Essay Questions

[d-mart]

I'm studying for a degree in music atm, first intrustment being bass and i just got my essay question for this break. I've never really enjoyed writing essays as none of them so far have been of anything i can call intresting. The question is

“In an age of recorded and broadcast music, which has been relatively freely available since the beginning of the 20th Century, has any music ever remained “pure” or is every music a fusion of styles? Compare and contrast two different musical styles to demonstrate your answer.”

It doesn't sound too bad apart from the fact that it has to be 2000 max, which kind of limits what i can write about.

Anyone have any thoughts on this, i'm not trying to get people to do my course work for me, i just thought it posed a pretty intresting question and wanted to hear some ideas on it.

Also, people in music education, how does it compare to the sort of questions you get asked?

[muthafunkabass]

Good question for a conversation.

I don't feel like typing though so...

[HaVIC5]

Is the question looking just for the influence of different styles on music brought about by technological innovation? If its just that, then I think it's pretty obvious, yes, there is plenty of music which is "pure". Quecha folk music is free of the influence of Javanese Gamelan, which has little to do with the Jewish cantor's chants, and none of them really have changed for thousands of years. "Pure" is rather a vague and misleading term, because really, you could make the case that all styles of music that are removed from the present day are "pure". Baroque music is "pure", dixieland is "pure", 70's punk rock is "pure". None of these styles have changed since the dawn of the information age.

[Sablate McNuff]

It probably wouldn't matter which style of music you look into - every style of music has its purities and blends. I guess it would depend on your individual definition of that certain style.

However, I don't think anything that is true to one style or another is what we hear in the mainstream. That combination of styles keeps music interesting and influences further production of mixed musical stylings.

[BenJammin]

All I've got to say is that if you think 2000 words is too restricting for a paper like that, you put too much superfluous nonsense in your essays.

[d-mart]

Main part of the question is asking about the "purity" or "authenticity" of music, as in who decides what is pure, critics, music journalists, performers etc. Then to look at purity within two genres of music.

I think a lot of music in the past 40 years isn't particularly pure in the sence that a competley new concept has been thought up. Most if not all new styles of music are a fusion of different genres due to the influence of the musicians writing it, each or on their own blending it together to create something new. The other side of this being that everything is pure, the artist putting forward a mix of different musical idea's to start a new genre, or sub-genre, is staying true to what he/she has made, Death for instance weren't trying to stay pure to what Black Sabbath had done.

I say it's restricting because I would like to write more on it, 2000 words isn't really a lot, that's not to say a point can't be put across in that space

[Linkinbassist]

has it got to be referenced and stuff? This is like music history, basically...an area i have a little bit of grounding in...

[d-mart]

has it got to be referenced and stuff? This is like music history, basically...an area i have a little bit of grounding in...

Yer it's for History of Music, using Harvard Reference System etc.

[psbassplayer]

the answer is no.

[FunkMetalBass]

the answer is no.
And you're 1,999 words under the 2,000 word limit!

I need you on my corporate team.

But seriously.