Places and forms of power - music

Intro: I am going to talk about “places and Forms of power”. For me the power is the ability to influence the behaviour of people. The power can be exercised in different places. For example, at home or in government. There are also different forms of power. It can be authoritarian or not.

We’ll see more particularly the power of music. So, which influence does music exerce on the world?

We are going to see different part. On the one hand we’ll see the Jazz and more particularly the American composer Duke Ellington. On the other hand, we’ll talk about the fact that music can denounce something with the world. For that we’ll study the music “Sunday bloody Sunday”

I) The jazz

First, during the class we saw a document which explain you the history of music. The music appeared in 1619 when African slaves, arrived in America to work in the field, began to sing. They used music to express their feelings. It was the begin of the blues. After, during the jazz age, in 1930, a lot of black musicians were judge and the music has been a way of integrating. In 1950, the music changed. The blues became the R and B with the apparition of the electric guitar. And the r and B became the Rock and roll. Finally, the rap music or the hip hop appeared in 1970. It was a rhythmic music to denounce something.

But we are going to see more particularly the Jazz with the black man Duke Ellington. He was born in 1899 in Washington and he died in 1974 in NY. He was an American composer, pianist and bandleader of a jazz orchestra. Duke had a real feeling with the music, it was a part of him. In his poem “what is music” he pays a tribute to music. In fact he repeats many times the world “music”. Moreover he shows that music is essential in people life. The music accompanies people’s life from birth to death.

He evokes the different forms of power music can take. First, he starts by questioning people about the importance of music in their life. Furthermore, the music has the power to unite and connect people whoever they are and wherever they live. Music can be enjoyed at any age. After, music can influence people’s mood and arouse emotions. Music can be natural and cultural made by man. In fact, music has an important cultural and national power. It is emblematic of a country. But music does not have to be necessary pleasant: it can be exhausting.

Now we’ll see that the poem is also a musical poem. In fact, Duke Ellington jumps from an idea to another without any apparent logical progression. We are reminded of a Jazz session, because the main characteristic of jazz is the improvisation. Moreover, the longer lines are irregular. The poem is written in free verse and there is a little punctuation. So, the text sounds more fluid. Finally, Duke Ellington uses a lot of rhetorical devices for example comparison line 30 or anaphora lines 16-17. The anaphora underlines the topic to answer the question. It is a circulate form, it brings rhythm and it makes the text melodious and musical.

II) What does music denounce?

First, we say a document about Bono. Bono was born in 1960 in Dublin. He is a Irish composer, a singer and a musician. Bono is a big rock star, so he is well-known. Because he has money, he made numerous actions of charity. For example even though many people

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