西方音樂與科技傳媒的發(fā)展

 

在這篇文章中，我選擇了使用音樂家和作曲家戴維斯作為我的主題。不僅被稱為爵士樂的退伍軍人,他也是20世紀最具影響力的音樂家之一。 作為爵士樂時代的創(chuàng)造者,他可以說是最著名的爵士藝術家之一,并以經(jīng)常用電子儀器來改造他的聲音,例如,他對wah-wah踏板小號的使用是眾所周知的。

 

1926年,在一個富有的非洲裔美國人的家庭,戴維斯出生在一個具有音樂氛圍的環(huán)境里,他的母親是一個鋼琴家。 盡管她想讓他學習小提琴,他的父親在他十三歲生日給他買了一個小號。戴維斯立即迷上了它,十五歲的他與艾迪·蘭德爾,成為在公共場合玩樂隊的領導者,同時當?shù)氐男√柺?埃爾伍德布坎南是他的導師。這使戴維斯學會不玩“顫音”，音高的變化規(guī)律，這在當時是時髦的。戴維斯把這個使用在他的整個職業(yè)生涯當中，因為他的聲音有一個清晰的音調，使他成為一個容易辨認的吹鼓手。這也成為冷爵士樂聲音的主要特點之一。

 

1945年,戴維斯從學校畢業(yè)后,和查理·帕克在玩了一會兒Billy Eckstine's樂隊,為了拿獎學金，他搬到紐約朱麗亞音樂學院學習音樂。盡管戴維斯是因為這個計劃搬到紐約的,但他沒有研究過自己的潛能,他想和他的偶像一起玩音樂,并且,他跟蹤迪茲·吉萊斯皮,科爾曼·霍金斯和賽羅尼斯-蒙克（因為是狂粉）。

The Development Of Western Music And Technology

 

In this essay I have chosen to use musician and composer Miles Davis as my subject. Known as not only one of the veterans of jazz, hes also one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. As one of the creators of the 'cool jazz' era, he is arguably one of the most well known jazz artists of all time, and was famous for frequently reinventing his sound and experimenting with electronic instruments, for example, he was well known for using a wah-wah pedal on his trumpet.

 

In 1926, into a wealthy African- American family, Davis was born in a musical atmosphere, as his mother was a pianist. Although she wanted him to learn violin, his father bought him a trumpet for his thirteenth birthday. Davis instantly took to it and at the age of fifteen he was playing in public with Eddie Randall, band leader, whilst a local trumpeter, Elwood Buchanan as his mentor. This is where Davis learned not to play with 'vibrato', a regular change of pitch, which was fashionable at the time. Davis carried this on throughout his career and helped him to become an easily recognisable trumpeter as his sound had such a 'clear' tone. This was to become one of the main characteristics of the 'cool jazz' sound.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

In 1945, he graduated from school and after playing for a short while with Charlie Parker in Billy Eckstine's band, Davis moved to New York in order to take up a scholarship with the Juilliard School of Music. Although Davis had moved to New York with this plan, he didn't study to his full potential as he wanted to play music with his idols, and instead, he spent his time tracking down Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins and Thelonious Monk.

 

Davis, in 1948 began an apprenticeship, working as a 'sideman' on record and on stage. This earned him recognition, 'kick-starting' his recording career and earning him a place in a nonet, a group with nine musicians, featuring Gerry Mulligan and Lee Konitz. This nonet did not use the 'normal' instruments of the time instead featuring instruments such as the tuba and the French horn.

 

The typical instrumentation of the bebop era was between one and three French horns, Charlie Parker had Alto saxophone and Dizzy Gillespie used the trumpet and piano, bass guitar and drums were also a key element of bebop jazz. The definition of virtuoso was changed at this time by Charlie Parker, also known as 'Bird'. The typical harmonic structures were transformed and expanded throughout this era. After the death of Charlie Parker, the next major era of jazz began. This was known as 'cool jazz'. The instrumentation of cool jazz varied from bebop, and allowed for many more musicians in each band, sometimes containing nine or more members.

 

Bebop, also known as 'bop' was very much the style of the era when Davis became interested in jazz music. Formed in the early 1940's bebop is characterized by instrumental virtuosity, fast tempo and improvisation. Although influenced by swing music, it couldn't be more different. Instead of being organised and easy to dance to, bebop was of a much faster tempo with little obvious organisation and complicated rhythms. Bebop was formed because the jazz artists felt that as jazz music had to be watered down to such a point to conform with popular culture, and so that it was easier to dance to that it didn't have much artistic merit any more. They wanted jazz to have the same artistic virtue as classical music, thus, bebop was made to go against the idea that jazz should be changed for the enjoyment of people who wanted to dance to it.

 

Miles Davis continually developed and redeveloped his sound throughout his career, this enabled him to create a number of landmark pieces which are recognisable and significant to his career. A controversial artist already, for being ignorant to the racial barriers of society, Davis was famously quoted saying; "he'd give a guy with green skin and "polka-dotted breath" a job, as long as they could play sax as well as Lee Konitz." [1] 

 

'Kind of Blue' was Davis' most famous album, which is often noted as the best jazz album ever released.

 

"This album throws away conventional song and chord structure that had been definitive to most jazz artists, welcoming a new structure based on modes. More than a milestone in jazz, Kind of Blue is a defining moment of twentieth century music." [2] 

 

Kind of Blue is a truly important record and was Miles Davis signature album, famous for being one of the first types of modal jazz. Davis expertly used Dorian mode for 'so what?' which is uses different extensions of scales which hadn't really been encountered before in jazz music and represents a more sophisticated understanding of harmony, extended harmony, chords and extensions of chords, which shows a deeper understanding of musical theory which was, until then unseen, in either European classical music or the jazz which proceeded Miles Davis.

 

The concept and method of modal was created in 1953 by pianist and composer George Russell. Davis was heavily influenced by what he called "a return to melody" [3] 

 

Davis also explained that he didn't like being restricted in his music, he liked having the freedom to actually hear the music and not having to repeat himself every 32 bars. He recognised that this would be the beginning of a new era for jazz music.

 

"No chords ... gives you a lot more freedom and space to hear things. When you go this way, you can go on forever. You don't have to worry about changes and you can do more with the [melody] line. It becomes a challenge to see how melodically innovative you can be. When you're based on chords, you know at the end of 32 bars that the chords have run out and there's nothing to do but repeat what you've just done--with variations. I think a movement in jazz is beginning away from the conventional string of chords... there will be fewer chords but infinite possibilities as to what to do with them." [4] 

 

Another element of Davis' work that changed jazz music was his introduction of extended solos. Previously, only 'snapshots' of 32 bars were used as solos in original jazz music and it was generally very organised. Miles Davis changed this and used longer solos with more intricate detailing. This was because before, songs had been around three minutes in length as this was the generally accepted length of a record around this time. Now, there were no restrictions to the length of songs and Davis used this to his benefit.

 

Davis often used his weaknesses to his advantage, using missed or cracked notes, which he was often condemned for to create a kind of ambiguity in his music.

 

"...Davis had what he [Bill Cole] calls "mechanical problems," but he asserts that Davis "used them well to his advantage," building a style out of his weaknesses, forging "his mistakes into a positive result". [5] #p#分頁標題#e#

 

In a comparison between Davis and Gillespie, (one of Davis major influences who he famously moved to New York to attempt to perform with) it was said that the tone was set by Davis who sharply contrasted with his idol as he had progressed through jazz.

 

"...but the overall tone was set by a style of playing that Miles been developing since the 'birth-of-the-cool-sides'. It was a style that contrasted sharply with the bravura trumpet playing of Gillespie and his followers. Where Gillespie poured out cascades of notes, Miles used very few, dropping in little clipped phrases, leaving spaces as long as a bar-and-a-half, even on slow numbers, or holding notes for similar lengths. Where Gillespie used a full, clean sound, developed in big bands, Davis used a soft, more rounded sound, often muted or played with minimum volume into a microphone almost inside the trumpet's bell, and heavily inflected by half-valved pitch sags and downward slurs, which imparted a nasal tone at times." [6] 

 

The second most notable record released by Davis is 'Sketches of Spain', produced with Gil Evans, released in March 1960, a Spanish Flemenco take on jazz using a full orchestra. The instruments include the bassoon, bass clarinet and the French horn, instruments that were very rarely associated with the genre. No less than twenty-seven musicians were used in the making of the album, making it one of the most 'epic' projects that jazz has ever seen. Only five tracks long, Sketches of Spain in forty minutes in duration. Miles is often leading, playing either the flugelhorn or the trumpet.

 

"In "Kind of blue" "Sketches of Spain" and subsequent albums. Like "E.S.P.", he has come a long way from "Bye, Bye Blackbird". His playing is thoroughly modal, often interrupted with tempoless stretches. He is inflecting his line with a lot of half-valving and often intentionally letting notes fall off pitch, as if he were mocking his own music. He is using the upper register more." [7] 

 

Musicians Davis influenced include some of the most diverse and interesting artists. Included in this would be Sting, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane, The Lounge Lizards and Christian Scott. This earned Davis an honorary doctorate for his contributions to music, eight Grammy Awards, three Grammy 'Hall of Fame' awards and a lifetime achievement award.

 

In the 1970's, Davis realised that the new popular style was rock, replacing jazz within the younger generations. To compensate for this, Davis and his band began to use electronic instruments, electric guitars, keyboards, even an 'electric trumpet'. His first album using these new methods was called 'Bitches Brew', and sold 400, 000 copies. This new electronic group included Herbie Hancock, Chick Conrea, John Mcloughlin amongst others, who then became firm fixtures in the jazz genre.#p#分頁標題#e#

 

"Miles Davis' album Kind of Blue best defined the era. This was also the real big start of John Coltrane who later went on to redefine sax playing in Modal jazz. Coltrane also had some to do with the free jazz era which strayed away from structure and typical harmonies and the expected roles of the instruments. The late 1960's and 1970's brought about funk influences on jazz. Here is where the use of effects became popular. Â Miles, used a wah-wah pedal on his trumpet(On the Corner-album) guitar players used too many effects to mention and electric keyboards became popular. During all these eras there are cross over styles and sub-styles that would take too much to get into, but this is a good overview." [8] 

 

Davis did a lot to make jazz popular, reversing the commercial aspects that surrounded it at the beginning of bebop. No matter of his less than impressive reviews he managed to maintain his fans fascination throughout his career.

 

In 'Doo-Bop', his final studio album before his death in 1991, Davis collaborated with rapper Eazy Mo Bee, and won a Grammy for best Rhythm and Blues Instrumental Performance and the track 'Fantasy' was nominated for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo.

 

Also, Davis influenced the hip hop scene, greatly, with people such as Notorious BIG sampling 'Lonely Fire' in 'Suicidal Thoughts', on his album 'Ready to Die'.

 

In conclusion, Miles Davis was not only a great jazz artist, who used his flaws, not only in a sarcastic manner, but to his overall advantage. He changed with the times of music, turning to electronic instruments when he realised that jazz was losing popularity. He has changed the face of jazz music forever, being a main influence for most modern jazz artists and to this day remains a legend in his own right, and one of the few artists who was as popular in life as he was in death.