Industrial Revolutionizing to Music!

One major I considered pursuing before I entered college was a degree in Music History. I discovered that I had an extreme fascination with the effect society had upon music and the effect music had on society. In fact, I had such a high level of fascination that both of my research papers in high school pertained to the relationship between society and music. Although Music History is not a major I'm pursuing, I still have a passion for it and nerd out whenever the opportunity arises. One recent case was when I realized that one of the songs that the choir I'm involved in, University Singers, is singing is called Verleih uns Frieden which was composed by Mendelssohn but the text was written by Martin Luther. What made me nerd out about this song is that in my music history class I had just learned about Martin Luther and how he created the Lutheran Church and its services. By knowing that tidbit of information, I now know that I am singing a Lutheran hymn with music from a Romantic composer. To think that a hymn composed way in the 16th century was used to be made a famous choral work in the 19th century! Even more, that text was created merely because Martin Luther did not agree with the Catholic Church's methods of worship and traditions. If there was no reformation movement, I would not be singing this beautiful piece of literature.

 Society has a huge impact on the world of music, it is just that we hardly notice the difference. The importance of this is that events have radically changed music over the course of our time on the Earth. Here is some proof as to why I think that it is important to know the historical background of music/instruments.

One thing that most music majors are required to do is learn to play the piano. Most often we focus on playing the piano that we often don't think about how the piano works as an instrument. We usually know that it is considered a percussion instrument because when we pluck keys hammers hit a string and the vibrations of those strings produces sounds. Well before the 19th century, the piano as an instrument was quite lacking! Pianos could only afford to have 40-50ish keys total, compared to our standard of 88 keys today! The reason for this was that to produce a higher sound strings had to be tightened. Well originally the piano soundboard/inside frame was made out of wood. Well back then strings could only get so tight before they actually warped the soundboard/inside frame. When it is warped the entire instrument's sound is influenced and almost becomes useless! Now how did we achieve our 88 keys today? Two word: Industrial Revolution. During the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution revved up creation around the world. One of the biggest innovations of the century was the creation of cast iron steel. Well that steel could be used as a frame for pianos! Since steel was stronger and more resilient than wood it could take greater strain from tightened strings without getting warped. Thus the creation of cast iron steel, which we most often associate with machinery and mechanical inventions actually helped further the piano as an instrument! Now what is the effect of that? Well with 30+ more keys available- I bet composers were livid with an even greater range to compose piano repertoire! Eventually it does lead to a significant range increase in compositions for piano works compared to the century before. 

Historical context can either bring light and understanding to a piece of music, or it can bring depth and understanding to something you never thought about. Personally, when I learned about how the industrial revolution furthered the piano I was ecstatic. Never had I known that the range of the piano was less than 88 keys and that the only limitation was the materials that created it. I mean seriously- think about pop music, or well known classical movements that include piano parts that are in very high registers. All of that is made possible by a movement with coal, machines, and assembly lines. New inventions and innovations were the prime focus at the time. The piano was years old by then, but the creation of that 1 thing that steel frame changed music for piano from that point onward. If a stronger frame was never made- how much of our piano music would not exist/be possible to play? It definitely blows my mind-history is pretty awesome when it doesn't haven anything to do with music but affects it in a revolutionary way. 'Tis why it is important to know historical settings- really adds to your experience.

The Only Resort

For the most part, composers and artists institute lyrics in their songs in order to convey a message of some kind. This has been an apparent truth from the dawn of the Gregorian chant, where people sung and recited songs,  to the twilight of today's music industry. One of the more notable examples of using lyrics to convey messages in today's society is Green Day. Their release of American Idiot was practically an entire album criticizing American society and the American Government; it even went as far as being made into a musical. Although American Idiot is an excellent example, I am primarily going to blog about the Eagles' song:  The Last Resort from their Hotel California album.

Not a well known song compared to the title track, The Last Resort criticizes American society from its very origins and the corruption that has spread over time. Involved in this criticism is also the Christian faith and how it was used as an excuse for many of the actions taken. At first glance it definitely is interesting since the words "The Last Resort" do not appear in any of the text. From my perspective I believe that the artist is indicating that there could have been a better way- that this was a last resort. My reason for believing this is taken from the text of the song itself.

The first indication of conflict/ distress is found in the second verse where it talks about the red man. This is another term for Indians, to which later the lyrics say" "We satisfy our endless needs and justify our bloody deeds, in the name of destiny and the name of God." This is basically referring to what is called the Manifest Destiny. Taught differently in schools, the Manifest Destiny was quite the ruthless doctrine. To sum it up, it stated that White men had the God given right to go west and seize the lands for themselves; that all of the land was promised to them by God. In God's name they used it as an excuse to validate their reasons for having skirmishes with the Indians and seizing their land. In reality, they fabricated their own belief that was apart from the Christian faith, which was practically taking God's name in vain. They were greedy and wanted to expand and make more money. An accurate representation of this greediness is shown in AMC's Hell on Wheels. Although it is not a 100% accurate representation historically, it does show many cultural truths during that time period as they were expanding west. Even further mention of using God's name as excuses and lies for personal gain appears in the text of the song. Overall, the song really questions society's motives. Are they fabrications of truth? Are they selfish? Where is the happiness that once did exist? All of these messages that are being conveyed in text are even further addressed and emphasized in the musical decisions made.

Rhythmically, the melodic line is quite strophic. If not strophic, it is very repetitive and easy to follow. In fact, it's so simple that one could easily learn it. The simplicity of this, I believe, really compliments the message they are trying to convey. It is in a very storytelling-like manner. This allows for the listener to hear the text with ease, which allows one to remember and piece together the message as a whole. However, though the message can be conveyed with ease, it is very odd, to me, that the song itself is in a major key. The Eagles are conveyed a dark truth about our nation's history. Usually it would be easier to convey darker subjects with a minor tonality. Though, in opposition to that thought the Eagles are probably using that simple rhythmic and major/happy sound melody to represent society's thoughts about the subject. The simple rhythm and happy melodic line can indicate a feeling of aloofness and have a carefree attitude. In which they are scorning society and how lightly they take of serious matters, especially dark ones. When all else fails we tend to ignore the problem, then it becomes only resort.

Now there are certain areas in this song that do compliment the serious implications of the message. For example, after the 5th verse, during the instrumental section, there is a part where the piano has arpeggiation in a high register. The tonal qualities of these chords are major, however they have a sad timbre that is usually expressed in slower, sad songs. Also, right before that section, there is small window of time in which the V chord is left hanging and doesn't resolve right away. This leaves the listener with a feeling of unrest-and when it finally is resolved  the arpeggiation comes in. The combination of these two musical elements creates a picture in which there is a problem, and it is prolonged, but it does reach a resolve-except it's a IAC- an imperfect "sad" end that progresses into even more problems. As for the chord progression for the verses- it's a pretty simplistic I-IV-V-I progression that is easy to follow and understand. 

Overall, numerous factors in the musical decisions really emphasize the dark message behind the creation of our society and how we still live in the same manner today as we did back then.