Editorial

The Power of Music and Arts

Author: Tran Soles-Torres

(467 words)

Image result for music and arts

Allegro Music

Music and arts play a major, positive role in many people’s lives. Music is defined as “vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.” While arts is defined as “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” Music and arts are broad and fit into entertainment and culture. They are expressed through, television, sports, performances, musicals, and many more means. Columbia High School is a diverse community where vast amounts of music and arts play an essential role in the student body’s culture.

Our group created this website in order to illustrate the powerful role of music and art within the walls of CHS. Entertainment provides enjoyment to students at Columbia and keeps students attitudes lively. Our purpose is driven by the idea that our high school already represents some of the best music and arts culture in the country. The Special Dance Company and the CHS Musicals are just two examples of the highly entertaining performances at our school. In addition, many students around the school participate in and/or create music and arts themselves. Students around the school are take advantage of musical software and applications such as Soundcloud, while others are taking hobbies such as DJing. Furthermore, big names in the music and arts industry such as Kendrick Lamar and Ariana Grande influence the student body here at CHS. So, why not share it with other people around the world?

Music and arts extends out into the real world. Most cultures have cultural themes that utilize music and arts in their own unique way. Our group captured music through photojournalism albums, opinion, satire, arts and entertainment, news, reviews, and sports articles. We then utilized these various forms to show how large of an impact the entertainment industry has on the world. Students here at CHS attend large scale concerts such as Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival and the Governors Ball Music Festival. People from around the world gather at these performances to share their cultures and for pure enjoyment. Additionally, CHS has a strong arts department that allows students to take educational field trip such as visits to the Museum of Modern Art. The CHS music department constantly performs at a high level at the state and national levels. Our school’s orchestra has three tiers: regular, chamber, and virtuosi. Players from virtuosi have won awards at musical competitions. In both cases, Columbia Cougar’s broaden their knowledge in the outside world.

We are responsible to have you leave with a better sense of music and arts than you did when you first came here!
Posted by

Sports

Music in Sports

By Michael Wallin

(413/400 Words)



For a long time sports and music have been considered to be separate things, but with modern research and technology there is more evidence to suggest they are more connected than previously thought. The lead researcher on the topic, Dr Costas Karageorghis, has dove into the psychological, psychophysical, psychophysiological, and ergogenic effects that music can have on a person. In more common terms the research has found connections between music and mood, effort, heart and respiration rate, and even shows evidence of music being able to delay fatigue or increase work capacity.
ATHENS - AUGUST 15: Michael Phelps of USA prepares to compete in the men's swimming 200 metre freestyle heat on August 15, 2004 during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympic Games at the Main Pool of the Olympic Sports Complex Aquatic Centre in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Michael Phelps
Brian Cunningham

Research has shown that listening to a playlist while working out can increase performance. The playlist should meet certain criteria to maximize effects. It has been shown that music that has an energizing beat, positive lyrics and an upbeat melody have been shown to increase performance. “For instance, the American swimmer Michael Phelps, who won 7 gold medals and set 5 world records at the 2007 FINA World Championships, reportedly listened to hip-hop music before his races in order to get focused and psyched up” (Hannah Farmer).  Even the legendary Michael   Phelps has given evidence to suggest a performance increase due to music.

 Dr. Karageorghis has referred music a form of performance enhancement that you won’t be penalized for.  He conducted an experiment to test muscle endurance. He tested it by having participants hold dumbbells for as long as possible. He had a control group, a group that used imagery and a group that used imagery and music. After the experiment was conducted it was discovered that the group that had imagery and music performed the best. The implication of this study is that listening to music while simultaneously looking at imagery can be a performance enhancing routine.

It is a popular belief that music can help people with distracting their mind. The benefit of this to athletes is that music can help distract them from feeling fatigue and can help them push themselves and perform better than they usually would. Researchers in the United Kingdom have discovered that music can help an athlete’s performance with a 15 percent increase. Music can also have a calming effect for many athletes. A more relaxed athlete can focus better and can also increase performance. Overall there have been many studies to suggest a relationship between music and enhanced performance in athletes. The previous thought notion that music and sports are separate and unrelated is now being debunked by many researchers including Dr. Karageorghis.

Hit Song “Humble”, by Kendrick Lamar is the Perfect Song for the NBA Finals

Author: Tran Soles-Torres
(628/600 words)

The NBA playoffs is a time of excitement for many people in the United States and around the world. Similar to the Super Bowl, the NBA playoffs bring non-sports fans, sports fans, and onlookers together via sports action and musical performances.  The NBA has chosen a musician or a musical group’s song as the main, designated postseason theme for the entire playoffs in the past few years. Then, right before game 1 of the finals, the league either has the hit song played or has the musician or musical group attend the game and perform their hit live.  Picking an artist that has a reputation and the “right sound” for the playoffs is important to maximize ratings and is not an easy task for the league and sports channels to accomplish.

Many sports analysts and fans consider the 2016-2017 NBA postseason to be especially exciting this year.  The Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers are set to complete on the finals stage once again for the third time in a row.  The Warriors (2015 champions) and the Cavaliers (2016 champions) will compete in order to see who will win the trilogy.  Both teams have revamped their rosters in order to bring home a championship, and in order to satisfy TV ratings, the NBA and other sports networks have selected Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble” as the official playoff song.  Lamar’s hit will be played throughout the finals starting this Thursday, June 1, 2017.  

 Photo by:
Teamwork and championship traits are characteristics that NBA Final songs all have in common. Last year, the legendary band from Philadelphia, The Roots displayed their song “Champion” with the lyrics “Show me you’re a champion.” as the main attraction.  The song connected with the many NBA fans on another level as they watched superstar LeBron James attempt to bring home the first major sports title to the city of Cleveland in more than 45 years.  Throughout the finals James showed immense effort and teamwork in order to achieve his goal.  In the end, James was successful in capturing his third NBA championship and fulfilling the lyrics of “Champion”.  Lorenzo Duvergne, '18, stated, "For the past couple of years, the NBA playoff theme has lived up to the thrill of the postseason." Regardless of which team won, the league had chosen yet another successful song for the thrill of the postseason.

In order to capture those same feelings for the 2016-2017 postseason, Chris Yuscavage of Complex Sports hosted an interview with Music Director at ESPN, Kevin Wilson.  Wilson was asked how the success of Humble and the NBA Finals related to each other.  He stated, “I think the idea of being humble is a cool concept in terms of the NBA, especially at playoff time. It’s not about individuals, it’s about your goal of winning a championship. We thought there was a lot to work with, and it was even better timing that Kendrick’s album was coming out. Everything sort of fell into place.”  Clearly the goals of ESPN this year match those of the past.

Lamar will continue the tradition of being a respected artist, while producing contemporary music. Other artists who have represented the theme song for the NBA Finals from 2013-2016 include will.i.am ft. Justin Bieber “#thatPOWER”, Pitbull ft. Ke$ha “Timber”, The Black Eyed Peas “Awesome, and The Roots “Champion” respectively.  When Humble was first released it debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.  Shortly after the release of “Humble”, Kendrick Lamar performed the song at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.  Lamar entertained almost 100,000 people at Coachella, while Oracle Arena will only have around 20,000 people at a maximum.  There is no question the “Humble” was the right choice for this year’s NBA postseason theme.  The league succeeded in finding a credible musician that can bring the thrill to millions of Americans in the upcoming weeks.

Comments

Post a Comment