(Piano music podcast) When It Comes To Music, You Never Know What’s Going To Be Popular
No commentsBy Duane Shinn
What do the majority of music aficionados search out when it comes to musical genres? What CDs achieve the highest sales results? What is the dominant style of music heard on the airwaves and on the dance floors around the world today? The answer is popular, or pop, music. While jazz, classical, polka, reggae and the like have their loyal followers, no group commands the audience that popular music does.
In general, popular music is any music that’s accessible to the public through mass-marketing means and appeals to the broadest spectrum of listeners. The number of recording sales an artist achieves is a measure of popularity, as is the amount of airplay an artist receives. Therefore, artists and their music are popular by virtue of the vastness of their audience.
Popular music is not one particular genre. Songs that are on the pop music charts (which measure success) can be any genre. A top 40 list of current popular songs may include, rap, hip-hop, country and rock songs. In the early 1960s, when rock-’n-roll was the hot thing on radio, a catchy jazz tune called Take 5, by the Dave Brubeck Quartet climbed the charts and became a hit. Conventional wisdom at the time couldn’t predict this, but it was what the public wanted to hear. Therefore, this quirky jazz tune was popular music.
The varieties of music commonly seen under the popular music umbrella today are soft rock, hard rock, country, hip-hop, rap and ballad-type film and Broadway music. The latter two often become popular due to the boost they receive from their visual media. Think of how popular the ballad “My Heart Will Go On” became because of the 1997 film “Titanic.”
Trends in popular music today are toward vibrant, energetic dance music, superstar artist duets and tribute albums. Recent years have seen crossover albums become popular. This is where a popular artist in one genre, for example country, ventures over to another genre, like rock.
Another trend in popular music is toward elaborate stage productions for artist shows. Consider the production values of Celine Dion’s recently ended show in Las Vegas. Christina Aguilera’s recent Back to Basics tour resembled an elaborate Broadway production, complete with circus performers. This is the trend: big, brash and bold, with stunning visuals accompanying the popular music.
Any music listened to by the majority is, by definition, popular. However, some achieve levels unheard of in the past due to today’s ultra-fast dissemination methods. At no other time in history has so much music reached so many people in such a short time. With computers, the Internet, cell phones and other technology, a song can achieve popularity fast.
This is great for independent musicians who have no record company contract yet to promote their work. Through the social networking capabilities of the Internet, the word can get out about their work. In an inexpensive manner, they can find listeners and become very popular. This kind of viral marketing can make a lesser-known musician a pop star almost overnight.
In previous decades different styles of music achieved the status of “popular” because of television. From the 1950s on, TV variety shows were a valuable tool for record companies to display their artists. Think of “The Ed Sullivan Show,” “The Dean Martin Show,” and others that combined music, dance and comedy to entertain America. Many music artists achieved their popularity due to the power of television.
The popular music field has room for songs of many styles. As Dave Brubeck proved, you never know what the public will choose to make popular. In any given year there are always surprises, remember the song “Who Let the Dogs Out”? So, there you go. Sit down at that piano and compose away. You just never know.
Duane Shinn is the author of the popular online newsletter on piano chords, available free at “Exciting Piano Chords & Chord Progressions!”
The Oldest Piano Brands Still in Existence
By Amy Nutt
Many people who are considering buying a piano are definitely looking at older piano brands that will give them top quality. Some of the earliest piano manufacturers are still around, though they may have changed hands several times over the years and are still turning out great quality instruments.
With many of these older companies, the instruments are being built in the same way as they were 100 years ago . . . with careful attention paid to the type of wood and age that goes into each piano. The amount of work required to manufacture a great piano that will last is something that these companies all have in common.
Sauter Pianos
Sauter is the longest standing piano manufacturer around. They began in 1819 and continue to produce pianos to this day, making them the oldest existing piano manufacturer. The company was the brainchild of Johann Sauter who combined the technology of the US piano manufacturers and the more traditional values of the Viennese manufacturers to create a piano that was at once unique and popular. The sound principals havent changed much since then and still produce a superior sounding instrument.
Steinway Pianos
Steinway is one of the most popular piano brands in existence and it also happens to be one of the older piano manufacturers, as well. Started by the German cabinet maker, Henry Steinway, Steinway Pianos officially began in 1853, though Steinway had previously built over 400 pianos in his home in Germany, as well as his Manhattan home.
This piano company is by far the best known of all the older piano brands. They have a reputation for turning out top quality branded instruments.
Bosendorfer Pianos
This piano brand is considered to be one of the oldest that is still producing. Established in 1828 by Ignaz Bosendorfer, these pianos have several unique characteristics. They are available with not just the standard 88 keys, but also 92 and 97 keys options.
The pianos produced by Bosendorfer are renowned for their sound, which is fuller than most other pianos. Though the company stayed in the family for two generations, it was eventually sold to another family and is now in the process of being sold to Yamaha. However, the actual style of piano is still of top quality. In fact, the process for selecting just the wood for the soundboard is so precise that only 2% of the wood provided is actually accepted! This makes for the best quality of sound available and Bosendorfer pianos are definitely among the top in the world.
Petrof Pianos
This is a European brand of pianos that was founded in 1864 and is one of the oldest companies in Europe that still makes pianos. The Petrof piano is known for its wider range of tones and the care with which these pianos are built. The soundboard is built of aged spruce, cut in one piece and left to dry for 5 years to ensure the clearest sound possible.
The Petrof pianos are not only still being manufactured, they are also still built by hand. Skilled and trained craftspeople work hard to create these instruments that are truly a work of art. They have been around for many generations and will most likely continue to be produced for years to come.
There are many piano manufacturers that have long since gone out of business, but their instruments are still in existence. The businesses mentioned in this article are all still running and still producing pianos for sale. Most of them are quite pricey, due to the high quality produced after 100+ years of experience in the industry.
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Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 8:35 am and is filed under music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
