Music and Movies

Thursday, December 18, 2008

The Father of Gospel Blues

Thomas Dorsey Little nine year old Tommie and his family moved to Atlanta, Georgia from the small town of Villa Rica, Georgia in 1908. Tommy was demoted a grade in school and teased by the other children. He felt alienated from his school and also the black Baptist church where his daddy was the pastor and mamma was the pianist.

He spent the afternoons and evenings watching the vaudeville performances where he saw such well known blues artists as Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. At age eleven he dropped out of school and took a job at the theater selling soda pop.

He was determined to become famous like Ma Rainey so he learned to play the piano and teaching himself to read music.

At age seventeen Tom moved to Chicago and became quite successful as a blues piano player and singer in the backroom bars during the prohibition era. He took the professional name of Georgia Tom.

Tom struggled with his conscience over playing the "world's music." His mother was always admonishing him that he should devote himself to composing and playing for the Lord. His struggle became so intense that he had a nervous breakdown and had to take two years off and move back to Atlanta to recover.

Sufficiently rested and recovered, Georgia Tom returned to Chicago and began to play for Ma Rainey and her jazz band. However, it was only a matter of time before he once again had a nervous breakdown and had to stop singing in the the bars of Chicago.

He soon determined to devote his music totally to the Lord. He began composing and singing gospel music using the blues style of music.

To his disappointment, many of the main stream churches refused to allow him to return because his music sounded too much like the world's music. So he returned to the Chicago bars to earn enough money to survive.

Tom married and was expecting his first child within a year. He continued to sing both in churches and bars. It was while he was in St. Louis preparing for a concert in a church that he received a telegram informing him that his wife had died during childbirth. He returned to Chicago in time to hold his newborn son but the child died within a few hours.

It was at that moment that he took the vow to devote his music totally to the Lord seriously. It was also during his grief that he composed these words:

Precious Lord, take my hand, Lead me on, help me stand, I am tired, I am weak, I am worn. Thru the storm, thru the night, Lead me on to the light, Take my hand, precious Lord, Lead me home.

Thomas Dorsey went on to compose nearly 1000 songs, all gospel with a blues style. He died in 1993 at the age of 96. He had earned the title of "The Father of Gospel Blues."

Article by JACK EARL

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

African American Music: Big Band Jazz Music

African American Music Jazz is the form of music, which has been getting bigger since its inception and Big Band, is a music ensemble, linked with jazz and developed over thirty years. The specialty of Big Band Jazz Music is its feet tapping rhythm, conducive to excite your heart beat. Jazz, Hip Hop, Rap, Soul, Funk, Rhythm and Blues fit in the famous music genres belonging to music umbrella of African Americans, with talented artists expressing themselves. Using their music heritage, they communicated their culture and the American Spirit.

African American music based steeply on accent, as well as rhythm that fluctuates in relation with one another revolutionized the European music, which had been deeply rooted on melody. Big Band Jazz Music developed as a result of this merger in around 1898 leading to loose-structured, but unusual rendering of music that was all the rage using different distinctive playing techniques.

Big Band comprise of about 12-25 musicians. The rhythmic “call and response” of jazz music are made into rich music with its rhythmic segment including banjo, bass, vibes and piano, saxophones, trombones and trumpets.

Tools for Teaching Jazz

Teaching jazz is said to be among the most potent methods for learning it. The approach is to reduce fundamental principles to bare bones and teach it without adopting jargon usage. Inventing creative analogies that you come upon everyday is something jazz students can comprehend. This teaching process will aid in getting a deeper perception about intricacies of the subject and stay focused.

It assists in intensifying the comprehension of various aspects (for instance finger style, chords, scales, strumming, rhythms, slides, arpeggios) and numerous concepts and various techniques in Jazz making it much easier for students to pick it up.

Jazz Play Alongs

For jazz music lovers, even a musical idea implementation has got far reaching effect and makes them feel like in a groove. Now days, there are more and more Jazz Play Alongs like books, sheet music like guitar and piano sheet music, guitar scales, as well as tablature, songs sung by some popular artists and CDs with live band, where you get to play along to finish the music piece.

About Author:
Myself webmaster of http://www.studiobypass.com - find tools for teaching jazz music, big band jazz music & Jazz Play Alongs etc.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

7 Reasons Why You Should Be Listening To Old Time Radio Shows

old radio Are you sick of reality TV shows and the rest of the garbage that makes up the TV schedule these days?

Oh yes, there are still a few classics around such as CSI, but many people would agree that ninety per cent of what's on these days is hardly worth watching.

There is an alternative and it's one that has a lot of advantages over the square box in the corner of the room. This alternative is called old time radio and I'm going to give you seven reasons why you should switch of your large screen plasma TV and listen-up.

First let me quickly tell you what old time radio is.

Old time radio covers the period from the start of the 1930s through to the very early 1960s. It's often referred to as the "Golden Age of Radio". These were the decades when radio was the main medium of mass entertainment and when America led the way in creating some of the best, and most loved radio shows ever to have been broadcast.

Old time radio covers everything from classic drama like the Lux Radio Show through to spine-tingling thrillers like Orson Welles War of the World and The Shadow. You'll hear hilarious comedies like The Bob Hope Show and Fibber McGee & Molly and shows for children and the young at heart such as Superman and The Green Hornet.

You might be thinking "I'm too young for that kind of stuff" or maybe you're thinking "Okay, but where can I hear those classic broadcasts these days" well let me give you the "7 Reasons Why You Should Be Listening to Old Time Radio Shows".

Reason 1 - Great entertainment has a long shelf life

If old time radio shows were poor entertainment these shows wouldn't have stood the test of time. The fact that there are over 30,000 old time radio show recordings still in existence makes it, without doubt, one of the most well archived formats of entertainment of all time.

Reason 2 - Who needs more misery?

Isn't there enough misery in the world? Wars, famine, crime, corruption. Isn't it good to have a break from all this misery? Old time radio can provide you with that break. Just put on your headphones and escape to mysterious lands whenever you get the urge. It's got to be one of the best forms of escapism ever invented.

Reason 3 - It's not expensive?

For the price of a burger and fries you can enjoy hundred and hundreds of hours of classic radio shows. You can burn them to CD and listen in the car. You copy them onto your MP3 player and listen whilst you jog. You can enjoy the shows again and again whenever you like.

Reason 4 - No bad language

You can listen to old time radio shows for thousands of hours and the worst word you're likely to hear will be "darn". This is a medium that boasted some of the most talented writers in the world, many of whom went on to be best-selling authors or top script writers in Hollywood.

Reason 5 - Ideal for Children

Do you worry about what you are exposing your children to when they watch TV. Even shows that are supposed to be appropriate for youngsters seem to be full of innuendo or even inappropriate language. With old time radio show you don’t have to worry about what they might hear as the shows of this era adhered to far stricter ethical codes.

Reason 6 - Collecting old time radio shows is a great hobby

Not only are these shows great to listen to, but they're also great fun to collect. There are few things more satisfying than tracking down that final elusive episode that gives you the complete run of a series or uncovering a gem that few people have heard for half a century.

Reason 7 - Brush up on your history

Old radio shows are a wonderful way to learn more about history. Without making any effort you'll learn about everything from the Civil War right through to World War II. You'll hear news broadcasts covering events as they happened and even the advertisements will help you to learn about how different things were back in the middle of last century.

Well, that's seven great reasons why you should be listening to old time radio shows. It's a wonderful form of entertainment and more accessible today than it ever has been since its glory days.

So turn-off and tune-in today!

About the Author

Seth Corwin

The OTR FTP Server makes it really easy to get your hands on over 30,000 old time radio shows. You can download and be listening within just a few minutes from now by visiting http://www.otr-ftp-server.com.

Friday, December 12, 2008

The Movie "I,Robot", starring Will Smith - The Downfall of Postmodernism

i_robot "I, Robot" takes place in the future, where most people own a personal robot to help out with daily life. The movie, starring Will Smith, is based on Isaac Asimov’s similarly titled book.

In this futuristic world, all robots are hardwired with three laws designed to keep people as well as robots safe:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

During one of the discussions Will Smith (Detective Spooner) has with Dr. Landing’s posthumous recordings, the doctor explains that the end of these laws, even though they are perfect, is Revolution. Why? Why can’t we guarantee our safety? Will we ever phase out the risks of daily life?

The answer is: Life will always be risky. For this reason postmodernism, which says “live and let live,” is useless. Just “living” and “being safe” are insufficient purposes for living. God designed us for more than just surviving. In any case, safety is an illusion. The only way to endure the daily struggles of living is through courage and tenacious faith.

Logic is harmless, but daily life is inherently illogical. The only thing that balances out illogical evil is illogical good. Sunny, the only robot designed with a heart described the greater masses of his peers as “slaves of logic.” Sunny could lead his peers because he was designed to be something besides a slave.

Such is the handicapping effect of postmodernism that the phrase, “This is for your own protection,” can be used to justify anything. Viki justified her oppression of mankind with the supposition that she would guarantee the survival of mankind. But people were created for more than just survival. This is why the prospect of being locked in our homes for the rest of our lives “for our own safety” is repugnant to us.

by Patrick Roberts. Find similar reviews at www.KoGmedia.com. Also checkout www.BooksByPatrick.com