In the World of Internet...Let Us Talk About A Book

As an assignment for my English class, I have been asked to create annotations for several sources that I have found will be useful in continuing my blog. Not just any sources, however; books to be exact. You remember what a book is right? It is that thing that we put on the coffee table to make us appear smarter when our friends come over. Libraries sometimes have them too. Anyways, the point I am trying to make is that society has forgotten just how useful books are because of how convenient and easy the internet is. I would not call myself a bookworm, but I do think books are still an important part of learning and developing ourselves.

BOOKS:
Aiello, Rita. "Musical Perceptions." Oxford University Press. New York. 1994. Another book I found appealing is entitled Musical Perceptions, written by Rita Aeillo with John A. Sloboda. This book caught my eye because it goes into more of the psychological meanings behind music. There are several sections to this book including perception, philosophical perspectives, and music and language. The goal of this book is to share with the reader how we perceive music (through the use of research from musicians and psychologists), as well as answer the question "how does music perception give rise to musical meaning?"In the first section, Aeillo wishes to research more than just the stimulation one gets from listening to music. She uses a study conducted by Leonard B. Meyer in which the subjects were asked to share their philosophical views while listening to music. Aiello states that

Studying what subjects report when hearing music should go hand in hand with asking questions about their philosophical perspective of music.

Aiello elaborates on how people find a meaning to music, meaning which causes the listener to feel certain emotions.

Ballantine, Christopher. "Music and Its Social Meanings." Gorden and Breach. New York. 1984. The first book I came across goes by the title of Music and its Social Meanings, written by Christopher Ballantine. Ballantine uses his work as a way to express his feelings towards the separation of society and music. His main idea behind the breakup of music and society (especially in the United States) is that man has turned almost entirely towards the "known world". In other words, we have a need to see what is true and what is actual fact. His ideas continue to develop as he urges the reader to take a moment to appreciate the meaning behind great music by composers like Bach and Beethoven. By journeying through the history of classical music, Ballantine has created an opportunity for the reader to learn the meaning behind music and why it is so important in a world where we simply cannot slow down. He makes a special effort to convince readers that music is an art, and therefore not everyone will like every aspect of it. In other words, art is an element that we analyze, so therefore not everyone will be satisfied with every creation.

Frances, Robert. The Perception Of Music. L. Erlbaum. Hillsdale, N.J. 1988. Frances ponders why people perceive music and art the way they do. He explains the results of studies which researched how education, society, and personal activities affect the way we view music. These studies have used several experiments, including the perception of tonality as well as the ability to analyze music, to come to conclusions. Some of the most interesting studies Frances writes about are those that question how people perceive music in a symbolic manner, as well as why they react emotionally to some music, but not others. According to Frances, music is perceived completely different by each individual because we decide exactly how far we look into the music, meaning how much detail we actually absorb.

Roehmann, Franz. Wilson, Frank. "Music and Child Development: The Biology of Music Making: Proceedings of the 1987 Denver Conference." Franz and Frank created a book has brought together the ideas and works of several professors from prominent universities across the United States. All of those featured in this work were present at the second Biology of Music Making conference which was held in 1987 at the University of Colorado, Denver. These professors attended the conference because they were alarmed by how drastically the support for music education was declining. The reader is pushed to think why music is important to a child's development from many different angles including cultural, cognitive, and educational. They argue that music is a natural human instinct. For example, babies respond to a parent's humming of a song while at the same time, they make their own sounds like cooing. The authors ask the reader to look at music from a child's perspective, not their own.


JOURNALS/ARTICLES

Juliana Koranteng. Classical Speeds Digital Movement. Billboard. New York: August 12, 2006. Volume 118, Iss. 32, Pg. 20. Koranteng looks into classical music (as well as jazz music) from the eyes of someone in the digital age. When so much of today's musical product is being sold online, she believes the internet should be at the forefront in making classical music readily available. Many record labels are not interested in taking on any classical music projects simply because there is not enough money or sales in the genre to generate enough interest or any incentive for the labels. One problem being faced comes from making prices reasonable (how do you price a song that is two minutes long and one that is 50 minutes long). Classical musicians and performing groups are now taking matters into their own hands and making their music readily available on the internet for purchase. In the future, Koranteng says that classical ringtones will become available online (more so than already) and that the younger generation might be drawn to classical music because it is easily accessible.

Moira McCormick. Classical Promotion New Sales For Tower. Billboard. New York. August 17, 2002. Vol. 114, Iss. 33, Pg. 51. With children as one of the most targeted markets around, Tower Records created a website that provided release dates for upcoming classical albums. Tower Records' main intention was to create a site where children could learn about the releases of classical CD's that are specifically geared towards them. The company was very successful with their campaign because of their clever marketing tools and decisions. The article explains how and why children reacted to the website and the marketing decisions made by Tower Records. Also, they explain why the manager of the product was perfect for this particular marketing plan based on his background and upbringing.

Wolfgang Spahr. Beethoven Rolls Over. Billboard. New York. July 29, 2006. Vol. 118, iss. 13, Pg. 16. This article explains how Germany has seen an increase in classical music sales in recent years. Spahr describes several marketing tools used by classical music labels and distributors in Germany to get consumers to purchase their products. Modern marketing tools that are used for several music genres (pop especially) , even though some believe are inappropriate for classical music, have been found to be incredibly successful at bringing in a new, younger audience. Based on the reaction they have seen from consumers, total sales (of the total music industry sales) are expected to jump several percentage points.