Tone Magazine

May 2016

Music & Mind A study on the effects of music on the mind

Uncommonly Common Wealth

The stories of artists from Kentucky and their music

Guitar Enthusiast A description of Ryan’s guitars

Table Of Contents 1

letter from editor

2

Author bios

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Music and the MInd

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Spotify Vs. Pandora

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Guitar guru

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Uncommonly Commonwealth

Note From The Editors Dear Music Lovers, Hello from the other side! Welcome to the first issue of Tone. We created Tone to bring you in the know on all things music, from instruments to local venues to the science behind music itself. Here at Tone we understand that music isn’t just a series of notes and chords, it’s a feeling. A memory. A story. We hope you finish this magazine with some new memories for your music.

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Bio’s Hi, I was introduced to music at a young age, and I have embraced it. I play guitar, bass, dobro, and trombone.

Hi, Im Brandon. Im an avid believer that the music of the 80’s is still popular, And love to listen to music on the daily. I Hope you enjoy the magazine!!!

Hello. Is it me you’re looking for? Probably not.

Anyways, my name is Ginny and I like music.

I have already made approximately 57 typos while only four sentences into this bio. And that is all you need to know about me. Just kidding.

I am a sophomore at WCHS, I have two dogs and 0 cats, and I think that music should bring people together. That’s about it. Don’t forget: be excellent to each other and party on dudes.

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Music & Mind By: Ginny Hallman

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hat if the reason you bought that shirt last week that you didn’t really need was because of the music playing throughout the store? What if you accidentally made a mistake you regret, such as yelling at your mom when you got home from school, because of the song playing on the radio right before you arrived? What if what we listen to could make us feel certain ways, do certain things? Well it can.

Music. We all listen to it, whether by choice or in other settings such as stores, recreation buildings, workout centers, and schools. Sometimes it is just background noise, white noise almost. But even though we don’t necessarily pay attention to it, music can affect our very minds. The beat, tempo, dynamics, and even rhythm of the music are key elements in what this music does to us. I think we ought to pay more attention to the music we listen to because music can affect our emotions, our brains reactions, and our actions.

Music and Mood Do you ever hear a song and then feel as though the song applies to your life right at this very moment, even though it could have been written 20 years ago? It could be a song you have never heard before or a song that you know all the lyrics to, inside and out.

But suddenly, the words take on a new meaning and you feel personally and deeply connected with the song.

Sometimes this happens because you purposefully choose that type of music

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because you felt a certain way. For example, you chose to listen to slow, sad music because you have had a depressing day.

Of the students in high school in Versailles, Kentucky, 81% said they chose their music because of how they felt in the moment. However, sometimes this happens because your music is twisting your emotions and making you feel different. Within those same students, 75% also said that the music they listen to can make them feel one way or the other. This Photo by: Jonathon Burdette doesn’t necessarily sound like a breakAn image that shows brain activity when through, but when you think about it, that you listen to different types of music. means music has a lot of power over us. It can cheer us up on bad days or make us angry at everyone around us in about 4 minutes. It can make you see the world through different perspectives with each different genre.

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This may be because humans tend to mirror things emotionally. For example, when listening to music that is sad, most people instinctively feel sad. This experience works through empathy.

Empathy is the psychological identification with another’s feelings. According to Petra Rattue, a study discovered that whilst all participants felt sad when listening to self-selected, familiar sad music, only those participants who were empathic also felt sad when listening to unfamiliar, instrumental sad music. Music that creates a sad atmosphere can make us feel sad even though we may not have a reason to be. This happens for other emotions and moods too such as happy, energized, angry, calm, or lonely.

So next time you go to choose your music, think about what you want to feel like. Do you want to feel awake? Listen to something energized like pop or rap. Want to relax after a stressful day?

Listen to something classical or with a mellow beat. Make aware and informed choices and you can help control your emotions.

Music and Mind Did you ever think that music could help with heart disease? Bring back vision? Relieve physical pain? Surprisingly it can. When talking about sickness, music can help with both physical and mental. The article “How Music Affects Us and Promotes Health” states that listening to music can reduce chronic pain from a range of conditions, including osteoarthritis, disc problems and rheumatoid arthritis, by up to 21% and up to 25% for depression.

Music can also help with anxiety and reducing stress. This could be useful because, as you know, school brings on a lot of stress with it. Students therefore could benefit from listening to music during the school day or while doing their homework a night. Music has been shown to

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reduce physical struggles. It helps fight fatigue, increase productivity, and relaxes the listener. If you are an athlete, music can improve your performance by helping with coordination and movement.

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Some high schoolers at WCHS have already caught on to this fact. When reviewing my answers from a survey on music I came across an answer from one of the swimmers. The question was “Does certain music affect your emotions/ moods? If so, what type of music and how?” They answered, “For example, rap music gets me really excited so I listen to it before I swim.” This person has discovered that a certain type of music improves their performance when swimming. Music Music can intellectaly stimulate your child. can do anything really if it is the right genre.

Courtesy of: Flickr

For example, you have probably heard of the Mozart effect. If you haven’t, it is basically the idea that if you were to listen to Mozart for a period of time, you would show to have a heightened intelligence. However, Jenkins notes that this effect has never been proven, because only some researchers have been able to obtain the results and the effects seem to only last several minutes. However, classical music like Mozart’s has been shown to help those with epilepsy.

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Music can affect everyone. Even day old babies can detect a rhythm pattern. Kimberly Moore notes, “In 2009, researchers from Hungary and the Netherlands reported that, by measuring their brain waves when listening to rhythms, day-old infants are able to detect differences between them. This wasn’t a learned skill. It was innate.” So, depending on the genre, music can different effects on how the brain reacts.

Music and Motion According to Kevin Liljequist, “Over the last thirty years, violent juvenile crime has jumped by more that five hundred percent. Teen suicide has tripled. Unwed teen pregnancy has skyrocketed. Casual drug use among teens has jumped nearly fifty percent over the last four years alone.” Some attribute this fact to music.

As much as I want to look on the bright side of music listening,

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some music can lead to destructive behaviors.

Studies show that 14 to 18 girls who watched music videos that featured violent or obscene lyrics were at least three times more likely to hit a teacher and 1.5 times more likely to get and carry a sexually transmitted disease.

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If these things are true, why do we let our kids listen to music? It’s probably because we are so accustomed to it. Music has been around for years and years, changing, growing, influencing. We remember the music we listened to as kids. Some of us still listen and jam to the classics. However, music then and music now are vastly different. In 2005, 9% of pop songs, 14% of rock songs, 20% of R&B and hip-hop songs, 36% of country songs, and 77% of rap songs have lyrics portraying alCourtesy of: Flickr cohol and drugs. And as you can imagine, those percentages have most likely gone up in the past 10 years.

Our teens today are exposed to a huge number of references and innuendos that are desensitizing their minds to these ideas such as alcohol use, drug use, degrading women, violence, and promiscuity.

They then are more prone to act out in these ways.

So when deciding what music you or your children should listen to, take these facts into consideration.

Music has been around since before we know. It is an integral part of our society, without being able to escape it except maybe in a library. It can be used (or abused) to affect your thought process, making it a great ally to advertisers or those trying to make a profit. Getting rid of it entirely is impossible, yet we can’t just let anything slip past us into our ears.

We must be careful in what we listen to, making sure that it will help us in the long run. Even when on in the background, like a commercial, stores, or TV shows, music can flip our world upside down. Music can make our decisions for us. Don’t let it.

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Guitar Enthusiast

liams By : Ryan Wil

My 1974 Gibson J-40. This is a guitar I bought after wrighting this article. It is my first vintage guitar, and the tone is great, as it has aged for 42 years.

You walk into the room, and you smell the fine woods they are made of. You hear the unique tones of each and every one of them, and you feel the humidity that keeps them in pristine condition. I’m talking of course about guitars. One person at WCHS could be called fanatical 1.Fender Stratocaster Plus Top Uses: great all-around guitar, clean tone can be used best for blues on positions 3, 4 and 5, and a good country/rockabilly tone in positions 1 and 2. With fuzz, 1&2 positions are best for (in my opinion) classic southern rock, like Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, or Blackfoot. Positions 3, 4, and 5 are pure rock tones. The stratocaster has a world renowned body, praised for its comfort. It also has a nice modern “c” profile neck.

If I could change something about it I would put in noiseless pickups. The stock single coils have a nice tone, but buzz quite a lot, especially in positions 1,3, and 5.

Some famous players include: Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Cray, Mark Knopfler, Jimmy Page(Led Zepplin), Jeff Beck(The Yardbirds), David Gilmour(Pink Floyd), George Harrison, Buddy Holly, and many, many more.

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From left to right: The Epiphone Les Paul, the Danelectro 12 string, and the Fender Stratocaster.

2. C.F. Martin D12X1AE Uses: Excellent rhythm guitar, Folk music, some Rock(ex: Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd). This is an acoustic guitar, but it does have an electronics suite. It has a spruce top, and mahogany back and sides. This is a relatively new model of guitar, and so there are nit many known players of this specific one. However, the brand is a very popular one, and is one of the worlds most renowned acoustic guitar brands.

If I could change something about this guitar, I would put fret markers on it. They are not necessary, but are a nice luxury.

3. Rainsong Ws1000 Uses: This is another all-around guitar. It is an acoustic guitar that is made entirely of carbon fiber and graphite composite, which leads to it being extremly light.This also makes it very loud, even unplugged. The Carbon construction gives it a booming bass range that competes with some well-aged Martin’s. The treble range is not too bright either. This guitar will never warp from too much humidity like other acoustics will. The pre-amp is a fantastic early 2000’s Fishman Prefix, which gives unprecedented amounts of customization when played through an amp.

This guitar is at home in any situation, such as a bluegrass band, to a grunge group (think Nirvana Unplugged).

It also has a bone nut and bridge. This leads to a tone that will smoothen over time(not that it is harsh right now).

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This is a closeup of the Rainsong and the Les Paul. If you look closely, you can see the weave pattern in the Rainsong.

If I could change one thing about this guitar,

it would be the neck dive. Since the body is hollow and made of carbon fiber, the neck is heavier that the body by a bit. However, I have countered this by either sitting down, or putting a clingy leather strap on it. This is a relatively small company, so there are not many players, but one exception is Steve Miller from The Steve Miller Band.

4. C.F. Martin 000-28EC Uses: Blues, rhythm, country. This guitar is one of the nicest guitars I have ever played.

The tone is what is expected out of a high end Martin. The 000 body size is nice, because it fits well. The neck is unique, as it is a v-shape.

This allows for ease of finger style, because it drastically increases thumb accessibility, which is near crucial for finger style.

Unlike the Rainsong, the Martin’s tone will improve as it ages, compared to the Rainsong’s, which will stay the same. On the inside of the guitar, there is a signature by C.F. Martin IV, and the legendary Eric Clapton. The materials used are Sitka Spruce top, and East Indian Rosewood back and sides. This is just an amazing guitar.

The famous player of this model is, of course, Eric Clapton.

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These are my “On hand” guitars. These do not require as much humidity as the others. These stay out of their cases, and are the ones i play the most.

5. Gretsch G5420T Electromatic Uses: Country, rock. This is one of my prettiest guitars, as it is bright orange with cream colored binding, and a bigsby tremolo system.

This guitar has a very smooth tone naturally, but if over driven, it can produce a southern rock tone, much like the strat’s, but more twangy. It is a large bodied guitar, but is countered by the fact that it is hollow bodied.

The elegant looking Bigsby system allows for near Floyd Rose levels of pitch bending, without the chunky mechanics. The only thing I would change is the fact that the Bigsby can cause severe string stretch, which can leave you out of tune while in the middle of a gig.

Some famous players of this brand are Chet Adkins, and Brian Setzer 6. Danelectro 12 Uses: Folk rock, anything needing some jangle. This is very similar to my Martin 12 string, except for the fact that it is an electric guitar.

The tone of this guitar can best be described as sparkling, or jangly. I use this mostly for rhythm, like the other 12, but it can produce some interesting leads and solos. If I could change anything about this guitar, it would be the pickguard. I like the shape of it, but it is only one-ply, and it is very thin.

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These are the amps for the electrics. From left to right: Fender Mustang v2, a Vox AC-4, a Fender Rumble, and in the back, a Fender Acousticsonic 100

Some famous players of this brand include Mark Knopfler, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrex, and Tom Petty.

7. Dean Spider Antique Resonator Uses: Blues, Country, Bluegrass, Grunge. This is one of the most unique sounding guitars I own. This type of guitar is usually played with a slide, but can be played without. It’s tone is twangy, as the slide can produce interesting sounds. This type of guitar is usually played in open g, as it works well for bared frets, but can be seen being played in standard tuning.

If I could change anything about this guitar, I would make the neck longer, as playing with a slide past the 14th fret can get difficult.

8. Epiphone Les Paul Standard PlusTop PRO Uses: Rock, Country, and many more. This, along with the Strat, is one of the most iconic and instantly recognizable guitars in the world.

It has two humbucking pickups that produce a really smooth tone with less gain, but can produce some crunchy rock tones if you crank the gain. Les Paul’s tend to be heavy guitars, which can turn some people away, but it gives it more sustain, which is an advantage over the strat.

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Another shot of the Strat and the 12 String

If I could change something about this guitar, I would increase the neck-headstock angle for even more sustain.

Les Paul’s, like its rival the stratocaster, are used by many but some examples include Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Slash, Duane Allman, Jeff Beck, Neil Young, and almost every other famous player has been seen playing one at least once, even it it wasn’t theirs.

This is the collection of one of Woodford’s guitar enthusiests, and it was a joy to put this info together. Thanks!

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Uncommonly C By: Brandon Watkins

Birch Monroe plays for local fans at a musical festival in Kentucky.

Photo From: Unknown

When you ask people what music they expect to hear in Kentucky, whats usually the answer? Country or Bluegrass. While everyone expects to hear banjos playing and guitars strumming, there is actually a lot of diversity in the music that originates from here.

After researching the music that comes from the Bluegrass I’ve discovered that there are a lot more than just country bands and artists.There are rock bands, pop singers, alternative artists, and a lot of other genres of music around here. I’ve decided to further look into these bands and artists to see their roots and how they got to where they are in their professional career.

Cage the Elephant is an alternative rock band from Bowling Green, Kentucky.They started as a group of friends and eventually found their way to success.They formed in 2006 as a group of friends with musical ambitions.The band’s first album in 2008 was one that sparked many interests into their band and in the genre of alternative rock.

Since that first album in 2008, the group has had 12 singles, all recording top 100 views in the iTunes store.

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Before their Official Band was created in 2008, they were all in a band together throughout their lives in highschool, it was named Perfect Confusion.

In 2008, the band had peaked with 3 singles and they attracted an offer from Relentless Records.This band has Released 4 Albums in total, with the most recent being “Tell Me I’m Pretty” in 2015.

They currently Consist of the original band (Matthew Shultz, Brad Shultz, Jared Champion, Daniel Tichenor, and Nick Bockrath).

He says, “A big hairy man was freaking out at the gas pump across from us, and we laughed a little. As we laughed at him secretly, the man saw us and ran after us Everyone else jumped in the van while I stayed out because I couldn’t make it in time. I expected to get clocked in the face, but once the guy got there he hugged me and said ‘You have to cage the elephant.’

It’s that experience that gave us inspiration for our name.”

Common Wealth

An artist that fits the Kentucky stereotype is Bill Monroe.

The “Father of Bluegrass” was born in 1911 in Rosine, Kentucky, and recently passed in 1996. Bill Monroe was a legend and a very important historical figure in Kentucky.

He had 9 successful singles and many successful tours with his band, The Bluegrass Boys. His success didn’t come early in life though.

His first taste of music was in 1929, When he and his brothers started the group “The Monroe Brothers.” They played at local dances and house parties. Birch Monroe and Larry Moore left the group leaving only Bill and his brother, Charlie.With this sudden dismemberment of the group, Bill decided to start a new music group in 1938 called The Kentuckians, this band was all but a waste of time as it only lasted for 3 months and he had to move on and find new members. Now in 1939, he had moved to Atlanta, Georgia looking for potential band members where he eventually Started the first version of the Bluegrass Boys. He Joined forces with Cleo Davis, Art Wooten, and Amos Garren.

The Bluegrass Boys were found by Record producer RCA and they had fallen in love with the music from this band.

Bill Monroe Smiling during a Bluegrass Boys Performance Photo From: Wayne T. Helfrich

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Lead Guitarest of Audio Adrenaline, Tyler Burkum, Formally standing for a picture during a live performance.

Photo From: John Dibaise

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In 1940, the group had released 7 singles and had made gains on their rise to stardom. In 1945, Monroe was part of 5 different record labels and had many hit songs and singles on the radio. Around 1955 the group had to split, the rise of rock and roll in america had paved a path over the love of Bluegrass music.His Music Was a big part of the coming about of the term Bluegrass, and being so he was named “The Father of Bluegrass” in 1967. From 1970-1990, Monroe did many Bluegrass tours throughout the USA, singing famous songs such as “Gotta Travel on” and “Toy Heart.” In 1996 Monroe retired from his career after a stroke took most of his body. In September of 1996, Bill Monroe passed away peacefully and his legacy of Bluegrass music lived on as he is still known today as the Father of Bluegrass Music.

Jordan Smith was born in Whitley county in 1993, and just like Bill Monroe he started his Musical learnings early in his life as he was born into a family that was fully cultured with music in their household. Jordan was born to two musicians who had only played on a local level.

He began singing in his church choir, middle and high school choirs and continued to sing in choir through his college years at Lee University where he was a member of the Lee singers. It wasn’t until 2015 that he gained national recognition for his Vocal skills, when he made the popular up and coming artist show, The Voice.

Audio Adrenaline is a Christian rock band that formed in 1985 at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson County. The band didnt get national recogntion until 1990 when they played at the Grammys. Before they went by the name of Audio Adrenaline their band was named A-180 and played local gigs at religious events. After a label owner heard their music at one of those events.They had gotten a label record from Forefront, who originally was looking for a new hip hop band.as result of the labels decision to ask for this type of music instead of what they were providing, As a result of the labels decision to ask for this type of music instead of what they were providing, two band members quit and felt overwhelmed by the labels decision. In that same year the band released their next hit “Big House” which is considered to be the bands biggest accomplishment.

How many Singles does each artist or band have?

Lead singer of Audio Adrenaline,Kevin Max, During a live performance in 2001.

Photo From: John Dibiane

While they were at the top of the Christian music charts in the 1990’s they released many singles and had many radio appearences.As popular as they were, no one expected a four year hiatus from 1996-2000, They released no new singles and were forgotten on popular Christian radios.Then in March 2001, they Released a greatest hits compilation, which included their once thought most popular hit, and included 5 DIfferent songs in one album. In March of 2001, the lead guitarist of the band left and became president of Flickr Records. also in 2001 the band released a new studio album, which many critics classified as the band’s best ever album. In 2003 they had made yet another studio album that went in to win the 2004 Grammy award for Best Rock Gospel Album.The band’s tenth studio album (Until my Heart Caves In) was released in 2005. It won the band another Grammy for Best Rock Gospel Album in 2006. After Mark Stuart was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia, a condition that makes you lose your voice due to vocal cord damage, in 2006 the Band announced they were retiring from

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active music ministry with their last performance being in January 2007.

In 2007, Stuart decided to re-launch the band with all new members, although the new group never had as much success as the original Members, Making only 2 Singles and not making the Top 100 List.

There are a lot of different bands and artists that originated from Kentucky, ll with different upbringings, different stories, and many completely different genres of music. Kentucky isn’t just made from Bluegrass and Country music like other people may see us, Kentucky is proud to be called home by famous bands and musicians such as Audio Adrenaline, Cage The Elephant, Bill Monroe, Jordan Smith, and many, many more!

Although people think of Kentucky as “Country music central,” we prove to them no matter the stereotypes, there are many different Kentucky artists, and there is a lot of diversity in the music they create.

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To Play, To Dream, To Drift...

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