Authenticity in Music - Essay Example

Authenticity in music Authentic refers to the performance that uses instruments or facsimiles and tries to invent timely performance styles. On the other hand, authenticity refers to the fetish idea that can be demonstrated, identified, or seen in performance of music (Keller, 2008: 4). Authenticity brings about commercialism that is, as a musician diversifies and applies more authentic to his /her music then sells a lot because people want to buy the authentic of music. Authenticity has a lot of effect on the appreciation of Japanese music. Comparatively, modern music has high appreciation in Japan to the traditional one simply because of the incorporation of the various music facsimiles making it pleasing to the ear. Japan has embraced the music genre called pop since 1990s. On its emergence in Japan, pop music replaced the local “Kayokyoku” music in order to cater for international music demand. The Japanese pop music has diversified and now it is common in all parts of the country (Craig, 2000:13). One amusing fact about the Japanese pop music is that it is a hard alternative genre that combines both English and Japanese which are blended so well that they bring the authentic taste (Keller, 2008:6). The Japanese pop music has been formed and expanded by imported music from other cultures. The Japanese have assimilated music continually from countries like Korean and the Buddhism kingdom. The Japanese pop musicians had to immediately conform to carter for the American occupying forces. These musicians had first to interact in lengthy with American musician in order to learn the recording forms of pop music because the American character of pop music is regarded as contestable (Levinson, 2011:7). The Japanese pop industry had to locate itself in an aesthetic hierarchy that would reinforce asymmetries of power and cultural prestige. The Japanese had thus to embrace the Japan-US relationship by placing American artist at the apex as innovators and the Japanese maintained as imitators. The idea of authenticity in the Japanese pop music has taken root in the idea of western popular music. Although the Japanese music has become the heart of the music of the people, there is still the idea that it can only be authentically done by the westerners. The idea of authenticity in Japanese music has taken root in the blending of English and Japanese in lyrics. The Japanese artists write the whole composition purely in English simply to acquire authenticity (Sxornbrun, 2005: 18). Japanese people have a rough history of importing and assimilating music and instruments from around the globe as in the case of pop music. The skyrocketing fame of the Japanese music has been catalyzed by continuous innovations of music instruments by the Japan industry like Karaoke. Though there is paradox of the heart of music in Japan, they are struggling to see their own production of western music as authentic (Craig, 2000:24). Generally authenticity in music is brought about by embody of sincere and powerful emotions during performance. In the early 1990s, there was a commercial triumph of musicians, who were obsessed with subculture songs like rock and hip-hop. These artisans were in the likes of Cobain and Tupac shakur. They had a similar feature that, whenever they performed their lyrics they would create emotions to the audience, thus crossed over, and sold a lot (Strong, 2011: 11). The major concern of these standard-bearers was authenticity. Princess Lolitas in late 1990s brought another facsimile of authenticity in the dressing mode during presentation, which was later adopted by super divas of R&b, Beyonce and Teeny-bop. The most interesting feature about the personalities of this new era is that they never want to present themselves as unplugged. They show the audience that they are able to dance, make jokes, and power all knobs that brand them as superb extravaganzas (Levinson, 2011:8). Let us take for instance Eminem who is the best selling album artist of the decade. Authenticity is a real, genuine, and true representation of oneself during performance. Audience always wants original music as no one would want to listen to copies when they can get the original. An important tool for the advancement of music career in this very competitive world is the personal originality (Levinson, 2011:12). Branding of owns talent is a powerful tool in the creative world as it brings about the authentic unique gift. This principle has made Steinway the finest keyboard player in the world and Nike products can be likened to the music for musicians who want to be unique. Musicians are bound to know that uniqueness reduces competition in the market because it is like a special advantage over the others. Unique authenticity makes a musician believe that he or she is the best person to satisfy the needs of the audience and this reinforces the talent he has (Schonbrun, 2005:26). The success of a musician is depends on how they realize the talent in them and their identification of the audience that will appreciate their uniqueness in offering of the service. Authenticity in a musician comes about when he brings excitement, open-mindedness, and curiosity to his audience in pre-performance or post-performances. The performance such a musician makes creates a memorable experience in them. Being unique and authentic helps a musician establish his efforts and focus on a specific audience he would want to attract. Uniqueness in art reduces the pressure of competition since no one has the ability to offer the same service as you do. This mentality of self- believe drives out the fear in a musician of seeing himself as one of the talented musician but instead makes the musician perceive the world as spacious ground that can accommodate the gifts and talents of anyone (Washburne 2004: 4). The manifestation of ones value is based on self-believe, connectedness and authenticity. A performance where the aim of the composer can simply be identified is an authentic performance. Authenticity in music performance in this latest generation is paramount if at all it is in line with the current technology (Duckworth, 2008: 11). Technology has taken musicians to the level they are at present. It would have been nightmare or a dream to have the music to another level with technological advancement. One hundred years down the line, John Philip Sousa predicted that the music recording would be very simple task in the future. The prediction has almost come to being withy music having achieved omnipresence in the world. Music currently lies everywhere in the disk players, digital melody and in MP3 that can hold more than ten thousand songs and be easily slipped into the back pocket (Keller, 2011: 8). Popular music is rooted in the realistic practice and modernism as Lawrence Grossberg quoted that the acceleration of rate of change in this modern life is caused by the youth culture that rock in the notions of authenticity. In the study of music authenticity of popular music, one must realize that authenticity is only communicated through music in either aural or visual or both. Authenticity in visual or aural is directly connected to technology (Strong, 2011: 21). Audio technology develops in the entertainment industry whereas the visual media develops in synergistic connections. The sound characteristics of a musician are very important in the study of authenticity of musicians in respect to technology. Sound is deployed in popular music to refer to the musical performance and all that is required to shoot music (Keller, 2011: 18). For example, the authenticity of rock music is measured by the sound effect and grounded on the aural thus conflicting its definition among the fans and the musicians. Musicians perceive technological intervention in the music industry differently as well as the facsimiles to bring the effect of authenticity. Steve Smith who is a guitar player has deeply rooted in the American masters of the modern blues (Washbrune, 2004: 28). The interpretations of smith intentions on his music are not forced. He has a dynamic approach to instruments and his timbres and tones evoke so authentic without prior knowledge hence one can easily mistake his work to that of a recorded vee-jay. The uniqueness in the Steve smith’s presentation is that he emphasizes more on the quality rather than quantity as the case with the current day blues guitarists. Steve Smith creates music that is comfortable and fresh. The cohesion with his band makes a groove that is irresistible such no one can afford to sit whenever his music is playing. Authenticity of musician can be seen in the art during the stage performance (Strong, 2011: 28). Shiraz for instance is an exotic belly dancer who brings excitement and mystique to the audience whenever she stands on the flour to make any presentation. Whenever you watch Shiraz make any performance she will actuslly6 elevate your day to the highest level of entertainment and pleasure. Shiraz makes classy presentation with excellent authentic designed costumes that are appropriate to all ages. The belly dances of Shiraz leave lasting memories and the desire of wanting for more. Shiraz works closely to her audience to make sure that he is at per with their demand and that no detail is overlooked (Schronbrun, 2005: 29). In her twenty to twenty five minute dance of Shiraz, include a full belly dance with props to include like Finger cymbals and dramatic balance of snaky moves making the whole drama unforgettable. Many Indians have preferred to invite Shiraz to their occasions like weddings, birthday parties, graduation ceremonies to name but a few. Whenever invited, Shiraz really enchants the guests with top-quality entertainment with artistic value (Keller, 2011: 26). Shiraz captures the beauty of the special occasion by making an emotional feast full of passion, drama, and enjoyment through her dance. Shiraz tailors her belly dance to suit the venue and the clientele. Due to the professional standards and honor to preserve the nature and authenticity of the Indian belly dancers one must acquire a license to enable her public performance. Authenticity as a quality cannot be conjured and is directly related to podcast and intimacy. This can be told all by phoenix who is a songwriter and a singer as well (Levinson, 2011: 27). Phoenix is not Facetious serious at all but he is serious and every lyric he chants in conjunction with the melody create the type of songs that are cherished by all across the globe. The most impressive precision brought by phoenix in his songs is astounding. The more the time one spends in listening to Phoenix songs the less desperate he becomes and the more enchanting he appears (Strong, 2011: 30). Phoenix does believe in the ideology that musicians must always keep their lanes in the industry as one is bound to different moods, thus he has to reflect the different sensibilities in his songs and this make him authentic. Phoenix believes he has taken his music career to wherever he wanted in the sense of self-believe. We must have realized that some works of art are higher appreciated more than others are more so in the rock music industry. The producer as part of strategy for their recognition influences authenticity and the musical value of the rock music (Schonbrun, 2005: 16). The authenticity of rock music is directly linked with romantic culture and is imagined to be expressive off the artists’ soul. The authenticity rock music is imaginary and is politically and culturally oppositional but it has never ceased to function in real way for its fans. There is a dialectal relationship between rock recording and rock performance. Authentication in rock performance comes out in two ways; first for an artist to be considered as authentic rock musician he/she must have a record of being a life performer. The rock performer must be someone who has cleared all dues and whose current visibility is due to previous popularity and widespread celebrity (Duckworth, 2008: 26). For rock performers to be authentic, they must have pursued the career path, established themselves from the grass roots, and won the confidence of a considerable number of fans. Lady is one of the musicians who are highly appreciated in the world for her authentic features. She has been established as the most original artist and has high levels in self- believe. For all that, she does Lady Gaga is highly honored for the high levels of creativity. She has an artistic persona fully formed and has intrudingly odd character (Schonbrun, 2005:35). Lady Gaga has an ingrained habit of not hanging out with fellow celebrities and she totally believes in herself. Lady Gaga is an authentic and this is because of the unique way she writes songs and presents them. She has a pretty sound and she is not afraid of herself. Shawn carter who is a hip-hop mogul is greatly appreciated in the across the whole due to his authenticity (Strong, 2011: 34). The hip-hop rapper commonly known as Jay-Z is very skillful and knows how to attract the crowd. Jay-Z believes that identifying oneself then major on the strengths has attributed to his success. Cater has a very distinct personnel in that he tries to be assertive but he always makes decisions in favor of his fans. His ability to make his ferns laugh has gained him a lot of fame. Jay-Z believes to lead by example and he lives to inspire others. He has been awarded Grammy awards for more than fourteen-times recognizing his high levels of authenticity (Levinson, 2011: 41). In conclusion, it is evident from the essay that authenticity is what makes music lively. It dictates the effect of the message decoded by the audience. In order the modern day musicians can reach the current market demands they should learn how to effectively co-ordinate the facsimiles to bring the original meaning of any music (Keller, 2011: 32). Modern performers should change some notes and expressive gestures like volume and timbre to achieve excellent vocals. The incorporation of the modern technology makes a performer sound authentic. Bibliography Craig, J. T. 2000. Japan Pop!: Inside the World of Japanese Popular Culture. Armonk: M.E. Sharpe. Duckworth, W. 2008. A Creative Approach to Music Fundamentals. New York: Cengage Learning. Keller, M.S. 2011. What Makes Music European. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. Levinson, J. 2011. Music, Art, and Metaphysics. New York: Oxford University Press. Schonbrun, M. 2005. The Everything Reading Music Book. Amazon: Everything Books. Strong, C. 2011. Music and Memory. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Washburne, C. and Derno, M. 2004. Bad Music: The Music We Love to Hate. New York: Routledge. Read More