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| 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
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| 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.
It is true. Some people can sport a beard very well, while others, like me, will make our faces look like furry balls of madness. The beard shift is definitely a cool idea, but I do feel like more research will be available on the Music topic. After all, music is something all can enjoy, but beards, well, only certain lucky people
ReplyDeleteI understood almost nothing about your music post, but I'm sure there is a lot of research potential with it since everyone loves music. However, not everyone loves beards. I know you already have a graphic, but I think you will be hard-pressed to find at least three legitimate sources to prove your point about the beards. I suggest as your shift!
ReplyDeleteLouis, interesting ideas. I'm actually green lighting both topics as potentials, so perhaps the amount of available research will be a useful determining factor between the two. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI think the beard topic that you present would definitely be an interesting one, and one that I've never heard of, so it would be cool to learn about. I had no idea that there was a massive spike in facial hair in the 1970s, so I'm curious to hear how and why this occurred. My only concern is how much information there is out there, so use the amount of available research to decide if it is the right topic for your TED Talk and essay.
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