Today began with a lively discussion of the college music curriculum. Should we be teaching film music, popular music, rock, contemporary Christian? Several opinions later, we jumped into the experimental art music of the last 50 years. Any discussion of experimental music cannot be made without an understanding of two things: music of John Cage and a broad definition of music. A good video of John Cage helps articulate his view of music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcHnL7aS64Y. Cage's experiments in sound including prepared piano led the way to the "happenings" movement of the 1960s. Happenings were musical and extra-musical experimental events that qualify as sound or aural events in time (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happening). Happenings have led to performance art of today which seems to be reserved for nightclubs or college activities on certain campuses. But there is no denying the influence of the various musical experiments of the 60s.
If music is sound, regardless of its system or organization, and regardless of man's attempt to compartmentalize its role and purpose, then it stands to reason that music is only limited by man's creative spirit. With that in mind, we jumped into some sounds and music that are being performed today. The influence of John Cage cannot be overemphasized, but equal to Cage, although in a more traditional framework, is the music of Edgar Varese. We listened to a little bit of Ameriques and discussed the sounds and approach of Varese. A bit strident at times, shocking, yet oddly sensitive, Varese's music opened the door to new sounds and textures for future composers.
The composers Ligeti, Lutoslawski, Babbit, Xenakis, Boulez, and Stockhausen to name just a few have all been involved with experimentation and searching for new sounds and aural expression. A riveting recording of Helicopter String Quartet by Stockhausen led us to a wide variety of opinions and but little discussion. Each member of the string quartet plays inside a flying helicopter where the sound is heard on the ground by the audience. We listened to approximately 3 minutes of the lengthy piece and some of us seemed taken with the concept and the resulting sound. Perhaps this is due to the direct imagery of 4 helicopters, not sure though.
A quick shift of thought took us back to minimalism, with the goal of landing on the music of Phillip Glass. We will be listening to a few examples and discussing his remarkable career in film music. Historically, minimalism grew out of the tension of the 1960s with a pulsating, process-oriented style exemplified by Terry Riley and Steve Reich. Eastern mysticism and subtle development in increments characterize minimalism. Beginning with early efforts including Einstein on the Beach, Philip Glass has had a tremendous influence on music. In an almost unprecedented rise, Philip Glass's career took a meteoric rise several years and he became one of the most sought after film composers of our time.
We concluded with comments about minimalism and other kind of music of today. So what kind of music do you despise? Why? Is John Cage right or wrong about sound? What causes composers to experiment with different kinds of music?
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I personally don't know if we should be teaching the music of today. There are now schools dedicated to the study of Rock and Roll. Of course it's really hard sometimes to convince 'learned' people of the value of studying pop culture. Just look at the length of time it took the study of jazz to reach academia. I do however believe that if music can reach the educational institution on a broad scale then in some form the institution plays a role in preserving it's longevity.
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I think John Cage was right about music and sound. When winds took the trip to Colorado last winter, I woke up extra early on the last day at the YMCA camp to sit outside and listen. The wind moved through the trees and had a calmness and serenity to it I'd never experienced before.
Was it beautiful yes? Was it music? By our standard of containing music to ledger lines and time signatures... No. Did that sound touch me and or move me in some way? Yes. Has real 'music' not touched me or moved me in some way? More often than not.
I still don't know the answer to whether sounds, organized or not, are music. But I do know that the definition of music is irrelevant to what charms our soul.
That being said, with chance music I find myself wondering if i should try to seperate ego from the music. This is going to be a very crude analogy and I don't mean it to be offensive. Sometimes I wonder had John Cage been a chef, if he wouldn't have taken all the condiments out of his refrigerator, spices and liquids, mushed them up, possibly heated them for some time and then proclaimed that because they were edible and could enter our mouths we should call his concoction food.
I'm not saying there wouldn't be anyone out there that liked the taste. Surely there would be many more that would find it 'interesting'. But for myself, I think I would not find it much more than that.
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Was it beautiful yes?
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Was it beautiful? Yes.
I used to despise opera, but as I learned more about opera and what to listen for I came to love it. I think that sound is music, no matter how much we may dislike it. I believe that composers often experiment with sounds so that they do not get stagnant or bored with what they are writing. It also could be out of curiosity to see if they can replicate sounds to use in new pieces.
ReplyDeleteI don't really care for 'heavy metal' music. It hurts my ears. The clashing sounds and screamo voices just doesn't make me happy.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, all sound is NOT music. Various sounds can be incorporated into music, however, the sounds alone are not music.
We are a society that is constantly looking for the next big thing. As a whole, we crave change. It's no different in the music world. Composers are looking for things to "spice up" the music and get it noticed, hence why they experiment with different sounds and music.
I don't know if necessarily despise any music. I do not prefer some of the newer "advances" in contemporary music, because I am not a believer in the idea that all sound is music. Although John Cage's idea is fascinating, in my opinion it is just an idea that does not have any weight with musicality.
ReplyDeleteTo me if all sound is music then what are we doing studying just the music of a few eras? Why are we not also studying the "sounds" of the Baroque or Medieval Eras meaning what sounds a printing press made or the clashing of swords. Personally, I think that this idea causes music to be nothing and everything at the same time causing there to be no definition in musicianship and no definition for composers. Basically this idea credits every move, gesture, and noise created by man or anything, living or dead, to be music. This cannot be. We as humans have to organize everything in some shape or fashion for it to be understood. Organization is around us everywhere. Music is not void from this concept!!! Obviously when percussion instruments are discussed or played solely they are just sound. However, most of these pieces have rhythm. The chance or randomness of sounds occurring does not have a distinct pulse that remains constant.
I believe that composers experiment with different sounds and try to incorporate it into music as best as they can.
This does not mean that they can slump together a bunch of sounds and expect it to be music. There has to be some kind of idea with music that keeps the direction and musical line or thread going.
I, like Pedro, am moved by sounds that are around me, but I am moved by lots of things. I am moved by the sounds of nature, the sounds of music, compliments from people, even pictures of art.
My opinions may be vastly overstated and drawn out, but they're there. Music must have a purpose with sound in order for it to be considered such.
Personally, I dislike rap and much of pop because it's well, boring. Very few of the songs have interesting sounds, or even a meaningful text.
ReplyDeleteI think that sound has to be purposeful to be considered music. Sure, I can listen to my dripping faucet and the noisy air conditioner and think "Wow, that's kind of neat." But unless I choose to let the faucet drip and turn on the a/c just to hear the sound, then I won't consider it music. That doesn't mean that I can't be inspired by the sounds around me, or incorporate them into works, but unless I do it with the express purpose of making music, I won't consider it such. Coincidentally, I can't listen to a ticking clock and watch a blinking light while trying to sleep; I keep trying to organize the frequency and make up patterns. It's terribly distracting.
I'd say that experimentation can be the result of fascination with a particular sound, or just a composer's need to challenge themselves. I'm sure a crab cannon didn't happen by accident.