Drum N Bass And Breakbeat

When people are asked the question, what is beat? The usual definition one might think of would be as the main accent in music and poetry. It also might be defined as the act of hurting or defeating someone. But beat is not just all about the flow of music or to strike another person. Beat is also a type of expression, whether in writing, music, or art, it is about being free or having the freedom to do what is in one’s mind. It is all about disaffection and non-conformity. Beat is about being yourself and not being forced with the compliance with the living standards of society. Beat is about breaking boundaries, opening up and letting free of oneself. Beat sparked in the early 1950s with a group of writers who wrote about the cultural

Music is an art form and source of power. Many forms of music reflect culture and society, as well as, containing political content and social message. Music as social change has been highlighted throughout the 20th century. In the 1960s the United States saw political and socially oriented folk music discussing the Vietnam War and other social issues. In Jamaica during the 1970s and 1980s reggae developed out of the Ghetto’s of Trench town and expressed the social unrest of the poor and the need to over-through the oppressors. The 1980’s brought the newest development in social and political music, the emergence of hip-hop and rap. This urban musical art form that was developed in New

Thesis: Drums give the world of music rhythm. Without drums and drum beats, I believe that music today would not be as good as it is currently.

The roots of modern american rock and roll music, are firmly planted in Africa. As the native Africans were torn apart from their family’s and brought to the new world their lives were immediately and drastically changed forever. Finding themselves immersed in a completely new environment with a foreign culture, they thankfully persevered and carried on with their own traditions and most importantly to this paper, musical ones. Most American slaves originated from Western and Central Africa. The West Africans carried a musical tradition rich with long melody lines, complicated rhythms (poly rhythmics) and stringed instruments CITATION. The West Africans music was also strongly integrated into their everyday lives. Songs were preformed for religious ceremonies and dances and music was often a

The hip-hop culture began in the streets of New York City during the 1970’s and has gone through tremendous changes up until now. Hip-Hop consists of four elements: rap, graffiti, break-dancing, and the disc jockey. In this paper, I intend to fully explain the evolution of rap music, from its infancy to the giant industry it is today.

In the beginning, hip-hop music started off by a DJ sampling on a turntable. Sampling is isolating a beat from any type of song and reusing it in another song. Whether they were beats from old funk, soul, or R&B records the DJs were able to create a repeated sample of a drumbeat. They became known as break-beats. Guys

The Beat Movement, beginning in the 1950’s, consisted of a group of American writers that went against the social norms of that generation. During that time in America, society bent themselves out

In this essay, I will be examining the musical genre of Afrobeat which was created by Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Afrobeat first came to be in the late 1960’s during the Civil Rights Movement in America. Fela Kuti a Nigerian, was able to create a genre that has change the way we view music today. Afrobeat is made up of two different words, “Afro” and “Beat”. “Afro” correlates with “African organized sound while beat is a rhythmic counting pattern in relation to such music” (Oikelome, 2013). Therefore, the meaning of Afrobeat is the unique African rhythmic patterns of such music. The coming of this genre is very interesting since the man behind it has quite a story.

Introduction: (Play YouTube video from 1:38 – 1:58). What you just heard were the sounds of EDM. EDM stands for electronic dance music. Also you saw first-hand the inside of a rave called Electric Daisy Carnival (a Las Vegas event famous for ‘finding yourself under the electric sky’). What rave culture means to me is a place I can be myself and express my creativity in a judgment-free environment. Today, I am going to explain the history behind the top 3 most popular genres of EDM, and the meaning behind rave culture.

Within in this essay, you shall find my discussion on how two EDM artists use the program Ableton Live. The two artists I shall be writing about are Skrillex and Armin Van Buuren. Both artists have similarities on how they create their chosen form of Electronic music but they also show many differences when they play on a live platform. Also in this essay, I shall lightly touch on what equipment they use while playing live, in the studio; as well as their history within the industry.

Mickey Hart once said, “Life is about rhythm. We vibrate, our hearts are pumping blood, we are a rhythm machine, that’s what we are.” Percussion is one of the oldest instrument families and has grown to a degree of vast importance in all forms of modern Western music. Namely, this is because of the incorporation of percussion into both academia and entertainment music. At first, percussion was introduced into Western Classical music during the Classical period, as a means of getting exotic and unusual sounds for composers; however, the twentieth century works brought a unique gravitation to percussion. Twentieth century composers, such as Edgar Varese and John Cage, helped pave a way for an era of music history marked by

We learn from looking at the literature that modern-day Reggae had its wellsprings in the African-American soul music of the 1950s and 1960s. The insistent, off-beat rhythmic pattern of soul music became a feature of reggae in the late-1960s and early 1970s. However, the aforementioned pattern mostly appeared in the form of the trade-mark galloping backbeat of ska, which was a tip-beat and dance-oriented predecessor of reggae. Ska had a limited expressive range and its galloping speed needed to be slowed down if it was to enjoy a larger audience. Fortunately, it did slow down and, by the end of the 1960s, something known as “Rock Steady” was beginning to surface (Anderson, 206-208).

Have you ever watched the little mermaid? Think of the song “Under the Sea”. Now think about what instruments could create that catchy tune. One unique type of drum is able to construct such a joyful, Caribbean sound that makes people want to get up and dance. When looking at a steel drum you may be surprised by the sound it produces. Who knew something that looks so simple could be so complex. The music of the steel drum can be described by its geography, culture, history, musical analysis, and my personal experience with it.

Funk music is also the successor to the soul music of the 1960s. The new keyboards produce a dual role as rhythm to lead instrument which is no longer confined to the traditional rhythmic patterns such as drums and bass. Funk music style could be created by ‘pulse with percussive strength’ and ‘melodic lines’, which are basic melodies of the R&B and soul tune. Melodic instruments and rhythm instruments such as guitar could create this kind of effect. Beats based on the one and three counts in the four-four time were called downbeats. Downbeats were particularly emphasized on funk music. Referring to James Brown’s guitarists Jimmy Nolen and Cheese

In a world of massive technological development, the expansion of the "electric sound" and the growing cultural society behind it have led to the construction of a number of prominent digitally devised genres seen worldwide. This new music has taken a rise of popularity at an exponential rate and has been accepted and adapted culturally in the mass majorities of today’s population. Though the music today has its different and specific sound to it, some of the original qualities still are very prominent in the genre of the now. To bridge the connection between the initial electronic sound and the contemporary take on it, one could look at groups who currently practice this music, such as the University of Pennsylvania’s student DJ group dubbed “The Collectve”, and compare the quality and details of their music with artists and groups existing in the birth age of electronic music and continuing through the its progression until the current state. This, in addition to reviewing the global expansion and acceptance of the genre worldwide throughout the years, will collectively work towards summarizing what EDM/house music is as a whole.