Nordmeyer 1

Jacqueline Nordmeyer
Dr. Fiol
Music of the World
9 December 2014
Unity through Musical Performances
As a former member of marching band in high school, I consider myself a musician,
perhaps an amateur one, but a musician nevertheless. It was not until being exposed to other
kinds of music and taking this course that I realized that there are several themes common
between the different styles of music making. Whether it is presentational or participatory, high
fidelity or studio audio art, people can be unified through music. This can happen simply among
the performers if there are multiple, and/or the audience can feel unified with the performers.
Both of these are possible within participatory and presentational fields. I chose two
performances to explore this theme further: a marching band competition at OMEA State Finals
and a karaoke night at Catskeller here at the University of Cincinnati. I consider myself to be a
relative insider to the presentational marching band competition because I was greatly involved
with the Beavercreek High School Marching Band when I was in high school. We spent every
band camp at the stadium where finals were held, so I was very familiar with both the band that I
was observing and the setting at which they performed. As for karaoke night at Catskeller, I was
completely unfamiliar with the entirety of the event. I have never participated in karaoke before
or even seen it live, so I consider myself to be an outsider for that event. In this setting, the line is
not very clear between the performer and the audience. Yes, there is one person or small group
on stage at a time, but the audience is also singing along and anyone can go on stage. This
creates a strange mix of participatory and presentational settings.

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These two musical experiences were quite different in multiple respects. The first
distinction is purely the atmospheres in which they occurred. The unfamiliar place, Catskeller,
resembled a bar atmosphere. There was not excellent lighting, and there were two different main
spaces. One contained random games like ski-ball and billiards, and the other room had a small
stage with a screen surrounded by numerous tables and chairs. The words to the songs would
later be projected onto the screen. When I entered the room, the karaoke had already begun, but
there were only a small number of people present. However, it is not the quantity, but the quality
of the audience that was important because this crowd was highly engaged in the performance
throughout the evening. The dark, laid-back atmosphere gave the feeling of a participatory
setting, so the sounds produced were not as refined as what one would see in a marching band or
other presentational setting.
The marching band setting was vastly different from Catskeller. The competition took
place outside at the University of Daytons Welcome Stadium. There were large crowds of
roughly 500-700 people to watch the separate groups perform their final show, despite the bitter
cold. It was a challenge to find seats in the bleachers anywhere near the middle section. Also
unlike Catskeller, this event took place during the day, so there was ample light illuminating the
performers to the audience. Because this was an outdoor setting, the groups that performed there
had to work harder to be heard. That wasnt a problem, however, because they had been
performing outdoors all year. Because outdoor weather is unpredictable and each stadium has
different acoustics, it did affect the quality of their tone sometimes. Because it was cold, their
sounds were occasionally flat, and some people overplayed in an attempt to compensate for
being in a large area. For the most part, though, the Beavercreek High Schools sounds were

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excellent, and the 260 members utilized a wide variety of dynamics and musical techniques to
capture the audiences attention, if their pure size did not do so already.
As I know very well, the marching band put a lot of time and effort into perfecting their
ten minute show in the summer and fall. This allowed the band to grow in the visual and auditory
components. Sharing the same musical experiences and performing together for an entire season
greatly enhanced the bond among the members because they all had experiences and memories
to relate to and reflect on. Also, simply playing the same music together strengthens that bond.
Each individual person and section has their own part to contribute, and when each piece of that
puzzle comes together, the result is beautiful. When each member is completely focused on the
task at hand, blending their individual sound with the big picture, the entire band sounds like it is
only one voice with several components to it. The timbre is clear and warm, the tempo does not
deviate from the drum major and has a clear pulse, the attacks are together, and the sound can be
so intense that the vibrations of the sound waves can actually be felt. This was the sound I
experienced at Welcome Stadium as a spectator, and it was highly indexical of the strongest
moments I had in my musical career.
Karaoke night is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum with regards to the
behaviors of the participants influencing the sound. Everyone who went on stage and sang had a
decent voice, and part of that was due to UCs a cappella group constituting the majority of the
performers. However, everyone was smiling, singing along, and overall just having a wonderful
time with popular music being sung. If people were not nervous when they went on stage and
enjoyed themselves, they sang more confidently and with purer tone than those who were
uncomfortable. They were always with the beat and key of the songs because there was a screen
with words and loud accompanying music pushing them along. Distinct from usual

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presentational settings, though, there were hardly any dynamics when people sang. This may be
because the studio audio art they were imitating contained a narrow dynamical range. Dynamics
are one excellent way to capture the audiences attention, so without changes in intensity, the
audience is likely to become bored and start talking. Evidently, this was fine because it was in a
very relaxed environment, these performers were not professionals, and it is not disrespectful to
not be absolutely riveted to each singer. As the night progressed, the performers became more
comfortable with behaving ridiculously on stage, possibly due to the increased consumption of
alcohol. As a result, the quality of the vocal sounds progressively degraded throughout the night.
The sounds and behaviors of the participants in each of these musical settings convey
similar themes, despite their vastly different natures. The marching band practices for three hours
a day in the summer, twelve a day during band camp, and two a day during the school year all
building up to State Finals. Because of this preparation, the last competition is highly emotional.
Through rehearsing with each other every day, they were brought together by the music as
improvements were made over the year. The band I saw was perfectly in sync and several people
cried by the band truck after the performance when the director gave the end of the year speech.
Music unites people in ways I never would have thought otherwise. It gives people the
opportunity to stop worrying about their busy lives and school work to play their hearts out
together and build something great. Their last song You Cant Always Get What You Want by
the Rolling Stones demonstrated this further since it an intense portion of the show that gave
chills to both the performers and the audience. Music transformed the group of 260 members into
a family. As an outsider to the karaoke night, I do not know if there is a large portion of the
people there who regularly attend every karaoke night. If so, then the bond between those people
would continuously be strengthened through singing together. However, I felt that most people

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did not previously know each other, with the exception of the a capella group. Even so, I did not
feel strange singing aloud when I knew others could hear my voice. Everyone there was singing
at some point or another, so all felt comfortable in that space. Because there was a
nonjudgmental atmosphere, we let the music happen and shared this experience. My friends and
I personally grew closer by making fools out of ourselves. We were singing to each other and
screaming the lyrics to several of the songs, despite the fact that we were not the ones on stage.
Additionally, the timing of this event took place about two weeks after midterms, so most
professors were giving tests again very soon. Karaoke was a great way for everyone to forget
about their stressors and live in the musical moment with each other.
Semiotics plays a role in subconsciously influencing how the participants and audience
feel about the whole experience. The marching band played music from the rock and roll artist,
The Rolling Stones. For the members of the audience, many of whom are parents of the band
groups, this music may be indexical of the good times in their youth when they last heard this
music. With the relatively professional marching band performing the studio audio art of The
Rolling Stones live, the performance resembled a high fidelity field of music even though it was
a presentational performance. Also, seeing a group of high school students together could be
iconic of a group that they joined as students. These possible icons and indices could contribute
to the positive experience they had as audience members. Semiotics is involved with karaoke as
well. Playing the popular music of studio audio art makes the singing-along aspect easy for the
audience because everyone has already heard the songs before. Therefore, there are already
present indexical associations with the songs that are being sung. The majority of these people
have heard the music somewhere else; maybe they have even sung the songs rather loudly in the

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car. Because of their past positive experiences with the music, they associated them with karaoke
night. Semiotics helps subconsciously make new experiences automatically positive.
There were several memorable moments during both musical performances that truly
exemplified the connection that the audience felt with each other and the performers. When I
See the Light from Tangled came on during karaoke, I could tell the audience was connecting
with each other on different levels. During the song, my friend, Sam, started singing to another
person across the hallway. Both men started interpretive dancing, serenading each other, and
spinning like ballerinas to the music for the duration of the song. Once it ended, I asked Sam
who his friend was, assuming they knew each other. He replied that he had no idea who it was
(personal communication, Nov. 7, 2014). It really shows the value of a musical experience like
this when two people who do not previously know each other can get caught up in the music and
just let themselves be free in expression. At the end of the night, the main announcer said that the
last song was not going to be sung by just one person on stage, this song was for everyone. So, to
conclude the night, we all stood up and sang our hearts out together to Some Nights by Fun. I
have never heard such a random group of people sing so loudly with such emotion. It truly felt
like we believed every word of the song and I had chills after its conclusion.
The marching band audience had a surprise for the band that demonstrated unity in a
similar way that karaoke did, even though the way it was achieved was entirely different. When
the marching band was presetting on the field, one audience member started shouting a call and
response with the rest of the crowd. Give me a B! and the audience replied B! and this
spelling out continued for the whole word beavers. What does that spell? and in response,
Beavers! I cant hear you! he yelled. Beavers! and then about thirty people in the center of
the bleachers held up colored paper to reveal the stripes, the symbol of what values the band

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lives by, to our marching band on the field. The five colors of the stripes represent discipline,
citizenship, dedication, focus, and unity. It was a touching moment that the audience showed
their strong bond with the performers through the season. Some of the people that held up the
colored paper were not even parents or relatives of the band members, but they had seen the band
perform somewhere along the way and were eager to show their respect as well. The musical
experience the marching band provided was so interactive that the audience felt they needed to
contribute to the performance and show their appreciation. They continued cheering throughout
the show, and the connection among the audience and band was strengthened even more.
For all musical performances, connections can be made either between the performers or
between the audience and performers. The space that the music is performed in can influence the
overall sounds produced by the performers (and audience in the case of karaoke). The sounds
and behaviors of everyone then contribute to the ways unification can occur in these musical
events. Music can even subconsciously impact how people feel overall about certain experiences.
By participating in these unique events, it was evident that music plays an integral role in
bringing different people together and strengthening relationships among friends.

Reflection
When I first looked at this assignment, the idea that I had was completely different from
the route I ended up taking. I knew I was going to see my alma maters marching band perform
at finals, but I did not really think anything of it until I actually went and remembered how
powerful these performances were. So, that was when I chose to write about the marching band.
As for the karaoke bar, I would not have known about it if my friend in the a capella group
hadnt told me. I knew this was going to be an interesting comparison, yet it could be done.

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Being an insider to the marching band yet a spectator was a fascinating experience. I had been in
the band for four years and I knew exactly what they were feeling on that field, but I suddenly
felt like I was no longer a part of that band. I was merely a supporter when I was viewing it.
Feeling this way helped me step outside of my insider view and look at it from a researchers
perspective. Exactly why is the group so cohesive? Why does the audience feel such a bond with
this group? As for karaoke, it was not a challenge at all to identify with the participants and
understand why this was a valued event, even though this was my first encounter with it.
Inexplicably, at first, everyone sang together with the person on stage and enjoyed each others
presence. I loved that I was tasked with comparing and contrasting these two experiences around
a social value. I chose unification because it helped me expand on why people feel as they do
toward a particular experience.
From these experiences, I learned that music can bring people together better than almost
any activity that does not involve music. At the end of karaoke night, my friends and I walked
home singing and dancing. We did not know each other extremely well before that night, but
because we attended karaoke together, we felt like we knew each other on a new level (for better
or worse). It was such a pleasant place to express ourselves freely with the songs we knew and
make a fool out of ourselves in the process. In the situation of marching band, I discovered a
similar uniting theme. I have been involved in other groups before, and it is true that people are
all there for the same purpose, but the people there do not feel united by the experiences they
participate in. With band, even the audience can feel the power of the music the band is playing.
By being at that band competition and seeing the stripes of the band through the audience, I felt
like the audience came together to really show pride for the group. I felt like I could talk about
the bands performance for a long time with any member of the audience. Both the karaoke and

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marching bands performances were interesting and engaging, and I am glad to have attended
both and gotten so much out of them.