Bibliography

Furler, S 2013, ‘My Anti-Fame Manifesto’, Billboard, 125, 42, pp. 21-22, Business Source Elite, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 November 2014

Gallo, P 2013, ‘THE INVISIBLE POP STAR’, Billboard, 125, 42, p.21 Business Source Elite, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 November 2014

Daniel J.Levitin (2007). This Is Your Brain On Music. New York: Penguin.

David Raposa (2005). Imogen Heap Speak For Yourself. Pitchfork [online]. 31^st October 2005. Available from: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/4025-speak-for-yourself/ [Accessed 01/10/2014]

Mark Richardson (2009). The Beatles. Pitchfork [online]. 10^th September 2009. Available from: http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13431-abbey-road/ [Accessed 01/10/2014]

Neil McCormick (2009). The Beatles – The Beatles, Review. The Telegraph [online]. 8^th September 2009. Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/the-beatles/6138860/The-Beatles-Abbey-Road-review.html [Accessed 01/10/2014]

Carl E.Seashore (1938). Psychology of Music. 1st. ed. New York and London: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc.

Roy Shuker (2001). Understanding Popular Music. Second. ed. London: Routledge.

Soliloquy (2013). Les Miserables Review: New Cast 2013-4. 25^th August 2013. Soliloquy’s Blog [online]. [Accessed 01/10/2014]. Available from: http://soliloquyblog.wordpress.com/2013/08/25/les-miserables-review-new-cast-2013-4/

Understanding Popular Music

Shuker said ‘composition is at the heart of discourses surrounding authorship in popular music’. I agree to an extent, but if an artist releases a song, the artist is the main name associated with the song, not the writer. Obviously the song wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the writer, but the writer doesn’t always get much recognition. For example, the other day a pupil of mine was singing ‘Breakaway’ by Kelly Clarkson, a song that I have known for many years. When I looked up the lyrics I noticed that the song was written by Avril Lavigne. She is very famous, but I was totally unaware that she had written songs for other artists.

Shuker also said that ‘little use is made of sheet music’. I agree with this, certainly with my own writing style. I usually start by writing the chords and melody, then add lyrics. After this I put those things onto sheet music and build up other instruments on top. Obviously it depends on the writer, but in most cases, writing comes from improvisation, and once that becomes practised improvisation, it is written up onto sheet music. If I was to have people play the instruments in my song, then sheet music would be vital, but in composition, it is certainly not the first thing I use.

‘Cover bands […] are generally accorded little critical artistic weight’. Again, I agree with this to an extent. Obviously when you are performing a song that someone else wrote, you don’t always feel the lyrics as much if they are not personal. However, you can relate to a song very much and feel that the lyrics do represent you or something that has happened to you. Also, when performing and making a name for yourself, pubs tend to be a good place to start. However, if you play a lot of original material in a pub, people may lose interest in the songs. If you play a lot of well-known cover songs, people can sing along and recognise songs.

When I have written songs in the past, they always seem to relate to a personal feeling I have, or something that has happened to me. ‘Those involved in making music clearly exercise varying degrees of personal autonomy’ (Shuker 1994). I have never a written a song that hasn’t had some degree of personal feelings in it. Usually I have a strong feeling about something, and then decide to write about it. My composition I have written recently is based on Jane Eyre, but the themes of equality are very important to me, so I found it easy to write about. I am aware of songs such as ‘I Am The Walrus’ by The Beatles, which may not necessarily have a personal meaning, but it is written with the artist’s personal flair and writing style. This can be a problem, as a lot of current singers do not write their own songs, so the songs may not be personal to them.








Roy Shuker (2001). Understanding Popular Music. Second. ed. London: Routledge.

Chandelier

Earlier today I found myself watching this video of Sia performing her hit song, Chandelier.
I found it extremely bizarre yet very interesting that she stands at the back of the stage to sing facing the wall, and lets the young dancer, Madison, take centre stage. Could this be seen as a performance or not? Some could argue that it is not a performance, as on shows such as 'Strictly Come Dancing, the singers are hardly shown, as they are merely backing up the dancers. This seems to be the way the song is presented, however this is Sia's song, not Madison's. It is quite clear that Sia is the artist and Madison is the dancer from the music video of this song. Does this mean the song is also Madisons? It is Sia's choice as an artist to not show her face, and it is an extremely interesting decision. Artists nowadays are constantly judged by their appearances, and a lot of artists will be turned down by record labels simply because they don't look the part. Sia is clearly trying to beat that idea, by not presenting herself physically very much. I appreciate this, as I myself have been turned down parts before for not having the right look. Sia Furler (2013) herself said that the media 'questions everything there is to question. Even things I had never thought to question. Things I had never dreamed of feeling insecure about'. She has made a conscious decision not to be a part of the media. In Gallo's article (2013) Sia said 'I don't care about commercial success, I get to do what I love and communicate whatever I want'.
As much as her ideas are intrinsically good, does this mean that her performance lacks in some ways? I feel that it is very important for the audience to connect with an artist. This can be achieved by the artist simply performing to their audience, and evoking emotions within them. Can Sia do this with her back turned? Obviously the dancer is there to turn the song into a performance, however it is almost like she is leaving it up to other people to perform.
After some research, I discovered that Sia co-wrote this song, which means she was fully involved with the production and performance of this piece.
In terms of my own musical performance, I would love to have a dancer to help tell my story. I think it is an excellent way of communicating a message, and adds some vibrancy and interest.