The Paradigm Shift in 20th-Century Music

Photo credit: Jean-Pierre Dalbera

Topic: My essay will cover the rise of serial music (music composed based on mathematical formulas and numerical values) in the 20th century.

Thesis: In the first half of the 20th century, having recognized the limits of tonal music, Arnold Schoenberg and the Second Viennese School of composers ushered in serial music, a new type of music based more on math than on chords.

General Direction: I will start by describing the state of classical music at the turn of the 20th century, citing works by late Romantic and early modern composers like Mahler and Stravinsky. I will then explain the limitations of the tonal system, and why Schoenberg composed using his new, twelve-tone, serial system. After this, I will describe the development of twelve-tone music by the Second Viennese School. I will then show how this twelve-tone system was adopted by composers like Stravinsky and expanded into serial music. Finally, I will explain the musical movement's overall effect on both classical and popular music.

Preliminary Sources:

Haimo, Ethan. “Developing Variation and Schoenberg's Serial Music.” Music Analysis, vol. 16, no. 3,

     1997, pp. 349–365. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/854403.

Kostka, Stefan M. Materials and Techniques of Twentieth-century Music. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
     Prentice Hall, 2006. Print. 
Lecture 131 - 23.5 - Schoenberg and the Twelve-tone Music. Perf. Craig Wright. Coursera. Yale
     University. Web.

Music and Beards

Paradigm Shift 1: The Rise of 12-Tone Music
 

Source: Ali Wade

In the first few decades of the 20th century, composers were becoming exhausted trying to push the limits of tonal music. Some still succeeded by taking rhythms and dissonance to the extremes, most notably Igor Stravinsky, but many were frustrated.

Enter Arnold Schoenberg. Schoenberg pioneered the 12-tone system of music: instead of the 12 notes of the chromatic scale being defined by their relationship to a modal scale (a major or minor scale), they were arranged into a tone row. In a tone row, each of the 12 notes is played once and only once, and no note takes precedence over any other in the row.

Schoenberg's 12-tone system was one of the most influential musical ideas of the 20th century. My essay would explore: why Schoenberg was prompted to create it; why other composers accepted it; why some (like Stravinsky) opposed it; and the lasting effect it had on music, classical or otherwise.

Paradigm Shift 2: Beards on College Graduates
 

Source: Reddit

This is a graph of the type of facial hair college graduates have had through the years. It was created by poring through hundreds of yearbook photos and classifying the beards contained within.

Okay, so yeah, the graph is just the work of some random dude on the Internet looking through yearbooks, but scientific surveys would agree with the results: something happened in 1970 that triggered an explosion of beards.

My essay would explore: what cultural shifts led to the massive spike in beards; how much of an effect this had on the professional world; and why the prevalence of beards gradually wore off.

Mr. Rogers: Delivery and Ethos

In 1969, Fred Rogers, host of the children's show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, gave the following testimony to the Senate Subcommittee on Communication in defense of public funding for television programs:

The testimony is a well-constructed argument, and is organized logically, but the factor that sets it apart from most other speeches is Rogers' delivery.

Rogers' manner of speaking seems odd at first; it's slow, with frequent pauses, and softly monotone almost to the point of being dispassionate. Senator John Pastore, the chairman of the subcommittee, seems to perceive this as almost childish, asking flippantly if it would "make [Rogers] happy if [he] read [his philosophical statement]."

However, as his testimony continues, Rogers' method of delivery becomes clear. He speaks slowly and deliberately, choosing each word carefully. Instead of inserting filler words, he pauses momentarily before moving on. These practices make his testimony far clearer than if he were racing through it, tripping over himself.

Rogers' slow manner of speaking, in conjunction with his soft, consistent enunciation, serves another purpose: building his ethos. By delivering his testimony in the same manner as he speaks on his television show, Rogers proves to his audience that he knows how to speak in a soothing, non-confrontational manner appropriate for children.

Rogers' testimony ends with his recitation of the lyrics from a song (written and performed by him) from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. By this point, he has shown, largely through his delivery, that he and his program are beneficial to children. He recites the lyrics in the same manner as the rest of his testimony, and, once he finishes, Senator Pastore affirms support for the funding of television programs like Rogers'

Of course, not all speeches should be delivered softly and soothingly like Rogers' testimony. However, the care he chooses his words with, the consistency of his delivery throughout the speech, and the use of his delivery to build his ethos are all hallmarks of great speeches.