by Nicole Tufts

Created on: June 08, 2008

THE WORLD OF MUSIC

Music has always been a part of us. It is likely that everyday activities such as the movements in repetitive work and in walking or even the transformation of a working tool into an instrument while you are working may have been an early form of music.
Music has found a way to connect with people. It has grown with us over the years. It has touched people in many ways. It an emotional outlet, a way to express ourselves, people can relate to it. I would say that music is the glue that holds us together. We have all come together as one big group for concerts, so we can enjoy music and have a good time.

As the years passed new styles of music came out such as Hip-Hop. Hip-hop music consists of a rhythmic lyrical form of clever wordplay, while rhyming. The rapper is accompanied by an instrumental track, usually referred to as a "beat." This beat is often created using a sample of the percussion break of another song, usually a funk or soul recording.
I have been talking to my brother Shaun, who recently put out his own rap album. I asked him to tell me about the process he went through to get where he is now. He told me there is a long process before he is ready to get into the recording studio.
First he needs to find an instrumental or a beat that fits his personality. Next he needs to put together a chorus or the "hook." He has to come up with three verses (16 bars each) and they have to be relative to his hook.
The songs he writes are all from his own personal experiences. He puts all of his emotions and feelings into his music, and the songs are about things that a lot of kids growing up in the city can relate to. He has to learn the song by heart, so that it is absolutely perfect and he doesn't have to read it off paper. He told me, "You have to put emotion in it, and you can't do that by reading it, you have to feel it." Only then will he be ready to go into the studio.
Phil, a friend of mine is a drummer. He put together a funk band that consists of funk, rock, progressive, metal, acid jazz fused together. I went to one of Phil's shows and absorbed the sound of funk music. I got such a good vibe from their music. It had a special quality, style, and attractiveness. I watched as Phil was playing his drum solo, I could tell that he was playing for the love of music. It made me appreciate funk music so much more, because I could feel the passion in it.
I asked my friend Phil about the process he went through to put this incredible sound

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>