Poem or Song? Part I

Poems are lyrics and lyrics are poems.  Take many songs out of the context of music and they sound like true poetry and set poetry to music and they are fantastic lyrics.  Some of my favorite music is where the music has a story to tell, a poetic story, and it does it through the medium of music.

Concept Albums

Where are all the good concept albums these days?  One of the things I love most about music is how it can tell a story.  The lyrics are the basis for the story and the melody provides the raw emotion behind the story.  In many ways, its like poetry set to music and concept albums are like epic poems in the strain of Homer's Odyssey.

What is House?

What is House music?  Essentially, it is Electro-funk, however it is more than that and is much more complex than what first meets the eye (or ear).

SOAD and the Double Harmonic Scale

SOAD is an acronym for System of a Down, which is a band I have recently started to enjoy.  At first, they did not seem to be up my alley, but after listening to some of their music without knowing it was them, it was really interesting to hear.  The one thing I took away is they are very creative and musically gifted.  The thing they do that is my favorite is their use of Double Harmonic Scales/Phrygian Dominant scales.

Introduction/First Foray into Classical

Let me first introduce myself and my background.  I have been studying music in some form since the age of 6.  From ages 6-11, I took piano lessons where I showed I had inherited my grandma's natural ear for pitch.  At the age of 11, I picked up the Clarinet, which I stopped playing at the age of 13.  At that time, I found that my ear for pitch and my decent singing voice lent itself well to choir.  I was involved with choir for several years.  I now play the piano, sing, and can play a bit of guitar.  The music I like ranges from Johann Bach, to The Beatles, to Pink Floyd, to Daft Punk.  I love listening to complex music build on itself.