In Defense of Modernism
Nowadays it is common to hear people say things like: “the death of modernism” and “discredited modernist attitudes of the past” or “humans have a congenital inability to understand anything but tonal music” or “music should be entertainment first”. In contrast, consider the life and work of Anton Webern, who labored in obscurity during an era of chauvinist nationalism in his native Austria and quietly rebuilt the foundations of European concert music by developing the contrapuntal practice and timbral implications of previous work along with serial technique. The extreme brevity of his middle period work was unprecedented in concert music history. The extreme concentration of his musical thought led Stravinsky to call him a “miner of diamonds”. That the importance of his work was almost universally recognized after the Second World War testifies to the truth that modernist music is not impossible to understand.
Music with an experimental consciousness bespeaks a fresh outlook on life and an ongoing development of knowledge. People who appreciate experimental music and other avant garde arts have a kind of openness of mind which comes as a breath of fresh air in a world of hardened attitudes and political positions.
I have come to the conclusion that the current prejudice against experimental music is a result of confusion between music and music theory. Music theories come and go as musicians attempt to explain the musical languages of their times or former times, yet great music of any culture or era has the power to outlast the fashions of the day regardless of which theoretical construct or musical language was used in its composition. That is why we still listen to great music of the past. It speaks to us regardless of the theory the composer knew and practiced, because of the compositional excellence of the composer’s technique and the honesty of his artistic voice.
We deeply respect the poetic art of Shakespeare, but wouldn’t dream of recommending that contemporary poetry should be written in Elizabethan English or use classical forms. Yet a similar attitude prevails among reactionary critics and musicologists who insist on the primacy of earlier musical languages and the impossibility of understanding music conceived with experimental principles. (It is a bit like saying that poetry written in a foreign language couldn’t be any good because it is written in a foreign language.) There is nothing particularly universal about any music theory or language as many pedagogues claim (they are generally repeating the same mistakes they were taught). If any theory were universal, we would see the same musical language used in every culture in every age. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Musical languages are as various as spoken and written languages and they evolve continuously just as the meanings of words keep changing as language is used.
Music theories are not only the result of analysis of past or current practice; some new theories are the result of composers’ need to organize new musical ideas or may make use of conceptual models borrowed from other disciplines. An example of this is Xenakis’ use of probability concepts in the development of his theory of stochastic music.
Music is much more than a form of sonic entertainment; it is also a form of knowledge and wisdom capable of touching humans at the very deepest levels of consciousness. This knowledge aspect of music is continually developing as a kind of scientific understanding, and the aesthetic aspect is timeless, as a conception of beauty. The interaction between these two aspects is the nexus of artistic creation in music. Composition, performance and listening all take part in this creation.
The primary message of a musical composition (from the smallest details of its sound world to the design of its macrostructure) is realized according to the intention of its creator. This is so true as to seem tautological, but what does it mean? As with any human endeavor the creator’s intention is coded into the creative act and its tangible result. If a person designs and builds an ultra fast racecar, the car will be a result of this intention and will be built accordingly, with special internal parts and racing tires, etc. It will be substantially different from a family sedan or a limousine. This is obvious to a casual observer even though she may be unskilled in the appreciation of the technical details of its construction.
Music that is a part if an historical tradition also embodies the ideas and attitudes attached to its genre. If the composer develops some of those ideas or rejects some, the knowledgeable listener will understand this. The case of experimental music is special. Since Beethoven, there is a tradition of musical experimentation, in which innovation has become a kind of normal expectation of musical genius. (In a certain sense, this is oxymoronic, since innovation and tradition are generally contradictory.) The composer is expected to invent some new sounds, sound combinations, or musical ideas as a normal part of the creative process, and many composers continue this tradition, even though some critics and listeners consider the tradition to be dead or irrelevant.
The experimental work of John Cage represents a high water mark in this respect, since he expanded the notion of music making to include chance operations, nonintentional sound and incorporated silence into music as an essential element. He also introduced the listening strategy of appreciating all sounds (even environmental sounds) for their own sake, quite apart from any musical ideas in the conventional sense. He also incorporated a kind of theatre (different from staged drama and more related to real life) into the process of music making. He regarded the avant garde to be an attitude of mental flexibility.
Some listeners consider the avant garde not to be an attitude of mental flexibility, but a musical language and treat it as just another historical style, which has passed its heyday. The idea of postmodern music as somehow “newer than new” reflects this notion. The ironic detachment of considering the incorporation of older musical ideas to be somehow innovative bespeaks a consideration of musical style above musical substance. Keeping up with the latest trends in musical fashion has become more important than invention of musical ideas and techniques.
Music seems to be unique as an art form in which traditional work is passed off as somehow innovative, or an acceptable practice of performance. Or unusual mixtures of different styles are called new. This attitude would be laughable in the sciences and other arts, but it is the convention in music. Can anyone imagine a visual artist who only painted in the style of Leonardo or a scientist who only reworked the theories of Newton? Our symphony orchestras and opera companies routinely program only the works of past masters or commission new works from composers who use “accessible” (read conservative) musical language, in the hopes of not alienating their moneyed patrons by challenging their unspoken assumptions.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The Nature of Musical Time and SPANDA
The Nature of Musical Time and the Composition of SPANDA
Structure in my music follows a model borrowed from physics. I apply this system to the structuring of both time and sound. There are up to 12 hierarchical levels of structure in this system. They are from smallest to largest:
1.) particle/wave, 2.) atom, 3.) element, 4.) cell, 5.) field, 6.) subzone, 7.) zone, 8.) world, 9.) system, 10.) galaxy, 11.) cluster, and 12.) superstring. Each level of structure is at least one order of magnitude larger than the previous level, and will contain several elements from the next lower level.
Musical time exists in at least three domains of perception. In the audio spectrum (roughly 20 Hz. to 20 kHz.) we may perceive the qualities of pitch, timbre, noise, loudness, etc. I will call this the domain of pitch and timbre. In the next domain of time (roughly 20 Hz. to about 10 seconds) we perceive the rhythmic aspects (durations and patterns of relative duration between sounds) and internal changes in the pitch, timbre and loudness envelopes (growth and decay aspects) of sounds, as well as the shorter aspects of musical ideas (motives, melodies, short phrases, harmonic successions, motion of sound in space and accents of various kinds). I call this the domain of musical rhythm. In the next time domain (from about 10 seconds to about one hour) we perceive the larger structural aspects of music (longer phrases, periods, sections, movements, etc.) in which the musical forms and the development of ideas take place. I call this the domain of musical form.
Stockhausen has pointed out* that each of these domains is about eight to ten “octaves” in size. (An octave being a 2 to 1 ratio of time duration, whether measured in frequency (cycles per second or Hertz) or in duration (micro seconds, milliseconds, seconds, minutes, hours, etc.). For example, the interval between pitches with the fundamental frequencies of 220 Hz. to 440 Hz. constitutes an octave in the pitch domain; the difference between the two tempi MM 60 and MM 120 constitute an “octave” in the rhythmic domain, and the durations 30 seconds and one minute have the ratio of an “octave” in the structural domain of musical time.) Different perceptions of time (pitch, timbre, rhythm and duration) take place in these different domains because our nervous systems process the temporal data differently as the sound materials cross the perceptual thresholds between each phenomenon. Musical composition consists mainly of the ordering of sonic configurations of the different musical elements in these three different temporal domains. So the composer must master the configuration of time in several different ways. Within each domain there are many different parameters of sound to be ordered and configured.
I conceived the complex of 198 compositions titled SPANDA in 1989 using this understanding of musical time. SPANDA is a Sanskrit word borrowed from the yogic philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism, which means the ‘creative throb of Consciousness’ (which creates the entire universe and everything in it). The duration of the entire complex was derived from the pitch of the first sound of the first composition in the complex. That pitch is a Bb with the fundamental frequency of 116.54 Hz. When this frequency is transposed downwards by 27 octaves, it passes out of the domain of pitch and timbre, through the domains of rhythm and musical form, and into the next domain of time in which we live our lives and experience our education and life experience. The former Bb now forms a “wave” one cycle of which has the duration of 13 days and almost eight hours. (See table one below.)
116.5409…Hz. Bb
58.27947…Hz. Bb (one octave lower)
29.13523…Hz. Bb lowest Bb on the conventional piano keyboard
14.56761…Hz. below the audio spectrum
Into the domain of musical rhythm
7.2838……Hz. (four octaves lower)
3.6419……Hz. (3.6 cycles a second or .2745 seconds per
cycle)
.5491” (duration of one cycle measured in seconds)
1.098…”
2.196…” (eight octaves lower)
4.393…”
8.786…”
17.573…” (no longer short enough to be perceived as rhythm)
35.146…” (12 octaves lower)
70.292…” (1minute 10.29” per cycle)
2’ 20.58…”
4’ 41.17…”
9’ 22.34…” (16 octaves lower)
18’ 44.68…”
37’ 29.372…”
1 hr. 14’ 58.745…” (out of the domain of musical form
into the temporal realm of education and life experience)
2 hrs. 29’ 57.49…” (20 octaves lower)
4 hrs. 59’ 54.98…”
9 hrs. 59’ 49.961…”
19 hrs. 59’ 39.92…”
1 day 15 hrs. 59’ 19.84…” (24 octaves lower)
3 days 7 hrs. 58’ 39.694…”
6 days 15 hrs. 57’ 19.898”
13 days 7 hrs. 54’ 38.77” (27 octaves lower)
Table One
The full theoretical duration of SPANDA is thirteen days, seven hours, 54 minutes and 38.77 seconds. (In reality this duration will vary somewhat with individual interpretations of tempo and rubato interpretations of different performers.) Each day of the cycle was subdivided according to different principles of division, and embodies a different “rhythm” of durations based on the principles of each day of the cycle. The collective proportions (of the durations of the 198 pieces) constitute the coherent macrostructure of the complex. I proceeded in this fashion according to my understanding that a numinous world of hyperspace exists under the aspect of patterned relations,** in this case the pattern of relative durations of the compositions in the complex, a kind of higher order of temporal macrostructure. I sometimes refer to this as the architecture of the complex.
SPANDA Macrostructure
13 days 7 Hours 54' 38.77" = Bb 116.54Hz / 2 27 times ( = a wave one cycle of which is 13 days 7hrs 54' 38.77")
Day principal sound structural principle # of time zones Title
1 Bb noise entropic 27 Symphonies of Sound
2 F logarithmic spiral 19 Symphonies of Time
3 Ab spatial 8 Symphonies of Space
4 E exponential 11 Symphonies of Energy
5 D polyphonic overlapping 7 Symphonies of Earth
6 G expansion from a point 5 Symphonies of the
Light of Consciousness
7 F# linguistic, microcosmic 13 Symphonies of the Word
8 A aperiodic different speeds 7 Symphonies of Love
9 D# biomorphic 10 Symphonies of the Seed
10 B games and play 15 Symphonies of the Children
11 Db linear growth and decay 11 Symphonies of the Vine of
Life and Death
12 C isomorphic with inversion 26 Symphonies of the
Universe
13 Bb serial 37 Symphonies of
Transmutation and Metamorphosis
14 Bb silence seamless Postlude (7 hrs. 54’ 38.77”)
Each composition of the 198 constitutes an individual “time zone” of a specific duration whose internal structure is subdivided according to different numerical principles into “time fields” which are in turn subdivided into different “time cells” with specific internal structure which contain the sonic materials. These different levels of temporal hierarchy constitute the macrostructural, middle level, rhythmic, and microstructural forms of the compositions. In this way of working, the fundamental dichotomy between form and content disappears since the content is determined by the form and the form may be determined by an analysis of the content. Furthermore, the principles which determine the rhythm may also be used to determine the melodic, harmonic and timbral materials.
Structure in my music follows a model borrowed from physics. I apply this system to the structuring of both time and sound. There are up to 12 hierarchical levels of structure in this system. They are from smallest to largest:
1.) particle/wave, 2.) atom, 3.) element, 4.) cell, 5.) field, 6.) subzone, 7.) zone, 8.) world, 9.) system, 10.) galaxy, 11.) cluster, and 12.) superstring. Each level of structure is at least one order of magnitude larger than the previous level, and will contain several elements from the next lower level.
Musical time exists in at least three domains of perception. In the audio spectrum (roughly 20 Hz. to 20 kHz.) we may perceive the qualities of pitch, timbre, noise, loudness, etc. I will call this the domain of pitch and timbre. In the next domain of time (roughly 20 Hz. to about 10 seconds) we perceive the rhythmic aspects (durations and patterns of relative duration between sounds) and internal changes in the pitch, timbre and loudness envelopes (growth and decay aspects) of sounds, as well as the shorter aspects of musical ideas (motives, melodies, short phrases, harmonic successions, motion of sound in space and accents of various kinds). I call this the domain of musical rhythm. In the next time domain (from about 10 seconds to about one hour) we perceive the larger structural aspects of music (longer phrases, periods, sections, movements, etc.) in which the musical forms and the development of ideas take place. I call this the domain of musical form.
Stockhausen has pointed out* that each of these domains is about eight to ten “octaves” in size. (An octave being a 2 to 1 ratio of time duration, whether measured in frequency (cycles per second or Hertz) or in duration (micro seconds, milliseconds, seconds, minutes, hours, etc.). For example, the interval between pitches with the fundamental frequencies of 220 Hz. to 440 Hz. constitutes an octave in the pitch domain; the difference between the two tempi MM 60 and MM 120 constitute an “octave” in the rhythmic domain, and the durations 30 seconds and one minute have the ratio of an “octave” in the structural domain of musical time.) Different perceptions of time (pitch, timbre, rhythm and duration) take place in these different domains because our nervous systems process the temporal data differently as the sound materials cross the perceptual thresholds between each phenomenon. Musical composition consists mainly of the ordering of sonic configurations of the different musical elements in these three different temporal domains. So the composer must master the configuration of time in several different ways. Within each domain there are many different parameters of sound to be ordered and configured.
I conceived the complex of 198 compositions titled SPANDA in 1989 using this understanding of musical time. SPANDA is a Sanskrit word borrowed from the yogic philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism, which means the ‘creative throb of Consciousness’ (which creates the entire universe and everything in it). The duration of the entire complex was derived from the pitch of the first sound of the first composition in the complex. That pitch is a Bb with the fundamental frequency of 116.54 Hz. When this frequency is transposed downwards by 27 octaves, it passes out of the domain of pitch and timbre, through the domains of rhythm and musical form, and into the next domain of time in which we live our lives and experience our education and life experience. The former Bb now forms a “wave” one cycle of which has the duration of 13 days and almost eight hours. (See table one below.)
116.5409…Hz. Bb
58.27947…Hz. Bb (one octave lower)
29.13523…Hz. Bb lowest Bb on the conventional piano keyboard
14.56761…Hz. below the audio spectrum
Into the domain of musical rhythm
7.2838……Hz. (four octaves lower)
3.6419……Hz. (3.6 cycles a second or .2745 seconds per
cycle)
.5491” (duration of one cycle measured in seconds)
1.098…”
2.196…” (eight octaves lower)
4.393…”
8.786…”
17.573…” (no longer short enough to be perceived as rhythm)
35.146…” (12 octaves lower)
70.292…” (1minute 10.29” per cycle)
2’ 20.58…”
4’ 41.17…”
9’ 22.34…” (16 octaves lower)
18’ 44.68…”
37’ 29.372…”
1 hr. 14’ 58.745…” (out of the domain of musical form
into the temporal realm of education and life experience)
2 hrs. 29’ 57.49…” (20 octaves lower)
4 hrs. 59’ 54.98…”
9 hrs. 59’ 49.961…”
19 hrs. 59’ 39.92…”
1 day 15 hrs. 59’ 19.84…” (24 octaves lower)
3 days 7 hrs. 58’ 39.694…”
6 days 15 hrs. 57’ 19.898”
13 days 7 hrs. 54’ 38.77” (27 octaves lower)
Table One
The full theoretical duration of SPANDA is thirteen days, seven hours, 54 minutes and 38.77 seconds. (In reality this duration will vary somewhat with individual interpretations of tempo and rubato interpretations of different performers.) Each day of the cycle was subdivided according to different principles of division, and embodies a different “rhythm” of durations based on the principles of each day of the cycle. The collective proportions (of the durations of the 198 pieces) constitute the coherent macrostructure of the complex. I proceeded in this fashion according to my understanding that a numinous world of hyperspace exists under the aspect of patterned relations,** in this case the pattern of relative durations of the compositions in the complex, a kind of higher order of temporal macrostructure. I sometimes refer to this as the architecture of the complex.
SPANDA Macrostructure
13 days 7 Hours 54' 38.77" = Bb 116.54Hz / 2 27 times ( = a wave one cycle of which is 13 days 7hrs 54' 38.77")
Day principal sound structural principle # of time zones Title
1 Bb noise entropic 27 Symphonies of Sound
2 F logarithmic spiral 19 Symphonies of Time
3 Ab spatial 8 Symphonies of Space
4 E exponential 11 Symphonies of Energy
5 D polyphonic overlapping 7 Symphonies of Earth
6 G expansion from a point 5 Symphonies of the
Light of Consciousness
7 F# linguistic, microcosmic 13 Symphonies of the Word
8 A aperiodic different speeds 7 Symphonies of Love
9 D# biomorphic 10 Symphonies of the Seed
10 B games and play 15 Symphonies of the Children
11 Db linear growth and decay 11 Symphonies of the Vine of
Life and Death
12 C isomorphic with inversion 26 Symphonies of the
Universe
13 Bb serial 37 Symphonies of
Transmutation and Metamorphosis
14 Bb silence seamless Postlude (7 hrs. 54’ 38.77”)
Each composition of the 198 constitutes an individual “time zone” of a specific duration whose internal structure is subdivided according to different numerical principles into “time fields” which are in turn subdivided into different “time cells” with specific internal structure which contain the sonic materials. These different levels of temporal hierarchy constitute the macrostructural, middle level, rhythmic, and microstructural forms of the compositions. In this way of working, the fundamental dichotomy between form and content disappears since the content is determined by the form and the form may be determined by an analysis of the content. Furthermore, the principles which determine the rhythm may also be used to determine the melodic, harmonic and timbral materials.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
What is Melody?
What is Melody?
What makes a melody? What makes a melody recognizable? What makes a melody memorable? Are words necessary for a memorable melody? Melody is one of the most universal aspects of music and for many people; it constitutes the essence of music.
I define melodic line as a configuration of pitches in time with rhythm. It can be infinitely long. A melody is a segment of a melodic line and carries musical meaning. If a melody has coherent shape and is simple enough, we find it recognizable and not chaotic. If it has complex rhythm and/or a highly disjunct melodic curve, it may be chaotic and not recognizable. It should also not be too fast or too slow to be recognizable. (A five note melody that takes five milliseconds or five days will not be recognizable as a melody.) It may not be recognizable if played too softly or in very thick contrapuntal texture and therefore masked. A recognizable melody is one which can be recognized on repeated hearings and distinguished from other recognizable melodies. A memorable melody is one which can be reproduced by the listener. It may also stay in the memory and play automatically in the mind's ear. Length may also be a factor. Longer melodies are usually recognized within the first few notes, and their endings may not be particularly memorable. It seems that there is a kind of gestalt perception at work. If there is internal repetition of melodic or rhythmic patterns this usually aids in recognizability. Dynamics, timbre and tempo may be strong factors. A coherent, well-formed melodic curve is a strong factor. If there are words, this will also be a factor.
What distinguishes a melody from a configuration of tones in time with rhythm which may or may not be highly structured, but lacks the qualities of recognizability or memorability? These qualities may vary somewhat from individual to individual, depending on training, but a certain well-formed quality and simplicity are usually necessary. If there is internal repetition of pitch patterns or rhythmic patterns, these may be factors in coherence.
Neuroscientists have discovered through studying brain scans of neural activity in subjects listening to music, that many different brain areas are involved in the perception of music. It would stand to reason that the more brain areas involved, the more recognizable and memorable the melody, although this may not prove to be the case. In fact, melodic complexity may somehow work against memorability after a certain point, a kind of law of diminishing returns.
What makes a melody? What makes a melody recognizable? What makes a melody memorable? Are words necessary for a memorable melody? Melody is one of the most universal aspects of music and for many people; it constitutes the essence of music.
I define melodic line as a configuration of pitches in time with rhythm. It can be infinitely long. A melody is a segment of a melodic line and carries musical meaning. If a melody has coherent shape and is simple enough, we find it recognizable and not chaotic. If it has complex rhythm and/or a highly disjunct melodic curve, it may be chaotic and not recognizable. It should also not be too fast or too slow to be recognizable. (A five note melody that takes five milliseconds or five days will not be recognizable as a melody.) It may not be recognizable if played too softly or in very thick contrapuntal texture and therefore masked. A recognizable melody is one which can be recognized on repeated hearings and distinguished from other recognizable melodies. A memorable melody is one which can be reproduced by the listener. It may also stay in the memory and play automatically in the mind's ear. Length may also be a factor. Longer melodies are usually recognized within the first few notes, and their endings may not be particularly memorable. It seems that there is a kind of gestalt perception at work. If there is internal repetition of melodic or rhythmic patterns this usually aids in recognizability. Dynamics, timbre and tempo may be strong factors. A coherent, well-formed melodic curve is a strong factor. If there are words, this will also be a factor.
What distinguishes a melody from a configuration of tones in time with rhythm which may or may not be highly structured, but lacks the qualities of recognizability or memorability? These qualities may vary somewhat from individual to individual, depending on training, but a certain well-formed quality and simplicity are usually necessary. If there is internal repetition of pitch patterns or rhythmic patterns, these may be factors in coherence.
Neuroscientists have discovered through studying brain scans of neural activity in subjects listening to music, that many different brain areas are involved in the perception of music. It would stand to reason that the more brain areas involved, the more recognizable and memorable the melody, although this may not prove to be the case. In fact, melodic complexity may somehow work against memorability after a certain point, a kind of law of diminishing returns.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Music and Dance
"Music begins to atrophy when it departs too far from dance; poetry begins to atrophy when it gets too far from music." - Ezra Pound
The connection between music and body rhythm is very deep. Even in music which is not overtly connected with dance, the musicians perform a kind of dance when they perform. Next time you attend a performance of concert music, observe the motions the performers make when they perform. It is as if they are possessed by the music. Some pianists even conduct themselves with their unused hand when playing with only one hand, or sing along with their performances. Next time you observe human bodies in motion, reflect on the insight of composer Warren Burt “when I watch post-modern dancers dance in silence, I'm very aware of the musicality of their body movement, their motion phrasing, the music of their kinesthetics. I can almost sing this silent, gestural music. Music can exist as a series of kinesthetic gestures, even without one sound being made....” All of the arts can carry musical and rhythmic qualities, and form mental analogies and metaphors for music. Language has a natural rhythm; visual art and film have coloristic and formal qualities, etc.
There is a kind of dance in all physical reality. All physical objects are in constant vibration. Even stationary objects are in constant motion at the micro and macro levels. The earth’s architectonic plates are in constant slow motion. The earth’s rotation, its revolution around the sun, and the spiral motion of the galaxy, carry all stationary objects along in a macro motion. Newborn babies continuously move their bodies in an interaction with physical reality. Indeed the whole universe vibrates at many different frequencies and directions, from the continuous expansion of the cosmos down to the elementary particles at subatomic levels. In yoga philosophy, this continuous state of vibration is known as the cosmic dance of Shiva.
In the study of world music, we find cultures in which the distinction between performer and audience is not hard and fast. In some cultures, audience members think nothing of singing, dancing, clapping in rhythm, ululating or otherwise interacting vocally with the performers at any point of the performance. The performers may depend on this interaction for their inspiration and respond in a highly creative manner to the energy coming from the audience. In some performance contexts the musicians, dancers or audience members may become possessed by the spirits of ancestors or gods and perform in a manner which may display trancelike characteristics, altered states of consciousness and/or superhuman strength. 1. 2.
For a contemporary composer making music for dance an important question is: will there be a close connection between the music and the dance or not? Since John Cage and Merce Cunningham instituted the practice of making music and dance which were conceived independently and only connected by being performed in the same time and space, this has been an option. The opposite approach was instituted by Karlheinz Stockhausen who invented a dance “language” for the composition Inori to be performed by a dancer in the exact rhythm of the composed music.
The connection between the music and the dance can also be treated as a variable of the composition. This connection can be very tightly controlled (as the Stockhausen example), completely independent (as the Cage/Cunningham example) or loosely connected in many different ways. This connection parameter may also be conceived as a continuum with complete connection at one end and complete independence at the other end and variable amounts of connection being at different points of the continuum between the ends. If you conceive the pitches of a scale as being on a continuum between low and high, a melody may be viewed as a pattern of points on the continuum with a specific duration for each point. This is what composers do when they compose melodies. This melodic model of composition is quite valid for composing any aspect of music which can be represented as a continuum or complex of continua. Thus a “melody of connections between dance and music” can be composed by applying the melodic model and composing a series of points on the continuum and giving it a set of durations; then, for each duration, invent a dance with its specified degree of connection with the music. This melodic model is quite relevant for any musical parameter subject to representation on a continuum. Thus, a “melody of durations” (between long and short) or a “melody of dynamics” (between loud and soft) or a “melody of spatial movements” (between close and far or front and rear or left and right) or a “melody of timbres” (between bright and dark) may be conceived and executed as a kind of melodic line.
You may ask: “How is it possible for music to depart too far from dance, if the vibration of the universe is universal and inescapable?” I would answer that sometimes music theory is mistaken for music. Music is not about theory, theory is about music. Music is connected with dance in the physical world, not in the abstract world of theory.
1. Mead, Margaret Trance and Dance in Bali a classic film in Anthropology from the 1940’s.
This is so common in gospel music and jazz as to be well known. The Duke Ellington performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1956 is a good example.
The Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples, Jeff Todd Titon the chapter on Agbekor music of West Africa.
2. Excursions In World Music, Nettl et al. chapter on Shona Mbira music and the Bira ceremony.
Nonesuch Explorer Series No. 79710 track 6 Nyamaropa Yekutanga sound recording of a Shona Bira Ceremony with Hakurotwi Mude, voice; “at such a ceremony, the entire village participates throughout the night until sunrise, singing, dancing, clapping and drinking. After many hours, the music culminates in the dramatic possession of a spirit medium who then advises the villagers about their problems. In this example some villagers are heard singing, while others “drum” to the music of the Mbira ensemble with hand clapping and dance steps.” Quote is from the liner notes.
The connection between music and body rhythm is very deep. Even in music which is not overtly connected with dance, the musicians perform a kind of dance when they perform. Next time you attend a performance of concert music, observe the motions the performers make when they perform. It is as if they are possessed by the music. Some pianists even conduct themselves with their unused hand when playing with only one hand, or sing along with their performances. Next time you observe human bodies in motion, reflect on the insight of composer Warren Burt “when I watch post-modern dancers dance in silence, I'm very aware of the musicality of their body movement, their motion phrasing, the music of their kinesthetics. I can almost sing this silent, gestural music. Music can exist as a series of kinesthetic gestures, even without one sound being made....” All of the arts can carry musical and rhythmic qualities, and form mental analogies and metaphors for music. Language has a natural rhythm; visual art and film have coloristic and formal qualities, etc.
There is a kind of dance in all physical reality. All physical objects are in constant vibration. Even stationary objects are in constant motion at the micro and macro levels. The earth’s architectonic plates are in constant slow motion. The earth’s rotation, its revolution around the sun, and the spiral motion of the galaxy, carry all stationary objects along in a macro motion. Newborn babies continuously move their bodies in an interaction with physical reality. Indeed the whole universe vibrates at many different frequencies and directions, from the continuous expansion of the cosmos down to the elementary particles at subatomic levels. In yoga philosophy, this continuous state of vibration is known as the cosmic dance of Shiva.
In the study of world music, we find cultures in which the distinction between performer and audience is not hard and fast. In some cultures, audience members think nothing of singing, dancing, clapping in rhythm, ululating or otherwise interacting vocally with the performers at any point of the performance. The performers may depend on this interaction for their inspiration and respond in a highly creative manner to the energy coming from the audience. In some performance contexts the musicians, dancers or audience members may become possessed by the spirits of ancestors or gods and perform in a manner which may display trancelike characteristics, altered states of consciousness and/or superhuman strength. 1. 2.
For a contemporary composer making music for dance an important question is: will there be a close connection between the music and the dance or not? Since John Cage and Merce Cunningham instituted the practice of making music and dance which were conceived independently and only connected by being performed in the same time and space, this has been an option. The opposite approach was instituted by Karlheinz Stockhausen who invented a dance “language” for the composition Inori to be performed by a dancer in the exact rhythm of the composed music.
The connection between the music and the dance can also be treated as a variable of the composition. This connection can be very tightly controlled (as the Stockhausen example), completely independent (as the Cage/Cunningham example) or loosely connected in many different ways. This connection parameter may also be conceived as a continuum with complete connection at one end and complete independence at the other end and variable amounts of connection being at different points of the continuum between the ends. If you conceive the pitches of a scale as being on a continuum between low and high, a melody may be viewed as a pattern of points on the continuum with a specific duration for each point. This is what composers do when they compose melodies. This melodic model of composition is quite valid for composing any aspect of music which can be represented as a continuum or complex of continua. Thus a “melody of connections between dance and music” can be composed by applying the melodic model and composing a series of points on the continuum and giving it a set of durations; then, for each duration, invent a dance with its specified degree of connection with the music. This melodic model is quite relevant for any musical parameter subject to representation on a continuum. Thus, a “melody of durations” (between long and short) or a “melody of dynamics” (between loud and soft) or a “melody of spatial movements” (between close and far or front and rear or left and right) or a “melody of timbres” (between bright and dark) may be conceived and executed as a kind of melodic line.
You may ask: “How is it possible for music to depart too far from dance, if the vibration of the universe is universal and inescapable?” I would answer that sometimes music theory is mistaken for music. Music is not about theory, theory is about music. Music is connected with dance in the physical world, not in the abstract world of theory.
1. Mead, Margaret Trance and Dance in Bali a classic film in Anthropology from the 1940’s.
This is so common in gospel music and jazz as to be well known. The Duke Ellington performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1956 is a good example.
The Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples, Jeff Todd Titon the chapter on Agbekor music of West Africa.
2. Excursions In World Music, Nettl et al. chapter on Shona Mbira music and the Bira ceremony.
Nonesuch Explorer Series No. 79710 track 6 Nyamaropa Yekutanga sound recording of a Shona Bira Ceremony with Hakurotwi Mude, voice; “at such a ceremony, the entire village participates throughout the night until sunrise, singing, dancing, clapping and drinking. After many hours, the music culminates in the dramatic possession of a spirit medium who then advises the villagers about their problems. In this example some villagers are heard singing, while others “drum” to the music of the Mbira ensemble with hand clapping and dance steps.” Quote is from the liner notes.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Music and the Spoken Word
Music and the Spoken Word
Connections between Music and Language
On the Origins of Music and Language
It has recently become acceptable to speculate on the evolution of language in the field of linguistics after being considered a scientific taboo for more than a hundred years. Quite apart from the question of why so called "open minded" academic fields contain taboo topics (perhaps a subject for future blogs) there is some new speculation on this topic. In her recent book, The First Word, linguist Christine Kenneally tells the compelling story of the quest for the origins of human language. She gives an account of how language developed, how the random and layered processes of evolution wound together to produce a talking animal. It also addresses the question: Is language a uniquely human phenomenon? We may well ask the same question about music.
The well-known phenomena of birdsong, whale song, porpoise chatter and ape vocalizations raise important questions about the connections between animal speech, human speech and music:
Are there (psychological) connections between music and speech in humans and animals?
In what does human communication consist?
If speech (and/or music) is and innate (or even unique) in humans how do animals use sounds in communication?
What are the connections between human response to animal song and human song?
ALSO:
Did music and speech evolve from a common ancestor form of communication?
It is possible that human reaction to animal song is akin to the “emotional” reactions people have to robot behavior which mimic human attention with eye blinks, lip movements, changes in facial expression, etc. see The Real Transformers NYTimes Magazine 7.29.07 by Robin Marantz Henig
Connections between Music and Language
On the Origins of Music and Language
It has recently become acceptable to speculate on the evolution of language in the field of linguistics after being considered a scientific taboo for more than a hundred years. Quite apart from the question of why so called "open minded" academic fields contain taboo topics (perhaps a subject for future blogs) there is some new speculation on this topic. In her recent book, The First Word, linguist Christine Kenneally tells the compelling story of the quest for the origins of human language. She gives an account of how language developed, how the random and layered processes of evolution wound together to produce a talking animal. It also addresses the question: Is language a uniquely human phenomenon? We may well ask the same question about music.
The well-known phenomena of birdsong, whale song, porpoise chatter and ape vocalizations raise important questions about the connections between animal speech, human speech and music:
Are there (psychological) connections between music and speech in humans and animals?
In what does human communication consist?
If speech (and/or music) is and innate (or even unique) in humans how do animals use sounds in communication?
What are the connections between human response to animal song and human song?
ALSO:
Did music and speech evolve from a common ancestor form of communication?
It is possible that human reaction to animal song is akin to the “emotional” reactions people have to robot behavior which mimic human attention with eye blinks, lip movements, changes in facial expression, etc. see The Real Transformers NYTimes Magazine 7.29.07 by Robin Marantz Henig
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
