Four Fields of Music Making

{Participatory}

Ghanian Gourd & Drum Ensemble

This gourd and drum ensemble represnts participatory music without distinction between artist and audience. There is no one person valued higher than another as each person is contributing and "doing." The purpose of their music is not to impress an audience with talent but to collectively join together in song. This Ghanian gourd and drum circle is a form of social bonding filled with repetive rhythms, collective singing, dense texture, and intensive variations. The song has no distinct beginning nor end, allows everyone to contribute, and represents no solitary showcase of exceptional skill.

Participatory music essentially values the social bonding aspect of music as it includes everybody. It is not judged by the quality of the sound but the level of participation by those involved. As no one person is valued more than the other, it is democratic, uncompetitive, and without definite hierarchy. It values the shared feeling amongst one another allowing the potential for true communitas. The music is not made for profit and is not expected to create a fan following nor world fame. Instead, it gathers people together to share in mode of expression regardless of ability.

{Presentational}

 LIVE in Rio Coldplay

This performance by Coldplay in Rio represents presentational music. The professional artists of Coldplay are paid to practice and perform their music for their multitude of fans. Although Coldplay may feed off the energy of their fans and the fans may make a connection based off the energy of the performance, their is a clear boundary between fan and artist. Fans pay money to listen while the artists spend vast amounts of time perfecting their rhythm, tone, variations, and solos. This performance with the lights, the talking interludes, and the movements of the performers engages the audience, keeping them interested and involved. The artists further have control of what song comes next, what solos they wish to incorporate, and other freedoms separate from the audience's input.

Presentational music allows incredible talent to be showcased for the entertainment of others. It allows talented artists to show-off their skill and musical expression. Artists have great freedom of expression, but because they plan their shows and practice beforehand, the actual performance does not include the audience on a deeper level. Performances are limited by the boundary between audience and artist, and although the audience may influence the sound, they are not a part of it and can not significantly alter it. The distinction between the artist performing and the people listening thus inhibits the potential of complete oneness or communitas.

This type of music is primarily based off of capitilistc notions. The audience is paying to hear a sensually stimulating performance that allows them a great time while the artist is being paid to showcase their talent in an entertaining and engaging manner. If each of these expectations are fulfilled, then the overall performance will be deemed a success.

{High-Fidelity}

"If I Lose Myself" (Acoustic) One Republic

"If I Lose Myself" is one of the many examples of high-fidelity music integral to American musical culture. It is a recording with the potential to be performed live. One Republic's acoustic hit thus preserves the feeling of "liveness" but in a high-quality and edited manner. Studio engineers have perfected each element of the song whether the vocals, the strings, or baseline. The song was recorded to be played in places, without the actual band's presence, and is sold to fans for profit.

Because high-fidelity music is cut in a studio, any glitches or flaws are expelled. The potential for relative perfection becomes the goal as the performes can make multiple cuts until they get exactly what they want. High-fidelity music also allows the ability for fans to listen to artists' songs without actually going to a concert. On the other hand, high-fidelity music may not line up with the actual live performance. It does not have any of the smoke and light visuals to engage them nor the actual presence of the artists. This field of music does, however, allow one artist to harmonize with themself which would make the live performance lacking without the extra texture.

High-fidelity music is expected to be the best quality that an artist can give. As studio engineers can take the best cut of a vocal artist and layer it with the best cut of each instrument, there is little room for bad quality. It is a representation of a band's very best that is then sold thus making this music highly competitive in a capitilistic society. The popularity of music is often measured by the amount of money accumulated from sales thus making the music hierarchial on who is the best or what is the best song.

{Studio Audio Art}

"Live for the Night" Krewella

 

 

Although the sisters of Krewella sing the vocals to their songs, the beat and sounds accompanying them are computer generated. "Live for the Night" is an example of studio audio art as no instrument can produce the exact sounds in the song. If performed live, it would still be amped up computer generated sounds accompanied by their voice recordings or perhaps their actual voice. This type of music is separate from normal instrument sounds. Though commonly accepted now, it is different from the normal and more abstract.

 

Studio audio art focuses on the abstract sounds, beats, and bass drops. The entertainers have total control over their product and need not rely on their own natural talent for the literal sound production. Instead, the talent comes from their creativity with the sounds produced by a computer. In this way, artists have max control over their finished product but are limited by the sounds of a computer rather than ones they can produce naturally. This type of music also involves little human interaction of joined artists other than the vocals or collaboration of music mixing. Studio-audio art is expected to sound computer generated but in an engaging, different, and upbeat sort of way. It relies on the beat, the variations, and, many times, the bass drops, not the involvement of other people.