In class today, we discussed how different genres can often be defined by the instruments played during the song. For example, electric guitar is nearly always attributed to rock music. The acoustic guitar can often be seen in many different genres. We do not necessarily have to change the words of a song in order… Continue reading Different Genres

If one creates a melody, it can be easy to only imagine it in the main genre of the instrument it was created in. In class we discussed that the melody that we came up with seemed like it should be sung in a choral setting. Something that Professor McGrath pointed out to us was… Continue reading Changing Genre

I have previously discussed simplicity vs. complexity in my blogs. Today, in class, we assessed the melody we created last class. We noticed how the melody we created drastically skipped multiple notes right off the bat, which would make it difficult to sing and doesn’t seem like it would be catchy and memorable. Next, we… Continue reading Composing and Assessing Melodies

After class on 10/5, the one thing that really stuck in my mind was the idea that there were so many musical versions of the same lines of text. It feels odd that no that are so many versions, but in how many different ways these can be written. It felt like there were no… Continue reading Magnificent Magnificants

In class today, we talked about how all different types of instruments can me used to sing a bible verse(s). Get different rhythms and with each beat/instrument that’s used. I liked the Chinese guitar that was played for us, it was very different and had a nice sound to it. The King David Ensemble that… Continue reading King David and How Music

In the reading for Thursday’s class, the works that conveyed sad or tragic meanings were set to the minor key. The information about the context of the works were provided, so it was easy to grasp the feeling of the music. For example, O Jonathan, Woe is Me, conveys the grief David feels after Jonathan… Continue reading The Minor Key

Listening to a variety of settings of both the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in class led me to a realization about music creation. I grew up in a very devout church setting where I learned a lot of sacred music. In the Divine Service, I am so used to hearing these two songs. I know… Continue reading The Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis

Today we read the English texts of the Magnificat. It was interesting to do the activity where we each read the same two lines but tried to read them in different tones. Some sounded the same, some sang, but it was entertaining to hear from everyone to see what they could come up with. After… Continue reading Texts of Magnificat

Today in class we talked about Magnificat. The activity of everyone trying to change the sound of the first two lines in Magnificat was actually really fun and interesting. I think it was fun because we weren’t told to sing, just switch up the sound a little bit. It was nice hearing all the different… Continue reading Magnificat

In exploring the Magnificat, something I found interesting was that a single composer, Charles Stanford, set the text in every key. At first thought, I simply wondered why he would do that. But today’s class gave me a better understanding. The Magnificat was very popular, performed in church services repeatedly. The popularity and repetition of… Continue reading The Magnificat