OUGD405 (Studio Brief 2) Further research

After the interim crit, I wanted to further my research in music and find out more about how music has changed over the time. I collected various information and found out that:

• Bands used to fit loosely into genres, but now music has become very specific
• Rock in the 60's was very popular
• Music taste changes, and will continue to change to meet certain social and physiological needs
• Humans use music to experiment with identity and define themselves, then they use it to express their intellect and emotional understanding
• Scientists have found that certain music genres are associated with 5 key stages of age. 
• Some of the categories considered within the music industry include; mellow, unpretentious, sophisticated, intense and contemporary

After doing this research I wanted to investigate further into what some people believe the five stages of music are.

1. Intense - the period when punk or metal dominates adolescence as teens explore their own identity

2. Contemporary - electronic and R&B music that reflects the autonomy of early adulthood

3. Mellow - phase of romantic, emotionally positive and danceable music gives way to a mellow period as listeners search for love 

4. Sophisticated - age of jazz and classical pieces

5. Unpretentious - as we mature and loose the need for peer approval we become more inclined to this music, such as folk 

These five categories incorporate multiple genres that share common musical and psychological traits - such as loudness and complexity.  

The study found that, unsurprisingly, the first great musical age is adolescence, which is defined by a short, sharp burst of ‘intense’ and the start of a steady climb of ‘contemporary’. 

‘Intense’ music, such as punk and metal peaks in adolescence and declines in early adulthood, while ‘contemporary’ music such as pop and rap begins a rise that plateaus until early middle age. 

This information and further information can be found on the daily mail online:

• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2460668/Scientists-prove-taste-music-DOES-change-lifetime.html 

Composition is of high significance within the culture of music. It is often classed as the creation and recording of music through a medium by which others can interpret it. Many cultures use at least part of the concept of preconceiving musical material, or composition, as held in western classical music. Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.

Composition consists in two things only. The first being ordering and disposing of several sounds. This is called melody. The second being rendering audible of two or more simultaneous sounds, this is called harmony and alone it merits the name of composition.