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Stage Musicals: Eternal Renditions Across time!

8/14/2018

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The advent of musicals into our social and intellectual awareness happened sometime in the 19th century. Essentially performances that incorporate a number of different artistic formats such as music and storytelling, they differ from traditional operas as they are sung in native languages of the attendee audiences. Additionally, unlike operas, musicals have been known to hire real actors as opposed to only professional singers.
 

Although Western music witnessed this emergence in the 19th century, the actual roots of the form date back to the Grecian performances of yore. This was adapted and then kept up by the Romans, who also included tap shoes to make the whole thing more comprehensible to their masses. The history pages then jump to the Middle Ages, where the tradition of musicals was upheld by traveling performers and minstrels, although information of these times is scarce.
 

The age of the European Renaissance, particularly in Italy, saw the evolution of the art into the “Commedia dell’Arte”, a form of masked theatrical performance. Subsequent research also brings to light that the Tudors were quite prolific in holding masques, which had singing and dancing to accompanying the music, with the age witnessing Shakespeare writing plays that had sections akin to a masque. This form of musical remained extremely popular till Charles II’s death in 1685.
 

This was followed by comic and ballad operas, where the former was a mix of humor with music and the latter was musical with a romantic edge. Relevant examples would be 1728’s The Beggar’s Opera by John Gay and 1845’s The Bohemian Girl by Michael Balfe. The former debuted at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in the year 1728 and saw 62 performances over the season – a record for the time. Stalwart composers Gilbert and Sullivan were instrumental in creating a perfect blend of humor, music, and acting, that has developed into what we love and expect of a musical today. While Sullivan was the one who weaved notes into music, Gilbert was the architect of the lyrics. Their two most adored works are HMS Pinafore (1878) and Pirates of Penzance (1879).

Around the same era, American actors Tony Hart and Edward Harrigan contributed their bit and collaborated on a number of performances. The music was in turn, written by composer David Braham. The style that they projected for the people was Vaudeville that portrayed people easily relatable to the lower classes. Minstrel shows were re-introduced, although today, these are considered racially motivated as both white and black actors painted their faces black for the performances.
 

To speak of Broadway, we know that it was first introduced in the year 1866. The first show was The Black Crook, which had an extremely huge budget of $25,000, for the time. Following this, in 1900, George M. Cohan and Victor Herbert became responsible for giving musicals a unique identity that continues to this day. The journey of musicals thus continued with Hammerstein and Rodgers’ Showboat (1927) and Oklahoma! (1943). Hammerstein is possibly among the most revered among musical theater personalities because he was responsible for bringing American and European styles of musical expression together. The 1950s were witness to the likes of The King and I (1951) and My Fair Lady (1956).

Another genre to be mentioned here is the “Concept musical” of the 1960s. These were musicals that stressed on the statement more than the actual narrative. Cabaret (1966) is a nice example here. Slowly but surely, the musical scene was slowly conquered by big staged musicals such as Les Miserables (1985) and Phantom of the Opera (1986), with great admiration drawn towards those like Wicked (2003) and Lion King (1997) today.
 

MUSICAL EMERGENCE: AMERICA’S INFLUENCE
  • Minstrelsy: This involved artists painting their faces black, sing and dance, projecting a derogatory image of African-Americans. Despite slavery being abolished, Minstrelsy continued to be a rage from the 1840s right through to the 1940s. We can still find remnants of the music in songs we hear today, such as Camptown Races (1850) and Dixie (1861). 
  • Vaudeville: This was the primary form of American entertainment between the late 1900s and the 1930s, made up of small acts, that were otherwise unrelated to each other. Thousands of performers were a part of these shows and traveled cross-country entertaining hundreds of thousands. 
  • Burlesque: A popular form of musical entertainment, Burlesque involved well-known tales of Adonis or Humpty Dumpty, but mainly as an inspiration for performance not explicitly related to the story. 
George Edwardes was the inventor of musical comedy at his Gaiety Theatre during the late 1800s. The primary attraction of Edwardes’ work was the Gaiety Girls, fashionably dressed young ladies who were polite and well-behaved, who gave incredible performances. The end of the first World War brought with it a love for escapist shows. Popular London hits of the time were The Maid of the Mountains (1917), Chu Chin Chow (1934), among others, with Chu Chin Chow becoming the longest-running show in 1916.
 

Irving Berlin, a Russian born singer-writer, wrote a number of hit songs, such as Everybody's Doing It (1911), Alexander's Ragtime Band (1911), Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning (1918), and more! Worth mentioning are Alexander Nevsky (1938) by Sergey Eisenstein and Fantasia (1940) by Walt Disney.
 

It would be respectful to remember that although musicals may have initially been akin to opera, they have become so much more. With origins born in the ancient ages, this form has survived all through the centuries and manifests as a widely-liked and enjoyed entertainment medium today. The art has become an expression of excellence in story-telling and musical grandeur, a reflection of both the regular and the Avant-Garde!


References
https://www.scaruffi.com/history/musical.html 
http://www.musiclinedirect.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-stage-musicals/ 
https://www.thoughtco.com/where-did-musicals-come-from-4007700 
http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-first-musicals/ 
http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/origins-of-musical-theatre-dance ​
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Open-hole vs. Closed-hole on Flute

8/3/2018

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Hello all. Brian here. One of the most common questions flute students ask me is "Does an open-hole flute sound better than a closed-hole flute?" I have tended to assume that since almost all professional flutists prefer the open-hole, it must be the better of the two choices. But why? As it turns out, the answer is not so simple. From a purely sonic point of view, there is no difference between the two. As long as the tone holes are covered completely when pushing keys, both styles of flutes will sound the same, all other things being equal. Fine, but how to explain the preference of professional players? Well, the open-hole design offers two advantages. Firstly, open-hole flutes require good hand position: fingers must be relaxed and kept reasonably close to the keys so that the tips are centered on the holes. If any air escapes, a bad tone will result. Secondly, the open-hole design is more commonly used in altering or "shading" notes; i.e. for bending notes, quarter tones, glissandos and the like. It should be noted that due to the preference of professionals, high-end flutes tend to be open-holed. An expensive, meticulously crafted instrument will have an overall better sound than a student model. 

There is a jazz flutist whom I've recently discovered on YouTube: Elena Pinderhughes. She is astounding. Check her out on YouTube. Search under Christian Scott Quintet. She solos on the tunes "Diaspora" and "The Last Chieftain". Enjoy.

Written by Brian K. (one of the instructors at Bothell Music Lessons) 
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5 Ways to Get Your Child to Sing Better

8/2/2018

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If you’re reading this, chances are you have or know a child that “can’t sing.” I hear it often from parents contacting me regarding voice lessons for their unfortunately untalented kid. Is there anything to be done? Aren’t you just born with it? While there may definitely may be some biological advantages in singing (i.e. big head and/or a large mouth), a lot of that which contributes to good singing in the early stages of life are environmental and, most importantly, most of it starts with you! Here are 5 ways to help your child find and cultivate their own individual voice:

1. Build Confidence
This is probably the most important way to furthering your child’s singing voice. How do we do this? First of all, do not tell them they can’t sing. Don’t even tell them that you can’t sing! Everyone can sing. Singing does not belong to only those with the most beautiful of voices. It is an activity that we can all share, and when we tell children that only the best deserve to be heard, we stifle the next generation’s voices before they even begin to develop. So let them sing! Let them make mistakes! Give them room to grow and develop their own voices and support them in their own process.

2. Let Them Be Silly
This ties in closely to #1, as we are often free to be silly/creative when we aren’t afraid of being judged. As a young child, I used to mimic everything I heard: people on the radio, animals, traffic noises, etc. It was a fun game for me, and it is a skill that I still use to this day. Luckily, my parents did not chastise me for making weird noises all the time. When I was in my teens, I jokingly tried to imitate an opera singer. What surprised me was how big my voice sounded, and wow….I didn’t know I had that much vibrato! I started getting very curious about how this “weird sound” was created, and began trying new things with my voice to see what other cool sounds I could make. I hadn’t had one voice lesson at this point, but what I did have was a strong curiosity about how the voice worked and what it could do. If you encourage your child to be silly with their voices, they’ll too discover an amazing range of sounds and colors in their own voices.

3. Music, Music, and More Music
Expose your child to music, any and all music, at an early age. Belt out your favorite Rihanna tunes with them. Play them Mozart, The Beatles, Whitney Houston, Counting Crows, or John Philip Sousa marches. Expose them to all different genres of music from reggae to ragtime to R&B. Challenge them to clap along to the beat, or see if they can sing a song from memory. How does this make children better singers, you may ask? Because one of the most important skill a child can have is a strong aural intelligence, or hearing intelligence. The more a child is surrounded by music, the more likely they will be able to understand the basics of rhythm and pitch. And the more varied the genres of music exposed to, the better the grasp of the incredible range the human voice is capable of.

4. Have Them Perform
I know this is a difficult one for the chronically-shy child. However, if #1 and #2 are being followed, your child is hopefully on their way to taking new risks and enjoying singing, because singing is supposed to be fun! Performance ideas include singing a song for the family, doing a family karaoke night, singing in church, joining a youth chorus, and/or getting involved in a local opera or musical. Start small with your child and stress that the “performance” doesn’t have to be perfect and it’s okay to be nervous. It’s okay if they mess up. It’s okay to make mistakes. Even professionals makes mistakes and it’s all about learning from those mistakes and trying again.

5. Lessons!
Lessons are a great way to help your child along in their own musical journey. Under the guidance of a professional, your child will learn all the basics of singing such as good posture, correct breathing, and healthy vocal production. Lessons are also a great way to find appropriate repertoire for your child’s vocal growth, and provides them with an opportunity to learn how to sing in a new language. It’s important to find a teacher that understands that singing in front of others is scary sometimes, but with the right tools, we can learn how to sing better, enjoy the process, and take pride in our own unique voices.

Written by Erica Convery

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    Authors here are instructors who teach private music lessons at Bothell Music Lessons. 

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