Question.2740 - Write an essay connecting two pieces of music to movement You may use the examples in Chapter 12 of the textbook or any piece of music that you'd like. There is no required page count,however, make sure to include every1hing within the rubric.
Answer Below:
Introduction Music and movement are two ancient forms of communication that help communicate emotions more freely. From walking to dancing to bobbing our heads, we tend to express the emotions felt by the music physically. Every culture has developed its own style of rhythms and melodies to convey feelings of joy, sorrow, anger, bittersweetness, pride, and love (New Hampshire Folklife, 2014). Through music, we express our emotions in acts of theater, dance, art, and other physical mediums. Multiple theories suggest that music and movement are primitively connected. A theory suggests that our ability to have a physical association with music comes from our primal instinct to express emotion through movements. Research finds that music and emotion can invoke a unique combination of feelings expressed equally across cultures (Sievers, Polansky, Casey, & Wheatley, 2012). The research found a cross-cultural understanding of the linked music, emotion, and motion and that they work on a broader social spectrum. (Blumberg, n.d.) Furthermore, studies show that this has allowed individuals to be more open to social interactions, become more creative, and explore their individuality. Additionally, they have improved small motor functions while developing a better understanding of balance, coordination, and rhythm through movement. Songs and Dances from two periods: Jazz and Lindy Hop In the late 19th century and early 20th century, a new music movement rose from African-American communities in New Orleans, Louisana. This new music movement saw the culmination of ragtime and blues, characterized by syncopations and complex harmonies to add more feel and relied heavily on improvisation. This new genre came to be known as jazz. Spreading like wildfire across America, it soon became the root of many popular genres like soul, rock, funk, and avant-garde compositions. As mentioned, jazz is popularly considered a genre of improvisation. As such, the 1900s significantly impacted the music culture in America (Morgan-Ellis, 2020). With the emergence of speakeasies, jazz became the mainstay of music, and of all styles, swing jazz was the most popular form of jazz. Swing jazz is primarily characterized by its inclusion of big band sections, danceable swing style, and its emphasis on the off-beat of the measure. Big-time swing musicians include Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Django Reinhardt, Art Tatum, Nat King Cole, and Ella Fitzgerald. One of the key figures of American swing jazz, and big-band jazz, is Duke Ellington. Considered the greatest jazz composer of all time, Ellington was an American composer and bandleader who revolutionized orchestral jazz, creating one of the most distinguishable sounds in Western music. Having written multiple compositions that are revered as classic jazz standards, Duke wrote multiple hits like Take the A Train, Prelude to a Kiss, Satin Doll, Concerto for Cootie, and Ko-Ko (Editors, 2021). One of the majorly successful compositions by Duke Ellington is It Don’t Mean A Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing). Many versions of the composition exist, ranging from Ella Fitzgerald to Louis Armstrong. Duke Ellington did the original composition, and the lyrics were written by Irving Mills. Originally sung by Ivie Anderson, the composition was recorded on the 2nd of February, 1932, with Joe Nanton on the trombone and Johnny Hodges on the alto saxophone playing the solos. This composition is considered one of the earliest uses of the term swing. Ella Fitzgerald has two versions of the composition. One version came in Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Song Book, 1957; the other was presented in Ella & Duke At The Cote d’Azur in 1967. Both versions contrasted each other. While the former version had closer to hard swing, or some may even point it to be close to hard bop, the latter version has a feel of laidback swing in it. Furthermore, swing jazz came to be colloquially related to new styles of dances evolving around swing. With the rising popularity of swing jazz peaking around 1920-1930, various dance forms developed to express the inner swing felt by the audience enticed by the music. Thus, dance forms like Lindy Hop, Charlestown, Balboa, and Tap emerged in the Afro-American subculture (Harlem, New York City) and later spread to Europe. Lindy Hop is considered one of the most fabulous jazz dance styles, known for its upbeat, high-energy, competitive, and highly improvisational. It is further characterized by fast rotations, swing-outs, and high-energy footwork. The Savoy Ballroom in Harlem saw the initial growth and development of Lindy Hop around the 1920s and 1930s. Lindy Hop got its name in 1927, inspired by Charles Lindbergh’s solo flight from New York to Paris. Coined by the great swing dancer George ‘Shorty’ Snowden, Lindy Hop was the reply given to one of the reporters when they asked him about his crazy dance at the end of a long marathon. Lindy Hop still exists as a social dance to date, a competitive dance, and a performing dance (Ballroom, n.d.). Disco and Disco-Dancing The late 1960s saw a rise of an underground genre, which was particularly popular among late-night American party-goers, African-American communities, and psychedelic communities. This genre became known as disco, coined from the French term discothèque, meaning a collection of records, gaining popularity in the 1970s. Disco combined funk, soul, and the Motown sound with Eurodisco for the electronic disco element. With syncopated beats and catchy lyrics revolving around party life, it appealed to the vast crowds, including the African-American communities, Latinos, and the gays. It is said that disco emerged as a social revolution against race riots and homophobia, which led to an unsafe environment for people of color and the gay community in the late 1960s. Many disco performers and groups arose from 1970 to 1980, like Bee Gees, Chic, Donna Summer, Boney M, ABBA, etc. One of the most significant disco groups was the Bee Gees. Formed in 1958, Bee Gees consisted of three brothers, Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, and Maurice Gibb. Known for their three-part harmonies, they were hailed as the Kings of Dance Music. They had successfully sold over 120 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling artists ever. The group released multi-hits like Too Much Heaven, You Should Be Dancing, How Deep Is Your Love, More Than A Woman, Night Fever, and many more. However, one of their all-time classics remains Stayin’ Alive, released in 1977. Stayin’ Alive was written for the all-time classic movie Saturday Night Fever, released in 1977, with other songs to support the film. This disco single remained number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks. Sung by the Gibbs brothers, Barry Gibb took the main vocal lines, harmonized by Robin and Maurice Gibb, with Alan Kendall on lead guitar, Blue Weaver on keyboards, Dennis Bryon on drums, and Joe Lala on timbales (Genius, n.d.). Robin Gibb held that the song means about staying alive and surviving the streets of New York. In the movie Saturday Night Fever, the music is set in one of the famous opening scenes, where Johnny Travolta struts away on the street. However, Saturday Night Fever also popularized disco dancing. Disco dancing is shaped by Latin dances such as samba, cha cha, and tango, with some Afro-American influences. Some of the famous disco moves are the Hustle, where one takes three steps back and three steps forward; the Get Down, where one bends at knees and waist to get closer to the floor; the Bump requires one partner to swing and bump both their hips together; the Snap requires one to swing their arm up in a semicircle in front and click their fingers at the top; lastly, the Bus Stop is a disco line dance, with moves similar to the Hustle (MasterClass, 2021). Conclusion The few examples mentioned above show that music and movement (dance, in this case) are interrelated. With music came cultural changes that impacted society. Through the movements, we have been able to express the emotions that music brings. Thus, we have established a possible connection between music and movement. References (2014). Retrieved from New Hampshire Folklife: https://www.nh.gov/folklife/learning-center/traditions/music-dance.htm Ballroom, B. (n.d.). Lindy Hop. Retrieved from Bella Ballroom: https://www.bellaballroom.com/dance-lessons/swing-dance/lindy-hop/#:~:text=Referred%20to%20as%20the%20%E2%80%9Coriginal,it%20was%20in%20the%201930s. Blumberg, J. (n.d.). How Music and Movement Communicate Emotion. Retrieved from Dartmouth: https://pbs.dartmouth.edu/news/2013/01/how-music-and-movement-communicate-emotion#:~:text=Music%20and%20movement%20reflect%20the,coin%E2%80%94the%20coin%20being%20emotion. Editors, B. (2021, 4 15). Duke Ellington. Retrieved from Biography: https://www.biography.com/musicians/duke-ellington Genius. (n.d.). Stayin' Alive. Retrieved from Genius: https://genius.com/Bee-gees-stayin-alive-lyrics MasterClass. (2021, 11 3). Disco Dance: History and Popular Disco Dance Moves. Retrieved from MasterClass: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/disco-dance Morgan-Ellis, E. M. (2020). Resonances: Engaging Music in Its Cultural Context. University of North Georgia Press. Sievers, B., Polansky, L., Casey, M., & Wheatley, T. (2012, 12 17). Music and movement share a dynamic structure that supports universal expressions of emotion. Retrieved from National Library of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3538264/More Articles From Music
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