Re: [microsound] experimental music

[caleb.k@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

i think there is a problem with taking the word experimental in 
experimental music to be something scientific   -- ie the music is 
like a science experiment, any out come is useful right or wrong etc 
etc (am generalising here and could get wacked over the head by a 
phil of science student , which i was way back so i do know my 
generalisation.)

anyway  >>  the word 'experimental' gets tossed around and used both 
lightly and with thought. a significant use of the word comes after 
old nyman and his experimental music book in which he uses the term 
to differentiate the european serialist school (the then contemporary 
western art music) and what was coming out of the usa, ie cage et.al 
(cage is experimental here). here we see an example of how the term 
has been switched around from the original definition. The european 
school seems to approximate the science thing much closer. ie 
stockhausen in his studio literally expanding sound/music with his 
electronic instrument 'tests', while cage et.al went about doing 
things in an indeterminate manner, throwing dice etc  >>  this itself 
doesn't seem very scientific (again i am open to the phil of sci 
student).

if we take nyman's definition of the us school   >> cage, through 
lucier, through minimalism etc et >> being experimental composers 
then we must ditch the idea of experimental as scientific in nature 
> >  even with the idea of process above outcome as i think this is a 
hard line to argue in relation to this group of composers and an 
undesirable one.

things get really messy when we start to use it for contemporary 
musics such as those produced with computers and discussed on this 
list.   just how is it experimental exactly? do we want to call it 
experimental at all? do we need to?                       it is a 
tricky one as i want to use the term in a title to differentiate a 
specific historical type of music from pop, rock, indie, industrial, 
punk etc etc  <<  all of which have been experimental in nature at 
some point.

anyways   >>   2cents

caleb~k
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