" Research has proven that music could be a major mood lifter particularly when one is undergoing tough times. At least every person encounters a downhill in life and during such times, music would probably be the best thing to address such situations else one would find it extremely tough to cope. " MORE
Wednesday 31 August 2011
Choosing The Right Genre Of Music
When deciding on what music to listen to it is important to choose the right genre of music for the mood you are in at the time.
Tuesday 19 April 2011
A Musical Synesthesia Experience
Maurice Ravel - "Daphnis et Chloë - Suite No.2" ('Daybreak')
This is a great example of French impressionist music. The synesthesia experiences this piece of music evokes in me is that of a sound picture in where waves from the sea are lapping to the shore while I watch a summer sunrise and experiencing the first breezes of the morning across my face.
This is a great example of French impressionist music. The synesthesia experiences this piece of music evokes in me is that of a sound picture in where waves from the sea are lapping to the shore while I watch a summer sunrise and experiencing the first breezes of the morning across my face.
It occasionally happens that a great work is better known by excerpts. Such has been the fate of Maurice Ravel's Daphnis et Chloeevery since its creation. While occasionally performed as a ballet, itis usually heard in concert, represented by its final three numbers: "Lever du jour" (Daybreak), "Pantomime" and "Dansegenerale ." Ravel himself designated these excerpts as Suite No. 2 after the score's completion in 1912. MORE
Monday 7 February 2011
Gary Moore The Blues and Rock Guitarist Dies
Yesterday the sad death of Gary Moore the blues and rock guitarist was announced.
His fine rock and blues guitar virtuoso playing will be sadly missed.
Some Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Moore
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/feb/06/gary-moore-thin-lizzy-dies
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-12377862
http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/news/gary-moore-dies
"Moore grew up on Castleview Road opposite Stormont's Parliament Buildings, off the Upper Newtownards Road in east Belfast and started performing at a young age, having picked up a battered acoustic guitar at the age of eight. Moore got his first good-quality guitar at the age of 14, learning to play the right-handed instrument in the standard way despite being left-handed. He moved to Dublin in 1968 at the age of 16. Moore's early musical influences were artists such as Albert King, Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Later, having seen Jimi Hendrix and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers in his home town of Belfast, his own style was developing into a blues-rock sound that would be the dominant form of his career." MOREGary Moore is best known for his involvement with the rock band 'Thin Lizzy' who he first joined in 1973 and rejoined them several times more throughout his career. Before joining 'Thin Lizzy' Moore was with the rock band 'Skid Row'. In 1974 he joined Jon Hiseman's ‘Colosseum II’ and stayed with them until 1978 when he then followed mainly a solo career. Gary Moore however collaborated with many major artists throughout his solo career like George Harrison, Albert Collins, BB King, Albert King and Greg Lake,Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, the Beach Boys and Ozzy Osbourne, just to name a few.
His fine rock and blues guitar virtuoso playing will be sadly missed.
Some Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Moore
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/feb/06/gary-moore-thin-lizzy-dies
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-12377862
http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/news/gary-moore-dies
Monday 31 January 2011
The Oscar Winner Composer John Barry Has Died
John Barry the Oscar Winner composer died suddenly yesterday (30th January 2011) of an heart attack, he was 77 years. John Barry was best known for his James Bond soundtracks, including 'Dr No', 'Goldfinger' and 'You Only Live Twice'. He also composed scores to other films including 'Born Free', 'Midnight Cowboy' and 'Out of Africa'. His most recent film score was in 2001 for the war thiller film 'Enigma'. MORE
MORE
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12321610
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Barry_(composer)
MORE
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12321610
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Barry_(composer)
Wednesday 26 January 2011
Music And The Chill Factor
A recent study by scientists at the ‘The Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital – The Neuro at McGill University’ have found that listening to music releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that is more closely related to the pleasures that go with rewards like food, drugs and sex. If a volunteer enjoyed a particular piece of music this produced a chill like response in them which in turn increased the volunteer's dopamine level. It also resulted in an increase in the volunteer's heart rate, breathing and sweating.
".....this is the first demonstration that an abstract reward such as music can lead to dopamine release. Abstract rewards are largely cognitive in nature, and this study paves the way for future work to examine non-tangible rewards that humans consider rewarding for complex reasons.” MORE
Wednesday 12 January 2011
Mick Karn: In Memory Of The Former Japan Bass Player
In memory of the multi-instrumentalist of Mick Karn who died on 4 January 2010 after suffering from cancer, he was 52 years old. He came to prominence in the early 1980's as bass player with the band Japan who he helped to co-founded along with David Sylvian and his younger brother Steve Jansen in 1974. After Japan broke up in 1982 he went on to have a solo career and released a number of albums.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_Karn
Other Links
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12118209
Mick Karn offical home page : http://www.mickkarn.net/
....... .was an English multi-instrumentalist musician and songwriter, who came to fame as the bassist for the art rock band Japan, from 1974 to 1982. In June 2010, he was diagnosed with advanced stage cancer, and died in January 2011. "
"The band Japan, whose other members included David Sylvian, keyboardist Richard Barbieri and Sylvian's brother Steve Jansen as drummer, began as a group of friends, who all studied at the same school. As youngsters they played music as a means of escape, playing Sylvian's two-chord numbers – sometimes with Karn as the front man, sometimes with Sylvian at the fore, guitarist Rob Dean joined the band later. "
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mick_Karn
Other Links
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12118209
Mick Karn offical home page : http://www.mickkarn.net/
Tuesday 11 January 2011
Captain Beefheart: Few Words In His Memory
In memory of Don Van Vliet better known as Captain Beefheart who died on the 17th December 2010 aged 69.
He certainly was one of the great original geniuses of popular music of the 20th Century. With his gritty and growling voice and his fusion of blues, jazz and psychedelia he carved out sound that was uniquely his.
quoted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11811289
Other Links
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12024652
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/captain-beefheart-dead-at-age-69-20101217
He certainly was one of the great original geniuses of popular music of the 20th Century. With his gritty and growling voice and his fusion of blues, jazz and psychedelia he carved out sound that was uniquely his.
" His work, whether in music or drawing, was never mainstream and only ever gained a relatively small following, but he was a larger-than-life character who pushed the boundaries of his art in a way which influenced many who followed in his wake "
quoted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11811289
Other Links
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12024652
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/captain-beefheart-dead-at-age-69-20101217
Wednesday 5 January 2011
Gerry Rafferty The Musician, Songwriter and Singer Dies Today
Gerald Rafferty The Musician, Songwriter and Singer Is No More. He died earlier today of liver failure after a long illness.
Goodbye Gerry, your music gave me a lot of pleasure over the years http://bit.ly/dQSk9J
"Gerald "Gerry" Rafferty (16 April 1947 – 4 January 2011) was a Scottish singer and songwriter best known for his solo hits "Baker Street" and "Right Down the Line", and "Stuck in the Middle" with the band Stealers Wheel."
It was publicly known that Rafferty was battling with alcoholism.[11] In November 2010, Rafferty was admitted to the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, Bournemouth, Dorset, suffering from liver failure. He died at home on 4 January 2011, of liver disease.[19] He is survived by his daughter, Martha.[20]
The irony of the success of "Baker Street" was that the lyrics reflected Rafferty’s disenchantment with certain elements of the music industry. This was elaborated by music journalist Paul Gambaccini for BBC World News:[11]
“ | His song "Baker Street" was about how uncomfortable he felt in the star system, and what do you know, it was a giant world hit. The album City to City went to no. 1 in America, and suddenly he found that as a result of his protest, he was a bigger star than ever. And he now had more of what he didn’t like. And although he had a few more hit singles in the United States, by 1980 it was basically all over, and when I say ‘it’, I mean basically his career, because he just was not comfortable with this. |
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Rafferty
"Gerry Rafferty's Baker Street provided a welcome relief from the wall-to-wall disco that dominated the UK charts in the late 1970s." ..... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11728112
Tuesday 26 October 2010
The How And The Why On Music !
A fascinating book on the how and the why of music and why it is so important to human beings.
"All human cultures seem to make music - today and through history. But why they do so, why music can excite deep passions, and how we make sense of musical sound at all are questions that have, until recently, remained profoundly mysterious." ....... MORE
Thursday 23 September 2010
Snippets of Some Rambling Reflections - Part 1
You get what you give and you give what you get. !
Although verbal communication ie speaking and writing is important, the non-verbal aspect of communication should not be under estimated.
If people spoke less and listen more perhaps we would have a better world ! ! ! ..... MORE
If no one speaks there would be no need to listen. Perhaps human beings might then regain the art of telepathy ! Well it is just a thought !
Although verbal communication ie speaking and writing is important, the non-verbal aspect of communication should not be under estimated.
"Some studies show 60 per cent of any dialogue is made through nonverbal means – such as gestures, posture ......." MOREAll verbal communication is affected by the non-verbal communication that accompanies it. Face to face, expression ......." MORE
If people spoke less and listen more perhaps we would have a better world ! ! ! ..... MORE
If no one speaks there would be no need to listen. Perhaps human beings might then regain the art of telepathy ! Well it is just a thought !
"Communication was an important component of life in the ancient world, and could be divided up into three ....." MORE
"According to some studies, communication between people is more that 50 percent nonverbal. That being the case ....." MORE
"Some studies show 60 per cent of any dialogue is made through non-verbal means – such as gestures, posture ......." MORE
"Colour is so deeply imbedded in our psyche that it's like the air that we breath… we don't notice the power, ...." MORE
"Colours, like people have different personalities and these are perhaps the reason why we are attracted to ........ ." MORE
"Everyone likes to imagine they are rational, fair, and free from prejudice. But how easily are we misled by ...." MORE
............................ too be continued ...........................
Wednesday 8 September 2010
A Perspective of Colour and Its Role In Human Communication
Colour affects us all in subtle and more noticeable ways during the course of our daily lives, here are some links which expand on this further.
Check out: Color Codes: Modern Theories of Color in Philosophy, Painting and Architecture, Literature, Music and Psychology. by Charles A. Riley (Paperback) ….. MORE
The author thinks that by trying to understand our own and other people’s ‘personality color’ it would help us to communicate with others better.
"Colours, like people have different personalities and these are perhaps the reason why we are attracted to ......." MORE
"Colour is so deeply imbedded in our psyche that it's like the air that we breath… we don't notice the power, ...." MORECan There Really Be A Colour And Music Relationship ?
“The relationship of colour and music has inspired philosophical and creative discovery throughout the ages. ....." MOREMusical Color Experiences
“The experiences of color and music have always been closely intertwined. ......." MOREThe Great Color Music Debate. Painting music by colors is a subject which has occupied many a great mind down the centuries. The pondering goes along these lines. When one hears a particular musical sound one is drawn to a particular color or a particular sound is associated with a particular color or a color with a sound. Whether this is only a subjective experience on the part of the listener or whether we can draw a wider correlation between certain musical sounds and certain colors is open to debate. ......... MORE
Check out: Color Codes: Modern Theories of Color in Philosophy, Painting and Architecture, Literature, Music and Psychology. by Charles A. Riley (Paperback) ….. MORE
The author thinks that by trying to understand our own and other people’s ‘personality color’ it would help us to communicate with others better.
“Each one of us has one of four personality colors that dominate the way we behave and communicate ......" MORE
Tuesday 24 August 2010
What Says Jimi ?
On the 40th anniversary of Jimi Hendrix death Tom Robinson in this radio programme takes a look at Hendrix's political position during the late 1960's .
Along with Tom Robinson, this programme also features contributions from Eric Burton, Robert Wyatt, Hendrix's younger brother Leon Hendrix, Black Panther Party members of the period Aaron and Elmer Dixon and comments from the author Charles Sharr Murray.
Along with Tom Robinson, this programme also features contributions from Eric Burton, Robert Wyatt, Hendrix's younger brother Leon Hendrix, Black Panther Party members of the period Aaron and Elmer Dixon and comments from the author Charles Sharr Murray.
"The programme culminates with Jimi's Woodstock Festival performance of 'The Star Spangled Banner', an eloquent (and wordless) statement against the Vietnam war......" MORE
Sunday 15 August 2010
Those Musical Feelings That We Have
I suppose you do not need to be a neuroscientist to know the power of music and the physical and psychological effects it can have on human beings. Nevertheless, it is good to know anyway that neuroscientists of this interesting study have taken the time and effort to confirm and explain why we feel these ‘physical and psychological effects’
Over the past decade or so, studies have shown that music stimulates numerous regions of the brain all at once, including those responsible for emotion, memory, motor control, timing and language. MORE
Thursday 24 June 2010
Are You A Good Listener ?
Listening is one those skills in communication which many of us overlook. If you are the one who does most of the talking in a conversation it probably means that you not listening or paying close attention to what the other person is saying. Often this can lead to a lot misunderstanding between the parties. So if you wish to be a better communicator try to talk less and listen more. You may be surprise at the difference this might make, you might even improve your communication skills in the process!
In my journey toward better communication, here are 5 ways I’ve found to help reduce the distractions we face in communication: ............ MORE
Wednesday 21 April 2010
Are Your Facial Expressions Innate Or Learnt ?
Human Facial Expressions are Inborn, Study Found
A research paper published by the 'Journal of Personality and Social Psychology' says that our facial expressions have "strong connections with our genes". This study goes on to say that " facial expressions of our emotions are innate" and consequently are not acquired in "cultural learning". ........ MORE
Thursday 4 March 2010
The Musical World of Confucius
Confucius grew up in a world in which the Ancient Chinese believed that sound had a profound influence on the harmony of the universe. This importance is reflected in his own teachings in which music is featured very prominently.
Confucius considered music to be one of the two defining social and cultural structures that is attributed to a proper ordered society, along with correct observance of ritual. For him music encompassed learning, thinking, behaving, and governing.
Confucius felt that an individual education could not be completed without a musical education. As Confucius so eloquently put it "To educate someone, you should start with poems, emphasise of ceremonies, and finish with music".
Confucius considered music to be one of the two defining social and cultural structures that is attributed to a proper ordered society, along with correct observance of ritual. For him music encompassed learning, thinking, behaving, and governing.
Confucius felt that an individual education could not be completed without a musical education. As Confucius so eloquently put it "To educate someone, you should start with poems, emphasise of ceremonies, and finish with music".
Thursday 19 November 2009
Music and Its Origins
The Singing Neanderthals: The Origins of Music, Language, Mind and Body
A book written perhaps with the linguist Steven Pinker in mind who in 1997 stated that music in evolutionary terms was in fact "useless". The author Steven Mithen challenges this assertion of Pinker and argues that ......." music has been neglected if not ignored. Like language it is a universal feature of human culture, one that is a permanent fixture in our daily lives. " ........ MORE
Wednesday 18 November 2009
Music And The Imagination
Music, The Brain, And Ecstasy: How Music Captures Our Imagination
An informative and an introduction to what is music and how and why it affects us..... Robert Jourdain explores these topics and others, ..... " from the essential nature of sound through composition, performance, and, finally, the nature of ecstasy " ....... MORE
An informative and an introduction to what is music and how and why it affects us..... Robert Jourdain explores these topics and others, ..... " from the essential nature of sound through composition, performance, and, finally, the nature of ecstasy " ....... MORE
Tuesday 17 November 2009
How Much Emotion and Meaning Is There In Music ?
Emotion and Meaning In Music
"Emotion and Meaning in Music " by Leonard B. Meyer ........ A thought provoking book which "Analyzes the meaning expressed in music, the social and psychological sources of meaning, and the methods of musical communication" ....... MORE
Monday 19 October 2009
The Timeless of Rock Music
Study Finds Rock Music Popularity On Rise
Yes, rock music is the most popular music in the USA according a report by the Pew Research Center released in August.
“Nearly 35 percent of respondents to the survey said they listen to rock often, and another 30 percent said they listened sometimes, which beats out six other musical genres tested in the survey: country, rhythm and blues, hip-hop, classical, jazz and salsa” ....... MORE
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Discover the Hurdy Gurdy: A Musical Journey Unveiling the Enchanting Sounds of a Timeless Instrument
The Hurdy-Gurdy Player (Le Joueur de Vielle) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Did you know that the hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument tha...
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Discover the Hurdy Gurdy: A Musical Journey Unveiling the Enchanting Sounds of a Timeless InstrumentThe Hurdy-Gurdy Player (Le Joueur de Vielle) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Did you know that the hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument tha...
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The Psychological Significance of Music in Human Communication Human beings throughout the ages have long considered music to have magical a...