Laura was wearing jeans and a sleeveless shirt and Kyle was wearing a long sleeve, plaid shirt and white cargo shorts. It was neat to see the performers somewhat interact with the audience, whether it was asking them if they could hear well, or just responding to the children’s dancing, singing, and sometimes screaming in the space in front of them.
Music
Laura stood and played an acoustic guitar while singing and Kyle sat on a cube-shaped drum that he would beat with his hands. The music had a very Western style to it. Each song had the same, single chorus, with two or three different verses in between. In the third song, she used a plucking technique. Together, they created a monophony, as the guitar just provided a single melody with the drum accompanying at certain pulses. She sang a pretty high pitch, probably more of a soprano tone. There were parts of several different songs where she would not sing certain words, but instead, emotional sounds. For example, in one song, she might “mmhmm” and another, she would “yahoaaa”. Laura swayed and moved to the music in a very smooth fashion, as if to get a better feel of the beat.
After the first three songs, she explained that they were more romantically inspired, while the next few she was about to sing were focused more on the Creator. The next few songs were either about the Lord’s love, how His grace wipes away our mistakes and sins, and the praise He deserves. Some of the song titles were “You are Made New” and “To Your Name be the Glory”.
Conclusion
I had originally planned to hear the Fort Worth All Stars play, but I happened to arrive in time for them to be on break (as I found out a couple songs in) while these two were performing. After she began talking about God’s love and correlating her songs towards her relationship with Christ, I decided I was going to talk to her after the performance, maybe as an interview or maybe as a Christian sister. Either way, I just felt the need to talk with her afterwards. As I walked near her, she said “I remember you!” as she looked at me. It turns out, I had met her last summer at a Baptist camp at UMHB in Belton, but because of her new haircut, I had failed to recognize her. I was shocked for the rest of the weekend that we had just happened to meet up at some random place. It’s a small world after all!
On April 2, 2010 Laura Thao and her assistant Kyle performed at Central Market in Fort Worth, Texas. The atmosphere was very laid back. The music wasn’t the main focus of this event, but more of a type of background sound. This event took place outside on a patio where people were eating, talking, and drinking while their kids played. There was a child’s playground right next to the stage, enabling the children to sit on the ledge right behind the performers, almost as if they were on stage themselves. This greatly showed how laid back it was. Though most of the patio was open to any type of bad weather that may occur, the stage is covered with a roof.
Audience
The majority of people were families. This event allowed the parents to drink and have a good time catching up with one another while their kids also got to play with other children. Not everyone was listening, but those that were sitting closer to the stage seemed more attentive. Right in front of the stage, little girls and boys were dancing to the music, causing the musicians on stage to smile at them occasionally. Most of the crowd would applaud after each song, especially those in the front. There were lots of kids, running around, dancing, screaming, but no one seemed to mind. It was a very chill environment. The adults could bring their own beer; some were even spilling it all over the place. It was interesting to me how though the people may not have seemed very attentive, I did get several looks from people, as I was by myself, carrying around a notebook and taking notes. I assume that they were just curious of what exactly I was doing there and taking notes about.
Performers
The musicians on stage, Laura Thao the guitar and Kyle on a drum, seemed very relaxed. They were not a popular type of music style, but more of a folk music To match the audience, the performers were also very relaxed and comfortable. The guitarist, who was also singing, asked at least a couple times, if the audience could hear her, and to my surprise, they crowd responded quite well. Laura was wearing jeans and a sleeveless shirt and Kyle was wearing a long sleeve, plaid shirt and white cargo shorts. It was neat to see the performers somewhat interact with the audience, whether it was asking them if they could hear well, or just responding to the children’s dancing, singing, and sometimes screaming in the space in front of them.
Music
Laura stood and played an acoustic guitar while singing and Kyle sat on a cube-shaped drum that he would beat with his hands. The music had a very Western style to it. Each song had the same, single chorus, with two or three different verses in between. In the third song, she used a plucking technique. Together, they created a monophony, as the guitar just provided a single melody with the drum accompanying at certain pulses. She sang a pretty high pitch, probably more of a soprano tone. There were parts of several different songs where she would not sing certain words, but instead, emotional sounds. For example, in one song, she might “mmhmm” and another, she would “yahoaaa”. Laura swayed and moved to the music in a very smooth fashion, as if to get a better feel of the beat.
After the first three songs, she explained that they were more romantically inspired, while the next few she was about to sing were focused more on the Creator. The next few songs were either about the Lord’s love, how His grace wipes away our mistakes and sins, and the praise He deserves. Some of the song titles were “You are Made New” and “To Your Name be the Glory”.
Conclusion
I had originally planned to hear the Fort Worth All Stars play, but I happened to arrive in time for them to be on break (as I found out a couple songs in) while these two were performing. After she began talking about God’s love and correlating her songs towards her relationship with Christ, I decided I was going to talk to her after the performance, maybe as an interview or maybe as a Christian sister. Either way, I just felt the need to talk with her afterwards. As I walked near her, she said “I remember you!” as she looked at me. It turns out, I had met her last summer at a Baptist camp at UMHB in Belton, but because of her new haircut, I had failed to recognize her. I was shocked for the rest of the weekend that we had just happened to meet up at some random place. It’s a small world after all!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Blog 10 - Opera Composer Donizetti
This particular song is started by the singer, Sumi Jo, with a solo and the instruments join in very softly soon after and build their way up. As common in opera, the Sumi Jo uses the vibrato technique, where her voice continues to waver in pitch. To my surprise, there is a supporting choir in the background. Because they are not that loud (as they shouldn’t be because they are not intended to be the main focus of this opera) from what I can tell, they are not using the vibrato technique that Sumi Jo is using. They come in only at certain rare occasions.
I would definitely consider this a type of popular music because there is no possibility that this is a group of amateurs. These musicians are professionals that play for mass audiences. I also find it very interesting how at around 4:52, though the song is not over yet, the audience begins to clap. My initial reaction was that this audience was not educated enough in this type of music to know when to applaud. However, I soon realized that this couldn’t be the case. This is a very formal performance and it is highly unlikely that the entire audience would applaud at the wrong time. I believe their applause was due to their realization of Sumi Jo’s incredible singing talent, which could not help but to be recognized right then and there. It was also funny to see the violinists’ reactions to the unexpected applause in the middle of the performance, as they did not seem too pleased about the sudden interruption.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Blog 9 - Avatar vs. Na'vi
Though the music in the movie “Avatar” that is used as film score and the music known to the culture of Na’vi are very similar, there are differences that need to be noted. However, I must admit, these are not easily distinguished.
In order to see the difference, it is necessary to look deeper into the music than what is at the surface. For example, the reasoning behind the music of the Na’vi music opposes what the music in Avatar is used for. Na’vi music imitates natural noises that are heard, whether that may take place in the surrounding environment or in a person. The drums might mimic the beat of a heart, seeing as everyone living has a heartbeat. But as is seen in the music video below, it has a nature-feel to it, as if it might be played in the forest or outdoors somewhere.
In the case of this example of Na’vi music, there is a sort of drone that varies in pitch and is not as consistent as the type of drone that I am prone to think of when I think of a drone. However, it does exemplify how natural it is supposed to sound.
The music of the movie Avatar seems a bit more serious, and fittingly should, as it is centered around war and love. This song above does not seem as natural, but tends to have a bit more of what we know as classical music in it, at certain points, while still maintaining the natural feel as well.
Though the basis of the music in Avatar may have been from the Na’vi music culture, it is definitely still turned more towards its own purpose of having the serious-war feel, while the Na’vi keeps to the natural sounds of the world around them.
In order to see the difference, it is necessary to look deeper into the music than what is at the surface. For example, the reasoning behind the music of the Na’vi music opposes what the music in Avatar is used for. Na’vi music imitates natural noises that are heard, whether that may take place in the surrounding environment or in a person. The drums might mimic the beat of a heart, seeing as everyone living has a heartbeat. But as is seen in the music video below, it has a nature-feel to it, as if it might be played in the forest or outdoors somewhere.
In the case of this example of Na’vi music, there is a sort of drone that varies in pitch and is not as consistent as the type of drone that I am prone to think of when I think of a drone. However, it does exemplify how natural it is supposed to sound.
The music of the movie Avatar seems a bit more serious, and fittingly should, as it is centered around war and love. This song above does not seem as natural, but tends to have a bit more of what we know as classical music in it, at certain points, while still maintaining the natural feel as well.
Though the basis of the music in Avatar may have been from the Na’vi music culture, it is definitely still turned more towards its own purpose of having the serious-war feel, while the Na’vi keeps to the natural sounds of the world around them.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Music Ethnography - Fellowship Church
Introduction
For my music culture, I was curious to see how another church conducted their worship in another fashion than I was accustomed to, so I visited Fellowship Church of Grapevine, Texas. I normally attend the First Baptist Church of Richardson, but Fellowship has a Saturday night service that is more directed towards the younger generation and sparked my interest.
Methodology
My friend from high school, Preston Patridge, introduced me to this church. I graduated high school with him and he attends UNT, making it easy for us to get together to go to this unique church. In order to further analyze this music-culture, I used several sources. The main one I used was attending the actual worship at Fellowship Church. I took notes during, but I also participated in the worship. The second best source of information that I received was from a personal interview from Preston who attends this church regularly. I also went online to find the website to Fellowship’s main band called Ragamuffin Soul.
First of all, it needs to be known that this church is directed towards the younger church-going generation. This service was on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. in Grapevine, Texas. Due to the focus on this contemporary audience, the atmosphere is much more laid back. This is necessary to know before fully explaining how this church functions.
Ideas About Music
Keeping in mind the modernity of this culture, the origin of the music that Fellowship Church offers in its worship services has a combination of other music cultures, including mainly current ones. Overall, it has a western style because of the similar instruments they use, including the usual guitars, drums, and singers. There were four singers in the front of the stage, one of them leading. They switch off leading the service week by week. To use an example as to how laid back the nature of the performance is, on my visit, the lead singer of this service that introduced the church had a little trouble with her words and admitted to jumbling up her words often and saying “stupid stuff”. It is just that casual and easy-going. The genre it can be most closely associated with is rock. However, the keyboard also adds some of the traditional style of church worship that has been used for a much longer. This “worship” that is mentioned is the intent of their music in this time and space. Granted, there are many forms of worship, but this type of music is used for worship. Worship transcends the act of singing any song or playing any instrument. It’s a personal time between the person worshipping and the God they are worshipping, not caring what others may thing of them but focusing solely on the One who matters. Worship is a very important aspect of this church and is therefore performed at every service, whether that may mean on Saturday night or early on a Sunday morning. It can be performed as often as desired. Normally, they play three to four songs per service at least.
Activities Involving Music
Their main band is called Ragamuffin and has their own album, which can be found on iTunes (Preston Patridge). They can also be found online at http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/. The pastor also keeps a blog, in which one of the subcategories is music, which can be found at http://www.edyoungblog.com/music/. However, the church’s music capabilities are not limited to stage performances by professionals. Members of the church play on their own as a hobby, worshipping Him on their own or with a group of people. Worship includes more than just singing, though. Some may dance and jump up and down; others may raise their hands, or just simply clap to the beat. Any and all of these are gladly welcomed to the performance, but are acted upon only with the intent of praising. Seeing how comfortable people are there makes the atmosphere very welcoming for visitors of any sort, no matter what race, ethnicity or gender you may be. Fellowship Church does have a central region in Dallas, though. Its main campus is in Grapevine, Texas, but it also has other smaller locations located Plano, downtown Dallas, Fort Worth, and another out of the area located in Miami.
Repertoires of Music
Because of this intimate time of worship they create, they compose the music according to what they believe this generation will relate better to and enjoy more. Therefore, composing in the current day is important in order that they may take more meaning away with the words than they would be able to in the fashion of traditional church music. Much more emphasis is placed on the lyrics than many other types of music where entertainment is the main purpose.
Material Culture of Music
However, the band on stage is set up like that of a secular band. The singers are in the very front holding microphones, behind them was the keyboard on stage-right; then moving from right to left was the electric guitar, the bass guitar, and the drums in the left corner. The nature of this church allows the dress to be as casual as desired, but is all prompted by personal choice, performers and audience alike (Preston Patridge). To ensure that everyone has the chance to sing, even though they may not know the song, the lyrics are displayed on a couple, large projectors in the front so that everyone can sing along, if they so desire. This is especially the case at Fellowship Church because much of their music they compose themselves. At least for the Saturday night service that I attended, they did not have music books or, as they are normally known in church, hymnals available for the audience to look at because the use of the screens replaced the need to stand and hold a book while trying to worship.
Conclusion
Though this music culture may seem to have a very common style of today’s secular music that is used for the main purpose of entertainment, it really holds much deeper meaning to all the participants than it may seem to when initially seen, whether you’re engaged as a musician or as an attendant.
For my music culture, I was curious to see how another church conducted their worship in another fashion than I was accustomed to, so I visited Fellowship Church of Grapevine, Texas. I normally attend the First Baptist Church of Richardson, but Fellowship has a Saturday night service that is more directed towards the younger generation and sparked my interest.
Methodology
My friend from high school, Preston Patridge, introduced me to this church. I graduated high school with him and he attends UNT, making it easy for us to get together to go to this unique church. In order to further analyze this music-culture, I used several sources. The main one I used was attending the actual worship at Fellowship Church. I took notes during, but I also participated in the worship. The second best source of information that I received was from a personal interview from Preston who attends this church regularly. I also went online to find the website to Fellowship’s main band called Ragamuffin Soul.
First of all, it needs to be known that this church is directed towards the younger church-going generation. This service was on Saturday night at 6:00 p.m. in Grapevine, Texas. Due to the focus on this contemporary audience, the atmosphere is much more laid back. This is necessary to know before fully explaining how this church functions.
Ideas About Music
Keeping in mind the modernity of this culture, the origin of the music that Fellowship Church offers in its worship services has a combination of other music cultures, including mainly current ones. Overall, it has a western style because of the similar instruments they use, including the usual guitars, drums, and singers. There were four singers in the front of the stage, one of them leading. They switch off leading the service week by week. To use an example as to how laid back the nature of the performance is, on my visit, the lead singer of this service that introduced the church had a little trouble with her words and admitted to jumbling up her words often and saying “stupid stuff”. It is just that casual and easy-going. The genre it can be most closely associated with is rock. However, the keyboard also adds some of the traditional style of church worship that has been used for a much longer. This “worship” that is mentioned is the intent of their music in this time and space. Granted, there are many forms of worship, but this type of music is used for worship. Worship transcends the act of singing any song or playing any instrument. It’s a personal time between the person worshipping and the God they are worshipping, not caring what others may thing of them but focusing solely on the One who matters. Worship is a very important aspect of this church and is therefore performed at every service, whether that may mean on Saturday night or early on a Sunday morning. It can be performed as often as desired. Normally, they play three to four songs per service at least.
Activities Involving Music
Their main band is called Ragamuffin and has their own album, which can be found on iTunes (Preston Patridge). They can also be found online at http://www.ragamuffinsoul.com/. The pastor also keeps a blog, in which one of the subcategories is music, which can be found at http://www.edyoungblog.com/music/. However, the church’s music capabilities are not limited to stage performances by professionals. Members of the church play on their own as a hobby, worshipping Him on their own or with a group of people. Worship includes more than just singing, though. Some may dance and jump up and down; others may raise their hands, or just simply clap to the beat. Any and all of these are gladly welcomed to the performance, but are acted upon only with the intent of praising. Seeing how comfortable people are there makes the atmosphere very welcoming for visitors of any sort, no matter what race, ethnicity or gender you may be. Fellowship Church does have a central region in Dallas, though. Its main campus is in Grapevine, Texas, but it also has other smaller locations located Plano, downtown Dallas, Fort Worth, and another out of the area located in Miami.
Repertoires of Music
Because of this intimate time of worship they create, they compose the music according to what they believe this generation will relate better to and enjoy more. Therefore, composing in the current day is important in order that they may take more meaning away with the words than they would be able to in the fashion of traditional church music. Much more emphasis is placed on the lyrics than many other types of music where entertainment is the main purpose.
Material Culture of Music
However, the band on stage is set up like that of a secular band. The singers are in the very front holding microphones, behind them was the keyboard on stage-right; then moving from right to left was the electric guitar, the bass guitar, and the drums in the left corner. The nature of this church allows the dress to be as casual as desired, but is all prompted by personal choice, performers and audience alike (Preston Patridge). To ensure that everyone has the chance to sing, even though they may not know the song, the lyrics are displayed on a couple, large projectors in the front so that everyone can sing along, if they so desire. This is especially the case at Fellowship Church because much of their music they compose themselves. At least for the Saturday night service that I attended, they did not have music books or, as they are normally known in church, hymnals available for the audience to look at because the use of the screens replaced the need to stand and hold a book while trying to worship.
Conclusion
Though this music culture may seem to have a very common style of today’s secular music that is used for the main purpose of entertainment, it really holds much deeper meaning to all the participants than it may seem to when initially seen, whether you’re engaged as a musician or as an attendant.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)