Category Music

What is the carbon footprint of music touring?

Green is the new normal in the music industry. Green touring is a sustainable way to tour and engage with the fans. Musicians such as Neil Young have been doing their bit to make their touring environment friendly for sometime. Now a bevy of artists are embracing the concept of touring in a sustainable fashion by seeking green alternatives. On the occasion of International Music Day which falls on October 1, let’s take a look at some of the musicians who are taking the extra step for the environment.

 

Radiohead

We are of the earth To her we do retum The future is inside us It’s not somewhere else…” so go the lyrics of the song “The Numbers” by the English rock band Radiohead. The band’s frontman Thom Yorke is known for being an eco-friendly rock star. Yorke has often spoken out on the need to change the way touring operates. And he walks the talk. The musician and his band have been Championing environmental activism with their climate-conscious choices and making their tours as eco-friendly as possible. They even bought two lots of equipment which allowed them to keep one in Europe and one in America so that they wouldn’t have to fly their kit around the world. While other musicians use pyrotechnics and a range of lights on the stage. Radiohead went for LED-based lighting solutions. In the mid-2000s, they started touring responsibly, showing up with an all-LED stage lighting during the promotional tour of their album In Rainbows, surprising everyone. They continue to encourage Concertgoers to attend shows by sharing transportation services. The band plays at events with environment-friendly transport systems and opted out of famous music festival because of a conflict over environmental issues. PHOTO: AP

Neil Young

In the song “Heart of Gold Canadian-American musician singer Ned Young w having been to “Hollywood “Redwood and crossing the ocean warching for a Heart of Gold. But did the “miner for a heart of gold eventually get it? We may not know t do know that the veteran rocker has a heart of gold, one that does its init for the environment. He was one of the pioneers who spoke about green sustainable touring for instance, back in 2004, when he was promoting his latest album Grendair he biodiesel to power the tour buses. In fact, he pioneered the use of bodiesel fuel in the rock milieu. After a hiatus of four years, he performest live in public in February this year d an ecology rally in British Columbia, Canada. He had said that he would go on tour in the future only if it could be done sustainably. The foon he had sail was to have a self-sustaining, renewable tour where everything was dean from the food served to the merchandise sold. In 2022, he released his 42nd stuudio LP World Record (along with hacking band Crazy Horse) which was on how to combat climate change PHOTO AP

Adam Gardner and REVERB

Talk about being climate conscious in your actions and then taking it another notch up by launching a non-profit to help other musicians go green. Adam Gardner, the American guitarist and vocalist of the band Guster, has been steadfastly pioneering initiatives for the planet. Adam co-founded the non-profit REVERB which seeks to give the music industry a shot at being environment-friendly by making touring as climate-sensitive and green as possible. The organisation creates programmes to reduce concert and tour footprints. It does this through a variety of activities such as eliminating single-use water bottles, coordinating local farm food, using sustainable biodiesel in tour buses, composting and donating food waste. and so on. Further, Gardner and REVERB set up “action villages” for concertgoers by connecting with local and national non-profit groups and campaigns. Since its launch in 2004. REVERB has worked on over 5,000 concert events and 250 tours and has been helping to reduce the environmental impact of tours. In 2018. Adam and REVERB were named Official Music and Public Engagement Partner to the United Nations Environment Programme. PHOTO: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Dave Matthews Band

In 2019, the United Nations Environment Programme designated Dave Matthews Band as a Goodwill Ambassador. According to the UN body, the band’s “powerful environmental advocacy and large-scale engagement of its fan base to take action for the planet had earned it this status. It was also the first time that a full band received this recognition. An American rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia, Dave Matthews Band had pioneered programmes to lessen environmental impact and also worked towards educating fans on taking simple and positive steps to save the Earth. The band partnered with the non-profit group REVERB for this. During tours, the band has been using a biodiesel-fuelled bus. reducing waste, recycling and composting backstage waste, thereby reducing the carbon footprint. Dave Mathews has given interviews about how he uses his platform to sensitise people about protecting the environment and how small changes can have an impact. PHOTO: DAVID ILIFF/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.

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Which is the longest song ever released?

Music has the power to take us on incredible journeys, transporting us to other worlds and allowing us to experience the full range of human emotions. From soaring anthems to introspective ballads, music has the ability to touch us in ways that nothing else can. And for some musicians, the journey is not limited to a few minutes or even hours – instead, they seek to create epic compositions that stretch on for days.

One such masterpiece is A Quantum Christmas Song, recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest officially released song. Created by English songwriter Mark Christopher Lee in collaboration with the British indie band The Pocket Gods, this 115-hour-45-minute long odyssey is a spiritual exploration of the mysteries of quantum physics and the meaning of life.

Some more examples of astonishingly long songs include Symphony of the Crown (48 hours, 39 minutes, and 35 seconds long) by Canadian artist Earthena; Rise and Fall of Bossnova (13 hours and 32 minutes) by American artist Michael J Bostwick; and Apparente Liberta (76 minutes and 47 seconds) by Italian musician Giancarlo Ferrari.

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What do Carnatic music and Jazz possibly have in common?

Carnatic music is among the world’s most widely and deferentially revered forms of Classical music; Jazz rose from the depths of folksy angst with the rebellious explosiveness that only liberal music could express and emancipate. Yet, they have many core similarities. 

 Ragas and modes

Carnatic music is a predominantly raga-based form of music. The raga is the overarching mood or melodic dialect underpinning every composition or performative piece. Every piece is set in a specific raga, defined as a set or sequence of notes and constructed by a latticework of idiosyncratic melodic patterns orbiting a defined Key.

Jazz plays fast and loose with the tonality of its pieces. Its pieces are also woven around melodic scales or modes. While it is rife with Key changes, Modal interchanges, and modulation, Jazz distinctly recognises the essentiality of scalar modes, and plays around with them rather than stick to the sacred script. Borrowed chords are returned with interest.

MODES AND EQUIVALENTS

Dorian Mode – Kharaharapriya (Herbie Hancock’s ‘Maiden Voyage’; Tyagaraja’s ‘Rama Nee Samanamevaru’)

Natural Minor (Aeolian Mode) – Natabhairavi Dave Brubeck Quarter’s Take Five’;

Muthuswami Dikshitars ‘Sreeneelotpalanayike’)

Melodic Minor – Gowrimanohari (Joseph Kosma’s ‘Autumn Leaves’; Tyagaraja’s ‘Guruleka’)

lonian mode Shankarabharanam (Muthuswami Dikshitars ‘Sri Dakshinamurthe’; The Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’)

 Melodic and rhythmic complexity polyrhythms and polymeters

Rhythm is a crucial aspect of both the art forms, and not just in a casual way aimed to make the audience tap their feet along. There are many mathematical and arithmetic calculations that go into the composition and performance. Polyrhythms and polymeters are used intensively to spice up the experience of playing and listening.

The use of polymeter, a technique where beat cycles of different number of pulses are played over the same tempo and changes in the meter are introduced in the middle of a song, more than just once, is not so common in Carnatic music except perhaps in the Ragam Tanam Pallavi, a format that explores plaintive melodic patterns, coupled with onomatopoeic syllables, and lyricism. Polyrhythms, wherein different beat cycles and time signatures are played or rendered over one another at different tempos to achieve interesting syncopations and syllabic emphasis, greet you at every concert and ensemble session.

Fundament of canon and comprehensive study of standard compositions

Both forms have a rich tapestry of standard songs and canonical compositions that are rendered faithfully and studied in depth. In fact, Carnatic music ragas are supposed to be abstract musical entities but modern-day musicians often derive them from their formulations in songs and the way in which great pastmasters have rendered them. Not all 72 Melakarta ragas have the same representation in song form. Jazz standards form the basic repertoire of any jazz musician. Popular tunes from the 19th and 20th Centuries, their treatment over time has vested them with the gamut of jazz techniques and influences from adjacent genres such as the Blues, Ragtime, Swing, West African Music, and showtunes written for Broadway musicals.

Improvisation with methodical patterns

Ad-libbing, riffing, coming up with chordal and harmonic shifts and melodic lines on the spot, spontaneously dovetailing into polymetric rhythm structures all these are as basic as they are challenging for a jazz performer. Tunes are overlaid with alternative groupings of notes and pulses to enhance intelligibility and intrigue. Manodharma, scatting Besides the copybook renditions, the Carnatic music kritis rendered in a concert are appended with pockets of improvisation – the vocalist, melodic accompanists, and percussionists each get to eke out variances and build on on the main tune, generate complex filigrees and ornamentations, independently creating permutations of notes and pulses, all the while gelling together to keep the composition’s integrity intact.

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Which is the second top-selling music artist?

Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American singer and songwriter. His integration of rock and pop elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the country music single and album charts, multi-platinum recordings and record-breaking live performances, while also crossing over into the mainstream pop arena.

Brooks is one of the world’s best-selling music artists, having sold more than 170 million records. As of 2020, according to the RIAA, he is the best-selling solo albums artist in the United States with 156 million domestic units sold, ahead of Elvis Presley, and is second only to The Beatles in total album sales overall. Brooks was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on October 21, 2012, having been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame the year before. He was also inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016 with his studio musicians, The G-Men. On March 4, 2020, Brooks received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. At age 58, he is the youngest recipient of the award.

Brooks has won a record 22 Academy of Country Music Awards and received a total of 47 overall nominations. His 13 Grammy Award nominations have resulted in 2 awards won, along with Billboard Music Awards, Country Music Association Awards, and many others. Brooks’ work has earned awards and nominations in television and film as well, including the Primetime Emmy Awards and Golden Globe Awards. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2010, he was inducted into the Cheyenne Frontier Days Hall of Fame. He has also been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.

 

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I’m only interested in music

I’m currently studying in Class XI. I’m not interested in NEET or JEE. Though I’m a biology student I’m only interested in music. I love singing but I’m not a trained singer. What are the courses I need to complete to be a professional singer? Are there any colleges in India that preferably have courses in western music?

In order to become a professional singer, start with some basic music training. Also learn multiple music instruments; this will help you in identifying your style of singing. Make your demo song recordings and promote yourself online.

There are no educational requirements for singers interested in performing popular music. Formal education is more likely to be required for classical music. Still singers need extensive training and regular practice, as the qualities of a singer’s voice affect his/her ability to be successful. You must take lessons from a qualified guru. Short-term training in western music is provided by private institutes all over India.

Some good colleges are:

  • Bhatkhande College of Hindustani Music, Lucknow
  • Kalakshetra, Madras
  • National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama (Sangeet Natak Academy), New Delhi
  • Prayag Sangeet Samiti, Allahaba
  • Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata
  • Visva Bharati, Santiniketan

The music industry is always in need of innovative, creative, successful musicians to introduce different styles and various fusions in an attempt to innovate new sounds. But competition is severe and talent alone is no guarantee of success; it requires dedication and sometimes good luck. Developing contacts in the music business is as important as finding opportunities to perform. However, being able to play several types of music or sing in a variety of styles enhances the opportunity to find employment.

 

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What is the career in music therapy?

Whether it is the well-known concerts of Bach and Beethoven o the peppy tunes of a pop song, music can help us forget our woes. Music possesses the uncanny ability to bring people together, and device into our deepest thoughts, feelings and traumas. According to beloved children’s author Hans Christian Andersen, “Where words fail, music speaks.” Music therapists draw upon this healing power of music to support people with disabilities and illnesses. Music therapy, for example, might help a child with autism communicate with others. For a person with dementia, music can be a way for children. So if you want to use your musical abilities to help people, you can hit the right note as a music therapist.

How it works:

Music therapy is an emerging field backed by mounting scientific evidence. Music therapists work alongside paediatricians and nurses and other allied health professionals, including speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists and social workers.

Scope

Depending on your interest, you can work as a music therapist in different sectors. Primarily, music therapists work as consultants with hospitals and rehabilitation centres. Music therapy is used for children with physical, developmental and intellectual disabilities. Their treatment does not involve medication, instead it focuses on bringing about cognitive and behavioural changes. Similarly, schools for differently abled children may also consult music therapists to help children cope with school work. Many corporate houses ask music therapists to conduct workshops to relieve anxiety and stress of employees.

What to study:

To work as a music therapist, a Bachelor’s degree in music or psychology, special education, occupational therapy, social work or nursing is a prerequisite.

Where:

  • St Mira’s College, Pune: One-year, full-time, and two-year, part-time, Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Music Therapy
  • Chennai School of Music Therapy: An online, foundation course to train aspirants in the basics of music therapy. Individuals with a Bachelor’s in Music or related fields can opt for the Postgraduate Diploma programme in Music Therapy
  • Nada, Centre for Music Therapy, Chennai and Delhi: Certificate course in Music Therapy – a distance-learning course offered in affiliation with the Directorate of Distance Learning
  • Mumbai Educational Trust’s Institute of Alternative Careers, Mumbai: Certificate in Music Therapy – a six-month, part-time course.
  • S.H. Centre for Music Therapy and Mental Health Amritsar: A distance-education course in Music Therapy. The centre is affiliated to Bharat Sevak Samaj, an agency promoted by the Government of India.

Required skills:

  • A desire to help people empower themselves
  • Empathy, patience and ability to listen
  • A love for music
  • Communication skills
  • Imagination and creativity
  • Openness to new ideas

 

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