A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In each musical style different norms have developed for the sizes and composition of different ensembles, and for the repertoire of songs or musical works that these ensembles perform.

A group of two musicians is called a duo, a group of three is a trio, a group of four a quartet, and a group of five a quintet. A musician who usually performs alone is usually termed a solo musician or solo artist.

In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families (such as piano, strings, and wind instruments) or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles. In jazz ensembles, the instruments typically include wind instruments (one or more saxophones, trumpets, etc.), one or two chordal "comping" instruments (electric guitar, piano, or organ), a bass instrument (electric bass guitar or double bass), and a drummer or percussionist. In rock ensembles, usually called rock bands, there are usually guitars and keyboards (piano, electric piano, Hammond organ, synthesizer, etc.) and a rhythm section made up of a bass guitar and drum kit.

Classical chamber music

In Western Art music, commonly referred to as classical music, smaller ensembles are called chamber music ensembles. The terms duet, trio, quartet, quintet, sextet, septet, octet, nonet and dectet are used to describe groups of two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten musicians, respectively. A group of eleven musicians, such as found in ''The Carnival of the Animals'', is called either a "hendectet" or an "undectet" (see Latin numerical prefixes). A solo is not an ensemble because it only contains one musician.

Four parts

Strings

A string ''quartet'' usually consists of two violins, a viola and a cello. An upper string quartet features two violins and two violas. A lower string quartet features 1 viola, 2 cellos and a double bass. An American string quartet features two guitars, a banjo and a drum kit.

Wind

A woodwind quartet usually features a clarinet, bassoon, flute and oboe. A brass quartet features 2 trumpets, a trombone and a tuba. A wind quartet features a horn, flute, oboe and bassoon. A lower wind quartet features a tuba, a bassoon, a bass clarinet and a trombone.

Five parts

The string ''quintet'' is a common type of group. It is similar to the string quartet, but with two violas, two cellos, or more rarely, the addition of a double bass. Terms such as "piano quintet" or "clarinet quintet" frequently refer to a string quartet ''plus'' a fifth instrument. Thus, a ''piano quintet'' is usually a string quartet plus a piano. Mozart's Clarinet Quintet is similarly a piece written for an ensemble consisting of 2 violins, a viola, a cello and a clarinet, the last being the exceptional addition to a "normal" string quartet.

Other common groupings in classical music are the woodwind quintet, usually consisting of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn and the brass quintet, consisting of two trumpets, one french horn, a trombone and a tuba.

Six or more instruments

Classical chamber ensembles for more than six musicians are occasionally used, such as septets (seven musicians), octets (eight musicians), or nonets (nine musicians). However, in many cases a larger classical group is referred to as an orchestra of some type. A small orchestra with fifteen to thirty members (violins, violas, cellos, double basses, and several woodwind or brass instruments) is called a chamber orchestra In the American education system, sitting groups are known as wind ensembles or concert bands (to differentiate from marching bands). Music is similar to that of a pops orchestra, orchestrated for woodwinds, brass, and percussion. A sinfonietta usually denotes a somewhat smaller orchestra (though still not a chamber orchestra). Larger orchestras are called symphony orchestras or philharmonic orchestras.

A pops orchestra is an orchestra that mainly performs light classical music (often in abbreviated, simplified arrangements) and orchestral arrangements and medleys of popular jazz, music theater, or pop music songs. A string orchestra has only strings, i.e., violins, violas, cellos and basses.

A symphony orchestra is an ensemble usually comprising at least thirty musicians; the number of players is typically between seventy and ninety-five and may exceed one hundred. A symphony orchestra is divided into families of instruments. In the string family, there are sections of violins (I and II), violas, cellos, and basses. The winds consist of the woodwind family of instruments (flutes and piccolo, oboes and English horn, clarinets [made up of the E clarinet, clarinet, and bass clarinet], and bassoons [often including contrabassoon]) and the brass family (horns, trumpets, trombones, and tuba). The percussion family includes the timpani, bass drum, snare drum, and any other percussion instruments called for in a score (e.g., triangle, glockenspiel, chimes, cymbals, wood blocks).

When orchestras are performing baroque music (from the 17th century and early 18th century), they may also use a harpsichord or pipe organ. When orchestras are performing Romantic-era music (from the 19th century), they may also use harps or unusual instruments such as the wind machine. When orchestras are performing music from the 20th century or the 21st century, occasionally instruments such as electric guitar, theremin, or even an electronic synthesizer may be used.

Jazz ensembles

Three parts

In jazz, there are several types of trios. One type of jazz trio is formed with a piano player, a bass player and a drummer. Another type of jazz trio that became popular in the 1950s and 1960s is the organ trio, which is composed of a Hammond organ player, a drummer, and a third instrumentalist (either a saxophone player or an electric jazz guitarist). In organ trios, the Hammond organ player performs the bass line on the organ bass pedals while simultaneously playing chords or lead lines on the keyboard manuals. Other types of trios include the "drummer-less" trio, which consists of a piano player, a double bassist, and a horn (saxophone or trumpet) or guitar player ; and the jazz trio with a horn player (saxophone or trumpet), double bass player, and a drummer. In the latter type of trio, the lack of a chordal instrument means that the horn player and the bassist have to imply the changing harmonies with their improvised lines.

Four parts

Jazz quartets typically add a ''horn'' (the generic jazz name for saxophones, trombones, trumpets, or any other wind instrument commonly associated with jazz) to one of the jazz trios described above. Slightly larger jazz ensembles, such as quintets (five instruments) or sextets (six instruments) typically add other soloing instruments to the basic quartet formation, such as different types of saxophones (e.g., alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, etc.) or an additional chordal instrument.

Larger ensembles

The lineup of larger jazz ensembles can vary considerably, depending on the style of jazz being performed. In a 1920s-style dixieland jazz band, a larger ensemble would be formed by adding a banjo player, woodwind instruments, as with the clarinet, or additional horns (saxophones, trumpets, trombones) to one of the smaller groups. In a 1940s-style Swing big band, a larger ensemble is formed by adding "sections" of like instruments, such as a saxophone section and a trumpet section, which perform arranged "horn lines" to accompany the ensemble. In a 1970s-style jazz fusion ensemble, a larger ensemble is often formed by adding additional percussionists or sometimes a saxophone player would "double" or "triple" meaning that they would also be proficient at the clarinet, flute or both. Also by the addition of soloing instruments.

Rock and pop bands

Two parts

Two-member rock and pop bands are relatively rare, because of the difficulty in providing all of the musical elements which are part of the rock or pop sound (vocals, chords, bass lines, and percussion or drumming) with trios or quartets. Two-member rock and pop bands typically omit one of these musical elements. In many cases, two-member bands will omit a drummer, since guitars, bass guitars, and keyboards can all be used to provide a rhythmic pulse, however one rare west coast metal and rock band In Between, consists of a drummer and a guitarist/singer. Examples of two-member bands are The Everly Brothers, Pet Shop Boys, Hella, Flight of the Conchords, Death from above 1979, Francis Xavier, I Set My Friends On Fire, Middle Class Rut, No Age, The Pity Party, The White Stripes, Big Business, erdbeerseestern, God Head Silo, Two Gallants, Lightning Bolt, The Ting Tings, The Black Box Revelation, Satyricon, The Black Keys, Panic! At the Disco, Stray Kites, Tenacious D, D.A. Dad, Simon and Garfunkel and The Pack A.D..

When electronic sequencers became widely available in the 1980s, this made it easier for two-member bands to add in musical elements that the two band members were not able to perform. Sequencers allowed bands to pre-program some elements of their performance, such as an electronic drum part and a synth-bass line. Two-member pop music bands such as Soft Cell, Blancmange and Yazoo used pre-programmed sequencers. Other pop bands from the 1980s which were ostensibly fronted by two performers, such as Wham! and Tears for Fears, were not actually two-piece ensembles, because other instrumental musicians were used "behind the scenes" to fill out the sound.

Two-piece bands in rock music are quite rare. However, starting in the 2000s, blues-influenced rock bands such as The White Stripes, Lost Dawn and The Black Keys utilized a guitar and drums scheme. However, this is predated by the Flat Duo Jets from the '80's. Death From Above 1979 featured a drummer and bass guitarist. Tenacious D is a two-guitar band; One Day as a Lion and The Dresden Dolls both feature a keyboardist and a drummer. The band Welk consists of a two-man psychedelic flute band, with the occasional synthesizer. Two-person bands have grown in popularity in experimental rock music. W.A.S.P. guitarist Doug Blair is also known for his work in the two-piece progressive rock band signal2noise, where he manages to be the lead guitarist and bassist at the same time, thanks to a special custom instrument he invented (an electric guitar with five regular guitar strings paired with three bass guitar strings). Heisenflei of Los Angeles duo The Pity Party plays drums, keyboards, and sings simultaneously. Providence-based Lightning Bolt is a two-member band. Bassist Brian Gibson augments his playing with delay pedals, pitch shifters, looping devices and other pedals, occasionally creating harmony. Local H, No Age, Blood Red Shoes, PS I Love You, The Redmond Barry's and Warship are other prominent two-person experimental rock bands.

Example line-up

Lead vocals, Bass, Guitar

Drums, Percussion, Backing vocals

or

Lead vocals, Keyboard, Guitar

Drums, Percussion, Backing vocals

or

Lead vocals, Bass, Drum machine

Lead guitar, Backing vocals Drum machine

Three parts

The smallest ensemble that is commonly used in rock music is the trio format. In a hard rock or blues-rock band, or heavy metal rock group, a "power trio" format is often used, which consists of an electric guitar player, an electric bass guitar player and a drummer, and typically one or more of these musicians also sing (sometimes all three members will sing, e.g. Bee Gees or Alkaline Trio). Some well-known power trios with the guitarist on lead vocals are The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Nirvana, Green Day, Violent Femmes, Gov't Mule, The Minutemen, Triumph, Shellac, Sublime, Chevelle, Muse, Short Stack, ZZ Top, and the original lineup of Wolfmother. A handful of others with the bassist on vocals include Primus, Motörhead, The Police, The Melvins, Blue Cheer, Dinosaur Junior, Rush, The Presidents of the United States of America, Venom, and Cream. Some power trios feature two lead vocalists, both of which play their respective instruments. For example, in the band blink-182 vocals are split between bassist Mark Hoppus and guitarist Tom DeLonge.

An alternative to the power trio are organ trios formed with an electric guitarist, a drummer and a keyboardist. Although organ trios are most commonly associated with 1950s and 1960s jazz organ trio groups such as those led by organist Jimmy Smith, there are also organ trios in rock-oriented styles, such as jazz-rock fusion and Grateful Dead-influenced jam bands such as Medeski Martin & Wood. In organ trios, the keyboard player typically plays a Hammond organ or similar instrument, which permits the keyboard player to perform bass lines, chords, and lead lines. A variant of the organ trio are trios formed with an electric bassist, a drummer and an electronic keyboardist (playing synthesizers) such as the progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and Atomic Rooster. Another variation is to have a vocalist, a guitarist and a drummer, an example being Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Another variation is two guitars, a bassist, and a drum machine, examples including Magic Wands and Big Black.

A power trio with the guitarist on lead vocals is popular record company lineup, as the guitarist and singer will usually be the songwriter. Therefore you only have to present one face to the public, the backing band is easy to house, and the songs will likely stay simple and accessible as the frontman will have to sing and play guitar at the same time.

Example line-up

Lead vocals, Lead guitar

Bass guitar, Keyboards

Drums, Percussion

or

Lead vocals, Bass guitar

Lead guitar, Backing vocals

Drums, Percussion, Backing vocals

or

Backing vocals, Bass guitar

Lead guitar, Backing vocals

Drums, Percussion, Lead vocals

or

Lead vocals, Lead guitar

Bass guitar, Backing vocals, Harmonica

Drums, Percussion

Four parts

The four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. Before the development of the electronic keyboard, the configuration was typically two guitarists (one lead guitarist and one rhythm guitarist, with the latter on vocals), a bassist (typically the electric bass guitar) and a drummer (e.g.KISS, Foo Fighters, Weezer, Metallica, The Clash, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Kinks, The Fray, Sonic Youth, The Smashing Pumpkins, Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, Against Me! and the new lineup of Wolfmother). This is popular with bands for its versatility. However, it has been noted the main complaint is that it takes too much effort to keep so many instruments in tune when they are played by every member of the band.

Another common formation was a vocalist, electric guitarist, bass guitarist, and a drummer (e.g.The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Ramones, Tokio Hotel, Sex Pistols, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Queen, R.E.M., Blur, The Smiths, Echo and the Bunnymen, Stone Roses, Creed, Black Sabbath, Van Halen, The Stooges, Joy Division, U2 and Coldplay). Instrumentally, these bands can be considered as trios. This format is popular with new bands, as there are only two instruments that need tuning, the line-and-counterpoint formula prevalent with their material is easy to learn, four members are commonplace to work with, the roles are clearly defined and generally are: melody line, rhythm section with counterpoint melody, and vocals on top.

In some early rock bands, keyboardists were used, performing on piano (e.g. The Seeds and The Doors) with a guitarist, singer, drummer and keyboardist. Some bands will have a guitarist, bassist, drummer, and keyboard player (for example, Small Faces, King Crimson, The Guess Who, Pink Floyd, Coldplay, The Killers, The Monkees and Blind Faith).

Some bands will have the bassist on lead vocals, such as Thin Lizzy, Chameleons, Pink Floyd, NOFX, +44, Slayer, The All-American Rejects or even the lead guitarist, such as Dire Straits and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Some bands, such as The Beatles, have a lead guitarist, a rhythm guitarist and a bassist that all sing lead and backing vocals, that also play keyboards regularly, as well as a drummer. Others, such as The Four Seasons, have a lead vocalist, a lead guitarist, a keyboard player, and a bassist, with the drummer not being a member of the band.

Example line-ups

Lead vocals

Lead guitar, Backing vocals

Bass guitar, Backing vocals

Drums, Percussion

or

Lead vocals

Lead guitar, Backing vocals

Keyboards, Backing vocals

Bass guitar, Backing vocals

or

Lead vocals, Rhythm guitar

Lead guitar, Backing vocals

Bass guitar, Backing vocals

Drums, Percussion

or

Lead vocals, Bass guitar

Lead guitar, Backing vocals

Keyboards

Drums, Percussion

or

Lead vocals, piano, Rhythm guitar

Lead guitar, backing vocals

Bass guitar, Backing vocals

Drums, Backing vocals

or

Lead vocals, Lead guitar

Rhythm guitar, Backing vocals, Keyboards, Harmonica

Bass guitar, Backing vocals

Drums, Percussion, Backing vocals

or

Lead vocal, Bass guitar

Lead guitar, Backing vocals

Rhythm guitar, Backing vocals

Drums, Percussion, Backing vocals

or

Lead vocals, Lead guitar

Bass guitar, Backing vocals

Keyboards

Drums, Percussion

or

Lead vocals, Keyboards/Piano

Lead guitar, Backing vocals

Bass guitar, Backing vocals

Drums, Percussion

or *Lead vocals *Lead guitar , Backing vocals *Keyboards ,Backing vocals *Drums ,Percussion

Five parts

Five-piece bands have existed in rock music since early times. The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, AC/DC, Oasis, Pearl Jam, Guns N' Roses, Radiohead, The Strokes, Styx, The Yardbirds, 311 are examples of the common vocalist, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, and drums lineup. An alternative to the five-member lineup replaces the rhythm guitarist with a keyboard–synthesizer player (examples being the bands Journey, Nightwish, Maroon 5, Dream Theater, Genesis, Jethro Tull, The Zombies, Bon Jovi, Yes, Snow Patrol, Fleetwood Mac, Marilyn Manson and Deep Purple, all of which consist of a vocalist, guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, and a drummer) or with a turntablist such as Incubus or Limp Bizkit. Alternatives include a keyboardist, guitarist, drummer, bassist, and saxophonist, such as The Sonics and Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. Another alternative is three guitarists, a bassist and a drummer, such as Radiohead and The Byrds. Some five-person bands feature two guitarists, a keyboardist, a bassist and a drummer, with one or more of these musicians (typically one of the guitarists) handling lead vocals on top of their instrument (examples being Children of Bodom, Sturm und Drang and Ensiferum). In some cases, typically in cover bands, one musician plays either rhythm guitar or keyboards, depending on the song (one notable band being Firewind, with Bob Katsionis handling this particular role).

Other times, the vocalist will provide another musical voice to the table, most commonly a harmonica; Mick Jagger, for example, played harmonica and percussion instruments like maracas and tambourine. Ozzy Osbourne was also known to play the harmonica on some occasions (i.e. "The Wizard" by Black Sabbath).

Line-up

Lead vocals

Lead guitar, backing vocals

Rhythm guitar, backing vocals

Bass guitar, backing vocals

Drums, percussion

or

Lead vocals, keyboards, piano

Lead guitar, backing vocals

Bass guitar, backing vocals

Rhythm guitar, backing vocals

Drums, Percussion

or

Lead vocals, rhythm guitar

Lead guitar, backing vocals

Bass guitar, backing vocals

Keyboards, synthesizers

Drums, Percussion

or

Lead vocals

Lead guitar, backing vocals

Keyboards, backing vocals

Bass guitar, backing vocals

Drums, percussion, backing vocals

or

Lead vocals, Rhythm guitar, Piano

Lead guitar, Piano, Keyboards, Backing vocals

Bass guitar, Backing vocals

Keyboards, Rhythm guitar, Backing vocals

Drums, Percussion, Backing vocals

or

Lead vocals, Rhythm guitar, Keyboards

Rhythm guitar, Backing vocals

Lead guitar, Backing vocals

Bass guitar, Backing vocals

Drums, Percussion

or

Lead vocals, Rhythm guitar, Percussion, Keyboards

Lead guitar, Piano, Electronics, Bass, Percussion

Lead guitar, Backing vocals, Synths, Drums, Percussion

Bass guitar, Synths

Drums, Percussion, Backing vocals

Larger rock ensembles

Larger bands have long been a part of rock and pop music, in part due to the influence of the "singer accompanied with orchestra" model inherited from popular big-band jazz and swing and popularized by Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald.To create larger ensembles, rock bands often add an additional guitarist, an additional keyboardist, additional percussionists or second drummer, an entire horn section, and even a flutist. An example of a six-member rock band is Linkin Park with a lead vocalist, rap vocalist/keyboardist, lead guitarist, bassist, turntablist, and drummer. The American heavy metal band Slipknot is composed of eight members, with a vocalist, two guitarists, a drummer, two custom percussionists, a turntablist, and a sampler.

In larger groups (such as The Band), instrumentalists could play multiple instruments, which enabled the ensemble to create a wider variety of instrument combinations. More rarely, rock or pop groups will be accompanied in concerts by a full or partial symphony orchestra, where lush string-orchestra arrangements are used to flesh out the sound of slow ballads.

Example line-up

Lead vocals, screaming vocals

rapping vocals, pianist

lead guitar, backing vocals

bass guitar, backing vocals

turntables, programming, samples, backing vocals

drums, backing vocals

or

Lead vocals

Lead guitar

Rhythm guitar, backing vocals

Bass guitar, backing vocals

Drums, percussion

Keyboards

or

Lead vocals, Guitar

Lead guitarist, Backing vocals

Rhythm guitarist

Bass guitar, Backing vocals

Horns (anything from saxophone to a horn section)

Keyboards, Piano

Drums

or

Lead vocals

Lead guitar, backing vocals

Bass guitar, screaming vocals

Drums, percussion

Keyboards, piano

Rhythm guitar, backing vocals

DJ, emcee, drum machine, Sampler, synthesizers

Percussion

or even

Lead vocalist

Lead vocalist

Lead guitar

Lead guitar

Rhythm guitar

Bass guitar

Drums, Percussion

or

Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar

Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar

Backing Guitar, Backing Vocals

Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals

Drums, Percussion

Keyboards, Piano, Backing Vocals

Pedal Steel Guitar, Backing Vocals

Violin Backing Vocals

The above line-up was used by Bon Jovi during the Lost Highway tour.

Musical drama

Sung dramas such as operas and musicals usually have numbers where several of the principals are singing together, either on their own or with the chorus. Such numbers (''duets'', ''trios'', etc.) are also referred to as 'ensembles'.

Other western musical ensembles

In the 20th century, the Wind Symphony or Wind Ensemble became popular, especially in academic circles. A wind ensemble consists entirely of wind instruments and percussion instruments, but may also include a double bass. Schools from elementary level onward often have a school band program which is usually centered around its wind ensemble, often known as a concert band.

A choir is a group of voices. By analogy, sometimes a group of similar instruments in a symphony orchestra are referred to as a choir. For example, the woodwind instruments of a symphony orchestra could be called the woodwind choir.

A group that plays popular music or military music is usually called a band. A group that plays while marching on a football field, without being a marching band, is called a drum and bugle corps. These bands perform a wide range of music, ranging from arrangements of jazz orchestral, or popular music to military-style marches. Drum corps perform on brass and percussion instruments only. Some corps perform on bugles in the key of G, while others perform on brass instruments in multiple keys, depending on the group. Drum and Bugle Corps incorporate costumes, hats, and pageantry in their performances.

Other band types include:

Jug bands

Mexican Mariachi groups typically consist of at least two violins, two trumpets, one Spanish guitar, one vihuela (a high-pitched, five-string guitar), and one Guitarrón (a Mexican acoustic bass that is roughly guitar-shaped), and one or more singers.

See also

List of musical ensemble formats

Music

Alexandrov ensemble

References

External links

Music, Historical images. From New York Public Library Digital Gallery

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Coordinates	29°25′″N98°30′″N
name	Brandon Boyd
background	solo_singer
birth name	Brandon Charles Boyd
height	6'2
alias	The Invisible Floating Torso Man (Make Yourself)Happy Knappy (Fungus Amongus)Brandon of the Jungle (Enjoy Incubus)Cornelius (S.C.I.E.N.C.E.)
born	February 15, 1976Van Nuys, California, U.S.
instrument	Vocals, guitar, percussion, didjeridoo, djembe
genre	Alternative rock
years active	1991–present
label	Epic RecordsImmortal RecordsSony Records
associated acts	Incubus
vocal types	Baritone }}

Brandon Charles Boyd (born February 15, 1976, in Van Nuys, California) is an American musician, author, and visual artist. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the American rock band Incubus.

Early Life and Incubus

Boyd graduated from Calabasas High School in 1994 and attended Moorpark College for two years before committing to Incubus. Brandon grew up in Calabasas, CA with Ricky Taylor who inspired him to write music. His parents, Dolly and Charles Boyd, both of whom had experience in entertainment, had nurtured his artistic side since he was a child. His younger brother, Jason Boyd, was also the lead singer of a band called Audiovent, which has since broken up. Other musical family members include cousin Robert "Berto Chico" Boyd who is an accomplished Flamenco guitarist he knows his abct self-taught (he had taken two lessons before he ran out of money, but he claims he learned everything he would need), proved to be the final essential element for the band. In an interview, Boyd explained that he had "yet to stumble across his best work" because he lacked the ability to read music.

Boyd designed concert fliers advertising their early performances. At first, Boyd had copied several drawings from a sex education book that Einziger's mother had given them, but he decided to stop using it after several prospective fans had been confused by their fliers ("What kind of band is this?"). Boyd is also known for playing several instruments such as the didgeridoo and djembe. He also has some guitar parts during live performances.

His voice was part of what enticed Sony's Epic/Immortal Records, and the band was signed in 1996. The band's first two releases on the label, ''Enjoy Incubus'' and ''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'' went largely unnoticed, but subsequent releases ''Make Yourself'' and ''Morning View'' were commercial successes. The band's 2004 release ''A Crow Left of the Murder...'' has continued their success, nominating the band for Best Hard Rock Performance in the 2005 Grammy Awards. On November 28, 2006, the band released ''Light Grenades''. On June 16, 2009, Incubus released a greatest hits album titled ''Monuments and Melodies''.

In 2011 Incubus finished their 7th studio album ''If Not Now, When?'', which was released on July 12, 2011, followed then by a tour.

Literature and Fine Art

Brandon Boyd has written two books. The first, written in 2003, was ''White Fluffy Clouds'': Found Inspiration Moving Forward. It was published by Endophasia Publications and mainly consists of his artwork, photography, song lyrics from Incubus, and additional writings and thoughts. His more recent publication, ''From the Murks of the Sultry Abyss,'' was also published by Endophasia in 2007.

In recent years, Brandon Boyd has focused on making fine art, specifically painting, and on September 8, 2008 celebrated the opening of his first solo show, titled "Ectoplasm," at Mr. Musichead Gallery in Los Angeles, California.

Solo career

On July 6, 2010, Boyd announced that his debut solo album, ''The Wild Trapeze'' was released. On June 21, 2010, a music video for Boyd's first single from ''The Wild Trapeze,'' entitled "Runaway Train," was released online. A second music video was released for the album, for the song "Last Night a Passenger" in October 2010.

Tattoos

Brandon Boyd is known for his mostly self-designed tattoos. On his forearms he carries the widely known Buddhist mantra Om Mani Padme Hum, referring to the qualities of generosity, ethics, patience, diligence, renunciation and wisdom. Underneath that is a koi fish in red ink designed by friend and fellow bandmate, José Pasillas II. On the inside of his right arm he has several tattoos, one once again incorporating the Tibetan mantra and another designed after Sarah Kerrigan. Following the release of their album "A Crow Left of the Murder," he got an elaborate back tattoo featuring the common image of the All Seeing-Eye embedded in a pyramid. He also has a tattoo of the Eye of Horus on his right ankle. Other tattoos include his parents' names (Priscila and Charles) on his forearms, an owl on his back, one tear drop on his index finger on both hands, and a picture inspired by Aubrey Beardsley famous art, "The Peacock Skirt" on his left arm.

Discography

;With Incubus

''Fungus Amongus'' (1995)

''S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'' (1997)

''Make Yourself'' (1999)

''Morning View'' (2001)

''A Crow Left of the Murder...'' (2004)

''Light Grenades'' (2006)

''Monuments and Melodies'' (2009)

''If Not Now, When?'' (2011)

;Solo

''The Wild Trapeze'' (2010)

References

External links

Inspiring interview with Brandon Boyd by SUBvert magazine

Category:1976 births Category:American male singers Category:Nu metal singers Category:American rock singers Category:American vegetarians Category:Incubus (band) members Category:Musicians from California Category:People from the San Fernando Valley Category:Living people

de:Brandon Boyd es:Brandon Boyd fa:برندن بوید fr:Brandon Boyd gl:Brandon Boyd it:Brandon Boyd lt:Brandon Boyd pl:Brandon Boyd pt:Brandon Boyd ru:Бойд, Брэндон sk:Brandon Boyd fi:Brandon Boyd sv:Brandon Boyd

Coordinates	29°25′″N98°30′″N
Name	John Burroughs
Birth date	April 03, 1837
Birth place	Roxbury, New York
Death date	March 29, 1921
Death place	on a train near Kingsville, Ohio
Occupation	writer, essayist, naturalist
Nationality	}}

John Burroughs (April 3, 1837 – March 29, 1921) was an American naturalist and essayist important in the evolution of the U.S. conservation movement. According to biographers at the American Memory project at the Library of Congress, John Burroughs was the most important practitioner after Thoreau of that especially American literary genre, the nature essay. By the turn of the century he had become a virtual cultural institution in his own right: the Grand Old Man of Nature at a time when the American romance with the idea of nature, and the American conservation movement, had come fully into their own. His extraordinary popularity and popular visibility were sustained by a prolific stream of essay collections, beginning with ''Wake-Robin'' in 1871.

In the words of his biographer Edward Renehan, Burroughs' special identity was less that of a scientific naturalist than that of "a literary naturalist with a duty to record his own unique perceptions of the natural world." The result was a body of work whose perfect resonance with the tone of its cultural moment perhaps explains both its enormous popularity at that time, and its relative obscurity since.

Early life and marriage

Burroughs was the seventh child of Chauncy and Amy Kelly Burroughs' ten children. He was born on the family farm in the Catskill Mountains, near Roxbury, New York in Delaware County. As a child he spent many hours on the slopes of Old Clump Mountain, looking off to the east and the higher peaks of the Catskills, especially Slide Mountain, which he would later write about. As he labored on the family farm he was captivated by the return of the birds each spring and other wildlife around the family farm including frogs and bumblebees. In his later years he credited his life as a farm boy for his subsequent love of nature and feeling of kinship with all rural things.

During his teen years Burroughs showed a keen interest in learning. He read whatever books he could get his hands on and was fascinated by new words or known words applied in new ways. His interest in arithmetic was equally keen. Among Burroughs's classmates was future financier Jay Gould. Burroughs’ father was unsupportive of his son’s interest in learning – he believed the basic education provided by the local school was enough - and refused to support the young Burroughs when he asked for money to pay for the books or the higher education he longed for. At the age of 17 Burroughs left home to earn the money he needed for college by teaching at a school in Olive, New York.

From 1854 to 1856 Burroughs alternated periods of teaching with periods of study at higher education institutions including Cooperstown Seminary. There he first read the works of William Wordsworth and Ralph Waldo Emerson, both of whom would become lifelong influences through their focus on nature and its effect on the spirit. He left Cooperstown Seminary in 1856 and with this departure came the end to his days as a student. He continued to teach until 1863.

In 1857 Burroughs left a teaching position in the small village of Buffalo Grove in Illinois to seek employment closer to home, drawn back by "the girl I left behind me." On September 12, 1857, Burroughs married Ursula North (1836–1917).

Career

Burroughs got his first break as a writer in the summer of 1860 when the ''Atlantic Monthly'', then a fairly new publication, accepted his essay ''Expression'' and later published in ATLANTIC MONTHLY VOLUME 6, NO. 37, NOVEMBER, 1860. Editor James Russell Lowell found the essay so similar to Emerson's work that he initially thought Burroughs had plagiarized his longtime acquaintance. Poole's Index and Hill's Rhetoric, both periodical indexes, even credited Emerson as the author of the essay.

In 1864, Burroughs accepted a position as a clerk at the Treasury; he would eventually become a federal bank examiner, continuing in that profession into the 1880s. All the while, he continued to publish essays, and grew interested in the poetry of Walt Whitman. Burroughs met Whitman during the Civil War in Washington, and the two became close friends.

Whitman encouraged Burroughs to develop his nature writing as well as his philosophical and literary essays. In 1867, Burroughs published ''Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person'', the first biography and critical work on the poet, which was extensively (and anonymously) revised and edited by Whitman himself before publication. Four years later, the Boston house of Hurd & Houghton published Burroughs's first collection of nature essays, ''Wake-Robin.''

In 1874, Burroughs bought a farm in West Park, NY (now part of the Town of Esopus) where he constructed his Riverby estate. There he grew a host of crops before eventually focusing on fancy table grapes, and devoted himself to his writing while also continuing to labor, for several more years, as a federal bank examiner. In 1895 Burroughs bought additional land near Riverby where he and son Julian Burroughs constructed an Adirondack-style cabin that he called "Slabsides". At Slabsides he wrote, grew a large field of celery, and entertained visitors, including students from local Vassar College. After the turn of the century, Burroughs renovated an old farmhouse near his birthplace and called it "Woodchuck Lodge." This became his summer residence until his death.

Some of Burroughs' best essays came out of trips back to his native Catskills. In the late 1880s, in the essay "The Heart of the Southern Catskills," he chronicled an ascent of Slide Mountain, the highest peak of the Catskills range. Speaking of the view from the summit, he wrote: "The works of man dwindle, and the original features of the huge globe come out. Every single object or point is dwarfed; the valley of the Hudson is only a wrinkle in the earth's surface. You discover with a feeling of surprise that the great thing is the earth itself, which stretches away on every hand so far beyond your ken." Some of these words are now on a plaque commemorating Burroughs at the mountain's summit, on a rock outcrop known as Burroughs Ledge. Slide and neighboring ''Cornell'' and ''Wittenberg'' mountains, which he also climbed, have been collectively named the Burroughs Range.

Other Catskill essays told, with as much wry humor as awestruck reverence, of fly fishing for trout, of hikes over Peekamoose Mountain and Mill Brook Ridge, and of rafting down the East Branch of the Delaware River. It is for these that he is still celebrated in the region today, and chiefly known, although he traveled extensively and wrote about many other regions and countries, as well as commenting on natural-science controversies of the day such as the relatively new theory of natural selection with which he disagreed. He also entertained philosophical and literary questions as well, and wrote another book about Whitman in 1896, four years after the poet's death. Ultimately his writing helped persuade the literary establishment of Whitman's virtues.

Burroughs accompanied many personalities of the time in his later years, including Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir, Henry Ford (who gave him an automobile, one of the first in the Hudson Valley), Harvey Firestone, and Thomas Edison. Most notably, in 1899, he participated in E. H. Harriman's expedition to Alaska.

In 1901, Burroughs met an admirer, Clara Barrus (1864–1931). She was a physician with the state psychiatric hospital in Middletown, N.Y. Clara was 37 and nearly half his age. She was the great love of his life and ultimately his literary executrix. She moved into his house after Ursula died in 1917.

Nature fakers controversy

In 1903, after publishing an article entitled "Real and Sham Natural History" in the ''Atlantic Monthly'', Burroughs began a widely publicized literary debate known as the nature fakers controversy. Attacking popular writers of the day such as Ernest Thompson Seton, Charles G. D. Roberts and William J. Long for their fantastical representations of wildlife, he also denounced the booming genre of "naturalistic" animal stories as "yellow journalism of the woods". The controversy lasted for four years and included important American environmental and political figures of the day, including President Theodore Roosevelt, who was friends with Burroughs.

John Burroughs the angler

From his youth, Burroughs was an avid fly fisherman and well known among the more famous Catskill anglers. Although he never wrote any purely fishing books, he did contribute some notable fishing essays to angling literature. Most notable of these was ''Speckled Trout'', which appeared in the ''Atlantic Monthly'' in October 1870 and was later published in ''In The Catskills.'' In his essay ''Speckled Trout'' Burroughs highlights his experiences as an angler and celebrates the trout, streams and lakes of the Catskills.

Writing

Many of Burroughs' essays first appeared in popular magazines. He is best-known for his observations on birds, flowers and rural scenes, but his essay topics also range to religion, philosophy, and literature. Burroughs was a staunch defender of Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson, but somewhat critical of Henry David Thoreau, even while praising many of Thoreau's qualities. His achievements as a writer were confirmed by his election as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

''The Complete Writings of John Burroughs'' totals 23 volumes. The first volume, ''Wake-Robin'', was published in 1871 and subsequent volumes were published regularly until the final volume, ''The Last Harvest'', was published in 1922. The final two volumes, ''Under the Maples'' and ''The Last Harvest'', were published posthumously by Clara Barrus. Burroughs also published a biography of John James Audubon, a memoir of his camping trip to Yellowstone with President Theodore Roosevelt, and one volume of poetry titled ''Bird and Bough''.

Works by John Burroughs

''Notes on Walt Whitman as Poet and Person'' (1867)

''Wake Robin'' (1871)

''Winter Sunshine'' (1875)

''Birds and Poets'' (1877)

''Locusts and Wild Honey'' (1879)

''Pepacton'' (1881)

''Fresh Fields'' (1884)

''Signs and Seasons'' (1886)

''Birds and bees and other studies in nature'' (1896)

''Indoor Studies'' (1889)

''Riverby'' (1894)

''Whitman: A Study'' (1896)

''The Light of Day'' (1900)

''Squirrels and Other Fur-Bearers (1900)

''Songs of Nature'' (Editor) (1901)

''John James Audubon'' (1902)

''Literary Values and other Papers'' (1902)

''Far and Near'' (1904)

''Ways of Nature'' (1905)

''Camping and Tramping with Roosevelt'' (1906)

''Bird and Bough'' (1906)

''Afoot and Afloat'' (1907)

''Leaf and Tendril'' (1908)

''Time and Change'' (1912)

''The Summit of the Years'' (1913)

''The Breath of Life'' (1915)

''Under the Apple Trees'' (1916)

''Field and Study'' (1919)

''Accepting the Universe'' (1920)

''Under the Maples'' (1921)

''The Last Harvest'' (1922)

''My Boyhood, with a Conclusion by His Son Julian Burroughs'' (1922)

Works about John Burroughs

''Our Friend John Burroughs'' by Clara Barrus (Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, The Riverside Press Cambridge, 1914)

''John Burroughs Boy and Man'' by Clara Barrus (Garden City New York Doubleday, Page & Company, 1920)

''The Life and Letters of John Burroughs'' by Clara Barrus (Volume 1, Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, The Riverside Press Cambridge, 1925)

''John Burroughs: An American Naturalist'' by Edward J. Renehan Jr. (Chelsea, VT: Chelsea Green, 1992; paperback - Hensonville, NY: Black Dome Press, 1998)

''John Burroughs and The Place of Nature'' by James Perrin Warren (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2006)

''John Burroughs: An American Naturalist'' by Edward J. Renehan, Jr. (Black Dome Press)

''Sharp Eyes: John Burroughs and American Nature Writing'' edited by Charlotte Zoe Walker, ed. (Syracuse University Press)

''The Art Of Seeing Things by John Burroughs'' edited by Charlotte Zoe Walker, ed. (Syracuse University Press)

''John Burroughs: The Sage of Slabsides'' by Ginger Wadsworth (Clarion Books)

Death and legacy

Burroughs enjoyed good physical and mental health during his later years until only a few months before his death when he began to experience lapses in memory and show general signs of advanced age including declining heart function. In February 1921 Burroughs underwent an operation to remove an abscess from his chest. Following this operation, his health steadily declined. Burroughs died the following month while on a train near Kingsville, Ohio. Burroughs was buried in Roxbury, New York on what would have been his 84th birthday, at the foot of a rock he had played on as a child and affectionately referred to as ‘’Boyhood Rock’’. Woodchuck Lodge was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962. Riverby and Slabsides were similarly designated in 1968. All three are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Since his death in 1921, John Burroughs has been commemorated by the John Burroughs Association. The association maintains the John Burroughs Sanctuary in Esopus, New York, a 170 acre plot of land surrounding Slabsides, and awards a medal each year to "the author of a distinguished book of natural history".

Eleven U.S. schools have been named after Burroughs, including public middle schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Los Angeles, California, a public high school in Burbank, California, Burroughs Elementary in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and a private secondary school, John Burroughs School, in St. Louis, Missouri. Burroughs Mountain in Mount Rainier National Park is named in his honor.

References

External links

1919 silent film "A Day With John Burroughs"

The John Burroughs Association

John Burroughs page at the Catskill Archive

The Writings of John Burroughs

American Memory ''In the Catskills''

Afterword to ''John Burroughs: An American Naturalist'' by Edward J. Renehan Jr.

''The Half More Satisfying Than the Whole: John Burroughs and the Hudson'' by Edward J. Renehan Jr.

John Burroughs Postcard Collection

''Rediscovering John Burroughs' Catskills Retreat: Woodchuck Lodge'' by Edward J. Renehan Jr.

''Bird and Bough'' by John Burroughs. Complete text of his only book of published poems plus poems published in periodicals; also public domain recordings of his poems.

Quotes by John Burroughs

Category:1837 births Category:1921 deaths Category:American essayists Category:American nature writers Category:American naturalists Category:People from the Catskills

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