Kate's Blog

 This post delves into the history and cultural significance of Reggae music and looks to explain what this music was used to accomplish. Reggae music began in Jamaica as a way to advocate for the rights of the people and resistance to oppression. Reggae music was influenced by Rastafarianism, a cultural and religious movement promoting pride in the African identity and equality for marginalized peoples. Reggae took influence from earlier forms of Jamaican music such as ska and traditional African drumming. It then progressed as a way for people to connect and share stories as well as shared beliefs and experiences. The piece of music below shows what some consider to be the first recorded Reggae song, "Do the Reggae" by Toots and Maytals, first recorded in 1968. This song provides a great example of the evolution of Reggae music. Reggae music utilizes a 4/4 time and often includes and emphasis on the third beat, creating what is called the "one-drop effect."  Do th...

 The compact disc (CD) originated from the optophone, which used light to record and playback sounds. Later, this design was used by Sony and Phillips to create the LaserDisc, which used laser beams to transmit sound onto a disc to be played back at a higher quality. Later, this technology was used to create the compact disc, which used similar technology but played audio with less errors, higher quality, and an increase in play time. Upon its release in 1982, CD's became very popular, selling almost 400,000 in the first three years. Soon, they were dominating the at-home music market, and were the most popular music-playing device until digital downloads and later streaming platforms became popular.  The Sony and Phillips companies worked together to make CD's compatible and universal. Their collaboration allowed for people to be able to buy any CD from any store and play them in their devices such as the Walkman, the first portable CD player. In addition, CD's proved to b...

 For this musical analysis, I chose to analyze the song "I'm not pretty" by Megan Moroney. This song was released as part of her Lucky  album in 2023 in the United States. I chose this song because I really enjoy listening to it and it has a lot of different musical elements that can be easily pointed out and analyzed.  One of the elements that can be analyzed in this song is the use of different types of guitars to change both the dynamics and tone of the song. The song starts out loud with a twangy, steel guitar playing the recognizable melody of the song. It then moves to a softer dynamic as a slide guitar plays the beat of the song.  Another element that can be analyzed in this song is the use of a casual vocal delivery and cascading lyrical melody and the tone of voice of the singer which adds to the "country" element of the song. It also shows the singers' feelings about what she's singing about as the message behind the song is that she is not bot...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jv2WJMVPQi8 The musical piece that I chose for this analysis is Symphony No.5, written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1808.  This piece of music has many different string, woodwind, and percussion instruments working together to form a work of art. This piece is an excellent example of how articulation, pitch, and texture can change throughout a piece of music and showcases the large range of different string and woodwind instruments. Although this symphony was written over a hundred years ago, it is still one of the most well-known pieces of classical music. Listening to this symphony makes me feel an overwhelming sense of suspense and anticipation and that something is going to happen. It is good music to use in movies during chases and suspenseful moments. This post was not very popular when it orginally came out. However, reviews from critics such as E.T.A. Hoffmann helped its popularity grow.  Another noteworthy topic of this symphony is how ma...