anya siobhán

hello:) welcome to my music

[anyasmith]

week 6

-26/10/22

[anyasmith]

week 6

todays lecture is about discourse analysis

‘discourses are the kinds of language we use to talk about something, and the assumptions that lie behind what we think, say and do.’ (long and wall 2009: 290)

in the popular media and  popular music, discourses function as master narratives that guide and shape our understanding and interpretation of what media/music is and what it means. most of the time, these master narratives remain invisible – their ‘truth’ is simply assumed. the power of discourse stems from its ability to remain unquestioned. we invoke various discourses without being aware we are doing so. in this sense, discourses can be said to ‘speak’ through us.  

the words we use to describe something or somebody mobilise different discourses, e.g.

 ‘pop star’  ‘celebrity’  ‘icon’     ‘singer’  ‘artist’  ‘artiste’  ‘musician’      ‘dancer’   ‘songwriter’  ‘performer’  ‘entertainer’  ‘business woman’  ‘role model’ ‘feminist’  ‘post-feminist’       ‘patriarchal accomplice’ ‘activist’  ‘philanthropist’ 

-25/10/22

[anyasmith]

week 5

todays lecture is called portfolio workshop

assessment recap

collaborative project developed from client pitches or project briefs you have sourced either from students on other non-music courses (e.g. animation, film, games, tv) or stakeholders in the regional music landscape (e.g. festivals, music venues, educational establishments)

submit evidence in a portfolio containing:

a public facing website promoting your informed professional identity using evidence of your finished project 

a document or file containing evidence of your r&d* (research and development) for the project

 r&d should comprise:

evidence of research including client pitches and communication with potential collaborators

evidence of creative, professional and collaborative strategies you have undertaken in order to meet the project brief and how they have impacted on its development

a 300-word reflective statement on your practice – what worked well? what did not work well?

evidence that you have considered sustainability of your project

your website should contain the following:

a record of your project

if possible, links to other projects which you have been involved in which relate to it and show off your professional profile

a tab with details about: who you are, what your creative identity is and how people can contact you/see more of your work

r&d portfolio

document your pitches, your conversations with clients and your dialogue

make sure you provide ample reflection on your activities

try to proof read your work 

-24/10/22

[anyasmith]

week 5

today’s lecture is all about trying to find your why

simon sinek:

gave a ted called “how great leaders inspire action.”

tells business leaders to “start with why”, and demonstrates why organisations guided by this concept will succeed more often than those which don’t

the core of this concept is the golden circle: why, how, and what

“why” is the reason to buy

“how” merely represent the tangible products as a proof of that belief

“whats” are the reasons we can point to rationalise why we so much like a company over another

why: very few people or companies can clearly articulate why they do what they do. this isn’t about running a profitable company—that’s a result. why is all about your purpose. why does your company exist? why do you get out of bed in the morning? and why should anyone care? 

how: some people and companies know how they do what they do. whether you call them a ‘’differentiating value proposition’’ or a ‘’unique selling proposition,’’ hows are often given to explain how something is different or better

what: every single company on the planet knows what they do. this is true no matter how big or small the company is, or no matter what industry they belong to. everyone can easily describe the products or services their company sells or the job function they have within the company 

task:

start working on your why statement

don’t worry about the wording just yet - make sure the sentiment is there

start mind mapping multiple ideas for your how and your what

my why statement

“i am fortunate enough have been able to grow up in two worlds: the one around us and the world of music. this is a world that so many are socially restricted to because of various learning disabilities, developmental disabilities, and hearing disabilities. if i can help to allow more people to access the world of music and all it’s benefits would be truly rewarding and will help to reduce inequalities.”

to reduce inequalities so that more people can access the world of music and all the benefits music gives them.

-24/10/22

[anyasmith]

week 5

today’s lecture is about finding an audience for your work

the audience for my work is my future class and hopefully students who are revising. this means that my project should have relaxed and undistracting tracks to help encourage learning creativity and studying

this got me thinking as to why ambient music helps you concentrate and study and all the science behind this:

a study by florida national university found that studying while listening to ambient music reduces stress and anxiety and therefore improves performance, focus and brain function. according to the study, the minimal beats and rhythm of ambient music and the ability to blend into the background, it allows the listeners senses to become less active, resulting in a lower blood pressure and heart rate.  (florida national university, 2019)

binaural beats is an illusion in the brain caused by listening to two different frequencies in each ear. For example, if sounds in your left ear was at a frequency of 132 Hz and in your right ear 121 Hz, your brain falls into synchrony with the different of 11Hz. 

this auditory illusion has been proven to have many health benefits such as reduced anxiety, lowered stress and increased concentration. binaural beats in the frequencies of 14-30 HZ have been linked to increased concentration, problem solving and improved memory. binaural beats in the frequency of 40 Hz has been helpful in enhancing training and learning. (cafasso, 2021)

these beats have been used within and alongside ambient music to help increase the benefits for studying 

Does music help you study: Science says there are many benefits (2019) Florida National University. Available at: https://www.fnu.edu/benefits-studying-music/ (Accessed: October 19, 2022).

Cafasso, J. (2021) Binaural beats: Sleep, therapy, and meditation, Healthline. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health/binaural-beats (Accessed: October 19, 2022).

-19/10/22

[anyasmith]

week 5

today’s lecture is all about contextual analysis

contextual analyse is the method to analyse the environment in which the text is in. for example, a tree is textual, the mountains, sun and forrest are the context around it

in popular-music studies, ‘text’ and ‘context’ are often treated as being two halves of a single entity. for example, we can’t say what a song ‘means’ without considering what it means to a specific audience in a specific place and time 

context can be divided into social, historical and cultural factors

social factors are the kinds of things that sociologists examine: the structure of society and how people find their own identity and agency within it. it includes things like gender, class, ethnicity, sexuality, etc. as well as ‘institutions’ such as school, work, the family, etc

cultural factors relate to the wider culture, e.g. how a piece of music might be positioned in regard to texts from other media 

-18/10/22

[anyasmith]

week 4

emotional intelligence was the title of todays lecture 

what are emotions? a strong feeling deriving from one’s circumstances, mood or relationship

research has identified 6 emotions: joy, disgust, anger, fear, sadness and excitement. robbins, et al. (2009)  management new south wales: pearson  p.530 

ideally, collaboration needs to access a wide emotional range – to be able to respond to creative ideas/music but also to be be calm and controlled in stressful situations or business negotiation. 

in order to be ‘emotionally intelligent’ you need:

self awareness: being aware of what you are feeling

self management: being able to manage your emotions and impulses

self motivation: being able to persist in the face of setbacks and failures

empathy: being aware of how others are feeling

social skills: being able to handle the emotions of others

establishing mutual trust:

see things from the other’s perspective

be prepared to compromise

being assertive

ask questions – clarify

identify the key issues at stake

challenge assumptions

remember: no is a little word with big power!

to achieve a win/win:

put yourself second

have other options

don’t talk yourself down

stick to a time frame

-17/10/22

[anyasmith]

week 4

‘what is a precariat’ video

precariat is where people’s job and income are insecure

worlds labour supply has quadrupled

an extra 2 billion people are now part of the labour market, putting pressure on wages in europe, usa and japan

precarious rely on money ages- they don’t have the luxury of pensions, paid holiday etc

always on the edge of unsustainable debt

this is the first emerging class in history that is systematically losing the great rights: cicil rights, cultural rights, social rights, political rights

precariat is split into 3 factions; atavists, migrants and progressives

atavists; their parents or communities used to have occupations and pride and status. miners, dockers, steelworkers, car workers. they don’t have pride or a university education

migrants; no sense of home. keep their head down to survive

progressives; go to college, university and they are promised a future but they come out without a future. they come out with a lot of debt. may be suffering from a sense of desperation, alienation, anxiety, and anger

-17/10/22

[anyasmith]

week 4

this week i decided which one of my ideas i would use for my final project and started to do some research surrounding this. 

i decided to use the study beat idea and will create an ep of ambient study music

in order to do this i did some research to find our what ambient music is, what elements i would like to include and also key features of this genre. 

ambient music is a genre of music that focuses on the atmosphere of sound, mood and texture rather than traditional melodies and rhythms (masterclass, 2021). it is a rare genre as it can be traced back to one artist, brian eno. while he was recovering from an accident, eno was listening to harp music but he put the amplifier’s audio too low. instead of correcting his mistake, he began listening in a different way and discovered that, due to the low volume of the harp, the music became part of the general ambience of the room. (dale, 2020)

5 key elements of ambient music: (masterclass, 2021)

emphasis on atmosphere and texture

gradual exploration of timbre- lingers on notes and chords for long periods of time. variation is created by shifting timbre or introducing new instruments

minimal harmonic progression- simple chords to build atmosphere 

de-emphasised melodies

space for improvisation

MasterClass (2021) Ambient Music Guide: 5 Characteristics of Ambient Music, Masterclass.com. Available at: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/ambient-music-guide (Accessed: October 19, 2022).

Dale, J. (2020) An introduction to ambient music, Org.uk. Available at: https://sites.barbican.org.uk/ambientmusic/ (Accessed: October 19, 2022).

-12/10/22

[anyasmith]

week 4

this weeks lecture is about textual analysis

a ‘text’ is basically a piece of content. examples:

recordings

videos

live performances

sleeve designs

lyrics

logos

photos

memoirs

soundtracks

reviews

in music, the score has been thought of as the primary text. in popular-music studies, recordings have been given primacy. as musical culture becomes more and more visually orientated, this is changing; youtube videos are now a common way to access and ‘consume’ music 

a text can be a collection of signs. signs are something that stand for something else to somebody. 

semiotics is the meaning something has to something. there are two levels of meaning; denotation (the literal meaning) and connotation (related feelings/meanings)

-11/10/22

[anyasmith]

week 3

phrase ‘triple bottom line’ was created in 1994 by john elkington, the founder of a consultancy called sustainablilty

argument that companies should prepare 3 different bottom lines- profit, people and the planet

essentially a reporting system but used to drive improvements within an organisation. 

people:

businesses think about the impact their actions have on all propel that are involved with them

everyones well being is taken into consideration

company offers health care, good working hours, a healthy, safe place to work, opportunities for advancement and education, and does not exploit their labor force 

planet:

reduce or eliminate their ecological footprint 

recognises that "going green" may be more profitable in the long run

reduce their energy usage

dispose of any toxic waste in a safe way

try to use renewable energy sources

profit:

every business has a financial bottom line

idea is that profits will help empower and sustain the community as a whole

we then got to thinking about our assignment projects. we referred back to our interests and sector pallet form the week before and started to come up with ideas for our final project

my new idea is to produce a workshops for schools to show the importance and the impact that music has on special educational needs children. This will directly help improve SDG 4, education, and SDG 7, reducing inequality 

-10/10/22

[anyasmith]

week 3

during todays lecture we created our own padlet pages to help us plan and visualise our project ideas. this is a platform where i will continue to add and change things through. it gives me the chance to visualise things and will help me with my project idea

for my major music project i had 3 main ideas: study beats, educational songs and an ep

study beats:

this is the idea to create background study music ep

around 5 minutes for tasks

different styles for different tasks (slow silent reading task, upbeat for group tasks etc)

for my future class

examples: https://music.apple.com/gb/playlist/morning-focus/pl.a0d4254c599b4ee49b068a90852618e0 

educational songs:

carpet songs to help with certain topics

used to help me when i was younger

for my future class

light and upbeat

example: https://padlet.com/anyasmith/y4d8gwv5dihzvdec/wish/2327407331 

ep:

genre ideas: r&b, alternative, christian pop, interlude

aimed for teens/early adult

examples: https://music.apple.com/gb/album/oceans-where-feet-may-fail/591075444?i=591075501 https://music.apple.com/gb/album/take-time-interlude/1503721742?i=1503721899 https://music.apple.com/gb/album/golden-hour/1631223933?i=1631223935 https://music.apple.com/gb/album/kilby-girl/1517139758?i=1517139762 https://music.apple.com/gb/artist/rex-orange-county/1171059232 

https://padlet.com/anyasmith/y4d8gwv5dihzvdec

-05/10/22

[anyasmith]

week 3

todays lecture is all about research methods

ethnography is the scientific description of peoples and cultures

data is collected through observations and interviews, which are then used to draw conclusions about how societies and individuals function

ethnographic researchers contextualise their findings in relation to (1) their interviewees’ circumstances and social position, and (2) wider social and cultural trends

surveys and interviews:

conducting a survey using a questionnaire

questionnaires usually contain quantitative questions, i.e. ‘closed’ questions that elicit a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer

or questions that ask you to give a value from 1-5 based on your thoughts, feelings and experiences

interviewing is  an example of qualitative research BUT it is more like a conversation 

you need to ask for signed consent from your interviewees so that their responses can be included when the research is presented at conferences or published 

online focus groups:

usually recorded and transcribed

the interviewees’ responses can then be analysed using a combination of textual analysis and discourse analysis 

take no longer than an hour

textual analysis looks at the meanings inherent in a single interviewee’s responses 

discourse analysis traces patterns of meaning across the responses of different interviewees 

participant observation:

involves participating in musical scenes that one would not normally be part of, in order to experience and observe, at first hand, what they’re all about 

it involves describing and analysing the often-complex social relations that comprise specific musical ‘events’

 for the research that led to her book, club cultures, sarah thornton (1995) went clubbing (and took ecstasy), having gained the trust of some willing ‘informers’ in the uk dance scene, who agreed to accompany her 

summarise:

interviewing, focus groups and participant observation is field work

it is qualitative research

it enables you to test out ideas with specific groups of people

it asks you to draw your research triangle between the data (what your chosen people have to say), the trends that data reveals and the literature in the area of study

research ethics

-04/10/22

[anyasmith]

week 2

this week was all about how to make connections with others and to get out of your comfort zone

pitching your work:

target your person/organisation

be polite in your communications

describe what it is you do well without coming across too smug

include a link to some work which you think may illustrate why they should use you

it’s all about collaboration communication and creativity

you must combine your skills with the brief/skills/remit of another party 

you should demonstrate your ability to listen to others and make others hear you 

you should be using your ideas and imagination in conjunction with your professional skills 

-03/10/22

[anyasmith]

week 2

todays lecture was all about the SDG’s and making connections with them, music and our own interests

we looked at the SDG’s and how music has helped to create a more sustainable world. through the simpleness of ensuring a music room is built in schools to using renewable energy for festivals and concerts, the world can be guided to become more sustainable through the power of music. reading through this article has allowed me to see how small changes can have a massive impact on the world and we all should be aiming towards these goals. 

a couple of examples in how music has helped contribute towards the SDG’s:

SDG 4: quality education

 a failing school in bradford increased their music education by 6 hours a week. this allowed the school to improve to achieve a “good” by ofsted and is now in the 10% nationally for pupil progress in reading, writing and maths!

SDG 7: affordable and clean energy

some artists in australia have invested in a solar farm to help power local communities and invest into making their tours cleaner. the solar farm could help power the equivalent of 11,300 homes for 30 years

https://moodle.glos.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/2351542/mod_resource/content/1/Your%20Guide%20to%20Music%20and%20the%20SDGs.pdf 

we were then given the task to start thinking about our own interests and what sectors we were interested in. we put these onto a pallet but here are mine:

skills:

read music

percussionist

singer

create harmonies

communication

teaching

listening

performing arts

interests:

caring

transforming lives

giving others opportunities and express themselves

empowerment

sectors:

education

policy change

care work

adoption/ fostering

special educational needs

https://padlet.com/gmraydio/5dy3wkvqr6w8zlfu 

-03/10/22

[anyasmith]

week 2

in today’s lecture we look at the different brands and predicitions for music within 2023

https://padlet.com/timlandslide/8ebqbx7m7xh4r2tb

-28/09/22

[anyasmith]

week 2

research: what’s it for?

leads you to question below the surface

enables you to see trends

builds critical thinking

can be surprising 

research isn’t about describing something

it’s about finding meaning, trends, patterns and connections 

also:

it’s not just about doing the reading

it’s not just doing internet surfing

it’s not just doing a bit of looking around and having an opinion on something

2 halves of research:

primary research- where you analyse your main subject of study

secondary research- you read around your topic using journal articles, academic books, and other good-quality sources

The two halves of research

You do secondary research BEFORE or

ALONGSIDE primary research. By reading what other people have written in your area of research, you can:

• trace the history of a debate

" build on what they've already done, e.g. by applying their ideas to a different object of study.

you could look at music and emotion: take one soundtrack and see how things work

music and emotion: 3 routes 

interviews with a selected group

textual analysis of songs coded as ‘sad’

history/context or use of music in party political broadcasts 

-27/09/22