Lesson 1

 September 5/2023 The style of music that this blog highlights is Calypso music, which is characterized by highly rhythmic and harmonic vocals. Although this style did not originate in The Bahamas, rather it hails from the islands of Trinidad and Tobago (another Carribean country), it still plays a vital role in our country's history. From being used to tell relevant stories of old, to bringing joy while listening to our native tongue and reflecting on folk tunes. The first song that I would like to introduce is Burma Road written by the late Bahamian Calypsonian and Rake N' Scrape artist, Ronny Butler. Butler was born in Nassau, Bahamas on August 17, 1937, and died November 19, 2017. His reason for writing this song was to highlight a riot that took place in Nassau during the 1940's. This was officially called "The Burma Road Riot". The cause of this riot was that imported workers were being paid substantially more than the natives (a social ill that is still pr

Lesson 1 September 2nd 2022 Lesson 1: Introduction to Pitch Class Lecture notes: The first seven letters of the alphabet (A, B, C, D, E, F, G) are used to visualize musical notes. On the piano, musical notes are recognized through playing white and black keys. The white keys illustrate musical tones and the black keys represent the half step intervals used between those tones. (eg. sharps, and flats) Music is read using various Clefs. The two that are most commonly used are the Treble Clef (G Clef), and the Bass clef (F Clef). The notes played in a musical selection are demonstrated through the use of key signatures. The above photo demonstrates the corresponding alphabetical letter associated with the piano keys. This photo shows us the significance of each line and space within the bass and treble clef. This video allows one to both visualize and hear the difference between sharps, flats, and natural notes on their respective clefs. This video is helpful because it allows us to under