Exploring Rhythm & Performing Media: Essay Sample

Introduction

The essay explores elements that are closely linked to my background. It deeply evaluates the characteristics of rhythm and performing media and how it used in music. On the same, I have linked this information with my musical background. I have taken various roles in music since I was young and I believe that the duties that were involved make me have a better understanding of rhythm and performing media. Therefore, the essay provides an exploration of the elements of rhythm and performing media joint together with my historical account of how I have experienced them since I was young up to now.

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Rhythm entails the beats that equally divides certain music so that it can be regularly organized. It can also be described as the pulses that can be used in certain music so that it can produce appealing sounds (Module 1 -Unit 1). Additionally, it can be noted to be patterns that subdivide music which is either played using some instruments or sang using words. Rhythm is important since it is what creates music based on its speed. Without the rhythm, it means that certain music may have some parts, verses or sentences moving faster than the others. This would make the music to be disorganized and also hard to sing. The speed can also be referred to as the tempo which guides the instrument player or the singers on when to play or sing respectively. Therefore, rhythm involves the systematic spacing of beats and it what controls the speed of the music. Without it, it is hard for certain music to be attractive or appealing.

Drum-set is among the instrument that can be used to set the rhythm in music. The rhythm from the drum-set is the frequency of a beat from the other. I perfectly understand this rhythm since I used to play the drums since I was at the age of six years. One of the childhood neighbours had drums and we used to visit him and it is from there that I learnt to play the instrument. The drums are played through equal systematic beats that correspond to the speed of the music. If the music is fast, the tempo frequency is also fast such that the time between one beat and the other one is short (Module 1 -Unit 1). On the other hand, if the music is slow, the tempo of the beats will also be slow, in that, the time between one beat and the other one is long. When I was trained to play the drums and deciding the speed of the beats, I was educated that I should first tap my foot so that I could note the speed in which the music needs to be played. Additionally, the rhythm of the song can also be obtained through nodding the head based on the speed of the music and this helps in deciding the tempo of the beats from the drums.

Still, on the element of rhythm, I can relate it with how we used to play the piano in the past days when we were children. The old version of the piano that we used did not have the automatic tempo setting features. The tempo was set using keying in a number that one feel that would match the speed of the beats required. If the speed of the beats assumed was discovered to be fast, then one would press the minus (-) button to reduce the tempo. On the other hand, if the beats are realised to be moving at a speed that slower than what is required, then the player would press the plus (+) button so that the tempo can be increased. To set a perfect rhythm using this piano was challenging and it would take a lot of time before one could either increase or reduce the speed of the beats.

Contrary to the old model of the piano, the modern one is automated and it is easy to set the beats for any music. To set the tempo for any music, one is required to tap a specific button for about four times in a certain frequency and the piano starts playing beats in the same tempo. The modern piano makes the work of the musician very easy since he or she does not need to add or subtract on the speed of the beats. A very short time was used to obtain the required rhythm since the tapping on the required speed would take only a few seconds.

Performing media is also another element that is important to explore in music. It involves both the instruments and the voices that are used in the presentations especially in the choirs. I can closely relate to this element since I have previously been in the choir and have also been able to play different instruments or be close to other people who can play other instruments that I may be unable. The performing media requires a lot of coordination between the instruments and the voices of the people singing so that perfect music can be obtained. Sometimes the performing media may only involve the music instruments or the voices from the people only but at other times, the voices of the individuals are combined with the instruments.

Voice singing entails the use of either of the four ranges of human sounds. These are; the bass, soprano, alto and tenor. Bass is among the male singing voices that have the lowest vocal range and is considered to be thick. The tenor is also a male singing voice but it has a higher vocal range compared to that of the bass (Dai and Simon 1007). The voice in this is not as thick as that in the bass. On the other hand, the soprano is a female singing voice that has the highest vocal range more than any other voice, be it that of the males or females. Finally, alto is a voice that has a high vocal range that is higher than that of tenor but lower than the soprano. Alto can be sung by both men and women (Dai and Simon 1008). I can closely relate these voices since I was among the choir members in high school. Our teacher would categorise us in groups of the people who would sing a different voice. The males with deep voices were put in the bass category while the ladies with the sharp voices were put in the soprano group. He would also categorise us based on alto and tenor. With the strategy, we would sing harmoniously and we severally won awards.

On the other hand, several instruments are involved in the performing media. Every instrument has a varying sound that is used in the musical process. For instance, I am conversant with the string instruments such as the violin which may be played solely or combined with a man's voice. Furthermore, I am familiar with the piano, guitar and trumpets. If they are combined with the voices proper matching is required to enhance the harmony.

Works Cited

Dai, Jiajie, and Simon Dixon. "Intonation trajectories within tones in unaccompanied soprano, alto, tenor, bass quartet singing." The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 146.2 (2019): 1005-1014.