Author: pastanley

I had never really thought of the music from the Baroque Period to be overly ornate before. It had always simply been how I understood “classical” music. Until actually understanding baroque to mean overly ornate and extremely detailed, I had never noticed this side of the music from this period before. However, now that I… Continue reading The Ornateness of the Baroque Period

I really appreciated noting that Messiah was also very enjoyable for the performers, as well as the audience. I think a lot of times people assume that, because someone is performing music, they are automatically enjoying it. However, this often times is not the case, and I think the pieces that are most enjoyed by the… Continue reading Enjoyment of Performing

I had never really thought that using different stories from the Bible as a way to entertain would be considered controversial before. After reading the part in the textbook concerning Jesus Christ, Superstar and presence of other films depicting Biblical stories, I understand not why this could cause problems with different denominations of the church. Some… Continue reading Controversy Around Biblical Entertainment

Last class, we went through a lot of different websites, apps, and computer programs that can aid in making music. For me, the websites that saved different sounds and showed them all in a line were really interesting because you can see a lot more easily how the music will turn out. This also allows… Continue reading Creating Music

In class, we talked about how the majority of music, especially music that we listen to today, has a very predictable pattern. For most songs, we can predict what part of the song will come next, whether it be the chorus, another verse, or the bridge. However, there is also a good amount of unpredictability… Continue reading Predictability and Differences in Presentation

I had never thought about the fact that creating anything new does not necessarily mean you must start from having nothing. You already have all the materials you need to create, all you must do use the materials that are present in a new way. It is an interesting way to think about creating something… Continue reading Creation and Using Materials Already Present

I thought it was really interesting how so many different songs can easily fit into the common meter and how the different rhythms of popular songs can change how the Psalm feels while its been sung. It is strange that simply changing the rhythm or style of the music can make the words you are… Continue reading The Common Meter

I found it interesting that many of the Psalms can easily fit into many different meters. The “common meter” seemed to work especially well and could be used for any of the Psalms in the textbook. This just demonstrates how the Bay Psalm Book was very expertly translated for the purpose of singing and setting… Continue reading Meters and the Psalms

I was very surprised that, even though it is considered chanting, it still is very musically based and has many characteristics of singing a normal song. Those chanting often still added flourishes and did not chant in the same tone throughout the song. Also, I saw in the example from New York City that at… Continue reading Chanting Different Songs from the Hebrew Bible

I thought it was really interesting how, some of the instruments mentioned in The Bible, like a lyre, can still be recreated and even played. This can help us understand the type of musical background that my accompany the lyrics given to us in various areas of scripture. It also allows modern-day artists and songwriters… Continue reading Recreating Old Instruments