We discussed K-Pop not too long ago, and this month we’re celebrating J-Pop as our monthly theme for May. J-Pop began with a cultural influx from the West, eventually influencing K-pop. (Korea is pretty close to Japan!) It began before World War II, but afterward with many Americans stationed in Japan bringing their own music…

When I was young, my grandmother had a white lacquer upright piano. I would play this despite not having lessons. I loved that old piano. We moved away when I was seven, and I started taking lessons with my cousins. They had a spinnet, which was just fine. When we moved again, my parents found…

The link below has a few traditional songs to listen to. While there are many types of traditional music, the cultures that brought these songs into existence had several things in common. These commonalities lead to a possibility of finding a universal concept system in music. Sixty traditional cultures worldwide were studied for rhythm and…

Our students comment on our lab themes – and I love reading them. Here are several comments on last month’s theme, 2000s music. “I noticed how fashion was such an important part of 2000s music.” Daniel “I liked the part where you couldn’t see who was singing.” Charlie “I like how 2000s music doesn’t have…