The
September 2014, Issue I
Marcato Press
DETU R
P O N S MU
NDO
Cover Photo: New Grand Piano, Dulwich College Suzhou
Overture TABLE OF CONTENTS
Exposition An Introduction.............................................................. .Page 4
Session
An Interview with Jacob Shaw....................................... ..Page 5 Interviews with Recitals Participants...............................Page 6
Breaking Out of the Cage
What is Music?................................................................Page 8
Metronome
How Does Music Affect Human Behaviour?............. ...Page 10
Synthesis
Autotune - The Saviour or Destruction of Music?.......Page 14
Special Feature
How Musically Active Is Dulwich College Suzhou....... Page 12
Cue
News and Updates.........................................................Page 16
The Marcato Press is a purely student led publication
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HEADING Exposition AN SUBHEADINGS INTRODUCTION
Dear Reader, We are proud to present to you the first issue of the Dulwich College Suzhou Marcato Press. The Marcato Press is an insight to music, ranging from various different styles. Through the Marcato Press, we seek to provide the reader with intellectual and thought provoking articles, reviews and reports on artists, interviews and more. Originally introduced by our sister school at Beijing, now embraced by all Dulwich schools across China, the Marcato Press highlights key events that take place within our school and reviews different artists in the charts and so forth. Now, after 2 years, the Beijing Marcato Press is incredibly successful, with a new magazine produced termly. Although relatively small now, I sincerely hope that our very own Dulwich Suzhou Marcato Press will blossom in forthcoming editions, and will be entertaining and enlightening for all, whether one is musically inclined or not. As the magazine grows, we hope to not only have an array of different writers, but also a larger interest in music from students with various interests. It is with this magazine that we can communicate, inform, and publicize music and musical events in our school. If you are interested in joining the Marcato Press team for subsequent editions, please, by all means contact us and we will be more than happy to welcome you. Kind Regards,
Aaditya Nath Head Music Ambassador aaditya.nath@dulwich-suzhou.cn
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HEADING Session CAREERS IN MUSIC SUBHEADINGS
A: What are some famous people or groups that you have played with?
An Interview with
Jacob Shaw Aaditya Nath
A: Ok…To start off, “What is music?”
JS: I could literally spend hours on this, but I’m going to shorten it down. I think music is a way to communicate; it is sort of like a language to communicate with different people, different cultures, different... everything. It’s a tool to communicate and music can touch our hearts. Different music from different cultures bring people of all kinds together. A: Who and what are your main influences in music? JS: A lot of people - musically, different cultures, different genres, alternative music, indie style, folk music, and I listen of all types of music. Other things that influence my music include architecture, nature, seeing where composers live, and musicians. I come from a musical family, and we have lots of musicians influencing each other. A: What is your favorite song to play? JS: Every piece that I play. But if I absolutely had to choose, it would probably be the Dvorak Cello Concertos.
JS: Many great orchestras, such as the Portuguese Radio Orchestra, and Conduct Sanderling. Famous composers I’ve been with are Sir John Tavener, Sofia Cubaidulina. Concert halls such as Disney Hall in LA, the Concert Hall in Berlin and of course the Royal Albert Hall, London. A: What is your opinion on today’s pop music? JS: A lot of it is great. They have to be careful as a lot of music is enjoyed more through the artist than the music. Miley Cyrus for example. Great lyrics, but she is now ruining her image. A: Do you do any composing? If so, what advice would you give, and who would you like to have played with? JS: I haven’t composed in any one particular style since GCSE. I never write using instruments that I haven’t communicated with. You should talk to composers directly to get an idea of their influence. I would have loved to talk with Brahms and Dvorak. A: What do you think it is to be a Dulwich College International Music Ambassador? JS: I think my job is not only to come and be interview students, but to guide them and to inspire them by being active & interactive. This is different from students in a suit in a class room everyday, it makes learning more interesting through interaction. I hope in the near future to bring in my elite friends to this school, to get more opportunities so that Dulwich College Asia will open up with DCL as a cultural center, giving opportunities that no other school group would have.
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HEADING Session SUBHEADINGS CAREERS IN MUSIC
Interviews
With Dulwich College Suzhou Recital Participants Jolly Yau Peter Byun
Q: What are you performing today? A: Pathetique (piano) Q: Do you think you did well? A: Not quite, I didn’t play to my full potential. I could have done better with more practice. Q: Why did you sign up for the music recitals? A: To get an opportunity to perform on a stage. Q: Do you think that the music recitals is a good platform to showoff your skills? A: Yeah definitely Q: Are you musically active? A: No, a bit inactive Q:What do you like most about your instrument? A: The sound it makes is very unique, because the sound is made by hitting which makes it a percussion, but at the same time the sound is made by strings inside the piano.
Jason Say
Q: What are you performing today? A: Violin Q: Do you think you did well? A: Um, yeah. Q: Why did you sign up for the music recitals? A: I think it is a good opportunity to perform, also I can practice for my music exams.
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Q: Do you think that the music recitals is a good platform to showoff your skills? A: Yeah, but people don’t really sign up for it. Q: Are you musically active? A: I go to String Ensemble Q: What do you like most about your instrument? A: Portable. Cheap.
Monica Tsai
Q: What are you performing today? A: Piano Q: Do you think you did well? A: Kind of, not so sure Q: Why did you sign up for the music recitals? A: Last year I watched it with my mum and I thought it was really good, so this year I decided to join. Q: Do you think that the music recitals is a good platform to showoff your skills? A: Yeah Q: Are you musically active? A: I go to Domingo Choir. Q: What do you like most about your instrument? A: You don’t have to bring your instrument around, you can also use digital piano.
HEADING Session SUBHEADINGS CAREERS IN MUSIC Jane Lee
Q: What are you performing today? A: Piano Q: Do you think you did well? A: Not really, so-so. Q: Why did you sign up for the music recitals? A: It is a tradition of the school and I join every year. Q: Do you think that the music recitals is a good platform to showoff your skills? A: I think it is a good place to prepare music to perform Q: Are you musically active? A: I go to the Vivace String Ensemble Q: What do you like most about your instrument? A: The tuning is very interesting.
Timothy Liang
Q: What are you performing today? A: Piano Q: Do you think you did well? A: So-so, I’m not sure. Q: Why did you sign up for the music recitals? A: My piano teacher recommended it to me and I actually enjoy playing in front of an audience. Q: Do you think that the music recitals is a good platform to showoff your skills? A: It is definitely better than busking, because it is more formal and more recognised. Like, anyone can do busking, but music recitals you need a skill. Q: Are you musically active? A: Nothing, I’m not very active. Q: What do you like most, about your instrument? A: The pedal is very unique because you can sustain the note. Also You can easily play a wide range of notes.
Rahul Nath
Q: What are you performing today? A: The Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin on the pianoforte. Q: Do you think you did well? A: I think I did, I know for a fact that I enjoyed it. Q: Why did you sign up for the music recitals? A: Because I like challenging myself because when I go up on stage, I have to practice. Q: Do you think that the music recitals is a good platform to showoff your skills? A: Without a doubt. Q: Are you musically active? A: Yes, I not only take lessons outside school, but also perform alongside the choir and Intermediate Band. Q: What do you like most about your instrument? A: The fact that you can press it and it plays a sound, and it makes my brain, my hands and legs all work together and produce this peculiar thing called music.
Nikolei Hoeglinger
Q: What are you performing today? A: Piano Q: Do you think you did well? A: Yeah. Q: Why did you sign up for the music recitals? A: I wanted to keep up, as I did it last year. Also to take risks and practice with audience presence. Q: Do you think that the music recitals is a good platform to showoff your skills? A: It is definitely more professional. Q: Are you musically active? A: Advanced band Q: What do you like most about your instrument? A: It feels like you are in your own world. It is very effective for conveying emotions.
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Breaking Out of the Cage HEADING MUSIC PHILOSOPHY CORNER SUBHEADINGS
The Big Question “What is Music?”
Music. We all think we know what it is, we all understand it innately, and it’s everywhere; even your iPod will play you a little tune when you turn it on, but seriously, what is it? The word music actually comes from Greek and it simply means “The art of the Muses”. That’s not terribly helpful when it comes to understanding what it is. So instead of looking at its etymology, lets seek other answers. So, is music… 1. A complex amalgam of melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre and silence in a particular (intended) structure? – Eduard Hanslick (Music Critic) 2. An agreeable harmony for the honor of God and the permissible delights of the soul? – Johann Sebastian Bach (Composer) 3. A language? – Hans Christian Anderson (Author) 4. A religion? – Jimi Hendrix (Famous Musician) Whilst none of these definitions are, technically speaking, wrong - are they the definite, non-disputable answer? To figure out, I went and consulted the oxford dictionary, to which it told me that music is: Vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.
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As this definition implies, music is basically organized sounds, and this is what makes music, music and not the sort of racket you hear on a construction site. For it to be organized sound, it has to have certain elements that we understand -such as ‘pitch’ which is basically the position of a note relative to other notes that can be higher and lower; and in scientific terms it’s all to do with vibration, frequency and wavelength. Then comes ‘timbre’ - the quality that makes one instrument sound different from another. We also have ‘rhythm’; rhythm is the lengths of the notes, the weight of the notes, the amount of attack to a note, the accents to the notes, and of course the gaps (rests) in-between the notes. And finally there’s ‘harmony,’ the arrangement of the notes with each other. We subconsciously categorize sounds, into music. We wouldn’t consider a speech to be music, but we would consider the sounds from a choir to be music. So music as a word and definition: frames, delimits, opens up and closes. As a grammatical concept, this word ‘music’ is extremely functional; for this subset of sound helps us easily categorize it into as said previously, organized sound. So that’s what music essentially is – organized sound.
Aaditya Nath
Breaking Out of the Cage HEADING But wait, you may ask, what about John Cage and his infamous 4’33” (That’s 4 minutes 33 seconds). For those who are unaware about Cage, he basically pushed the boundaries about what was previously conceptualized as music. To put it simply, under all three movements, there is only one instruction - ‘tacet’ (meaning you don’t play your instrument for that movement). So what you’ll notice is that the performers aren’t playing their instruments at all, but nonetheless they are performing. It is a piece for instruments, but not to be played on instruments. Even though the performers aren’t playing anything, it’s not a silent work. A performance of 4’33” is made up of ambient sound (noise being an example). So, if this is regarded as music, then by definition, any perceivable sound is music, and no sound is banned from this musical domain. Now, is this really music? You can’t really club musique concrete and 4’33” with a Baroque String Quartet for they totally contrast each other.
MUSIC PHILOSOPHY SUBHEADINGSCORNER
So back to the main question. What is music? I think it as well to answer ‘What is pi?’ Pi cannot be defined to the final digit, and, so, neither can music. Of course, one may reply that pi is to math what musical potential is to music: there is no final piece of music, just like there is no final digit of pi. Every ones definition of music varies, and there is no strict wrong or right. So, is it possible at all to define exactly – that is: to incorporate into a linguistic category – music?
A one page excerpt from 4’ 33’’ by John Cage. As you probably noticed, theres no music on the sheet.
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HEADING Metronome MUSIC LIFESTYLE SUBHEADINGS
“How Does Music
Air is a component that human beings cannot live without. Comparably, humans are just as dependent on music as they are on air. Since the dawn of mankind, the two have formed an interdependent relationship and have always been in coexistence. In this modernised world, wherever people go, chances are they are listening to music whether or not they realise it. In fact, according to an online survey website , 84% of the participants admitted that they always listen to music, evincing the abundance and vitality of music in our life. If likened to air, which is composed of different types of gases, the same can be said of music. If one breathes in harmful, polluted air, it is probable that he will eventually get unhealthy and show symptoms of illness. Similarly, some musical genres are capable of aggravating one’s mental health and morality. Nevertheless, some musical genres have positive effects on people, like oxygen in the air.
When people listen to music, although they are most probably not fully concentrated on the lyrical content, at occasions their ears are able to perceive lyrics unconsciously, especially at points of chorus or catchphrase.
In recent times, it has been a noted fact that teenagers begin dating at a much earlier age. Intriguingly enough, musical lyrics of the pop genre are a major reason as to why this is happening. Lyrics of pop songs predominantly have the same theme, ‘love’. In addition, over 70% of teenagers enjoy listening to pop music according to a survey website . From this, it is inferred that teenagers are under the influence of music as they are in constant exposure of pop songs containing themes of ‘love’. Thus, how exactly do musical lyrics influence one’s behaviour?
For example, many people recognise “Oppan Gangnam style” as the catchphrase of Psy’s song “Gangnam style”, even though they do not understand what it means. Subsequently, lyrics give people a certain idea or promote certain behaviour. Hence, after hearing lyrics over and over, people gradually build up thoughts in relation to the lyrics heard. When the thoughts obtained from lyrics are approved by their mind, the thoughts are acted out subconsciously through their behaviours, under specific conditions that trigger the thoughts.
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The Columbine High School shooting incident in 1999, irrefutably demonstrates this theory. The two offenders of the crime were heavy metal and Goth music listeners, which could suggest that they often listened to lyrics that convey violent ideas and behaviours. However, lyrics itself are not capable of fully influencing one’s behaviour, it must be assisted by the impact of non-lyrical components of music, such as rhythm, melody, and harmony. David Merrill, who is currently a Professor Emeritus at Utah State University, carried out an experiment to investigate the influence of nonlyrical components of music. He subjected mice to the music of heavy metal band called Anthrax, 24-hours a day, to discover how it would affect their ability to complete the maze that was given.
HEADING Metronome MUSIC LIFESTYLE SUBHEADINGS
Affect Human Behavior? However, instead of completing Merrill’s maze, the ‘heavy metal mice’ all killed one another. Mice cannot understand the lyrics of the heavy metal music played; hence it is evident that the non-lyrical components of the heavy metal music influenced the behaviour of the mice. Likewise, behaviour of human beings can also be influenced by non-lyrical components of music. According to the US National Library of Medicine, music with fast tempo and rhythm stimulates brain activity and can cause confusion after a period of time. A person with confusion usually cannot concentrate properly and neglects their task.
Conversely, when people listen to consonant harmonies of a piece of music, their brain can subliminally produce a hormone called endorphin, which can make one feel joyful. Over time, this hormone causes people to become more optimistic, and allow them to have a more positive behaviour towards other people. On the contrary, when people listen to a minor melody or a dissonant harmony, their brain releases a hormone called prolactin , which causes people to become stressed and depressed. Over time, this can make a person become more pessimistic, and become negative towards people.
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Consequently, non-lyrical components of music, amalgamated with lyrics, doubles the impact it has on human behaviour. Music is somewhat like a close friend of a person. If the friend is violent and cruel, then the person is unquestionably likely to get influenced by him and become like him. Therefore, the person is in need of reconsidering his choice of friends to prevent himself from becoming like his friend. This is undoubtedly same for music; music affects people’s behaviour via its lyrics and through the non-lyrical components. Hence, to protect one’s wholesome values and behaviours from getting contaminated, it is essential to first be acquainted with the effects of music on people’s behaviour.
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SPECIAL
HOW MUSICAL HEADING DULWICH COLL SUBHEADINGS
Results from Survey “Ho An Infographic
WHAT INSTRUMENTS CAN STUDENTS PLAY?
YEAR GROUPS OF PARTICIPANTS:
Guitar
50 Vocal
Percussion
Brass
20
14
Strings
Woodwind
Piano
51 None
Year 7
Year 8
Year 11
Year 9
Year 12
Year 10
35
Year 13
31
58
MOST
ACTIVITIES STUDENTS ARE INVOLVED IN: 47
Lessons & tutor Non-school events
21 62
Formal school performances Music Festivals 15
Competitions
20
Never 0
12
12 10
20
30
of students are able to play an instrument.
of students are used to play an instrument.
28
Busking
82% 16%
43
Clubs & Bands
40
50
60
2
-------------------------Individually Individually
17
--------------------------
Busking
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FEATURE
LLY ACTIVE IS LEGE SUZHOU?
ow Musically Are You?” Representation
YEAR GROUP vs MUSICALLY ACTIVE YEARS
8%
21%
Not confident
Guitar
5%
Brass
40
17% 30
Piano
29
20
Strings 25%
13 10
9%
0
10%
The two lines follow a similar pattern, steadily increasing since DUCKS, peaking at Year 7and rapidly dropping since the peak.
DUCKS Year 3
Year 4
COMFORTABLE SIZE/EVENTS TO PERFORM:
------------------------------- SIZE -------------------------------------------------------Small groups (<10)
Larger groups (10+)
Not comfortable at all
----------------------------- EVENTS ----------------------------------------------------School Performances
29
Music Festival
9
40
Year 5
Year 6
Year 7
Year 8
Year Year 9 10
Year 11
Year 12
4 2 Year 13
LONGEST TIME A STUDENT HAS PLAYED ANY INSTRUMENT
30
22
30
32
59
Played Instrument(s)
50
Woodwind
Vocal
The results are plotted from data of the question “What years have you been playing ANY instrument(s)/involved in musical activities?”
Musical Activities
60
5%
Percussion
MOST CONFIDENT INSTRUMENT
69
70
Clubs & bands
29
Contests
20
10
11 None <1 2-4 5-7 8-10 10+ year years years years years
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JollyYau
HEADING Synthesis MUSIC TECHNOLOGY SUBHEADINGS
Autotune
The Saviour or Destruction of Music? Aaditya Nath
In the past decade, perfection has inundated ‘popular (pop) music,’ at such a point, that the concept of being offbeat or off pitch, however minute, is non-existent. But the fact of the matter remains unchanged - few singers are perfect, for their vocal pitch may always be a tiny bit off from what it’s meant to be. So, how then are we being suddenly bombarded with such a vast amount of flawless singers? There’s a very simple answer to that, being, “Autotune.” Invented by Andy Hildebrand in 1996, Autotune was initially made for fixing notes that were, in essence, off-key. It was never meant to be anything revolutionary, but rather a simple tool used to cut the time of re-recording an entire track due to one or two small mistakes in the notes. However, this seemingly harmless and insignificant ‘tool’ changed pop music, as we know it today. The first actual noticeable usage of Autotune was Cher’s “Believe” in 1998, but it never became popular until 7 years later. 2005 was when T-Pain released his debut album “Rappa Ternt Sanga.” This album sparked the Autotune epidemic; and many ‘artists’ thereafter started overusing and abusing it. But is this necessarily wrong? Some may argue that musicians using Autotune is the equivalent of scientists using computers and mathematicians using calculator, and they would be absolutely correct.
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As technology rapidly advances, it seeps its way into virtually every field, and the introduction of Autotune could just be the change that technology has to offer to music. Since it makes recording music substantially easier, this influx of new singers could explore new styles and as a result satisfy more people. Whereas existing music technology like equalizers are necessary to convert music into audible MP3 files; some as an equivalent to cheating considers the usage of Autotune. You now no longer need the talent, skill, but instead the looks, which is heavily emphasized on by pop music culture. This completely changes the very fundamental definition of performing music. Where music is meant to be, and always has been enjoyed for sound, it is now being controlled by the image its artists hold. Music was once considered as a profession that required high dexterity, luck, and originality, but today quite a few pop artists don’t even write their own songs. With the aid of Autotune in their live performances these socalled artists are getting fame from appearance as opposed to ability. We can ask ourselves? Is this morally right? With basic abilities in using music technology, practically anyone can sing like an artist without the practice that musicians previously had. Take a while, ponder on this and ask yourself - What do you think about this?
HEADING SUBHEADINGS
Marcato Press Team Head Music Ambassador - Aaditya Nath Media Management - Ilja Hoeglinger & Aaditya Nath Photographer - Jolly Yau Contributing Writers Aaditya Nath Jolly Yau Special Thanks To Jacob Shaw Mr Lake The DCB Music Ambassador Team
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HEADING Cue NEWS SUBHEADINGS AND UPDATES
Artist in Residence - Cello Concert - Alexander Suleiman Monday, 15th September Roy McGrath Jazz Group Saturday 11th October Kliptown Dancers Friday 17th October Berrkley College Rock Band Friday 24th October Paul Jarman Concerts & Workshops Tuesday 28th October Dulwich College Festival of Music Wednesday 12th November Alleynian Idol - Talent Contest Wednesday 26th November The College Christmas Concerts Month of December Busking Sessions in the Amphitheatre Every Tuesdays & Friday
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