My Music And Song's

Posts Tagged ‘classical music’

Album covers are conspicuous in their expression of the bands’ visual side. An album cover says “I’m a painting with words”. The cover may be symbolic, a summary of stage performances, propaganda-like, the artwork of a band member or simply designed to grab more sales.   Some are so simplistic in nature that two colors can say everything there is to be said. Whatever the message conveyed, album covers should artistically parallel the sound of the music.

When music first became available in a home listening format, it was engraved on large wax disks. Stored in compressed paper sleeves, the  artwork reflected the classical music popular at the time. Black and white printing was the only kind available.  At first, classical works of art were sketched and then printed on the covers. For example, the Venus de Milo was printed for Korsakov’s musical styling. As the technology of photography developed, a few select albums had photographs of classical art printed on them. People from that time would have been shocked at how the album cover would evolve.

During the 1940’s, some album covers were both photographic and printed in color.  Some covers were airbrushed paintings, or pastel drawings. The popularity of these impressionistic photographs quickly waned, as the album cover gave way to color photographs. Many of the new covers depicted the feel-good sounds of the albums, with people frolicking on the beaches or in fields. Other covers featured photographs of the artist or band itself, with the person or band performing on stage or simply in front of a microphone. A few albums today use the same concept.

Rhythm is a vital aspect of popular music. In fact, it is one of the things that makes popular music popular. Rhythm is fundamental to human consciousness. In the womb, we grow to the beat of our mother’s heart. Everyday activities have rhythm  walking, or tapping our fingers on a table. Rhythm can be intoxicating, and it can carry people out of themselves. Armies march to the sound of drums, and some religious rituals have used drums to assist with the inducing of trance and altered states of consciousness. The overtly rhythmic nature of rock music itself was characterised by some critics in the 1950s as primitive, a reversion to the jungle.

In classical music, the beat is implicit. A conductor signals the beats with waves of a baton, but rarely do classical pieces have a percussion instrument marking every beat. Percussion is deployed at specific moments in order to accent a theme or a dynamic change. By employing the drum kit (and, more recently, the drum machine), popular music has insisted on making the beat explicit. This is part of its long established connection with dance. In any music intended for dancing, which much popular music always has been, rhythm is obviously important. But a catchy rhythm can do more than just set your feet tapping it can be an important part of what makes a song memorable.