Vocal Jazz - Coursework Example

Vocal Jazz In perusing biographies of the greatest Jazz songs of all times, one question glares from the margins of every page. The question is so fundamental; it would seem that the answer should beam from every paragraph. The question is simple. “What is Jazz?” There are several definitions of Jazz in the modern dictionary, and one of the most common definitions of Jazz is that it is American music, which was developed from blues, ragtime, and has the characteristics of impulsive syncopated rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, and varying degrees of improvisation. These definitions do not explain the concept of Jazz music clearly, because most people do not understand it. This was one of the early types of music in the United States back in the 1800’s since it had a unique way of improvising everything in music. Some of the best Jazz musicians of all time are part of our modern class discussions, and one of the most famous in courses is Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart. His jazz music is among the best types of Jazz music in the modern world since it has all the elements of music that music students need to learn such as melody, tempo, rhythm, and sound among others. One of the songs that we heard in the class reading on Jazz music is by Mozart, and it is very interesting with all the necessary fundamentals of music. Allegro is one of the most famous songs done by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The lyrics, tempo, and instrumentation in this song pull the attention of the listener, and make them want to hear it over, and again. Mozart Amadeus is one of the best opera, and orchestra conductors in the world of music. There are many musicians whose musical work has been appreciated all over the world for a long time now, but there are also others who are not much recognized  Mozart yet their work s are extra ordinary. The melody of the song is has a stepwise, modal that is simple. The rhythm of this song depicts the pace of its melody. The sound of the song is very soft and soothing. The instrumentals in the song bring out the touch of harmony in the song, and this is what makes the song more interesting to the listener. In conclusion, the song is melodious it entails all the fundamental constituents of music, which are; harmony, melody, rhythm, sound, and this contributes to its growth from one stage to another. The rhythm of the song is a little slow, and as the song progresses, there is heavier orchestra that brings out its growth because thicker strings and pads become louder with vocals that are more emotive. The style of this song also explains much about the culture of the musician which shows how loving, and caring they are. The history of Jazz is often told in isolation from the background history of Americans, and the African-American, and how they fit into the American heritage. Mozart comes from the lineage of African-Americans that contributed a lot on the changes on African-American jazz musicians through shaping their music, and this is why students learn about his Jazz Music. Mozart is considered one of the dominant figures in the history of European classical music. One of his most loved, and appreciated songs are allegro. Jazz music also plays a big role in music therapy since it has a way of creating a comfortable environment around patients and often fastens their healing process. Music therapy has the ability to reduce various complications such of sick patients such as; depression, lack of sleep, and high blood pressure among other conditions. Despite the claims, there is no strong evidence that shows that music therapy cures cancer or any other disease. Medical experts think that jazz music therapy has the ability to reduce various symptoms of sick patients, helps in the healing process, improves the physical development of the patient, and enriches the quality of their lives. Therapists design the music sessions that are used by individuals or groups; the sessions depend on patients or client needs, and taste. The main aspects of jazz music include making the music, writing the song, listening to the music, and later, talking about the lyrics. Music therapy might involve other things such as imagery, and the process of learning through the music. Music intelligence can be referred to as the ability of composing songs and other forms of music, singing, and playing musical instruments such as a guitar or piano. The act of appreciating a certain form of music can also be referred to as music intelligence since this implies that one has some sense of harmonic patterns in the universe. From my personal experience, music is an international language since everyone can understand it and can associate themselves with it thus to me it is a form of communication. Jazz music is used to pass across some information whether good or bad and this is the reason as to why many people from different parts of the word love it (Elizabeth, p.77). Music ability is a form of intelligence because not everyone can sing and not everyone can compose songs that will capture the attention of a crowd. Most people try to sing because they love singing but only those with ability to listen to music and analyze it effectively who understand it. Vocal ability can be inborn or it also be taught in school because in the modern world music education has been incorporated in the curriculum systems in different parts of the world. Impact of Vocal Ability Research on vocal ability and understanding elements of music is one of the most effective ways of learning in the modern world. In most cases, vocal students are taught how to play musical instruments such as the jazz flute and how to sing in church choirs, and taught the basic elements of music and other musical sounds. Even though in the past traditions music has been taught concerning western classical styles of music. In many nations in recent decades the educators of music have emphasized that music education should be given an all round approach since this will be convenient to people all over the world through the experiences that people have since it also encourages the study of multiculturalism which leads to international of music education. Most times music education is introduced to students when they are still very young at home and when they get to primary and secondary schools they are introduced to music through being given opportunities of participating in school choirs, bands and orchestras which increases their urge to learn more concerning music education. Because music education is very essential, it is usually included as part of the school curriculum and other musical classes are important and very effective in the educational life of a student (Elizabeth, p.49). When students reach at the University level they are also introduced to music as part of the humanities and arts programs and those who perform are given as history of music or just any other course that appreciate music, and focuses on learning different styles of music and listening to music. As far as vocal education is concerned, in North America and other universities in Europe, an ensemble brings students from different fields to participate in choirs, marching bands or just in music bands. Most universities also give degree programs in music and this allows the students to become music educators who are certified and able to teach to both primary and secondary schools and to students who are taking beginner classes in music education. In the university music, education takes very many different forms and these are such as music psychology, ethnomusicology, philosophy of education and music education historiography among other forms. Although music education has been in existence for a very long time, it continues taking place in the modern world in very many forms including individualized forms and in community forms that entails introducing music styles from different parts of the world such as westernized music and African music, which is non-western cultured. Even those people who have basic elements of music still find it important to have a private class with a music teacher who has some musical knowledge higher than theirs. Amateurs in music find it important to take musical classes just to increase the knowledge that they have in music and this means that they want to continue their music lives having reached the intermediate level of music techniques. Music education is one of the courses that have been very effective as in the development education because since its existence, it has covered all the aspect of education and it has been very effective to both young students and adults in the society. There are very many methods of international music education since teachers focus more on the instructional strategies but they are always bound to a specific curriculum in their area of specialization. Most of the teachers tend to rely more on methodologies that are instructional which emerged with recent generations and has been developed greatly since the middle of the 20th century. Most of the early music educators advocated for instructional methodology of teaching since they believed that this is very beneficial to the students and that it has physical response. Music education is based on music theory and vocal training since it is quite easy to impart the life of students through it. Elements of music are also taught to music students as part of music education, this helps the students to have more information about music education, and thus most of the schools in the modernized countries of the world tend to be effective when dealing issues related to music education. Most schools during the colonial period had already introduced music education in their curriculum, found it very effective, and wanted the same to take place in the countries that they colonized with the main purpose of improving reading and singing music both in the church and outside church. Music education was taken very serious in the nineteenth century in the sense that most of the music classes were done by a teacher in the presence of a supervisor and this ensured that the students were taught effectively and correctly in the music classes and this concept made most of the teachers and students to have music information that was not biased by this standard model but very effective in their daily lives. In the 20th century is when programs for music education was introduced in the Universities and this is also the time when music orchestras and bands came into existence and this contributed a lot to the music methods of teaching and learning. Initially people who were talented in music were not being recognized but in the 20th century, people started recognizing talented musicians. When the society started recognizing talented musicians in the 20th century, this is the time when people the attitude of people towards music changed completely since they could it was making some sense as far as their economy was concerned because they were being paid for their efforts. After discovering music talents then this was the start music exams and other talent shows were being introduced in the society and this one of the ways that music education has been maintained up to date in the 21st century since in the modern world there are very few musical schools. Music Intelligence and Attitude According to Pauli, music intelligence affects the attitude and behavior as a collective activity and it has some elements of social aspects of life that is inherited from the past and this attitude on music brings out some evaluations of life that are either negative or positive thus making it easy for a student to learn because in most cases the attitude of the person taking music education is formed by some happenings that are real in life (Maio, p.69). Most people are interested in music because they believe that it has an effect on their lives and that it has a tendency of staying in their minds and this is what makes them feel very good in the society since when one listens or hears something, it sticks into their minds for a long time. People form both negative and positive attitudes in their lives in regards to how they feel about something and the same thing happens when it comes to people forming attitudes towards the type of music that they love and in this case people form positive attitudes towards a genre of music that impresses them or makes them feel good. Generally, many people have a positive attitude towards music at large and this is because it has a tendency of sticking into their memories for a while and this is the reason as to why many people will continue listening to specific types of songs continuously without getting tired or bored with it. People form their attitudes by either becoming fanatics or by becoming extremists and this means that they can either know how to sing or they can just love someone who sings the type of music that they like (Michael, p.93). The effect that music has on human beings is relative since there are very many genres of music in the society and this means that people chose the kind of music they want to listen and this is only according to their taste. There are those who love jazz music while others loathe it and there are people who love classical music while others loathe it and this is where attitude of individuals differ as far as music and music education is concerned. It is evident to state that music creates a negative attitude to the listener when it does not affect their lives positively and vice versa in the society and those different types of music creates different kinds of attitude to the listeners. Music Intelligence and Motivation According to research by Seabourne, music intelligence and motivation are related in the sense that music can affect how one concentrates on what they are doing and that it increases emotions and also lifts their spirits through stimulating chemical changes that are associated with healing. Listening to music with very calm and simple harmonies and rhythms that are flowing makes someone motivated to continue taking music education (Seaborne, p123). One of the most powerful ways that a good composer of soundtracks plays with a person’s or people’s emotions is through introducing a very good piece of music in the society and the effect that music makes on the life of a musician is what is known as the motivation. The motivation that music gives us is evident through the emotional feeling that it impacts such as crying, laughing or getting scared among other forms of emotional feelings. When a composer has considered what his piece of music is meant to impact on the listener, then he is able to motivate the listener to love his piece of music. Motivation only comes when a piece of music has the capability of impacting our lives in one way or another and in this case it means that the music composer is able to manipulate the feelings of the listener thus heightening their emotions making them to react appropriately and displaying their personal feelings towards the piece of music. It is easy for music to motivate the listener to listen to it and this can be through the power that music has since it can easily get our emotions to be swayed because it catches the attention of the listener and makes his brain to be stimulated. Music is known to be very powerful to the memory aid of human beings thus it is easy to motivate people to listen to it. Most times music motivates the listeners since it has the power to bring back old memories thus making it easy for the listener to easily relieve from past failures in their lives. Music motivates the listener in very many ways since it makes their minds more active. Music Intelligence and Academic Achievement Music intelligence makes a very big impact on the academic achievement of students because it can be viewed from more than just one point of view since it has some value in regards to the student’s musical performance in class. Academic achievements can be related to music since music is also part of the educational curriculum and that it provides a very deep understanding to the minds of the students and other music listeners at large (Michael, p.111). Musicianship is believed to be a form of knowledge that can be learned and also taught thus this is one of the ways in which it contributes to the academic achievement of students and any other person who is interested in learning music in their lives. Music Intelligence and Self-Efficacy Research that was made on music and self-efficacy mainly focused on musical examination and the results were positive because music is very effective in the lives of individuals. Music plays a very big role in the world of learning because it helps students to be in a position to learn some concepts in life on their own thus encouraging self-dependence in the society. When a musician is performing any piece of music, the concepts that he acquired during his music education is what he uses in order to give a convincing performance thus self-efficacy. A musician is able to affect the lives of his or her fans with their piece of music because they are confident and have mastered the lessons that they took during their music education and the self-efficacy that they have motivates them to perform better. Self-efficacy in music also helps musicians to give music performance that is effective because the results of a musician after performance of a piece of music. Self-efficacy is also believed to be one of the most important predictor in the achievements of students in their examinations. Conclusion Finally, music education is very important since it affects the lives of both the young and the old in the society and this is evident because it affects self-efficacy, our attitudes, it motivates students and influences the academic performance of students in the modern world. Work Cited Ake, David A, Charles H. Garrett, and Daniel Goldmark. Jazz/not Jazz: The Music and Its Boundaries. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012. 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