Author Archives: Paul Carr

Sting and the Protest Song

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Paul Carr

I am presenting a paper relating to my Sting book in Limerick this month at a conference on music and protest. Here is an early draft of what I will be speaking about Introduction This paper will provide an overview … Continue reading →

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Psycoanalytic Approaches to Analysis and Musical Taste

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Paul Carr

As anyone who has read this blog will know, I have developed an ongoing interest in the ways in which music conveys meaning over the last few years. This has resulted in considering many academics’ thoughts – ranging from philosophers … Continue reading →

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More Thoughts on the A Level Music Curriculum

Posted on April 12, 2015 by Paul Carr

I have spent much time over the last several years trying to think more deeply about some of the issues associated with the ways in which students are prepared for higher education music courses. The National Diploma awards which were … Continue reading →

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Music Making in Merthyr Tydfil: Memories of Place and Space

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Paul Carr

Since starting my Sting book last year, I have become really interested in the relationship of music and memory. Although my Sting book is specifically focused on one musician’s complex love hate relationship with his hometown of Newcastle, something which … Continue reading →

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Popular Music in the School

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Paul Carr

I took part in some consultancy work at the weekend on the new A Level Music Syllabus. Although the details are confidential for the moment, it got me thinking about the state of popular music based education during the school … Continue reading →

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Zappa and his Legacy: A Request for Decorum

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Paul Carr

Ed Mann has recently been in touch with me regarding my post from last week on ‘Zappa and Censorship’. He has informed me that my post seems to have been totally taken out of context on some discussion forums/Facebook sites. … Continue reading →

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Censorship and Frank Zappa

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Paul Carr

My post the other week about doing a Frank Zappa talk as part of the forthcoming Frank Zappa music festival in Bangor has just taken an unexpected and very disappointing twist. The festival organisers have been told by the Zappa … Continue reading →

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Final Final Thoughts on Melodic Analysis

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Paul Carr

I have been discussing melodic and harmonic analysis with my students over the last few weeks. As a random exercise – we thought it would be useful to consider how some of these techniques are incorporated into the top 10. … Continue reading →

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Student Entrepreneurship Projects

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Paul Carr

Me and a colleague have been working with a range of interesting student entrepreneurship projects over the last few months. They range from music for media initiatives to Wedding Bands to the production of a concept album. Here is a … Continue reading →

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More thoughts on Vertical Melodic Analysis

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Paul Carr

After last weeks post on Horizontal melodic analysis – here are a few thoughts I am discussing with students regarding the vertical dimension. Although there any many ways I have considered this through the years – I have condensed it … Continue reading →

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