Musical Juries

My last blog post I will be discussing the most stressful things you have to endure as a music major. At the end of each semester we have what is called juries. These juries test you on your knowledge of the proper singing technique and sight reading music. Staff members will listen to you sing and judge you based on if you meet the criteria for a well prepared performance. These are the most stressful for music majors because they at a certain level determine if you can stay in the school of music. I feel that the music students who don't stress about them will do better. The worse thing to do in a performance is panic. Juries may be annoying but they will help you perform like a champ in the long run.

Choral Christmas Concert

This is a great way to enjoy holiday music and listen to many different kinds of music. This is a promotion for my choir. If you can attend I promise you won't be disappointed.



Celebrate this year's joyous holiday season with the members of the Western Michigan University's Choirs. Come to experience music from one of the best choral programs in the state of Michigan. 

Choral Christmas includes performances by WMU's Collegiate Singers, Cantus Femina, University Chorale, and Gold Company. There will be concerts at 4:00 and at 7:30. Tickets can be purchased for $15, $12 for seniors, and $5 for students.

Who is John Williams

Some people today find classical music to be boring and not enjoyable to listen to but, little do they know that is the root of all music that we have today. Some of the most famous composers during the classical are Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. Beethoven's most famous piece is "Beethoven's Fifth Symphony" composed in either 1801 or 1802. Even if people don't know Beethoven as a composer they know him by the first movement of this symphony. It is featured in many television commercials and movies. This famous song gave inspiration to the future composers today such as John Williams. The composer of the "Star Wars" trilogy.

John Williams was born on February 8th, 1932 in New York City. His father was a musician and they put him in piano lessons at a young age. He moved to Los Angeles California with his family in 1948. He went to the University of California in Los Angeles in 1953 before he went on to Julliard's School of Music. He studied with Rosina Lhevinne. John dreamed of being a professional concert pianist, John Williams stated in a 2012 interview with NPR at Julliard he heard "players like John Browning and Van Cliburn around the place, who were also students of Rosina's, and I thought to myself, "If that's the competition, I think I better be a composer!" Some of John's other most known film scores are Jaws, Fiddler on the Roof, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, E.T The extra terrestrial and the first three Harry Potter Movies.

The Book of Mormon

Two weeks ago my roommate and I went to see "The book of Mormon" at Miller Auditorium. It was a very funny show. I can not believe that the creators of south park could come up with such an amazing show. The Book of Mormon is not your typical musical. It is not a love story and it does not follow the religious aspect like the title may imply. The show is very explicit so if you are not into that kind of thing I would not go. The music is very catchy but can also be very inappropriate. If you are interested I highly recommend this show. Some of my favorite songs are Hello, Turn it off, All American profit and so many more. This musical is a winner of nine tony awards in 2011.

Musical Theater

I am very involved in musical theater. I think you can gain a lot from being a part of a show or even just listening to this type of music. Most musicals you can relate to your own life and even learn some life lessons. I love being a part of musicals because I love the family that you form as a cast. By being around these people for at least three months you form great friendships and learn many new vocal skills. I have been in many productions such as Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory, Zombie Prom, Cinderella, High School Musical and The Addam's Family. I recommend that you try at least one show or see one. You may actually enjoy it.

Barbershop Quartets

This week I am taking a different approach on my blog and decided to tell you all about a style of music that is near and dear to my heart. One of my many favorite styles of music is singing in a barbershop quartet. Barbershop is a style of singing in a group of four people usually of the same sex. The difference between barbershop and choir is that choir you focus on blending with other singers. Barbershop you need to be more forward with your sound but blend in volume. You have to hear all parts when singing in this type of quartet. Barbershop has been one of my favorites every since I started to go to The Mountain Town Singers Harmony Camp. This camp specifically focuses on singing barbershop and you rehearse music for at least three days. On the last day you perform for your parents and members of the Mt. Pleasant Mountain Town Singers. Through this experience I have gained many friends and have strengthened my vocal technique. Here are two videos of some quartets the female quartet is "Shades of Jade." The guys quartet is "The Newfangled Four." Quartets all over the nation Sing at the Barbershop Harmony Society national competition every year. If you are interested in joining the Mountain Town Singers Harmony Camp in summers to come they allow campers as old as twenty five. The information is on their website.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MountainTown-Harmony-Explosion-196056300433210/
Website: http://www.mountaintownsingers.org/

Mozart makes people smarter?

People and students everyday listen to music to get work done but is there music people should listen to so that they can increase their performance? Studies show that if a person listens to Mozart 20-30 minutes before a test or exam they will be more focused and do better on tests. When people listen to Mozart it stimulates a large amount of brain activity which helps them focus and remember what they studied. This is called “The Mozart Effect.” “The Mozart Effect: Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind and Unlock the Creative Spirit.” (Anderson Thomas.) Mozart is not the only musician that people should listen to for good study habits. Even Bach or any type of classic music will have a very close result to Mozart. Folks can still study in silence, but to enhance their performance, try listening to the classics.

Work Made Easier

When we need our creative juices flowing or need to get some type of work done concentrating to music makes it seem less stressful. But listening to a person’s favorite type of music may not be the best thing for that person to accomplish that task. Like “The Mozart Effect” listening to classical music may improve that person’s focus. Studies show that individuals should listen to any kind of music without lyrics. For example if humans do not care for Bach or Mozart they can listen to ambient music. Ambient music is sounds and beats without lyrics it can be fast or slow tempo. People tend to concentrate better when it is quiet or when listening to calming music. This would be reasonable because the type of music humanity listens to affects a person’s mood, like explained in the topic above. Folks do not always need to listen to ambient music. For example, when people go to the gym more power to the fitness people to blast loud upbeat songs that will push them as hard as they can.

Music and personality

Some studies show that the type of personality an individual has depends upon the music they listen to. In one study, a group of people listened to each other’s favorite songs. After that they would guess that test subject’s personality and most of the time the other participants were very accurate.

• Blues and jazz fans tend to have a high self-esteem, creative or outgoing and a gentle and at ease person
• Classical music gives people the personality of high self-esteem, creative, introverts and very calm
• Rap fans have a high self-esteem and are outgoing
• Country and western fans are outgoing and hardworking
• Dance fans are creative and outgoing
• Rock/Heavy metal listeners have low self-esteem and not outgoing
• Chart pop fans are hardworking, outgoing, and gentle but not very creative
• Soul fans are creative, outgoing, gentle and at ease

These are just some claims of how the music an individual listens to affects their personality it may not be true for all people. But think about all the people you are around everyday and if they can relate to these descriptions.

Background Music

Another way people are affected by music is the use of it in the background in stores or movies. Using background music in stores and factories are said to make the environment happier and increase production and spending. The type of music played in the store effects the image of the store. Niclolas Gueguen states in "Effect of Background Music on Consumer Behavior." European Journal of Scientific Research 16.2 (2007)

By manipulating the tempo of the background music in a supermarket, found that music tempo significantly effects the pace of in-store traffic flow and dollar sales volume. Research shows that music with a slower tempo (-73beats-minute) compared to a high tempo (+93beats-minute) lead to a decrease in store traffic but an increase in sales volume.

This means that the faster the tempo of the music the faster the customer pace will be in the store. Business people tend to want their customers to stay longer because the customers will buy more.

Music used in movies makes the viewer understand what is happening in a certain scene. Without music it is just dialogue. Music builds on the emotion that character is feeling or to give the scene suspense. This clip shows a scene from the movie Jaws with and without music. The difference is astounding!

Perceived and Felt Emotions

In a study by Bruce Gust he stated that there are two kinds of emotions related to music: perceived emotions and felt emotions. Perceived emotions are feelings that you witness from movies or other people. For example when you watch a television show and your favorite character dies you are overwhelmed and want to cry. Felt emotions are feelings that you have when something personally affects you. An example of this would be when you are depressed from a break up or overjoyed to see a best friend. Your brain uses the auditory cortex to understand rhythm and tempo. It uses the speed of tempo and lyrics to determine what the emotion of the song should be.When you listen to music you can be affected by both of these types of emotions. When you listen to a song you could be influenced to feel how the performer feels or relate the song to your own life. Music is the easiest way to lift your spirits.

Music Therapy

Hello my name is Lauren Mitchell. Welcome to my blog where I will be discussing all the different ways music effects you everyday. There are many ways that we experience the joy of music. It could be at a live concert or just having a jam session in your car. We use music all the time for so many reasons. One reason is for its healing power. A new treatment is music therapy. This form of therapy is relatively new and studies the effects it has on people with diseases, Alzheimers, hospice and depression. One example is how this type of therapy improves cognitive function for patients with Parkinson's disease. The patient uses the number of beats in a song to focus on movement at a steady pace or used to improve the patients speaking ability. Music therapy is growing in popularity with each new discovery. I hope with this therapy citizens will understand how important it is to keep music in people's lives.

If you are interested in this topic there is a documentary called "Alive Inside" that you can watch that gives more information.