Category:Music

Letter for Berklee

Steve Vai

Greetings enthusiastic music students, and congratulations. You have chosen the entertainment industry as your profession. I have been in it for the last forty-seven years, and I can tell you it’s truly a fantastic industry. The number of options and…

A Beautiful View from the Berklee Bridge, Flowing with Music, Energy, and Glimpses of a Fruitful Future

A Reflection by Dr. Bill Banfield

I have often felt that, with my art, I could strike a blow against mediocrity. Thumb my nose at power, hate, and injustice. Lift a story that inspires joy. Pull from life a creative melody that guarantees a sigh and wonders about beauty. Build a room where everyone could find a friend. Change the mind of a young person to find a better truth for themselves . . . Wow, that would be a goal to work, live, and die for, happily having tried. Well, after being at Berklee for fifteen years, that is what I feel I can see forthcoming. I say that because this is a school that potentially will change the future due to talent, energy, and the power of music ...

Music in Islamic Philosophy

Peter Adamson

Despite his importance as the first Muslim intellectual to make use of ideas from the Greek philosophical tradition, we don’t know much about the life of al-Kindi. We do know roughly when he lived (the ninth century CE), that he…

Which Way do the Trade Winds Blow?

Rick McLaughlin

Two Case Studies Examining the Voyage of Jazz to Africa Abstract: Over the past century, American jazz recordings have transformed from the music of New Orleans to at least 13 unique sub-genres. Given the importance of West African music on…

T. Allen LeVines

Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto

When is there not music? ... bursts of morning sun or night shadows in a full moon rising ... thundering spring waterfalls or silent mountain snows in winter ...