S#arp by Kim Joyner

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Issue 1-December

BOYBAND HYSTERIA The Effects of Music on Your Health Controversies Over Music Plaigarism Music Inspiration The Evolution of How We Listen to Music

Meet the Creators! Sydney Owen

Hayden Stevens

Sydeny Owen is a sophomore at WCHS in Versailles Kentucky. Sydeny is a part of the WCHS choir, theater, and the WCHS women vocal group, the Honeybee’s! In her free time sydney plays the piano, ukelele, and guitar. But her favorite instrument is the piano.

Hayden is a sophomore at WCHS in Versailles Kentucky. She is a part of the WCHS choir, theater club, and is a part of the womens vocal group the Honeybee’s. In her spare time she obsesses over the well known boy band One Direction, and occasionally plays the piano. Hayden loves to sing with her friends!

Brandon Fee

Meghan Watts

Elaina is a sophomore at WCHS in Versailles Kentucky. She is a part of the Woodford County Highschool marching band, concert band, and jazz band. Elaina plays the alto saxophone, and has been playing for 5 years. Elaina likes to listen to upcoming artists and singer-songwriters. Her favorite thing about band is all the friends she has made over the years.

Brandon Fee, also known as B.Fee, is a sophomore at WCHS in Versailles Kentucky. Brandon is in Chess Club, FCA, and Archery. Brandon does not play an instrument, but he is very interested in music history and music theory. Brandon’s favorite genre of music is jazz and classical.

Meghan is a sophomore at WCHS in Versailles, Kentucky. She is a part of the Woodford County Highschool marching band, concert band, and percussion ensemble. Meghan has been a part of the music program for 7 years now and plans on progressing in music as a career. Her favorite instrument is the marimba.

Elaina Howard

Letter from the Editors We from S#arp would like to congratulate you on finding our first edition of S#arp Magazine. We have worked long and hard on this magazine so that we could bring it to you. S#arp magazine is a item of interest for any young music lover. It covers the old and the new in the music industry. S#arp consists of multiple features all written from our team here: Sydney Owen, Elaina Howard, Meghan Watts, Hayden Stevens, and Brandon Fee. S#arp began as just a group of students, from Woodford County High School, that ended up being partnered together because of their simalar interests. Thanks to our wonderful teacher Kim Joyner and the advice from multiple professionals, were able to form S#arp. The purpose for this magazine is to entertain and inform young readers about whats new in the world of music. It was created to bring joy and information about the influence of the music industry on human life. S#arpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s staff thanks you for taking time to read our first issue. Enjoy!

Table of Contents Music As Medicine p. 9-12

Boybands Through The Decades p. 5-8

Copy p. 13

Write 3-16

Musical Inspiration p. 17-20

Crank Up The Music p. 21-24

Boy Bands Through The Decades

I was sitting in the twelfth row on the floor of the biggest boyband on the planet’s concert. Looking around, it was a sight that I will never ever forget. It was a stadium full of 60,000 dedicated One Direction fans. Girls filled the arena with the sound of their excited shrieks. As the lights dropped, a feeling that is impossible to describe filled every girl there. I was just seconds away from seeing my idols and having the best night of my life. Millions of girls have been in my position throughout history, with only one thing changing: the band itself. Over time, music genres have come and gone but we can

agree that one thing is certain, boy bands are here to stay. From the first ever British invasion until now, boy bands have been a huge part of America’s pop culture. For decades, thousands of teenage girls have lined the streets and filled up stadiums just to simply get a glimpse at the most popular group of guys in their time. In 1964, America was introduced to what was known as “Beatle Mania”. After having tremendous success in Britain, the most popular boy band of all time, The Beatles, traveled to America in hopes of topping the charts. To say they did that would be an understatement. In

1960, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr came together in Liverpool, United Kingdom, and decided to form a band. Little did they know, they would be changing the face of pop music forever. With 13 Grammys, and countless British awards, these four boys came to America and changed lives forever. Whether it was the screaming fans, or the musicians trying to learn from them, it was ground breaking. After The Beatles, America was never the same. They influenced pop culture in every way possible, from fashion to music styles and everything in between, and

Photo borrowed from funkidslive

after their big break, many new boy bands began to arise in hopes of gaining the same popularity and success as The Beatles. A couple of boy bands appeared soon after The Beatles, but it wasn’t really until 1985 when America’s mania struck again. The R&B/pop group known as New Edition were formed in the late 1970’s in Boston, Massachusetts by a group of childhood friends. They were one of the first big all American boy bands. In 1982, their career really took off. While they were performing at a local talent night in Hollywood, they won first place and were rewarded with a cash prize and a recording contract. You can guess what happened next. They released their debut

album Candy Girl and it went straight to the top leading them to sign with Starr Records, one of the most famous record labels known. Fans from all over the country found themselves singing the catchy tunes. Then tragedy struck. The band put on a massive tour with only the best equipment. After not selling the amount of tickets they had hoped, they had made only a couple hundred dollars. New Edition had to borrow money and switch to a much less known company, MCA records. Surprisingly, this switch did not let the fans down. With this record deal, they released two more albums, one of which was certified as platinum. Following this success, they made a guest appearance in the 80’s movie

Krush Groove, which gained them even more fame and allowed them to be in many more movies, and even produce part of the soundtrack for The Karate Kid 2. Eventually the group got put under a lot of pressure and voted out singer Bobby Brown which, for the most part, caused their downfall. After New Edition left Starr Records, the producers there came up with a plan. They needed a new client, and after thinking long and hard about it, they decided they wanted to produced the next big boy band. In 1984 the owner, Maurice Starr found just what he was looking for. Five boys by the names of Jonathan Knight, Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre, Donnie Wahlberg, and Danny Wood came

together to form New Kids On The Block. It all started when fifteen year old Donny Wahlberg impressed Starr with his beat boxing skills. Starr knew immediately that he was made to be in a boy band, but he still needed others. Wahlberg insisted on his best friend Danny Wood and he ended up fitting perfectly. The two of them recalled an old classmate by the name of Jordan Knight, and he was soon brought into the band as well as his younger brother Jonathan. After having trouble finding a reliable fifth member, they decided to hold auditions, which led them to find twelve year old Joey McIntyre, who had a Michael Jackson esque voice, which is exactly what they were looking for. In 1986, the band released their debut album called Be My Girl. While this album got some attention in the areas around

Boston, it did not receive the national attention that they had all hoped for. They went back to the recording studio

1960

official album cover

New Kids on The Block-photo by RetroLand

soon after the album flopped and began working on a second one. They tried to remove themselves from the “bubblegum pop” sound that they were often associated with. From this second album, the group got their first big hit, “Please Don’t Go Girl”. This song was the basis of their career, with it landing its way to number ten on the Billboard Top One Hundred list. This album opened many doors for the group. They were asked to open for a fellow teen pop act on a United States tour which steadily rose the number of their fan base. MTV eventually took notice of the New Kids On The Block, and began playing their music videos in regular rotations. The group made it to the top and didn’t look back. They released a new single “I’ll Be Loving You”, and made it to number one on

1970 photo by: Escobar300

the charts and they began touring themselves. They toured all over the world with roughly two hundred concerts a year, and made over four hundred million dollars in 1991. Similar to The Beatles though, they inspired many new groups to form which eventually would overpass them. 1997 to the early 2000’s were known as the prime time for America’s boy band phase, because everyone had seen the success that is possible, but it hadn’t been done in a while. Groups formed left and right, and because of it, we got some of the most iconic boy bands that would last for decades to come. 98 Degrees, The Backstreet Boys, and ‘N Sync all formed around this same time and all co-existed together in perfect harmony. While having some similarities, each of the bands had their own dedicated fans to thank for their success. The Backstreet Boys formed in 1993, in Orlando, Florida. They rose to fame with their debut album and with their second

photo by: WordPress

1980

The Backstreet Boys- photo by Halifax

album in 1997, they reached global superstardom. ‘N Sync began in 1995, in Orlando, Florida as well, and actually launched in Germany. After doing very well, they released their second album which sold 2.24 million copies in only one week. They set many records and had fans all over the world. 98 Degrees was formed in 1997, in Los Angeles, California. By 1998, they had four platinum albums and fans all around the world. All these boy bands caused a worldwide madness that no one had ever before seen. While they didn’t surpass the success of the beatles, any teenage girl you asked would be able to name off songs by any of these groups. When those groups finally died down, the world seemed to go back to normal..... until 2010 that is. July 22, 2010, 5 boys, going by the name of One

Direction, were put together on a British version of the popular talent show, The X Factor. Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, and Zayn Malik had no idea what they would be able to accomplish in the years to come. While they came in only third place on the television show, the boys took the world by storm. The current generation of teenage girls were not able to experience the 1980-90 boy band mania, so this boy band madness is all a new concept for them, and they have taken it to a whole new extreme. With our modern technology such as YouTube and Twitter, One Direction gained millions of followers in a matter of only months. As of now, the band has been together for only four years, and have accomplished more than any other band known to man. They are the only band to ever reach such transatlantic success so early on in their careers. They have surpassed even The Beatles and often get compared

One Direction-photo by Cinema Blend

to them due to their British/ Irish backgrounds, and their music style.After selling out their 2014 stadium tour in a matter of minutes, it doesn’t seem like the boys are anywhere near the end of their careers. With over 20 million twitter followers and stadiums full of crying and screaming girls, we can expect them to be around for quite a while longer. While no one truly knows what the future holds, I think we all can safely assume that boy bands are here to stay forever. They have become a part of America’s history, and that is impossible to deny. Who ever the next big group happens to be, we know that some things are for sure: there will always be catchy songs to listen to, concert tickets to buy, and supportive fans following them no matter what they do. By: Hayden Stevens

1990 photo by: CBS Interactive

2000

photo by: SyleList

2010 photo by: Billboard

MUSIC AS MEDICINE When you open your family’s medicine cabinet, you see rows of prescription medicines - Prozac, Xanax, Valium, Lozol - potentially deadly prescription medicines that doctors hand out to patients like candy. Simple misunderstandings in dosage or accidental consumption of drugs by children and pets could result in overdose or even death. What if these drugs could be replaced with music? No liver damage, no side effects, no risk, just results. Its hard to imagine that by listening to music, patients can feel better without the dangers of modern medicines.

MUSIC AND THE BODY Growing interest in the benefits of music therapy has sparked researchers of Parkinson’s Disease at the European Parkinson’s Disease Association (EPDA) to apply music to the treatment regimens of patients. Parkinsons Disease is an incurable disorder of the brain that causes tremors, difficulty with walking, coordination and movement. One of the effects of Parkinson’s Disease is its tendency to reduces the amount of neurotransmitters in a persons brain that are responsible for balancing mood and behavior,

such as dopamine and serotonin. Neuroscientists agree that certain types of music stimulate the production of dopamine and serotonin in patients. In the past, doctors have prescribed drugs such as Sinemet and Amoxapine to keep the dopamine and serotonin levels under control in those with Parkinson’s. These drugs frequently cause side effects like nausea, intensified tremors, and even have the ability to institute depression. Instead of trading one ailment for another, doctors have began to utilize music to stimulate an increase in the levels of neurotransmitters in patients brains. Parkinson’s disease causes more than just psychological issues; often times the disease results in the loss of fine movement skills. Parkinson’s motor issues like the inability to hold a coffee mug without spilling it or not being able to write legibly make daily life excessively troublesome. Music therapists strive to make the physical and mental impacts of Parkinson’s Disease easier to bear by having their patients listen to a steady stream of beat-filled music. Beat and repetition give patients a steady hand by stabilizing tremors, and aid them in coordination by giving them something to

Photo provided by the ASAC oragnization

follow. Don’t think that music therapy only works in the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease! Epilepsy, like Parkinson’s, is a neurological condition in which the use of music therapy is seen as an option for treatment. Epilepsy is a seizure disorder that affects over 2 million people in the United States. Often times, those affected with epilepsy are unable to live on their own and are completely dependant on those around them to keep them safe because of their seizures. Epileptic seizures are unusually treated with heavy medication such as Zarontin or Gabitril. Although these medications have been shown to work in decreasing the severity and multitude of seizures, they cause side effects like dizziness, behavioral changes, and insomnia. Obviously these side effects are of no comparison to seizures, but they are still incredibly inconvenient. With music therapy, seizures have decreased in a number of patients with zero side effects. MUSIC AND THE MIND One of the easiest understood benefits of music therapy is its effects on those with depression. Everyone knows that your favorite song boosts your mood, but what if it kept you from experiencing feelings of

Albert Williams plays the congoa drum to assist his Parkinsons

constant severe despondency? For some people, this is the case when is comes to music and depression. Those with clinical depression often experience an anxiety that can make day to to day life extremely difficult; from the simplistic task of checking out at the grocery store to giving a large-scale presentation at a school. Music soothes anxiety in depressive patients and brings a calming essence over them. As explained previously, music stimulates the production of neurotransmitters in the brain. This is no more prevalent than in the case of depression. Depression is thought to be caused by the lack of certain chemicals in the brain like serotonin. Sadly, prescribing medication to depressed patients can be a risk, as the possibility of purposeful overdose or simply not taking medication is prevalent. Although depression does not mean someone is suicidal, the possibility is there, and it’s better to be safe than to risk a life. Often times, music therapy will aid a depressive patient, without the dangers of modern medicine, and boost them back to their normal selves. MUSIC AND BRAIN INJURY The facts of neurological disorders like Epilepsy, depression and Parkinson’s Disease may not be seen as common knowledge, but the name Gabby Giffords happens to rings a bell in most. January 8, 2011 marks the date for the Tuscon shooting in which congresswoman Gabby Giffords along with 12 other people were shot by schizophrenic teenager Jared Lee Loughner at a “Meet and Greet Your Congressmen” event in Tucson, Arizona. Giffords was the main target of Loughner’s rampage and suffered a near deadly gunshot wound to the head due to Loughners actions. The 9mm bullet that entered Giffords’ skull resulted in traumatic brain injury to the left hemisphere of her brain. The left side of the brain contains and controls all regions of speech. Because of the way that the bullet entered her brain, Giffords developed a Brocas aphasia, a condition in which a person who has experienced severe lesions cannot regulate their speech production but can clearly comprehend others’ words. Giffords was a prisoner in her own mind. Imagine being unable to communicate with others or explain your emotions but understanding everything everyone else spoke, a sort of mute syndrome. She knew what she wanted to say, but could not form the words needed to express herself.

Gabby Giffords 2 years after her attmpted assasinations

What did doctors recommend to regrow her language skills and divest her of the frustrations of limited communication? Music therapy of course. Strangely enough, while the left hemisphere is in charge of speech, the right hemisphere contains all things musical. Luckily, Giffords right hemisphere went unscathed in the incident. Giffords’ music therapist Maegan Morrow used the rhythmic predictability of simple songs and classical music of the right hemisphere to train and familiarize Giffords left hemisphere in the spoken word. She used song and beat to stimulate brain activity and growth of the speaking skills in the left hemisphere. Though she was not able to speak clearly, she was able to sing fluently. Over the course of ten months, Giffords regained a substantial amount of her speech and was finally able to communicate. Through singing, she regrew her language skills substantially. Without the wonders of music, she never would have been able to regain her language skills to such an extent; she would never speech like she had previously in her life. MUSIC AND YOU So you know about the effects of music therapy on injury and certain illnesses, but what can music do for you? You don’t have epilepsy, you don’t have Parkinson’s Disease, and haven’t suffered a gunshot wound to the head, so how could music be scientifically benefi-

to plain old you? Easy, music makes you smarter. Listening to pattern-based music induces a shortterm improvement on the performance of mental tasks. This is known as “spatial-temporal reasoning”. While you study for a final exam or write an essay, put on some classical music like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Ludwig Van Beethoven. Both of these composers use the perfect rhythms in their work to aid the brain, and you may soon find that your scores will increase. When the brain is given a pattern to follow (predictable music), it retains information better and increases overall performance. If you’re still feeling skeptical about the legitimacy of music therapy truly having an effect, and it’s importance, you only need to dig deeper into the panacea of music. To be honest, it hasn’t been around very long. The earliest use of music therapy is a little over than a hundred years ago. Moving the profession of music therapy forward in terms of an organizational and educational standpoint is still progressing. Many people don’t understand the importance of this “safest form of medication”. It is hard to believe that music is good for anything but auditory enjoyment. In reality music is so much more. Maybe in the future, instead of little orange bottles lining every family’s medicine cabinet, there will be CDs stacked high, and record albums galore. Elaina Howard

Copy-Write? A blues guitar riff blasts from the stage, and the lights come up. The massive, record-breaking crowd screams incessantly as Robert Plant and the rest of Led Zeppelin are illuminated. In 1968, Led Zeppelin broke into the music scene with rock music that drew heavily from blues and folk music. They collected several Grammys, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the magnitude of their success, and are considered one of the best rock bands of all time. Forty years later, a bright stage is topped with five teenage boys, while millions of girls scream their names. The British X-Factor in 2010 gave birth to a pop boyband named One Direction. Soon, the band gained millions of fans, and came to be compared to the Beatles with the degree of their success. With heavy pop influences and five young singers, One Direction sold out tours and won tons of awards for their music - including nineteen out of nineteen Teen Choice Awards that they were nominated for. Musically, One Direction and Led Zeppelin couldn’t be

more different, but they are also quite similar in their make-up. Both bands sold millions of records, have had songs that topped charts, and gained a multitude of fans. Led Zeppelin and One Direction share one other thing in common: both bands have been accused of stealing their most popular songs. In the late 1960’s, Led Zeppelin and a band named Spirit played several gigs together. At a number of these shows, Spirit played a song of theirs named “Taurus.” Three years later, Zeppelin released what would become one of their most famous songs - “Stairway to Heaven.” With three separate sections differing in tempo, the eight minute song became a hit. No one seemed to notice that the popular song sounded suspiciously like Spirit’s song. In early 2014, a lawyer representing the guitarist of Spirit came forward, accusing the famous rock band of stealing the iconic guitar riff. They didn’t come forward earlier because Spirit - which ended in 1997 after the guitarist lost his life did not possess the money to go into a large legal battle with

Led Zeppelin. With attention suddenly on the potentially stolen single, it became evident that the two songs sounded eerily similar. “Taurus” might feature string instruments, and “Stairway to Heaven” might feature woodwinds, but these differences can’t mask the similarities between the tunes. The guitar intros both start on the same note, follow a similar chord progression, and are the same tempo. If a Led Zeppelin fan heard only the guitar playing from Spirit’s song, they might expect Robert Plant to start singing along. This scandal might not come as a surprise to

Photo courtesy of Sydney Owen

those who know about Led Zeppelin’s legal history. The rock legends have been accused of ripping off countless songs through their history. They were sued in 2010 for adapting “Dazed and Confused,” from Jake Holmes and never crediting him. They were also sued for their song “Whole Lotta Love,” which was extremely similar to Willie Dixon’s “You Need Love.” Many more songs belonging to the group, including “The Lemon Song” and “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” have been criticized for sounding like other songs, and Led Zeppelin has gained a reputation from some as unoriginal.

This trend of stealing music to achieve success does not seem to be going away anytime soon. Several modern-day pop artists have been accused of ripping off other artists’ music. Robin Thicke admitted to stealing from Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give it Up” to write his hit song, “Blurred Lines.” Coldplay, Jet, Radiohead and countless other bands have been accused of musical theft, but boyband One Direction seems to be developing a track record similar to Led Zeppelin’s. When they broke into the music scene in 2011, the band already had thousands of fans from their time on the British

X-Factor. Their new single, “What Makes You Beautiful,” quickly gained radio play, and their number of fans skyrocketed. When one listens to the pop tune, however, the guitar introduction quickly sounds familiar. Almost as if we’ve heard it in a movie somewhere? Poorly masked by a wholestep change in key and a slight change in the melody, the intro to “What Makes You Beautiful” is undeniably similar to “Summer Nights” from Grease. One Direction chose a guitar riff in lieu of a piano intro, but the similar tempo and unforgettable melody are still quickly recognizable.

Original VS Copy: Which Did Better? Queen “Under Pressure” Hit #29 on US charts, and topped UK charts

VS Vanilla Ice “Ice, Ice, Baby” Topped both US charts and UK charts The Who “Baba O’Riley” Was named #349 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of

VS One Direction “Best Song Ever” The song hit #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Marvin Gaye “Got to Give it Up” Topped Billboard Charts

VS Robin Thicke “Blurred Lines” Topped Billboard Charts

No lawsuit over the song has been ordered, but there is little question that the boy band drew from the Grease hit for their own single. Further into their career, the boy band has been accused of stealing several other songs. Their song “Best Song Ever” sounds uncannily like The Who’s “Baba O’Riley,” and “Midnight Memories” reminds listeners of the rock hit “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” The day the British band released a new single, “Steal My Girl,” New Found Glory’s guitarist commented via Twitter that the intro was stolen from his band’s song “It’s Not Your Fault,” and asked mockingly for a cut of the profits. Other Twitter users quickly agreed, including Paramore singer Hayley Williams. Though the intro is tremendously sped up, the key is changed, and the melody relies on half-steps and whole-steps instead of thirds and whole-steps, there is undeniable symmetry between the introduction riffs. One Direction is a much younger band than Led Zeppelin, and the young boyband thrives off of teen, bubblegum pop listeners rather than hard rock fans, but the British boys are quickly catching up to Led Zeppelin in the number of their songs accused of theft. It is as if the 40 year old rock band passed their legacy on to

The cover art for Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven,” from the album IV.

the young boyband, keeping the idea of plagiarized music alive. This trend of popular musicians achieving fame through stolen music is not only 40 years old. Mozart is rumored to have stolen his “Symphony No. 37” from composer Michael Haydn, 200 years ago. Other iconic composers like Beethoven also skirted people’s claims that they were drawing from different composers and musical ideas. For thousands of years, music has been a huge part of different cultures, and for at least two hundred years, composers have been stealing music from others for their own personal gain. But is this a fault in humanity’s morality, or a natural phenomenon based on the number of possible melodies? There are twelve notes on the musical scale, and depending on time signature and note length, there are millions of different possibilities for melodies. Add in other factors like tempo, instrument choice and

key changes, and that number widens. Still, some melodies are bound to remind listeners of other songs. Like with “Steal My Girl” and “It’s Not Your Fault,” even when melodies differ by thirds or halfsteps, they sound extremely similar to the naked ear. Composers and musicians write what sounds good to them, and what they enjoy. Beethoven used Russian Folk themes in some of his compositions because they were aesthetically pleasing to him. If a composer has a certain love for classic rock, a melody similar to that of his or her favorite classic rock song might come to mind, and the composer could unconsciously copy the melody and chord progression from a twenty-year old, well known single. George Harrison’s song “My Sweet Lord” is the most wellknown example of accidental plagiarism. The song topped charts, but George Harrison was sued by The Chiffons. The hit song sounded too much like the band’s song “He’s So Fine.” Despite being sued for a large sum of money, Harrison continually denied the idea that he had intentionally copied the song. He admitted that he knew the Chiffon’s song, but claimed that he did not purposely steal it. Some artists gain a reputation of unoriginality through

In June of 2013, One Direction sold out the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, filling 20,000 seats with avid fans. Photo courtesy of Sydney Owen.

an inadvertent mistake. Other music writers, in desperation to claim the next Billboard topper, might take an old, popular song, tweak a few notes, and call it a hit. Vanilla Ice was accused of sampling the introduction from Queen’s “Under Pressure,” without giving credit. He then paid a large sum of money to David Bowie to settle the dispute. Vanilla Ice sampled the song in the hopes that the familiar tune would sell well, and he was right, but he ultimately had to pay the consequences -

The album art of One Direction’s “Steal My Girl.”

literally. This decade-long trend presents a new question for composers and music-lovers everywhere: is musical plagiarism a natural phenomenon based on the number of possible musical phrases, or is it a major moral issue in popular music that needs to be solved? The trend of plagiarism is nowhere near new, and every genre of music from classical compositions to rock music has been hit by plagiarism in some form. As the possible melodic phrases dwindle, new musical ideas become less and less common, and the trend of plagiarized music seems to grow exponentially larger. Plagiarism could be considered a crime or a part of nature, but either way, the music-writing community needs to make changes in the way that it goes about presenting new ideas. By Sydney Owen

Muscial Intervention

Not everyone can throw a football, or chant a cheer. Some of us are lucky to walk down the stairs without falling. Being in school you learn that the “popular” kids are the jocks and cheerleaders, and that’s just how it goes. Usually the same kids will be the ones who join “pep club” and “student council” and will have the most impact on your school dances, parades and pep rallies.They’re the kids with more comfort and ease in large crowds due to their abundance of friends. They’re also the kids who are comfortable in making new friends, (due to their self confidence.) Self confidence is a huge role in your life and most people gain that confidence in their young adulthood. Recent studies have shown that people who were more involved in high-school will progress easier in their young adulthood (college, job hunting, love life, etc.) These same teens will have kids with the same outgoing traits as them. And thus the era of outgoing cheerleader and jocks continues…but don’t worry! You can still become involved in your school and in your life! Music is a great way to become involved in your school! It gives you a wide variety of friends and events to fill your weekends. Having people in your life who are interested in the same things as you is the definition of a good friendship. You’ll always get along and always have each other’s back! There’s nothing better than having a group of people who treat each other like friends and love each other like family. When playing you’ll find that music is very inspi-

-rational and emotional, it gives you an extreme

amount of new thoughts and ideas that pull at your brain and make you think in different ways(which is perfect for any young adult.) Music is defined as “The separation between silence and sound”....that was deep right? Music is around all of us, but the way we approach music can vary. Each person is different, which makes music more unclear and mischievous. We interpret what we hear by how we feel and how we see. So when you hear music it can take you places you’ve never imagined. Some musicians take their musical talent to the next level and turn their hobby into a career, like a music teacher, or a music therapist. But before you jump into the musical world you need to decide, Which music program is good for me? Ask yourself the three BIG questions. Do i want to play an instrument? Do I want to learn about music theory and music origins? Or do I want to use my voice as an instrument? All of these are great ways to become involved in music and some of them require NO TALENT. Perfect for anyone. interested.

Playing an instrument is a lot of work,

dedication, and time. Each instrument is different and unique. For example wind players have to focus on their breathing and their tone, while percussionists have to worry about there sticking and their technique. All musicians have to be sufficient at memorizing things. Having a good muscle

Above Meghan Watts, Rebekah Alvey, Keri Westerfeild, and Levi Walton playing percussion at a local football game

memory is a huge part of being a musician. And hey once you learn how to play one instrument it is very easy to pick up another! This process of changing instruments back and forth is very smiled upon in the music program. Some people will end up playing 10-20 instruments by the time they’re 18! This not only is impressive and helpful in your music career, its a huge help in becoming adaptable in everyday life, whether it be a new job a new house, maybe even a new lifestyle. In high school and college you can find yourself playing an instrument in either band, percussion studies, guitar class, or maybe even orchestra. (Classes depend on where you live and what school you go to.) Now the most viewed band program is…. MARCHING BAND!

Marching Band is the granddaddy of high school and college musicianship, its the most known and the most seen. Marching Band kids can be found at almost every athletic event and pep rally! So, if you are interested in being a HUGE part of your

HUGE part of your school’s spirit, (but don’t want to chant defense sporadically) ,playing an instrument is probably your best option! Rebekah Alvey a band member at WCHS, says that “music made me become very outgoing and forced me to meet new people and become involved in spirit stuff ”....But lets not overlook your other options!.. DCI and indoor percussion groups are also available to young adults, usually between the ages 12-22. Dci is brass players, percussionists, and color guard on an outside field. They have differ-

ent groups and the groups compete around state and eventually in world finals.

Indoor percussion is also an activity separated into groups and these groups perform at a state level and then have world finals. Both of these groups are great for making friends and meeting new people, most of them don’t even go to your school so its a fantastic way to become an involved carsmatic individual.

Music Appreciation is teaching people

Tates Creek Indoor Percussion

what to listen for and to appreciate different types of music. Most teens only care about “Todays Hits” radio on pandora, or boy bands, or the “slap yo’ momma” music that causes headaches and all black clothing, but some teens want more. These are the young adults that want to know how to music was composed, where music came from, where the composer came from, who invented music, etc. These questions can all be answered in a music appreciation class, or a music theory class. In these classes you learn all you could ever want to know about music and how it works. Taking one of these classes is perfect for someone Taking one of these classes is perfect for someone want to know about music and how it works. who doesn’t want to learn an instrument or strain a vocal cord. These classes are usually overlooked when the time to schedule occurs, they’re labeled as “boring” and “too challenging.” Some people will agree with these statements but some would argue… Classes like these are deep and may be slightly boring, but only if you’re not interested. If you find yourself bored in music theory then drop the class because it only gets worse. But if you find it intriguing and interesting and want more, (which most people do), then keep going! Music isn’t just fun to listen to its fun to learn about, you’ll learn everything from major and minor chords to have the octatonic scale can be described as a major 5th when compared to a minor 3rd.

Provided by John Stacey

keep going! Music isn’t just fun to listen to its fun to learn about, you’ll learn everything from major and minor chords to have the octatonic scale can be described as a major 5th when compared to a minor 3rd. John Bowmer, band director and Music Theory teacher at WCHS was asked if he thought students were bored with his class his response was “Not at all, I think that they love my class and appreciate it! This class can also help you be better acquainted with your high school band director/faculty member. Being friends with them can help you get into a different music program or club, which is a fantastic way to meet new people!

Choir is usingProvided your voice to express emotion by The Charlotte ChildrensChoir

and create song. All of us have our moments in the shower where our shower head becomes a “microphone”. This can be a stress relief from the long day or it can be your moment to shine... but have you ever thought about shining in front of other people? If you think you’ve got what it takes, JOIN CHOIR! Choir is so much fun, it gives you a huge group of friends and a great self confidence. When you join choir you’ll find that not only are you singing you’re learning to read music and harmonize! This will help your talent tremendously and may influence you to pursue in a music career! Choir is another huge involvement with your school. Some schools have separate choir groups that have their own little ensembles, like acapella groups. These groups are huge to some schools , they will travel , go to different schools and compete, some will perform for the fun of it! Valrie Shrout, member of the the womens group the WCHS Honeybee’s, says that “choir is super fun and like I love everyone in there, they’re my family!”

Music will completely and inevitably take over

your world. It’s more than just your average activity, musicianship will follow you for the rest life. Its a great way to meet people and make friends, it will save you from the struggles and frustration of modern day activities. If you’re “uninvolved” or “uninterested” in the common spirit at your school, if you’re feeling lonely and unsocial in your new environment , join your local music program. By: Meghan Watts

Crank Up The Music Music, the soul of mankind. Its been around since the creation of man. It’s also been very important to us throughout history. There was an issue that progressed as man began multiplying though - what happened if someone couldn’t play an instrument or couldn’t afford to listen to someone play one? They had no way to easily access music, until the idea of music storage, starting out with the Phonograph in 1877. The idea of music storage revolutionized the world. It’s changed from the 1800’s to now. The ways to listen to music all have grown in sophistication and technology. It’s important to understand the history of music players because it allows one to feel the nostalgia of each item. It also allows one to see how blessed we are to have the items we own today. It lets them learn the importance of these items and how they affected the music of their time. The Phonograph, a classical piece, was a method of music storage used by recording the music and then playing it back to the listener. This was the first music storage device, originally created by Thomas Edison.

The Phonograph was his first major invention, and it brought a whole new outlook on the music society. Edison took The Phonograph all around the country. People became overjoyed with the site of this miraculous contraption. The Phonograph is what helped Edison gain some grounding for his later projects, like the lightbulb. This simple machine was so popular he was even invited to the White House to give a live presentation to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878. The Phonograph may had been great at the time, but listeners could only hear one playback, and the sound quality was atrocious. Ten years after the invention of the phonograph came along an invention called the Gramophone, created by Emile Berliner. Berliner was smart enough to change from recording with cans, which was how the Grahamophones predecessor operated, to flat disks or records. These records were originally made of glass, but later turner to zinc and then finally plastic. The record became the first sound to be mass produced in 1900. The original Gramophone had to be hand-cranked to listen

to the record. The Grahamophone was later redone by Eldridge Johnson. He added an automatic crank to keep the music playing at a steady pace. There was a change to the world of music in 1906. RCA created the Victrola record player.The player had a wide range of turntable speeds to accommodate for the multitude of records being produced. Columbia Records introduced the first double-sided record. Eighteen years later, the records got more advanced. In 1924, the classical acoustic records were being replaced with the new hip electronic records. In 1928, the standard speed for all phonograph records became 78.26rpm (revolutions per minute). This set the stage for the next generation of music storage devices. In 1948, LP’s (Long Playing records) were created. The records also went by the name “albums.” The 33 ⅓ LP was produced by Columbia Records. The disk preferred by all was the seven inch diameter, 45rpm record created by RCA Victor in 1949. The Recording Industry Association of America was formed in 1952. They

Lithograph of Edison with his talking machine, 1878, taken from a Matthew Brady photograph. (SI negative #33,553)

standardized the records as follows: the 33-1/3rpm LP, the 78rpm, and the 45rpm at twelve inches, ten inches, and seven inches. The twelve inch quickly became more popular than the previous ten inch version of itself. 1962 became the date remembered through history. This was when the first multitrack analog tape recording began in recording studios. The idea for this newfound contraption was started way back in the late 1940’s by a guitarist named Les Paul. Multitracking became popular with big-name bands like the Beatles and the Beach Boys. As a result of this, most popular music was eventually recorded this way. In 1963, the compact stereo cassette tape and player were developed. For several years, the cassette tape had a hold on people as the most popular form of music storage. The 70’s brought this technology even further by offering the ability to record music off records onto blank cassette tapes. Because of these new musical devices, the world had completely changed. People were able to listen to music on the go because of the portable cassette tapes released. CD’s (Compact Disks) were first released in Japan in 1982. They became a major thing. Billy Joel was the first to release a CD in his “52nd

Street.” CD’s hit America in 1983. It took only a short three years for CD’s to completely eradicate LP’s in the music media market. CD’s later became available in recordable form. This opened up many doorways and possibilities.. The 2000’s became the year for final advances in musical storage technology. In 2000, Napster was released. Napster was a program that allowed a person to easily share song files with others. This led the music industry into turmoil. Recording sales dropped, and accusations of total copyright violations were announced. Napster was later shut down in 2001 due to a court order. This was a win and a loss for the general public. Napster created the idea of free online file sharing. This influenced multiple other programs that came along later. There are now file sharing programs like Limewire and Ares, that can be downloaded for free, and customers can receive music from it. Then enters the name we all know and love into the music scene - Apple. Apple released the biggest hit in music media since cassette tapes in October of 2001, the iPod. The public took to the iPod like a fish takes to water, and the trend rapidly

spread. Over a course of seven years, there have been 14 different versions of the iPod, like the iPod, iPod Mini, iPod Shuffle, and iPod Touch. All of them came with different, enhanced abilities and unique features. The classic iPod began a legacy that became Apple’s iPod. The first three iPods varied between five and forty gigabytes. After the release of the first three iPods, the iPod Mini became the new hot item in the market. iPod Minis were available for purchase in five different colors, and had the storage capacity of 4 gigabytes. The next in line after the Mini was the fourth classic iPod, which could now hold pictures on it that were transferred from one’s computer via USB. The next heir to the iPod throne was the iPod Shuffle, which was a faceless iPod that utilized flash memory technology and could only hold up to one gigabyte worth of storage. Then the classic iPod came back out, but new and improved once again. The photos it could once hold were now in color, and it had sixty gigabytes worth of memory. The next iPod released was the iPod Nano, then onto the iPod Touch. The iPod Touch opened up new doors everywhere. The iPod Touch came out in 2007 and had Wifi capabilities, as well as a multi-touch interface. With this new device, a person could now reach things via applica-

cations like the Safari browser, Youtube, and iTunes. The iTunes store allowed one to purchase music directly from their iPod. The storage for the iPod touch ranged from eight to thirty-two gigabytes. iTunes is how the iPod operates. It is an online music store to go along with the iPod Touch. iTunes allows the iPod user to manage audio and video on their computer. Within iTunes several options are open to a user. A customer can organize

download free podcasts, backup songs onto a CD or DVD, and encode music into a number of different audio formats. These features are still with us today on our iPhones and iPads as well. iTunes revolutionized the music world, making it more accessible to anyone and everyone. Music storage has had a large impact since the 1800â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s up to the present. It has evolved, transformed, mutated, and adapted throughout

the ages. We have seen how the way of listening to music changed from an an unconventional item of listening to a large organism, which is now readily available for everyone across the globe. Knowing and understanding the lineage of music storage devices gives one a newfound respect for the items we have and use today.

By: Brandon Fee

music into playlists with one

This is a picture of a record player with a record on it. To the right you see a dimond tipped needle to help read the music. These photographs were taken by Brandon Fee.

1950s

20%

27%

1960s

WHICH DECADE

Data provided by boards.straightdope.com survery; 2013

1970s

1990s

22%

16% 1980s

7% 00s-Today

HAS THE BEST BEATS?

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