NU on Music Theory Print

Nu gaze

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Pitchfork described nu-gaze as a diverse spectrum of bands from around the world who incorporated both analog and digital production in their shoegaze-adjacent sound and approach. In nu gaze, tempos were often faster than traditional shoegaze, and vocals were mixed more prominently. Often, bands showed an influence from 1990s shoegaze, blending jangly indie with layers of distortion.

2000s–2010s: Origins#

As early as 2001, My Vitriol vocalist Som Wardner had identified his band using the name “nu-gaze”. By 2005, it had been used to describe Ambulance LTD, and by 2006 to describe the Morning After Girls. In 2007, Jude Rogers of the Guardian noted the name as being used interchangeably with “stargaze” and “shoetronica”, crediting their popularity as due to a stigma around the name “shoegaze”. By the 2010s, nu gaze was largely used synonymously with the phrase “second-wave shoegaze”.

Nu jazz

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

Nu jazz began with the use of electronic instruments in the 1970s, with contributions from artists like Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, and Ornette Coleman. Herbie Hancock’s work in the early 1980s, particularly his collaboration with Bill Laswell on the album Future Shock, played a pivotal role in defining the genre by incorporating electro and hip-hop rhythms. By the late 1980s, many hip-hop musicians were exploring jazz-rap, including groups like Gang Starr, The Roots, A Tribe Called Quest, and Nas. Concurrently, in the 1980s, numerous house musicians drew inspiration from jazz, especially post-bop and jazz-funk. In the mid-1990s and early 2000s, downtempo artists such as Jazztronik, St Germain, Trüby Trio, DJ Takemura, Perry Hemus, and Jazzanova delved deeper into jazz. During the same period, producers of intelligent dance music, including notable names like Squarepusher and Spring Heel Jack, and later London Elektricity and Landslide, also showed interest in nu jazz. Techno musicians like Carl Craig and his Innerzone Orchestra project demonstrated interest in the genre. Figures from hardcore and breakcore scenes, such as Alec Empire, Nic Endo, and Venetian Snares, experimented with a harsher and more noisy variant of nu jazz. A decade later, some dubstep producers, like Boxcutter, also explored electronic jazz. While maintaining traditional jazz forms, pianist Bugge Wesseltoft and trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær are known for their improvisations in the nu jazz style. The Cinematic Orchestra is recognized for incorporating traditional jazz elements into their musical productions alongside electronic elements. St Germain, a prominent figure in nu jazz, even sold 1.5 million copies of his album “Tourist.”

Nu metal

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Terminology and origins#

Nu metal is a subgenre of alternative metal. Sometimes stylized as nü-metal, the genre has also been dubbed aggro-metal or simply aggro. MTV states that the early nu metal group Korn “arrived in 1993 into the burgeoning alternative metal scene, which would morph into nü-metal the way college rock became alternative rock.” Nu metal merges elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip-hop, grunge, funk, and alternative rock according to Blabbermouth.net. Some nu metal bands, such as Static-X and Dope, made nu metal music with elements of industrial metal. In contrast with other heavy metal subgenres, nu metal tends to use the same structure of verses, choruses, and bridges as those in pop music.

Nu metalcore

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

Nu metalcore often makes use of both screamed and sung vocals, breakdowns, heavy guitar riffs, hip hop-influenced drum beats and electronic music elements. Metal Injection writer Max Heilman specifically stated the style of metalcore that nu metalcore bands draw on is the original 1990s “metallic hardcore” style. An editorial for Thrash Hits cited Contemporary R&B as a key influence on the genre, comparing it to the influence hip hop had on the original nu metal genre.

Nu skool breaks

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

The term “nu skool breaks” is widely attributed to Rennie Pilgrem and Adam Freeland, who used it to describe the sound at their nightclub Friction, which was launched at Bar Rumba in 1996, with promoter Ian Williams. The tracks “Renegades” by Uptown Connection and “Double Impact” by Boundarie Hunters are considered to be the earliest produced to formally adopt the genre. In 1998, the term “Nu Skool Breaks” was used on two compilations, Nu Skool Breakz, Volume 1 and 2, mixed by Rennie Pilgrem and released through UK-based Kickin Records. The first volume of these was recorded live at the aforementioned London club night Friction. Labels that featured early Nu Skool Breaks releases included Botchit & Scarper, Fuel Records (UK), Hard Hands, Marine Parade Records, TCR, and Ultimatum Breaks.

Nu-disco

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Disco edits: 1970s–early 1990s#

Disco edits or re-edits emerged at the same time as disco appeared in the early 1970s, when DJs were looking for ways to make music easier to mix. A disco edit is a modified version of the original master, edited by disco and house DJs to extend and emphasize the best and most dance-friendly elements. For example, Todd Terje’s edit of the Bee Gees hit “You Should Be Dancing” does exactly that, downplaying the old-school vocal riffs in favour of driving bass, lively percussion, and an overall sense of space. In the early days, edits were done with scissors and tape. Some edits became even more popular than the original records from which they were derived. The early editors (such as Walter Gibbons) earned a reputation and developed a studio career from their editing work. Given the popularity of edits, labels predominantly releasing edits and remixes began to appear. The first one to arrive was Disconet in 1977, followed by well-known DJ edits services and labels such as Hot Tracks, Rhythm Stick and Razormaid.

Nueva canción

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Characteristics#

"" is a type of music which is committed to social good. Its musical and lyrical vernacular is rooted in the popular classes and often uses a popularly understood style of satire to advocate for sociopolitical change. The movement reacted against the dominance of American and European music in Latin America at the time by assuming an anti-imperial stance that was markedly less focused on the visual spectacle of commercial music and more focused on social and political messages. It characteristically talks about poverty, empowerment, imperialism, democracy, human rights, religion, and the Latin American identity. draws heavily upon Andean music, música negra, Spanish music, Cuban music and other Latin American folklore. Most songs feature the guitar, and often the quena, zampoña, charango or cajón. The lyrics are typically in Spanish, with some indigenous or local words mixed in, and frequently utilize the poetic forms of copla and décima. was explicitly related to leftist politics, advancing leftist ideals and flourishing within the structure of the Communist Party in Latin America. Cuban cultural organization Casa de las Américas hosted many notable gatherings of musicians, including the 1967 Encuentro de la Canción Protesta. Songs of conflict in Spanish have a very long history, with elements to be found in the “fronterizos”, songs concerning the Reconquest of Spain from the Moors in the 15th century. More immediately, some of the roots of may be seen in the Mexican “corrido”, which took on a strongly political flavour during the War of Independence , and then the Revolution after 1910. The modern developed in the historical context of the “folklore boom” that occurred in Latin America in the 1950s. Chilean Violeta Parra and Argentine Atahualpa Yupanqui were two transitional figures as their mastery of folk music and personal involvement in leftist political organizations aided the eventual union of the two in . The movement was also aided by legislation like Juan Perón’s Decreto 3371/1949 de Protección de la Música Nacional and Law No. 14,226, which required that half of the music played on the radio or performed live be of national origin. The music quickly spread to Argentina and throughout Latin America during the 1960s and 1970s. Various national movements used their own terminology; however, the term "" was adopted at the 1967 Encuentro de la Canción Protesta and has thereafter been used as an all-encompassing term. Though is often considered a Pan-Latino phenomenon, national manifestations were varied and reacted to local political and cultural contexts.

Nueva canción chilena

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

History#

The Chilean New Song movement was spurred by a renewed interest in Chilean traditional music and folklore in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Folk singers such as Violeta Parra and Víctor Jara traversed the regions of Chile both collecting traditional melodies and songs and seeking inspiration to create songs with social themes. These songs diverged from songs known in the cities at the time, which were often stylized interpretations of central Chilean folk music that emphasized patriotism and idyllic representations of country life; in contrast, the New Song sought to give a voice to Chile’s rural peoples, its working class, and their realities. Early musicians in the movement often used folk instruments such as the quena (Andean flute) or zampoñas (pan-pipes). This phase of the Chilean New Song has been referred to as the “discovery and protest” phase. Violeta Parra in particular played a key role in this phase of the New Song as she was committed to reviving Chilean traditional songs and bringing a voice to the Chilean poor. In the 1960s, Parra founded La Peña de Los Parra in Santiago alongside her son Ángel Parra, also a key figure in the movement, and this became a meeting place for musicians of the New Song. Parra’s impact on the movement is widely acknowledged. In 1981, Cuban singer Silvio Rodríguez remarked that her influence on the Latin American New Song movement cannot be understated: “Violeta is fundamental. Nothing would have been as it is had it not been for Violeta”. Rejection of foreign influence on Chilean culture, particularly US culture, further stimulated the movement as it sought to create a sense of Chilean national identity. At the inaugural Festival de la Nueva Canción Chilena (Festival of the Chilean New Song) in 1969 in Santiago - the first time the movement was so named - Universidad Catolica rector Fernando Castillo said: “Perhaps popular song is the art that best defines a community. But lately in our country we are experiencing a reality that is not ours… Our purpose here today is to search for an expression that describes our reality… How many foreign singers come here and get us all stirred up, only to leave us emptier than ever when they leave? And isn’t it true that our radio and television programs seldom encourage the creativity of our artists… ? Let our fundamental concern be that our own art be deeply rooted in the Chilean spirit so that when we sing - be it badly or well - we express genuine happiness and pain, happiness and pain that are our own.” The Chilean New Song also developed amidst a background of social upheaval taking place throughout Latin America. The Cuban Revolution and the Vietnam War provided inspiration for a growing number of musicians who aligned themselves politically with the socialist struggle. Examples of this include Víctor Jara’s Zamba del Che in homage to Che Guevara and Rolando Alarcón’s Por Cuba y Por Vietnam. Following Violeta Parra’s death in 1967, Víctor Jara became one of the leading figures of the movement. In Chile, the New Song came to actively support the presidential campaign of Salvador Allende. Folk singers of the movement wrote songs in support of Allende’s Popular Unity coalition, playing at political rallies and becoming cultural beacons of the left. The campaign hymn for Popular Unity, “Venceremos” (“we shall succeed”), written by Claudio Iturra and Sergio Ortega and performed by the band Inti-Illimani, contained lyrics urging the Chilean people to unite behind Allende’s. Another key song in the movement, El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido (“the people united will never be defeated”), written by Quilapayún and Sergio Ortega, was also originally composed in support of Allende’s electoral campaign and went on to become an internationally recognised song of protest. The election of Salvador Allende as Chilean president in 1970 heralded a new phase for the New Song movement and themes became less tied to a particular political cause., In one of his final songs, Manifesto, Víctor Jara sung of the essence of the New Song: My guitar is not for the rich no, nothing like that. My song is of the ladder we are building to reach the stars. For a song has meaning when it beats in the veins of a man who will die singing, truthfully singing his song. The 1973 military coup led by Augusto Pinochet marked the end of the Chilean New Song movement. Many of its proponents were captured and tortured and fled Chile in exile. In the days following the coup, Víctor Jara was taken to Chile Stadium (Estadio Chile now Estadio Víctor Jara), tortured and killed at the hands of the military regime. According to testimony, he was tortured by soldiers who broke his hands and taunted him saying “sing now, if you can, bastard”; Jara reportedly responded by singing a verse of Venceremos and was subsequently taken away and killed. Jara’s final work was a poem without a title, commonly named Estadio Chile, wherein he wrote of the conditions of those captured by the military junta: How hard it is to sing when I must sing of horror. Horror which I am living, horror which I am dying. To see myself among so much and so many moments of infinity in which silence and screams are the end of my song. From foreign shores, a number of New Song musicians including Angel Parra, Patricio Manns and bands Inti-Illimani and Quilapayun continued to perform in the New Song style.

Nueva ola

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Argentina#

In 1960, RCA Victor general manager Ricardo Mejía discovered through a market research that there were almost no popular music stars among the youth. As a result, the company began the selection of new singers, initiating the phenomenon of the nueva ola in Argentina. Based on foreign music shows, each episode showed a group of friends that got together to perform various styles of music including rock ’n’ roll (and the accompanying twist), bolero and cumbia. The nueva ola was overshadowed by the popularity of British Invasion bands, while at the same time a feeling nonconformity grew among the youth, which saw the phenomenon as too carefree and compliant. Before the dissolution of the group and “as a farewell,” an El club del clan film directed by Enrique Carreras was released on March 12, 1964.

Nueva trova

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Influences#

Nueva Trova was one aspect of the Pan-Latin American “new song movement” which tended to use lyrics that were self-consciously literary, formal and schooled. Another influence was that of filín (feeling), a romantic song movement of the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Pablo Milanés, for one, was a filín singer. At approximately the same time as the rise of Nueva Trova, similar musical genres across the world were increasing in popularity as part of a roots revival; these involved the popularization of traditional music welded with socio-political lyrics. Nueva Trova was most closely influenced by South American (especially Chilean) nueva canción, Spanish Nova Cançó, Bolivian canto nuevo, Portuguese canto livre and nova canção, and Brazilian Tropicalismo. At about the same time, Puerto Ricans like Roy Brown, Andrés Jiménez, Antonio Cabán Vale and the group Haciendo Punto en Otro Son also became popular. Though inspired by American protest artists like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, Nueva Trova criticized the abuses of the United States government and its allies. Other major influences include The Beatles, Chilean revivalist Violeta Parra, Uruguayan singer-songwriter Daniel Viglietti and the Catalan protest singer Joan Manuel Serrat. In both Cuba and Puerto Rico, the politicized lyrics of Nueva Trova were very often critical of the United States; Puerto Rican singers were especially critical of Vieques’ continued use as a United States Navy training ground. Nueva Trova is defined, not only by its connection with Castro’s revolution, but also by its lyrics. The lyrics try to escape the banalities of life (e.g. love) by concentrating on socialism, injustice, sexism, colonialism, racism and similar ‘serious’ issues. Silvio Rodríguez, Noel Nicola, and Pablo Milanés became the most important exponents of this style. Carlos Puebla and Joseíto Fernández were long-time trova singers who added their weight to the new regime, but of the two only Puebla wrote special pro-revolution songs. The government gave support to musicians willing to write and sing anti-U.S. and pro-revolution songs. This was an additional incentive in a period when many of the traditional musicians found it difficult or impossible to earn a living. In 1967, the Casa de las Américas in Havana held a Festival de la canción de protesta (protest songs). Tania Castellanos, a filín singer and author, wrote ¡Por Ángela! in support of Angela Davis. César Portillo de la Luz wrote Oh, valeroso Viet Nam. Although Nueva Trova expressed the socio-economic issues of Cuba, later on some musicians chose to express these issues through Rap Cubano which they viewed as more pure and more to the street.

Nuevo tango

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Origins#

Prior to the 1990s, Argentine tango was taught with a didactic method: teaching tango by having students copy examples shown by the instructor. Emphasis was not given to how or why movement was done a certain way. Tango dance in Argentina fell into general disrepute during the junta of 1976–83, to the point that the few professionals left as teachers were looked down upon, and the young people of the time rarely participated in the few opportunities to dance. Ironically, the quote “el ser Argentino…vive la expresion tango” (meaning tango is part of the Argentine essence, or identity) comes from the 1975 book El Tango y Gardel, commissioned by the Argentine government in homage to Carlos Gardel. Gustavo Naveira’s instruction began to be offered after Argentina became democratic again in 1983 and restrictions on social life eased. He reported that despite his nerves about teaching, the classes drew “crowds of 200 or more”, and many older former dancers became instructors as social tango returned. The popular reinstatement of tango is culturally seen by many Argentines as a point of nationalistic pride and self-representation. Starting in the 1990s in Buenos Aires, the Tango Investigation Group (later transformed into the Cosmotango organization) founded by Gustavo Naveira and Fabián Salas applied the principles of dance kinesiology from modern dance to analyze the physics of movement in Argentine tango. Taking what they learned from this analysis they then began to explore all the possibilities of movement within the framework of Argentine Tango. From the work of these founders of the tango nuevo movement, there was shift in all styles of tango away from teaching what to dance toward teaching how to dance. Milonga in the last decades of the 20th century maintained a sense of exclusion toward the new tango style, where “the clash was between generations” whose older constituents acted as stewards of the formulaic style. According to one professional, “They didn’t want anybody else to come and change things.” The alternative center for young dancers then sprang up in the form of the modern practica, beginning with the opening of the popular El Motivo at the Villa Malcolm social club in 2004. The accelerating creation of a nuevo tango beginning around this time is consistent with anthropologist Martin Stokes’s idea that dance is a play form, and that along with music it is a form of “social creativity”, subject to instability in times of social change. Its formation and forging of a new social scene exemplifies the view of musical anthropology that music creates, rather than is created from, social life. Though widely referred to as a tango style outside of Argentina, tango nuevo is not considered a style of dancing tango by the founders of the movement. It refers only to the method of analysis and teaching developed through the application of the principles of dance kinesiology to Argentine tango. In 2009, Gustavo Naveira published an essay New Tango, in which he states: “There is great confusion on the question of the way of dancing the tango: call it technique, form, or style. The term Tango Nuevo, is used to refer to a style of dancing, which is an error. In reality, Tango Nuevo is everything that has happened with the tango since the 1980s. It is not a question of a style… The words Tango Nuevo express what is happening with tango dancing in general; namely that it is evolving.” Therefore, as Gustavo Naveira and the other founders of the tango nuevo movement have said, all styles of tango, which have now been influenced by the analysis of the dance, are all tango nuevo. Despite the insistence by the founders of the tango nuevo movement that it is not a single style, it has become an accepted term by many that it is a separate and distinct style of tango. Considered by many as the most famous practitioners of tango nuevo are Mariano “Chicho” Frumboli, Pablo Verón, Roberto Herrera (who even dedicated a whole Tango show to this new style: Tango Nuevo, premiere 2005), Gustavo Naveira, Norberto “El Pulpo” Esbrés, Fabián Salas, Esteban Moreno, Claudia Codega, Sebastián Arce and Mariana Montes. All of these dancers have highly individual styles that cannot be confused with each other, yet are all referred to by many as the tango nuevo style. Critics of what some call the tango nuevo style claim that with all the emphasis being on the physics of the dance, that the connection to the music, the feeling, and the traditions of Argentine tango have been lost to the newer generations of tango dancers. Referring to the newer generations of tango nuevo dancers, one of the founders of the tango nuevo movement, Mariano “Chicho” Frumboli stated in an interview: “They are completely lost! I learnt with the last great milongueros, I took the information directly from them. … The problem is that we missed something in the teaching, I take total responsibility, and other colleagues should do so as well. I can’t pass on what I have learned. I was crazy about creating, because I saw a new vein in the evolution of the movement. I threw myself into that, and I lost the way to be able to pass on the tango essence that I have very much inside. Because of this I feel that lately there are a lot of people who don’t understand or know what the real essence of this dance is.” Critics of tango nuevo also say that there is little difference in the way it is practiced than show tango. In an interview, Mariano Frumboli said: “Today you do a volcada and a colgada and it is the same because they are there, commercially speaking, in the same package. Then, between doing a sandwichito or a volcada… people do a volcada! Because it’s more eye-catching. … They are not going to make a sandwichito to enjoy that moment, but whatever shows them more and better.” The increased openness in bodily movement extends to the face, where previously the cara de tango or standardized expression of passion was socially required; this is no longer a given between professional dancers at social tango events. In July 2009, Gustavo Naveira wrote about nuevo tango:

Nuo theatre

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Etymology#

Nuo means an oath, binding utterance, or exorcism in Chinese religious culture. The Chinese character for “nuo” is "" in simplified Chinese or "" in traditional Chinese. This is a very uncommon character in modern Chinese. The meaning of the character “Nuo” is a patterned step to drive away the devil during the last month of the Chinese lunar new year. The Chinese character for “theatre” or “drama” is "" in simplified Chinese or "" in traditional Chinese.

Nursery rhyme

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Lullabies#

The oldest children’s songs for which records exist are lullabies, intended to help a child fall asleep. Lullabies can be found in every human culture. The English term lullaby is thought to come from “lu, lu” or “la la” sounds made by mothers or nurses to calm children, and "" or “bye bye”, either another lulling sound or a term for a good night. Until the modern era, lullabies were usually recorded only incidentally in written sources. The Roman nurses’ lullaby “Lalla, Lalla, Lalla, aut dormi, aut lacta” is recorded in a scholium on Persius and may be the oldest to survive. Many medieval English verses associated with the birth of Jesus take the form of a lullaby, including “Lullay, my liking, my dere son, my sweting”, and may be versions of contemporary lullabies. However, most of those used today date from the 17th century. For example, a well-known lullaby such as “Rock-a-bye Baby”, could not be found in records until the late-18th century when it was printed by John Newbery (c. 1765).

Nusach (Jewish music)

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Description#

The whole musical style or tradition of a community is sometimes referred to as its nusach, but this term is most often used in connection with the chants used for recitative passages, in particular the Amidah. Many of the passages in the prayer book, such as the Amidah and the Psalms, are chanted in a recitative rather than either read in normal speech or sung to a rhythmical tune. The recitatives follow a system of musical modes, somewhat like the maqamat of Arabic music. For example, Ashkenazi cantorial practice distinguishes a number of steiger (scales) named after the prayers in which they are most frequently used, such as the Adonoi malach steiger and the Ahavoh rabboh steiger. Mizrahi communities such as the Syrian Jews use the full maqam system. The scales used may vary both with the particular prayer and with the season. For examples, there are often special modes for the High Holy Days, and in Syrian practice the scale used depends on the Torah reading for the week (see The Weekly Maqam). In some cases the actual melodies are fixed, while in others the reader has freedom of improvisation.