Posts

Music and Family

Image
      For this blog, I have decided to interview my mom's boyfriend, Elliot. During his childhood, he did not have his mom and his father was always working, and his father did not even care to monitor the kind of music that Elliot was listening to. However, if they were to be listening to music together, they would both enjoy the same genre. The first experience with music Elliot remembers was him listening to a "45" on a record player. He claimed that music kept him out of trouble and kept him stable. I asked him if he had to take enroll in music courses, but he unfortunately did not take any. He says that the only instrument he played before was a drum set in his backyard.     Elliot said that music gathered the people around him and kept people feeling spiritually alive and happy. His church choir sang a very soulful, gospel genre of music. He said he enjoyed it. He never claimed that he disliked any kinds of genres. His favorite genre varies from jazz to co...
2 comments
Read more

American Music Roots: Doo-wop

Image
The doo wop genre originated in African-American communities around the 1940's. Usually in bigger cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, and New York. It did not become a huge deal and an official "era" until the 1950's, after World War II. This genre included a blend of rhythm, blues, and gospel. It mainly consists of vocal harmonies. Many teens spent their time on practicing harmonies. The term "doo wop" actually refers to an a capella singing of nonsense syllables, but there are some actual words and instruments in many of the songs. Doo wop usually withheld a four cord progression. The beats were simple, the music was simple, lyrics were repetitive, and there were basic instruments included. It also contains nonsense syllables, such as "doo wop." Some of the instruments that were being used included the piano, saxophones, guitars, and drums. The instruments remained in the background, but had songs most likely had an instrumental break ...
Post a Comment
Location: 247 Millen Dr, Woodruff, SC 29388, USA
Read more

Music & Me

Image
Hey! My name is Michaella Willis and I am currently a sophomore and majoring in Accounting here at Converse. I was born in Kentucky, but I have lived here in South Carolina for the majority of my life. I do not live too far from campus, so I commute. I am half white and half filipino and was finally able to meet my family in the Philippines this summer. What I do outside of coming to campus is make all your complicated drinks at Starbucks, eat, and sleep. Whenever I am doing something other than those things, I am listening to music. Music has been such a strong part of my life for a long time now. I am always listening to music while I am doing assignments like this one, when I am working out, or just whenever I just think my surroundings are too quiet. I currently do not have a favorite music genre, though. I like to choose what genre I listen to depending on the current mood I am in.  I also have plenty of music background and I am definitely going to use this paragraph to share...
4 comments
Read more