Through his research, the author explores various musical genres, the effects of music on society, and careers for musicians. He discusses the origins and evolution of genres like rap music and rock and roll. He also profiles influential people in the music industry like Russell Simmons, Snoop Dogg, and Pharrell Williams. The author expresses his passion for music and desire to pursue a career in music production or as an artist.

1. Simmons1
Through my research there are many different musical genres, effects of music in society,
and careers for musicians. Music is an organized arrangement of tones characterized by melodic,
harmonic, rhythmic, and textural and dynamic elements. There are numerous styles of music
associated with various cultures and periods in history. The elements of music consist of melody
and harmony. A melody is a series of tones varying in duration and pitch to form an organized,
recognizable pattern. Melodies are often styled according to the type of music as well as the
culture of origin. Harmony is the construction of two or more tones played together. A series of
harmonic tones is organized to accompany the melodic sequence to form a progression (“Music”
Gale 2010).
Rap music is also rooted in the talking jazz style of a group of ex- convicts called the
Last Poets. However, rap music did not reach a broad audience until 1980 when the Sugar Hill
Gang’s song “Rapper’s Delight” received widespread radio play (“African- American Music:
Rap Gale 2003). Rock and Roll was an expression of independence by adolescents socially
secure enough to reject their parents’ musical tastes, which valued songs in which primal
impulses had been refined beyond recognition. One of hip hop’s pioneers was built by Russell
Simmons. As co-founder of the pioneering record label Def Jam in the 1980s, he helped launch
the careers of a number of important artists, such as Run–D.M.C. and the Beastie Boys. He has
his own clothing line too (Russell Gale 2005). Overall music has a powerful effect on the quality
of our lives.
For music to reach the people you need a music producer, music arrangers and
orchestrators, music audiences. Music composers is another word for producer, but one famous
named Paul Hindemith began his composing career as an expressionist , exploring musical

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territory opened up by Arnold Schoenberg and Bela Bartok. He was associated with a
movement known as “New Objectivity”. Elements of popular music and even jazz were included
in New Objectivist music, but such elements were treated with satire and parody (Hindemith
Gale 2003).
Music is my life and I want to pursue this career even if it takes longer than I expect it.
My favorite music artist who has been in the industry a long time is Snoop Dogg . He was born
on October 20, 1971 in Long Beach, California and by the time he was 15 he was selling every
kind of narcotic you could think of in North Long Beach. Then he met Dr. Dre and soon after he
was a very successful artist in the music industry (Snoop Dogg Gale 2011). After I get my degree
in music at a university then I will be able to help all the people that I know who can rap or sing
because I know everybody want to make some money and some producers become rich and
don’t even have to do as much work as other people. Like sit in a office and do paper work on
the record label. But some artists are more focused on life problems or something you can relate
to.
The best music producer I can relate to is Pharrell Williams who is an American rapper,
singer, record producer, composer, and fashion designer. He formed a record production label
with his friend named Neptunes and he has produced a number of hit songs for various music
artists. Marching band was the main extra-curricular activity that motivated him and now the
most recent song he has in the industry is with king of Atlanta T.I... So as you see you can do
anything as long as you keep your mind focused on the business of your choice.
While funk sold millions of records and received extensive radio airplay in the mid-
1970s, rap music was beginning to emerge within a small circle of New York artists and

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entertainers. In neighborhoods in Upper Manhattan and the South Bronx, disc jockeys at private
parties discovered how to use “little raps” between songs to keep dancers on their feet (African
Music: Rap Gale 2003).Among one of the first New York rap artists of the early 1970s was
Jamaican– born Clive Campbell, aka Cool Herc. As a street DJ developed the art of sampling:
the method of playing a section of a recording over and over in order to create a unique dance
mix. Another DJ that joined the New York scene was Joseph Saddler, known as Grandmaster
Flash, from the central Bronx.
For me I think that music usually reachesthe media and people and the world through
airplay. I also learn that music when applied in a professional way, but can have positive effects
on a child’s learning and help them in many ways. Certain people come up with different genres
and I like to listen to gospel because I always brought up in church so it really eases my mind
when I think of doing something that is wrong.
But the other genre that I like is jazz and in 1959 a young Texas – born alto saxophonist,
Omette Coleman, brought his adventurous quartet to New York and set off a huge controversy
with his unusual-and un-jazz like-music. In fact, Coleman’s music was deeply rooted in the blues
and in well- established improvisational jazz procedures. In time the Coleman style was accepted
as part of the jazz tradition. He also worked with Miles Davis, who had worked with Charlie
Parker and had also led his own influential groups(one of which gave birth to a style known as
cool jazz), hired a little-known tenor saxophonist, John Coltrane` in 1956. With Coltrane, who
also worked with TheloniousMonk. Davis introduced an approach based on scales rather than
harmonies to jazz improvisation in 1958(Jazz and Its Modern Varied Sounds Gale 2003).

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But it’s good for an artist to be a musician and they compose, sing, or play music. They
might perform solo or as part of a group. They perform in in sound studios and on stage. Even
when you get into this industry you have to watch out for critics and rumors because they could
make your career or destroy it. Like everybody says more money, more problems and it actually
is the truth because it can change a person so make sure that you invest and save your money
with the right people or you can be in debt if you’re not careful.
So the main reason I chose this topic is because I want to be artist as soon as I get my
degree in music engineering. As I grew I started to realize that some artists sold their selves to
the devil and that’s another factor that you have to worry about and I think that’s crazy because
you don’t have sell anything just to become rich. My uncle told me that if I ever get into the
industry to not trust everybody but make sure you save your money. At the moment I’m playing
drums at my church so I’ll at least have some music experience and its actual unbelievable
because every time people ask how long I’ve been playing, and I’ll tell them ever since I was 1
year old and my family say I’m just so gifted ,but they support and encourage me to move on.
One thing I can say if music is your life you can relate to Kenneth Edmonds who worked
to become very successful and he did that by hard work and determination. He was one of the
most prolific producers, songwriters, and performers in popular music. At a young age he
learned guitar, but when he was in the eighth grade his dad died of lung cancer, leaving his
mother to raise her sons alone. At this age, Edmonds became determine to have a career in
music. After that he went on to produce multiple hits for numerous artists like Stevie Wonder,
Aretha Franklin and etc.(Edmonds, Kenneth Gale 2003)