Ambiance

As I have said before, music is everywhere.  One thing I didn't mention, and have noticed lately is ambiance.  Ambiance is defined as the character and atmosphere of a place.  Music plays a big role in this.  It adds an aspect that you don't really think about.  You don't realize it's there until it's gone.

Think about going to Starbucks.  You walk in, you order your Grande White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha, sit down at a table, and just hang out for a bit.  You might be with friends, or studying, maybe even just people-watching.  You don't think about it, but you hear the soft music.  It's not the today's hits that you just turned off in your car.  It's more alternative, not well known, but still good.  It could be considered "hipster" music, but isn't that what most people think of when they think of people that sit in Starbucks?  Having this mellow music sets the mood, and makes the experience complete.

Now think of going to your favorite "themed" restaurant, like a Mexican restaurant or a southern themed steak house.  You don't go in and hear classical music playing, or no music at all.  Hearing the Mexican music in a restaurant that is Mexican themed  makes the experience more complete.  It makes it feel like you are in Mexico, eating authentic Mexican food.  This makes the restaurant more real.  At a southern style steakhouse, you always hear country music playing loud and proud.  This isn't because the owner loves country music, it's because having country music playing in a restaurant that has southern themes makes sense.  It again completes the experience, and rounds out the satisfaction.

Another place we hear a good example of ambiance music is at sports events.  When you go to a sporting event, you often hear music playing while the athletes are getting armed up and pumped up, and while people are finding their seats, or maybe getting a quick snack.  You hear fast tempo, upbeat songs, a bit harder than what is most popular.  It wouldn't make sense to be playing slow, soft love songs or ballads.  That won't add to the experience, and it won't get the players pumped up.

Ambiance is a crucial part of a setting, and music accounts for, in my opinion, the biggest part of that.  You don't pay close attention to the music, it's a more subconscious awareness.  You're busy doing other things, and you can't just turn off your ear, but because your busy, you most likely don't pick up on it.  It sets the atmosphere into perfect balance, creating the perfect ambiance for a specific setting.

Pep Band

I write this as I sit in my school gym at a basketball game. No, I'm not a spectator, I'm not here for the game. I'm here in the band. I sit here thinking about posts I can write, and what better to write about than what I'm doing right now? 

A pep band is the band that comes to the sports events and plays music during time-outs and half time, as well as between quarters and before and after the game.  Our job is to pep up the crowd, and get them to have even more fun. Hence the name, pep band. 

We don't play our traditional band music. We are given flip folders of music and are expected to turn them in at the end of the night. This folder is our lifeline. We don't get a chance to practice them, except for the approximate hour we have before we go into the gym. The music is more current and well known pieces, which makes it more fun for the crowd to listen to. They actually recognize the music, which helps to get them pepped up. This also helps with us not being able to practice it that much. We can recognize the tune, which makes it easier. 

A major aspect of a pep band is the drumline. They play cadences, which is a tune played only on the drums. This is my favorite part.  In my opinion, they have more energy and just sound clean and sharp. It could be that I know the percussionists and how rowdy they can be, and that's where I get the energy, but I love it. From watching the crowd, they do too. We hear the crowd and fellow students yelling props to the drummers all the time. They love it. 

The two sporting events we go to are football in the fall, and basketball in the winter. At football, we don't play often, but part of that is that we don't get many opportunities. We are on the field at halftime, and there isn't a real break for us to play in otherwise. At basketball, we are usually able to play our whole folder aat least once, sometimes having to reseat a couple of our favorites. There isn't much other entertainment when the clock is stopped, so we fill in the gaps. 

The band works hard to put together a pep band. It may not seem like we do a lot, but playing music in the spot is difficult. Sometimes, even though our job is to engage the crowd, we don't get appreciation. We are just taken for granted. Next time you hear the pep band and it makes you bob your head or tap your foot, make it a point to thank the band when you get a chance. We love having the praise. 

Tribute Bands

Who doesn't love some classic old bands? Who could forget the greats, like Def Leppard, Aerosmith, or REO Speedwagon? These bands influenced how music has come to be today. Most people know them, and are fans of their songs, without realizing it. 

Because time has passed, and things happen in life and time, classic bands often can't tour anymore. Sometimes members have passed away, or bands have broken up and gone their separate ways, other times they're just to old to do it like they used to. These bands still have huge fan bases, and they bring people back to their younger times. They also make younger audiences more cultured to amazing music. 

This is where tribute bands come in. These are bands that come together and essentially pretend to be the actual band. They work hard perfecting a bands music, their image, their performance traditions, and the iconic points to their work. They then go on tour and, if done right, it's like watching the actual band when they were in their prime. 

Sometimes it works out perfectly. You can't tell the difference between the original and the tribute band. They have the same sound, and they have the perfect image. Going to a show takes you back to the 70's and 80's, like a time machine. 

Other times, things don't go as well. The band isn't able to capture the right sound, or they change it up in a different way. They try to modernize the band, an it fails. It simply ruins the music, the image, and the history. This is very disappointing to see, and often die-hard fans get very upset. It's disrespectful to the band, as well as the fans. This type of tribute band often doesn't last very long. 

We all know that nobody can ever do it like the greats. Nobody will never be able to repeat the dynamics the original band had. Not everybody has the iconic features that work together in perfect harmony. No matter how much we wish we could, we can never go back in history and see the band perform in their prime. Yes, there will be other iconic bands that will be around forever, or what seems like forever. But there will never be a repeat of the past. We should continue to pass down the albums, preserve the history, love what we still have, and sometimes, just appreciate the effort tribute bands put in, no matter the result. 

Song Breakdown: Love Yourself

Upon hearing the title of this song, I thought it was going to be a really pretty song about how important you are to the world, and how you should love yourself, instead of wishing you were different. I thought we were going to see a new side of the mature Justin Bieber. I thought it was going to be a very inspiring song that would boost people's self esteem and benefit the entire youth generation. 

I was wrong. 

When I heard it for the first time on the radio, I remember my jaw dropping. I was just thinking "What?" the whole time. It was completely unexpected, and about the second chorus I noticed that "love" in the title and lyrics was meant to be another, not so nice word. I realize now that it is a very relaxed break up song. 

The beat and music behind the lyrics is very simple and repetitive. I believe that Bieber does this to show that he's not upset, and he doesn't have to show off. He is happy now, and he is chill with the situation. He also states in the lyrics that "he didn't want to write a song." He could also be using the soft and simple music and background because he didn't want to put the effort into making an amazing and complex song for someone he cares so little about. 

The lyrics are pure savage. It's all him saying "I never really liked you. You were a terrible person. I'm not hurt that you're gone."  He says that she got into clubs using his name, meaning that she used him and his fame. Another point in the song says that she didn't like his friends, and the problem was her, not them. This shows that he is true to his friends, and that she came second to them. This is pretty respectable in my opinion.  The lyric that, in my opinion, puts the nail in to coffin is "My momma don't like you, and she likes everyone."  This lyric stands out to me the most.  To me, in a relationships parent approval is huge, and his mom didn't like this girl. That meant a lot, considering there isn't a person she doesn't like.  I find this comical. 

I think this song was shocking to a lot of people. I recall hearing on the radio a man calling in to request this song. (Yes, a man requesting Justin Bieber. Times have changed.) When asked why this song, he said "I'm a three time cancer survivor."  I'm pretty sure he had the same thoughts as me. 

Moral of the story here, don't judge a song by its title. 

A Look Into Their Life

Writing songs, in my opinion, is amazing. I highly respect artists that write their own songs, and also people that write songs for artists to sing. More so the artist writhing themselves, but both are still highly respectable. An artist already puts their self out there for the world to criticize. Writing their own songs puts themself out there completely, not just their image. When an artist writes their own songs, they let the world into their life to see what they think. What they're going through. Everything about them. 

Writers that write for artists to sing do the same thing, but they aren't as highly criticized for it. They still go through hard times, or have neat things to say about love, but they aren't out in the public eye to be followed. They aren't criticized about every little thing they do. They put their life and emotions out on the line, but it's not as hard as a famous artist doing it. I also think we need to remember that just because someone sings about it, doesn't mean they did it. Artists often have someone that writes songs for them, or collaborates with them to write songs. So just because they have a song that sounds like their significant other cheated on them, doesn't mean it actually happened. At the same time, don't completely write off everything. So gets do write their own stuff, just not all the time. 

Writing music gives listeners a look into an artist's life. You can learn a lot about a person by what they sing about. Sometimes you can see it very clearly, or comet ones you have to read into the meanings of words. Sometimes songs are deep, like how much they loved someone, or how we should make a difference in the world. Other times, it's shallow meaning songs that have nothing behind them, like "Thrift Shop" for example. It's s great song, but it's meaningless. 

The beautiful thing about music is that not only do you get to hear the emotions of a person by them saying it in the lyrics, but you can also hear it. You can hear the music being fast or slow, loud or soft. You can hear the way artists emphasize words, and sing them. You know what they are feeling, and if they're good, you can feel it too.  You can often relate to what an artist is dealing with, because they are real people too. They have family, they have a job, they have errands, they are busy too. They just get to travel the world and have millions of dollars sitting around too. 

Next time you listen to a song, thing about the emotion of the artist. How they're dealing with problems, or how happy they are. Think of them as a person, look into their life. See things through their eyes. That's what they want to accomplish.