1. COM10003 Assessment 2a
“Music”
By Shannon Johnstone and Wee
Thaw Kew

2. “Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom
and philosophy.”
- Ludwig van Beethoven

3. GENRE
A genre is described by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “a category of
artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style,
form, or content.” (Merriam-Webster, n.d) There are many types of genres
and sub-genres; rap, metal, jazz, classical, pop, pop punk, house, indie etc.
The following genres will be expressed in more detail: classical, house,
hardcore and pop music.

4. Classical
The classical music genre includes music from all the
classical music eras; the baroque era, romantic era,
renaissance era etc. When people refer to classical
music, they are usually thinking of the typical
symphony sound that is created purely by instruments
and a conductor- no tweaking of the sound with
computers. The three composers that almost anyone
with a basic education could name are Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Johann
Bach. (Green, n.d.) Today, classical music is listened to
mainly in church (hymns,) music scholars and by the
older generation who grew up with it.

5. House
House music can be recognised by its repetitive beat and
bass drops. The music is created mainly on a laptop which
produces an electric and synthetic sound- there are rarely
any instruments used. However an exception of this is
Timmy Trumpet, who plays his trumpet live over the top of
pre-recorded music (Smith, 2014.) This genre of music is
typically played at clubs or festivals, with the audience’s
signature move being the ‘fist-pump.’
Many famous pop artists team up with DJ’s to
incorporate house music into their songs. David Guetta is
a prime example of this. He has worked with the likes of
Kelly Rowland, Akon, Usher and many more famous
musicians. (YouTube, 2014.)

6. Hardcore
Hardcore music is a type of rock music that
involves a mixture of screaming and clean vocals
originating in the 1970’s. It was created out of
anger and passion (Blush, S 2001) and these
qualities remain to this day a big part of the
music. Themes that tend to repeat themselves in
the genre are anti-suicide, saving the planet,
metaphors of the ocean and anger at people who
have done wrong by others. (The Amity Affliction,
Northlane, In Hearts Wake, Memphis May Fire
etc.)

7. Popular/ Mainstream
This genre is the type of music that you hear on
every-day radio as you drive to and from work.
This is the type of music that is counted down on
charts and given awards at ceremonies such as
the Grammy’s and Aria’s. The Take 40 countdown
is the most popular countdown in Australia,
counting down “Australia's biggest top 40 music
songs” weekly (Take 40 Countdown, 2014.) It
includes music from Australian artists as well as
musicians from other countries, unlike the Aria’s,
which is only for Australian musicians.

8. ERA
Music has been around for as long as anyone
knows. The era’s that we look at are the
renaissance era, classical era, romantic era
and 20th century classical era.

9. Renaissance
The renaissance era is circa 1400 – 1600.
Characteristics from this period include
harmony and polyphony- “any music in which
two or more tones sound simultaneously”
(Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d.) During the
second half of this period, composers began
to “organise their work into major and minor
scales, thereby imparting the strong sensation
of each piece having a definite tonal centre or
'key‘” (Naxos, 2014.)

10. Baroque
The Baroque era dates from 1600 to 1750.
During this time, the modern orchestra came
into practise, as well as opera (Naxos, 2014.)
The strings section (cello, violin, viola) became
a prominent feature throughout this period,
and music began to work its way into common
society instead of being reserved for church.
Famous composers of this era include Bach,
Handel and Vivaldi.

11. Romantic
There are two clear periods within the romantic
era: early romantic, circa 1830 – 1860, and late
romantic, circa 1860 – 1920 (Naxos, 2014.)
Emotions were written into the music during the
romantic era, hence it’s name. The early romantic
era sought to combine the formalities of the
previous eras with their emotions, whilst the late
romantic era was more free in their form and
structure, caring less about the structure and
more about the emotional content.

12. 20th Century Classical
This era is also know as the Post ‘Great War’
Years, dating from 1920 to the present. Since
the war ended, composers went in all kinds of
directions with their music. The styles are so
diverse in structure that there is no real set of
guidelines that composers followed. Gone are
the days where music was created for church;
nowadays it’s composed for all kinds of
reasons and occasions.

13. IMPACT ON SOCIETY
All types of music, artists and bands have
different impacts on our society, whether it be
the lyrics, the social situation in which the
music is played, the musicians themselves and
issues that they create.

14. Lyrics
Different artists and bands have different themes and
values that they write about. This tends to create
stereotypes for the artist. For example, in her song titled
“Stupid Hoe” Nicki Minaj repeats the words “you a stupid
hoe, you a, you a stupid hoe” to create her chorus (Stupid
Hoe, 2012.) This gives the impression that Minaj values
dissing people who do her wrong. On the other hand, the
lyrics “Mother nature suspended in time. We are one. We
are divine” (Divine, 2014) were written by the band In
Hearts Wake, about their love for our Earth and how we
need to start caring for it properly. This gives the audience
the impression of the band that they care about our world
and are trying to save it for our future generations.

15. Issues in the Media
At the start of 2013, the hashtag ‘#cutforbieber’ made it’s
way around the internet. It was created as a joke by a
website targeting Justin Bieber fans, claiming that if enough
people cut their wrists and posted photos of it on the
internet with the hashtag, Justin Bieber would stop
smoking marijuana. (Shepherd, 2013.) Many people fell for
this troll, and young people all around the world started
cutting themselves. This issue shows just how much
musicians can mean to some people; enough that they are
willing to risk their own health to attempt to save someone
else. Obviously this was the wrong way to go about it, but
nonetheless, it is the perfect example for issues in the
media relating to musicians.

16. Death of Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, died on April
5, 1994. Nirvana were a famous rock band in the
20th century. A reader’s poll in the Rolling Stones
magazine voted ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ and
Nirvana’s second best song, with ‘Lithium’ coming
in as number one (Rolling Stone, 2013.) Cobain’s
suicide shocked people all around the world at
the time, and again recently when a supposed
suicide note was released to the public. It was,
however, written by Cobain’s wife, Courtney
Love, mocking their marriage vows. (Mirror,
2014.)

17. Conclusion
To conclude this presentation, I believe it fair
to say that there are many things to take into
consideration when researching music. Genre,
audience, issues and eras are just some of the
broader themes. It is a never-ending learning
opportunity, and one that should not be
missed.

18. Credibility analysis:
The credibility of the dictionary and encyclopaedia speak for
themselves; they are both literary tools written by scholars, and are
often updated to keep current with the present day.
Naxos.com is a reputable classical music label; they produce and
promote classical music. Therefore, this is a credible site to use in
relation to history of classical music, as they are experts in past and
present classical music.
Timmytrumpet.com is the official page of the musician; authorship,
currency, credentials and sources are all direct from the musician
himself, making it a safe website to reference from.
All of the videos that I looked at on YouTube came from the official
channels of the musicians. Much like Timmy Trumpet’s website, all
information gathered from those videos came directly from the
subject of choice.

19. The Take40 Countdown is the most popular countdown in
Australia. The website is run by MCM Media, which is a
huge media, entertainment and production company. It is
constantly updated to keep up with currency of music.
The information in relation to Kurt Cobain’s suicide note has
been confirmed by Courtney Love herself. Mirror are a
popular magazine in the UK, who, like hundreds of other
media outlets, have covered the story.
Rolling Stones are one of the most popular music magazines
in the world. The editor and publisher of the magazine is
Jann S. Wenner, who also owns Men’s Journal and US
Weekly magazines, showing that he is a professional within
the literary world.

20. References- Harvard style
• Merriam-Webster, n.d. Definition of Genre. Available from
<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genre> [5 May 2014].
• Green, A n.d. Intro to Classical Music. Available from
<http://classicalmusic.about.com/od/classicalmusic101/a/intro072104.htm>
[7 May 2014].
• Smith, T 2014. Timmy Trumpet Official Website. Available from
http://www.timmytrumpet.com [6 May 2014].
• YouTube search. Available from <
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=david+guetta> [9 May
2014].
• Blush, S 2001. American Hardcore: A Tribal History. Feral House.
• Take 40 Countdown, 2014. Available from
http://www.take40.com/music/music-charts/take-40-countdown [9 May
2014].
• Stupid Hoe, 2012 (video file.) Available from
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6j4f8cHBIM&feature=kp> [11 May
2014].

21. • Divine, 2014 (video file.) Available from
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUy9ytCkEjk> [5 May 2014].
• Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d. Definition of Polyphony. Available from
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/469009/polyphony [12 May
2014.]
• Naxos, 2014. History of Classical Music. Available from
http://www.naxos.com/education/brief_history.asp [13 May 2014].
• Shepherd, T, 2013. 'Cutting for Bieber' becomes trend in wake of pop star's
alleged drug use. News.com.au January 8. Available from
http://www.news.com.au/ [13 May 2014].
• Rolling Stone magazine, 2013. Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Nirvana Songs.
Available from www.rollingstone.com [13 May 2014].
• Mirror, 2014. Courtney Love claims SHE wrote the note found in Kurt
Cobain's wallet calling her a "b**** with zits“ Available from
<www.mirror.co.uk> [13 May 2014].