bellernado

 Ella Fitzgerald  Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1976) is heralded as the most famous female jazz singer in American History. She grew up in New York in poverty and at age 17 joined a local theater to sing, where she started gaining traction. She joined a band called "Chick Webb" as the main vocalist. It was through this band that she became known as a pivotal voice in the swing era in the 40's and 50's. After the leader of the band passed away, she took it over and renamed it "Ella Fitzgerald and Her Famous Orchestra". It was under this title that she released all her most famous albums. She transitioned into scatting, jazz, and bebop. She toured the world and collaborated with many famous singers like Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, and Frank Sinatra. Ella retired in the 90's due to health conditions with 13 Grammys and known as the "First Lady of Song". Here I have attached her most famous scatting song, in which she improvised a scat that lasted for...

 Tamborazo Zacatecano I chose this style of music because the Hispanic side of my family traces back to a central city in Mexico called Zacatecas, and I take every opportunity I can to learn more about it.  Tamborazo Zacatecano translates to "big drum band from the land of the grasslands". In other words, the style of music is known for its use of the tambora (a large bass drum) as a strong and heavy heartbeat throughout the song. Zacatecano refers to the people who lived in Zacatecas (the grasslands). This music was mostly played by silver miners and the military. The ensembles usually consisted of 2 trumpets, 2 saxophones, and a tambora. The music is striking, fast-paced, and very loud as it was meant to be performed during street parades and in war. The most famous military example is the unofficial national anthem of Mexico, "La Marcha de Zacatecas". It was created in 1891 when two Zacatecan musicians made a bet over who could make a better military march song i...

 How The Saxophone Became a Core Jazz Instrument I have always loved the saxophone. In fact, when I was in 5th grade, our music teacher had us all pick one instrument we wanted to learn, and I chose the saxophone. Unfortunately for me, my teacher didn't trust all 85lbs of me to hold and play a saxophone and instead handed me a clarinet. The clarinet and I did not get along very well, as I didn't necessarily like the way it sounded. There was this specific jazzy tone to a saxophone that drew me in, and I regret never learning to play it.  The saxophone was invented in the 1840's in Belgium by Adolph Sax. Get where the name comes from now? It was based on the clarinet, much like my beginning.  The jazz genre was born in the 1910's, although the saxophone did not join until the 1920's with the birth of swing. Jazz mostly consisted of trumpets, trombones, and clarinets, so when Sidney Bechet introduced the saxophone, it blended perfectly with the other brass instruments...

Analysis of "My Lady of Mercy" by The Last Dinner Party   YouTube music video of the song click here!   The Last Dinner Party is one of my favorite bands and they are British indie-rock which is way different than my normal music taste. I fell in love first with their song "Nothing Matters" and went to look at the whole album and quickly became obsessed with every song on it! I chose this song because I think it's is the most unique and interesting song off the album with the way that the entire tone and energy of the song changes so fast from the verse to the chorus is gives you whiplash, but in a good way.  DYNAMICS Something interesting this song plays with, which you will especially notice if wearing headphones, is the dynamics or the volume changes. During the verses the song is quieter, lighter, and more restrained because of the quiet instruments and lower register of the singer. During the chorus the dynamic changes and the instruments go impossibly loud...

 Analysis of Tyler Childers "Rustin In The Rain" Rustin in the rain on youtube This song was one of the first 'country' songs I ever liked. Tyler Childers does neo-traditional country, which I have found to be my preferred kind of country music. The upbeatness of the song, the loudness and passion in Childers voice, and the electric guitar riff are all components that get me up on my feet and clapping to this song every time. It reminds me of the rush of adrenaline when you're playing Mario Kart on Rainbow Road, and you get that magic mushroom that makes you go super fast, and all you can do is hold on and hope you don't fly off. TEMPO  I think the part of this song that separates it the most from Childers other work is the tempo, as it's so fast-paced, critics from Holler compared it to a freight train. Even though the song is in 4/4 meter, the piano and guitar riffs make it feel much faster and give a sort of chugging sensation to the song. MELODY For th...

P.S.: This photo is of Easy Street Records in Seattle, my hometown record store I visited all the time! Hello everyone! My name is Bella, I'm 21 years old, and I live in Fairbanks. I work as a firefighter at the University Fire Department, have an associate's degree in Fire Science, and am pursuing a bachelor's degree in Homeland Security and Emergency Management. I'm originally from Seattle, Washington, but moved up here for college and the student firefighting program. I love thrifting, going to the gym, dogsittting, and babysitting on my offdays! As for music, I've always loved music and sang my heart out, even though I suck. I tried to learn the clarinet in 5th grade because I wanted to play saxophone, and my teachers said I had to do the clarinet first. I dropped out of the lessons less than a month in and didn't touch instruments again until high school. I got an electric piano, a ukulele, and a guitar in highschool beacuse I was desperate to play. I tr...