Author: kmorris

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The Power of the Music Video

Thinking logically, a music video can do one of three things: enhance, detract from, or do nothing for the music. A successful music video will enhance the music they accompany in a way that increases audience engagement, interest, and attraction to the production. There are multiple ways in which this can be done, and methods will vary across genres of music and what the producer(s) want to highlight. Since the possibilities are endless, for this post I’ve chosen to narrow in on what can make a music video successful specifically in the pop/indie genre.

Of course, whether a music video is “any good” or not is subjective and based on the opinion of the viewers, but one good way to see how the general audience is responding is by viewing the like to dislike ratio of the video as well as the comments (where the anonymity of posting behind a screenname guarantees for brutally honest and raw opinions). Based off of my own opinion and the YouTube audience (33K+ likes to 417 dislikes as of 4/17/19), I think it’s safe to say that the music video to Saw You in a Dream by The Japanese house is doing something right. But what, exactly?

“It isn’t the same, but it is enough”

One main difference between attending a live performance and listening to a recording is when replaying recordings, the human connection that exists in a live performance is somewhat lost or missing. Although it isn’t the same, music videos can create visual and mental connections with the audience in addition to the auditory connections that people make when hearing music.

The music video for Saw You in a Dream by The Japanese House creates a visual representation of the song’s atmosphere as the context of the video is dreamy and unreal. In the absence of the human connection that comes with a live performance, this provides the audience with more to grasp onto, deepening their relationship with the music. This creation of atmosphere is important because often times what makes a live performance so special is the ambiance of the performance: being surrounded with the energy of the audience and the mood created by the hall, performers, staging, and effects. Obviously you aren’t going to get that same experience from listening to a recording or even through watching a video and audio pairing, but when well thought out and produced, music videos can achieve a similar effect by giving the audience a taste of the song’s atmospheric character.

A main way in which the Saw You in a Dream music video creates this dreamy and unreal atmosphere is by switching between the incorporation of dark and cool scenes (dreamy) and warm hazy scenes (not grounded in reality). Additionally, the video incorporate elements from real life but use them to create scenes that would be more likely to be spotted in dreams than in real life.

Pictured above is a lone girl riding a two-person bicycle through a room draped with sheets towards a mural and past a potted cactus with a light coming out of it that casts a hazy glow over the room. These elements are all things that exist in real life, but abstract combination of them together in addition to the warm and fuzzy lighting creates the feeling of a dream world.

Additionally, there are multiple elements of the video that reinforce the music’s lyrics, which helps enhance the audience’s connection with the music (in the absence of the human connection a live performance can provide). For instance, during the lyrics “keep my eyes closed” people reach their hands over the eyes of other people, and during “then I awoke and it was so sad” a bright light shines down in the dark atmosphere and the people arise with the main character holding her hand over heart.

Scene during the lyrics “then I awoke and it was so sad.”

This connects and ties together the audience’s senses of sight and comprehension with their sense of sound, creating a more involved experience. Certain video effects used throughout the video also link visuals to melodic sounds in the song. In the opening, instrumentals slide up from E to B and C#, then back to B. During the melodic ascent, the video fades in from black then zooms into the scene, and as the melody settles back a step down to B, the camera pans upwards to show the surrounding scene. This combination of audio reinforced by camera movement draws the audience into the music video’s dream world atmosphere.

Now that you’ve heard from me… what is the general audience saying?

As previously mentioned, the audience reception (judging by the YouTube likes and comments) is pretty positive. After much scrolling through the top comments, I actually didn’t find any negative ones (this is surprising for YouTube but less surprising when looking at the 33K+ likes to 417 dislikes ratio on the video). Well liked comments like these also show that the music video is effective in bringing the audience into the song’s atmosphere.

These comments, specifically the second one pictured show how the audience becomes so drawn into the production and all its elements that they relate to it on a personal level , even sharing their own experiences.

There are also a variety of comments such as these which bring up another topic – the role of technology (specifically electronic devices) in gaining exposure for smaller/less well known artists:

Gabby’s comment suggests that she discovered this song by hearing it in an H&M. She could have asked someone working there for the name of the song, but what also could have happened is she liked what she heard and decided to look up the lyrics to see what the song was. This illustrates how technology has made things so convenient for us as well as how it can help promote less well-known artists by making it easier for them to be discovered – for example if people hear something they like they easily look up the lyrics on google or a song identification website. Or if the music is used in a video they were watching it will be likely linked in the video description for them to click on for further exploration. This is an example of technology working at its prime to assist both the creator and consumer: convenient for the audience/listeners and helpful for the artist(s).

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Protest Pop Music: the Value in Comprehensibility

The quote “We write symphonies” on it’s own sounds harmless enough, right? Unfortunately, the context is what breaks the innocence of this statement: it was used in one of president Trump’s speeches to promote the superiority of white western culture.

In a New York Times article, writer Anthony Tommasini responds to this statement in a piece of writing titled “Trump Is Wrong if He Thinks Symphonies Are Superior.” In it, he explains why Trump is wrong through the principle that difference does not equal superiority. His argument was quite effective as it was concise yet still detailed and not completely one sided. Admitting that classical music’s culture can foster ideas of classical music as the superior music genre made his writing easier to accept and consider. Then ending his article by comparing ticket costs of classical and pop music concerts proves his point that classical music in our day isn’t really as elite compared to other music genres as some may think. One specific reason touched on by Tommasini why classical music is considered the “elite genre” is because it can be harder to comprehend by the general public. I personally agree with Tommasini’s views because in my opinion, the comprehensibility of a piece shouldn’t be the defining factor of its value because comprehensibility will vary from person to person. For instance, those with little experience in the classical music world may not be able to understand classical music as classical musicians would.

Different from classical music, popular music – especially when it includes lyrics and a music video – can be more easily comprehended by the general population, making it a valuable form of protest.

Fight Like a Girl by Zolita is a good example of the lyrics and visuals being used in pop music to spread a politically responsive message. Written the day after Trump became president, the lyrics and music video speak of woman empowerment and acceptance across all ages, races, and religions. In addition to discouraging discriminatory hate, this song directly responds to Trump and the derogatory comments he has made against women in a way that promotes women having full control over their bodies, specifically through the lyrics ” My body, My choice, My rights, and My voice” that are emphasized through repetition near the end of the song.

As Trump’s popularity increased, open acts of discrimination increased as well.

To many, Trump’s winning of the presidential election signified a win for acceptance of hate and discrimination, specifically because of ideas he has expressed against women, people of color, and Muslims. This obviously upset a lot of people while inspiring them to become active in the political scene, Zolita included. Throught Fight like a Girl, Zolita’s response this influx of hate was to create a video overflowing with love and acceptance instead of something bitter and angry. I thought this was a smart choice because it broadcasts that women are strong in a positive way. Her lyrics are pretty bold and defiant, so making the video appear angry could have resulted in people turning away, but this way you can’t fault her delivery of her message. In her music video, by the way she shows women of multiple races, religions, and ages of women, all as powerful, she is declaring that all kinds of women are valid and strong and none are lesser than others. Specifically, she includes women of Muslim faith wearing the hijab and shows them in a positive light. Trump has openly stated Islamophobic ideas on multiple occasions, and here, Zolita responds by taking a stand against Islamophobia, using visuals to show Muslims are people deserving of respect just as everyone else is.


Using imagery instead of just lyrics to convey a message of acceptance is in many ways more powerful than just using lyrics because often seeing something can make connections for people that words or melodies can’t. Visuals can often enhance lyrics and help the audience to grasp a better picture of the message of the artist. In this case, a short scene in the video shows a simple gesture of kindness in everyday life involving a woman wearing a hijab, signifying that people of all faiths should be treated with respect. If the simplicity of the moment makes seem small and insignificant, keep in mind the hate crimes and hate speech that Muslims in the United States (where we have “freedom of religion,” smh) have faced and are still facing. At a time when people somehow think it’s acceptable to rip a hijab off the head of a muslim woman, it’s important to spread the message that following a certain religion doesn’t make you any less (or more) human.

Using Lyrics to Rebrand Insults Against Women

In addition to her music video, Zolita’s lyrics also speak of woman empowerment. Specifically, one phrase stood out to me that also happens to be the song title: “Fight Like a Girl.” I thought this was especially clever because she turned an insult that belittles and stereotypes women into something to be proud of. Traditionally, if you’re told you “fight like a girl,” it probably means you’re weak. In fact, adding “like a girl” to any sentence can still make it sound derogatory as if being a girl is a shameful thing. But through her video and lyrics, Zolita re-brands the insult into a compliment by showing that fighting like a girl means to be strong enough to overcome oppression and stand on top and that being a girl is something to be proud of.

Another witty way Zolita uses lyrics is a direct response to one of Trump’s demeaning, derogatory, and disgusting comments about women. In the video above, one of the comments made by Trump reads, “Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.” (He has since apologized, but I personally don’t buy it seemed more like an apology that he was caught making the remarks than an apology for the remarks). Not only is this morally wrong but it also suggests that men should have control over women’s bodies and treat women disrespectfully or even sexually harass them if they please. Zolita clearly disagrees, and near the end of her song, background vocals repeatedly sing “can’t grab me by the – .” Here, she took Trump’s own quote and flipped it so it still acknowledges that such ideas do exist but that she is above them, women have the rights over their own bodies, not men.

Zooming Out

Zolita’s Fight like a Girl demonstrates the value of popular music in response to political issues: lyrics and music video visuals can be used to communicate a message in a readily comprehensible way. The catchy melody of the song and relatively easy-to-memorize lyrics also made it stick to my mind, which encouraged me as a listener to think more about the message Zolita was trying to convey. It is a different form of political response than a symphony for instance, but because the two are so drastically different, they should not be compared in terms of value because each brings unique aspects to the table. In terms of popular music, I didn’t fully realize how much the music video could impact the message of the artist until discovering Fight Like a Girl. By only listening to the lyrics, I would have only gotten the message of woman empowerment, but the video communicated woman empowerment for women of all ages, races, and religions. Fight Like a Girl showed me how artists can marry multiple aspects of a pop music production in order to convey a multifaceted political statement.

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The Violin Bow

To us violinists, the bow is arguably as important as the violin itself. Without the bow, the only way to make a melodic sound on the violin is by plucking the strings, and while that can be fun sometimes, I don’t think an audience nor the righthand index finger of the soloist would be very pleased by the Tchaikovsky violin concerto entirely in pizzicato. Indeed, the bow is a valuable piece of technology. The bows we have today are able to deliver the tone and technique needed to play Tchaikovsky’s works, but bows were not initially born with these capabilities. What the majority of violinists are using now is known as the modern bow; prior to this there were two other categories of bows: the classical bow and the baroque bow. And even before the first baroque bows, there existed the bow in its earliest form.

Early Bows

When thinking of early forms of violin bows, people tend to first think of baroque bows. But the baroque bow didn’t just pop out of nowhere; even before the baroque bow, there was an initial model that accompanied early stringed instruments. The shape of these bows was more comparable to an archery bow than the violin bows we have today due to their convex structure (2). Tension of the hair was not a consideration as the hair was attached on this stick directly with no way of tightening or loosening it.

https://youtu.be/zNvPJ2Fuzns

This video demonstrates the main use of early bows: to produce sound on an instrument for rhythmic accompaniment. Notice the length of the bow: it is much shorter than the modern bows we use today. At first glance, they look awkwardly short, but their length was enough to serve their purpose. These early bows were most commonly used to accompany vocal music as the rhythm section since they were viewed as of lesser importance than singing.  

The Baroque Bow

The invention of the Baroque violin during the 16th century was created due to a demand for something new. Initially, older bows that were designed for rhythm instruments were used on the baroque violin, but as Italian composers such as Arcangelo Corelli began to compose for the violin as a solo instrument, there became a need for longer bows to produce a more singing sound. The lengthening of the bow set off a chain reaction of multiple constructional modifications, such as added height to the top of the bow, which helped balance the bow and made it possible to comfortably use the full length. Initially, the tension of the bow hair was changed by how much pressure the player put on it with their thumb, but this idea of hair tension was played around with until a system was developed where the bow hair could be loosened or tightened by a screw. Typically made from snakewood, the stick started out as convex but as time went on, convex shapes decreased in popularity as straight/concave shapes became the norm. Other than these general changes, there was no standard model for the baroque bow because of the wide range artistic choices bow makers of this era made. Both ends of baroque bows were decorated and designed to fit the aesthetic ideals of the maker.


This is an example of the ornamentation on baroque bows: near the frog, the screw has been decorated with multiple circular shapes, and the tip is shaped in an upward swoop. The wood used for this bow is also easily identifiable as snakewood due to it’s scale-like pattern. (Image by CJS Steven Violin Supplies).

The Classical Bow: A Time of Transition

During the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries was the age of the classical bow. However, the “transitional bow” would be a more proper name for this bow as bows made during this period were “open to all influences” and ever evolving (1). Similar to the reasons for the development of the Baroque bow, the developments of the Classical bow were inspired by the changes in music composed for string instruments, as new solo repertoire was emerging that called out for advanced bowing techniques and a strong, soloistic sound. Giovanni Battista Viotti (considered a father of modern violin playing) was the Corelli of this age, as his compositions and performances emphasized the importance of the bow and created a need for a more capable piece of technology (4). During this transitional stage of bow making, the main advances revolved around strengthening the bow, including a strengthened stick (improved by John Dodd’s technique for cutting wood) and a metal underslide (added by Christian Wilhelm Knopf); these inventions both removing some of the Baroque bow’s weak points (3).

Pictured above is a classical bow before the addition of the metal underslide. The metal underslide was added overtop of the hair that is laid over the frog. (Image by Bridgewood and Neitzert).

The Modern Bow, Thanks to François Xavier Tourte

Prior to the era of the modern bow, there were numerous people that influenced the development of the bow. However, the majority of developments of the modern bow can be linked to one person: François Xavier Tourte. Nicknamed the “Stradivarius of bow making,” Tourte built off and perfected the advancements of classical bows by responding to the needs of the soloists of his day. He mathematically calculated the measurements of his bows and made them concave to ensure their balance and reactivity to the string; as a result, his bows were very responsive. His changes expanded the capabilities of the bow: from variety in techniques to range of dynamics, the capacity of the bow increased greatly. A few especially notable measurements that he adjusted were the size of the head and horsehair mounts, which he widened, and the length of the bow, which he slightly increased.


As if perfecting the structural measurements of the bow wasn’t enough, Tourte also set an aesthetic standard for the bottom of the bow. He popularized pearl underslides and pearl inlays, which are now standard in terms of decorations on the frog. (Image by Photo Bucket).

Most Recent Developments

In recent years, composite bows have entered the market, most commonly made out of carbon fiber and fiberglass. This has resulted in an increase in the accessibility of bows, as not every 5th grader who wants to play in school orchestra has parents who will buy them a bow sporting the same price tag as a used car. And while initially they were made as cheaper alternatives, higher end ones are now being made. Because their material can be manufactured, composite bow they have been growing in popularity due to Pernambuco wood shortages as deforestation in their natural habitat (Brazil) has caused these trees to become quite rare.  

Now What About the Future?

So, will there ever be a time when the current bow we have becomes a thing of the past? Based on the current dynamic of the violin world, I’d say not for a while at least. This is because the majority, if not all of the standard violin repertoire can be performed and properly executed with the current bow we have. Based on the trends of bow development in the past, new bows emerge whenever new music is composed or new instruments are created that require a bow with different capabilities become popular. For the bow we use today to be updated and replaced, there would have to be a significant modification to the violin or style of compositions that people are wanting to play. Given that the violin’s structure and demands of repertoire have been supported by the modern bow ever since Tourte’s modifications, I wouldn’t predict that to be anytime soon. But the field of music is ever changing, so who knows what the future may hold.

So… What?

Now that you (hopefully) have learned something about the development of the bow, you may be wondering, how does this relate to me? While I can’t speak for you, in terms of myself, learning the history of the bow has inspired me as a violinist to experiment with and work on different bow techniques that aren’t used as commonly in repertoire because the bows we have today have been developed to be extremely capable. As I practice, I have a goal in mind of growing closer to being able to utilize this technology at its full potential because now with the way the bow has been improved and developed, the potential of the bow depends on the potential of the artist. Practicing bow techniques can sometimes seem dull and uninteresting, but it’s all a matter of perspective. When new digital technology comes out, we all want to test it out and discover its features. So why not view the violin bow the same way? True, the model resting in your case at this very moment is not the same type of technology as the current iPhone or windows tablet. But think about it: have you already explored and perfected every technique the bow is capable of? Bowing exercises are only boring if you view them as simple repetitions. So go test out its features, aiming to see what you can discover through your practice and just how much you can accomplish with this piece of technology.

Sources

  1. European Violins: History of the Violin Bow http://www.europeanviolins.eu/en/history-of-the-violin-bow

2. Corilon Violins – The violin bow: a brief depiction of its history

https://www.corilon.com/shop/en/info/modern-bow.html

3. Basil De Visser Period Bows https://baroquebows.com/

4. A History of the Violin Bow https://animato.com.au/a-history-of-the-violin-bow/