Music is one of the most powerful natural laws or forces in the universe.

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Music is arguably one of the most powerful natural laws or forces in the universe. We spend billions of dollars every year to own its latest expressions that are created by musicians all over the world who access its magnificent power. Since we may take music for granted or may even consider that “we” are responsible for its power, maybe it is time that we reconsidered music in the light of universal reality.

Music has been an important part of my life since I can remember. If I wasn’t listening to my Grandfather sing baritone in the Lutheran Church Choir, I was listening to my Mother sing folk songs with her guitar in the early 60’s.

When my parents opened a music store in San Clemente California called the Maria Del Arte Music Center and, eventually, the adjoining Four Muses Folk and Rock club, I learned to play a few chords and helped form a surf band, The Exceptions, with three or my buddies in 6th grade.
During High School, I was your typical hippie type who played a lot of rock, grew my hair long and avoided the High School Music Program and traditional forms of music as much as possible. My only exception was to listen to the “Grand Canyon Suite” by composer Ferde Grofe. Grofe composed this marvelous collection of Programmatic Music after he visited the canyon. Each arrangement paints a musical picture of the title to each song. The first being ‘Sunrise.’ If you can find the piece directed by the late Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, this is the best recording I know.

Anyways, once I decided to take on the challenge of a formal music education, it became very apparent that there was a wide gap between the ‘Educated Musicians’ and the ‘Non Educated Musicians.’ The later like myself were, for the most part, just ignorant and didn’t know what we were missing if we had only taken the time to learn some music theory. Many of the “Educated” musicians developed an “ego” about their classical musical tastes. You would think that some of them actually created music!

It is when I got to college that I realized how far apart the two sides were. I found that many “educated musicians” had their nose in the air and looked down upon ‘pop” music and the “uneducated” people that wrote and performed it. Further, when you analyze the music programs in most High Schools, they normally only cater to more traditional forms of music like choir, band and orchestra. What about all the kids that would rather play in rock bands? Are they not also musical students seeking to increase their abilities? Of course they are. But, because they do not fit into the “music program mold,” they are not considered of any artistic value for the most part.

I am not at all inferring that a proper music education is not absolutely essential to becoming a talented musician. I work with young people in my studio constantly that I sometimes have a difficult time convincing of the importance of music education since many of them feel they are “gifted” and therefore do not require any further knowledge. No aspiring musician should ever have this attitude. What I am saying is that music is such an incredible natural force that all who study it should be in awe of its beauty and power and humbled to be at its feet. For any of us to have an ‘ego” about it or preach that or our musical tastes are far superior to others are, in my opinion, misguided.

How dare we as mortals to even attempt to dictate to such a powerful natural law as music how that it should be expressed. It is like the seagull dictating to the hurricane where it should make landfall.

To further explain, here is how I view art, more specifically in this discussion, music. Whatever your belief system regarding how the earth and the universe came to being, we all must admit that the powerful forces we experience and enjoy called Music and Speech, came with the creation or evolutionary package. We did not create them; they have always existed as forces in the universe. They are no different that the natural laws of Gravitation, Light, Magnetism, Mathematics and Electricity to mention only a few.

We may analyze a piano and conclude that tonality ceases at the end of the keyboard. These “88 keys” are only a few notes that sound within our limited range of hearing. Any Dog knows that! Isn’t it possible that the keyboard continues in both directions to infinity? Hard to imagine? Did you know that recent discoveries by the Hubble Telescope have located “Billions” more Galaxies? Where do the universe and the musical scale end?

These questions are important to consider, as I believe we must humbly revere the wonderful and powerful forces of Music and Speech. We do not own them but they are a creation that has been here since the beginning of time. And when we realize this, then we can tap into these powerful creative forces. Service, gratefulness and humility always open the door to the secrets of, arguably, the most powerful forces on earth!

Further, we have all been given an instrument that, not only creates speech, but also performs a wide range of musical pitches. We call this marvelous instrument the larynx or voice box. Just like man learned to fly from observing and analyzing birds, original man must have learned of music and speech from experimenting with his personal instrument.

With music, the created language of musical notation is our best effort to be able to communicate, understand and organize that, which already exists. I say this because some people may not consider such truths and believe music to be created by man. That is no truer than man creating flight. We only discovered the “natural force” that was and is by watching birds fly.

Further, Music is found in every known culture, past and present, varying wildly between times and places. Since all peoples of the world including the most isolated tribal groups have a form of music, scientists conclude that music must have been present in the ancestral population prior to the dispersal of humans around the world. Consequently known performance of music may have been in existence for at least 50,000 years.

Another important aspect of music that proves its flexibility to individual creative thought is that a culture's music is influenced by all other aspects of that culture, including social and economic organization, climate, and access to technology. Further, the emotions and ideas that music expresses and the situations in which music is played and listened to is also influenced by culture. To further explain, the natural law that the structure of music is based upon does not change and the arrangement of notes and chords is completely flexible to adjust to cultures.

To me, that is why music as art form is more desirable that let’s say, a painting. If we looked a painting from the Renaissance time period, we would only be able to experience it from just viewing it. But, if we have a musical composition for the same time period, we can perform it again, bring it to life and manipulate it by varying the tempo, volume, articulation or many other variables. In essence, the music comes alive again. What a miracle! We can actually experience the “thoughts” of Beethoven or Mozart in a living and fresh way.

In conclusion, my vision for writing this article is to remind all of us who write, perform or just enjoy the incredible miracle of Music that we must respect how music decides to express itself through all creative minds that access its universal power. We may not like the artistic expression or “style” that we hear. That is a matter of taste. For instance, we may not all like milk or beef but we can certainly agree to respect the cow for its important contribution to the food chain. So it is with the created natural law of music.

So if you are a “pinhead academic” or a “naive punk rocker” get over yourself and learn everything you can about music with an open spirit and a humble heart. Music deserves that kind of respect.

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Jonathan Morgan Jenkins
http://www.vocaltrainingwarrior.com

Vocal Training. Discrimination of Women as Singers and Public Speakers through Vocal Music History

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In this Blog I am taking a different path from Voice and Speaking Lessons and writing on the very interesting subject of Music History. Specifically, how women have been descriminated against through the ages, especially in the arts. I hope you will read this with an open mind. We are all responsible not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Discrimination and Human Oppression of any kind that has occured through world history and in our present world was and is one of the greatest failings of humanity. With the discrimination of African Americans usually taking up much of our attention in the news, an often overlooked subject is discrimination of Women through the ages, not only in society, but in the performing arts.

In America, when the word Discrimination is mentioned, the most common thought is that of the treatment of African Americans during the ear of slave trade. Negro Slavery, in America, was introduced by law in 1517. In 1442 the first Negro slaves were imported into Europe. They were taken from Africa to Portugal in ships of Prince Henry, the "Navigator." From that time there was little traffic in Black Slaves until after the discovery of America. When the great destruction of American Indians occurred by war, and disease, the importation of Negroes into Spanish America was begun in order to fill the void in the labor market.

Slavery as an institution ended after 345 years on Sept. 22, 1862. United States President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation that he later called "the central act of my administration, and the greatest event of the 19th century." The proclamation promised freedom for slaves held in any of the Confederate states that did not return to the Union by the end of the year. Black discrimination in American Society, of course, has continued for many years with the last 30 years seeing tremendous improvement in race relations.

So, why am I talking about Black Slavery in a Vocal Training article? Because the word discrimination should also cause us to reflect on the Institutional and Cultural Slavery of Women that has occurred for, as far as we know, a few thousand years. Personally, I am more disturbed by this act than anything the African Americans had to endure. This is because it has been a worldwide epidemic documented from the beginning of human history and continues in full force today in many cultures. Even today, in many cultures, women are abused legally and forced to dress certain ways or they can be killed. Those who founded America brought with them these same ideas, often taught in their religion, and “The land of the free” was only really for men.

I have tried for years to understand this and have never been able to. I recall, when I was younger, having the same thoughts after being brought up in a “Baby Boomer” culture where society was taught “ A woman’s place is in the kitchen.” I thank God I do not think this way now. I believe that all people have a responsibility to be independent personally and financially. If you are a woman or a man that is expecting someone else to take care of you and not understand the absolute necessity of using your own brain, personal vision and spiritual power to “conquer your world” then you are a Slave to some degree. Just ask any woman who has been through a divorce, left to fend for herself and finds herself with no skills to make a living. This should never happen. She should have done everything possible to train herself and be independent even though she was married. The responsibility for not preparing oneself for life is, ultimately, always the fault of the individual.

Now I want to discuss the main reason for my topic. In the institution of Singing and Public Speaking, there has also been incredible discrimination through the ages. Especially in the Dark Ages during the Medieval time period.

Some of the earliest references in culture to women singing are in the Bible. Singing seems to have become a regular profession at quite early date among the Hebrews. David had his troupe of "singing men and singing women" at Jerusalem (2 Sam 19:35), and no doubt Solomon added to their numbers. Isa 23:16 suggests that it was not uncommon for foreign female minstrels of questionable character to be heard making "sweet melody," singing songs along the streets and highways of Judea. Nor was the worship of the temple left to the usually incompetent and inconstant leadership of amateur choristers. Talented women played their part in temple ceremonies.

The truly darkest days of female musical and vocal expression were the oppressive centuries of the medieval time period generally 500 to 1450 AD. This was an age where European males influenced by other European males hoarded what they perceived as power. Other voices of the time, specifically women, were silenced by politics and religion.

During this time, the composition and performance of all music, in general, was also extremely oppressed. (I will discuss this in my next article)

During the Renaissance when the Catholic Church decided, “God had changed his mind,” women did become more active in the arts but progress was slow all the way through the beginning of the 1,800’s. That’s 1,300 years of female oppression on many cultural levels as well as Music and Speech. Surprisingly, this action was created and supported by the Catholic Church. I am at a loss to understand how “men of faith” could be so immature that they had to do this to women to feel powerful and control their world. This is a question that we still ask today when we see women covering their heads and being submissive to men in the name of religion. Who can honestly accept the notion that God would be pleased with one of his beautiful creations being oppresed?

Due to the blossoming of Choral music compositions during the Renaissance that required music be performed at a wider range, during the Baroque period, from 1600 to 1750, young male sopranos and altos comprised about 70 percent of all Choral and operatic singers. These vocal parts extended the upper range of music. This can be compared to music played on the right half of the piano keyboard. Sadly, women were still considered a minority.

But, when these boys with a woman’s range faced puberty with their voice dropping an octave, a solution to keep boys in the female range had to be found. The answer? Castration, to prevent the hormonal change that occurs during puberty. (Is this what happened to Michael Jackson?) Since male sopranos in opera were a necessity, in Italy, 4,000 - 5,000 boys were castrated annually. (Ouch!)

During puberty a boy’s vocal chords enlarge and lengthen, caused by an increased production of androgen hormones. Castration prevents the necessary flow of hormones and arrest growth. Since the Vocal Chords do not grow longer, lowering their pitch, afterwards the castrato would have the high voice of a boy soprano, but the lungpower of a full-grown man. (Strange! That is kind of how ET lokked!) Castration was performed by cutting the blood supply to the testicles, or by amputating them altogether. (Ouch Again!)

Women, especially in countries where the Catholic Church dominated, were forbidden on the stage. (So much for women's lib!) The justification for prohibition against women singing in the church choir had its origin in the bible: "Let your women keep silence in the churches; for it is not permitted unto them to speak." (I Corinthians 14:34). (It appears that "God" has changed his mind!) Nearly every church choir used pre-pubescent boys to sing the high parts in choral works because women were also not allowed to participate in church services. (You've come a long way baby!)

It was not until the nineteenth century before women were regularly found performing in opera houses or in church music. From the early monasteries and convents in the Middle Ages, women and men were separated in a religious context. Women possessed no role in the mass setting, and this naturally extended to an exclusion from all church music as well. Politically they were inferior to their male counterparts, generally translating to women not owning property, voting, or holding leadership positions of any consequence within society. It is such a tragedy to realize all of the amazing female talent that was unable to express itself due to institutional, male dominated discrimination.

Fortunately, there has been tremendous progress made as women have been liberated to pursue Musical, Speech and Acting careers. Considering the female discrimination that still exists in many of the world’s cultures, I hope women will appreciate the progress America has made. We are not perfect but we certainly are world leaders.

Can you imagine never hearing a Beverly Sills, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Leontyne Price, Billie Holiday, Bette Midler or Barbara Streisand? I sure could not. Yet, these talented women would have been told by those who claimed to represent God that their singing would be an offence to God. May we all honestly admit that God certainly restrained himself from throwing lightning bolts at these creeps?

I will end the article with my personal hope and prayer.

May every person, male or female, possess personal passions for all their goals and achieve every one of them so our world will continue to thrive through positive and not negative creative energy.

Amen.

Since it is the Season for Giving, I hope you will consider giving my ebook Singing and Speaking on the Edge of a Grunt on sale for only 24.95 or my Zoom H-2 Personal Digital Recording Studio on sale for only 199.00. Record a song, speech, or music in full Surround Sound High Fidelity. Please check out these Revolutionary Products.

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Happy Holiday to all.

Jonathan Morgan Jenkins
http://www.vocaltrainingwarrior.com