Introduction
Popular music refers to a wide range of music genres that originated from the United States and has excellent appealing to the high and modern taste of music. The popular music is characterized by repetition, which is an aspect that creates rhythm, making the music to be danceable. The primary purpose of popular music is entertainment and acts as a medium for the delivery of social aspects in society (Holbrook, 2011). A majority of the artist engaging in popular music focuses on the fame and money associated with the industry. In that case, pop music often receives significant criticism regarding the nature of themes and issues addressed. In recent years, the society has adopted the popular music culture considering it from an economic perspective as it helps in the provision of employment opportunities for the young people in the society, which helps in reducing poverty.
Critical Analysis of the Music Event
Background of the Popular Music Event
The Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is a popular music event that was founded in 1997, intending to support pop music by producing electronic music events (Duran 2013). The music festival, which is an outdoor event attracts individuals from different parts of the world considering the nature of the music genre used. In March 2019, the Ultra Music Festival took place in the Miami Marine Stadium, Florida (Deptula & Fyall, 2019). The location of the event was chosen based on the viability to hold the broad audience that participates in the event. According to Godard (2015), planning a popular music event requires a proper establishment of a location that can host the event adequately considering factors such as the size and proximity of the situation. During the planning process of the 2019 Ultra Music Festivals, the organizers presented various suitable locations that would host the event and capitalized on obtaining a popular vote from the officials regarding the most appropriate place.
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Musical and Non-Musical Elements
The Ultra Music Festival capitalized on the implementation of musical and non-musical elements, which helped in maximizing on the level of entertainment experienced by the audience considering that it was a live musical event (Yu, Ahn, & Kapuscinski, 2014). The musical elements used involved the tempo, timbre, and rhythm. The musical elements, in this case, focused on the speed of playing the notes of the music, the quality of sound produced and the recurrence of the musical notes from the instruments played. The implementation of the musical elements within the music festivals played an essential role in creating a connection with the audience, which is a factor that contributes to popularizing the event (Sutlović, Definis-Gojanović, & Bratinčević, 2018). On the other hand, the music festival incorporated non-musical elements which involved fashion and style from different countries all around the world represented by the various persons that were involved in the event.
Audience(s)
The audience in this musical event was live and meditated, considering that this is an event that allows the artists, musicians, and DJs to engage the crowds in trying to build a strategic connection. The artists, musicians, and DJs performing at this event were expected to perform live as a way of giving their audience that scenic experience is allowing them to connect to the music that they are presenting (Holt, 2018). Although it is an event that is held annually, each year introduces a specific theme that serves as the main aspect guiding the type of music being played, as well as, the contemporary styles that are displayed as part of the engagement in this particular festival.
Broader Cultural Response
An evaluation of the more comprehensive response of the festival suggests that most of the people reflected on it from the perspective of it connecting to popular media considering that it was an event that attracted more than 150,000 people (da Cunha Brandão & de Oliveira, 2019). Most of the people coming for the event were from countries in Europe and Asia, who went with the sole purpose of having to experience electronic music. Most of the people coming to the event spent the weekend of March 29-31, 2019 at the village created to accommodate the audience coming to the event, which also played a key role towards defining responses among the audience. The high attendance rate for the event also points to the fact that indeed Ultra Music Festival remains as one of the most popular events not only in the United States but also around the world (Mejia, 2015).
Description of My Experience at the Event
While considering that this was the first time that I was attended Ultra Music Festival, I must say that my experience was instead a unique and memorable experience attributed to the fact that this was an event that was able to intertwine music and culture spectacularly. During the time I was attending this event, which was in March 2019, I felt a unique connection to popular music considering this is a type of music that one would be able to connect with at any given time. My association with popular music, at the time, was driven by the fact that most of the music produced in early 2019 incorporated lots of electronic background music, which sought to build an essence in the way the music is presented.
The key persons that influenced my experience at Ultra Music Festival were Afrojack, David Guetta, Alan Walker, and Marshmello. I was able to connect with the performances by the three personalities at the festival, which allowed me to develop a close connection to how the event was presented. Regarding the type of music that enhanced my experience, it is essential to take note of the fact that the primary kind of music at this event was electronic. Over the years, I have always been fascinated with electronic music, as I always feel that electronic music allows me to create a mental picture of the music; thus, defining my experience. In this case, the event provided me with a much better platform from where I was able to enjoy electronic music at its fullest.
The main reason that my experience at the event 'sounded good to me' was because it provided me with a preferable experience of having to listen to a broad blend of electronic music being presented from different points of view. Each of the artists, musicians, and DJs at the event incorporated a diverse blend of electronic music, which I believe was rather important towards defining my experience. Although I have experienced electronic music before, my attendance at this event provided me with a unique platform for having to learn more about how to bring out electronic music. Additionally, the event allowed me to connect and interact with electronic music lovers and fans from different parts of the world that had gathered in Miami intending to enjoy this type of music.
The main memory associated with this particular event is the fact that I was able to get new friends from different parts of the world including China, Spain, and Germany with whom I always interact to discuss developments in electronic music. Each time I interact with these persons, I also find myself reminiscing on the Ultra Music Festival, which will always remain as a memorable event. Another critical memory that I can associate with this event is on the fact that I learned that one could incorporate up to 8 different elements of music within a single song without having to distort it in any way. Throughout the entire period, I was at the festival, I focused my attention on trying to learn how the DJs involved were able to incorporate different elements of music as a way of ensuring that they connect with their audience.
I would argue that the significance, meaning, and effect of the event has not changed in any way irrespective of the fact that I attended the event back in March. The event provided me with a rewarding and culturally-fulfilling experience that I have never experienced before as part of my love for music. The event provided me with a much more effective platform through which to advance my understanding of music as a tool through which to entertain and build a sense of cultural integration. The ‘social function’ of popular music around the time of this event was to create an avenue through which people can interact regardless of the existing diversities in the world today. Popular music is seen as being somewhat useful in trying to bring out the goodness in people to help avoid a wide array of social vices including violence or racism among others (Lund & Turris, 2015).
References
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