Re: [microsound] whatever happened to the idea of a 'reading-discussion'

[Michal Seta <mis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

brandon schakola <me_i_a@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

> Mostly, from the roads' book, there's some talk about the different
> techniques: glissandi, etc..  What about these, other than new timbral
> features, do we deem important to the older ideas of form and harmony
> in music?  

Why do we have to see these things in light of 'older' ideas?

> think even trevor wishart has built his own software for these
> purposes; i understand the power of these tools, and the changes that
> come about in song-structure in the past with the entrance of new
> timbral material (i.e., the entrance of the piano forte).  

I don't really think that new instruments (including new ways of
generating sound) influence the song-structure or other formal
elements.  they usually enhance or reduce expression and/or allow for
development of new 'colors' of sound.  Which may in fact lead to new
ideas in terms of melody/harmony writing/orchestrating and other
micro-level discoveries but very rarely the form itself.  There surely
are exceptions but note that even nowadays most music is delivered in
rondo-derived form.

> So if we accept these views, we are in the
> process of creating a new music theory, one where time itself becomes
> a variable as well as space.  So in what ways does this completely
> wipe away the old vocabulary of music? 

Who and why would want to wipe the 'old' vocabulary of music?  Is it
at all possible?  Artforms are evolving processes that build on
existing models.  A quick look at music history shows that every so
long a new theory comes around: monophonic plainsong->polyphonic
chant->modal polyphony->modal counterpoint->tonality->tonal
counterpoint->atonality->...manydifferentthings...

None of the new theories discarted completely the preceding ones.
Note also, that some 'new' theories are based on some very old
experimentation.  Wasn't it Bach that used all twelve pitches, without
repeating any in the first 2 or so measures of some fugue?  Did that
inspire Schoenberg?

> Roads is interesting to me,
> because he's trying to make microsound an integrated part of formal
> music theory; but in other ways, trevor wishart looks at the formants
> of speech and applies those to his processes.  I've heard stories of
> his performances beginning with three crystal wine glasses, filled
> with varying volumes of water.  He makes them resonate, takes the
> sound as an input to his program, and then the rest of the performance
> is accomplished from this initial sample.  

Actually, if you're into this kind of 'minimalism' you should check
out Jonty Harrison.  He does entire pieces based on one family of
sounds (i.e. pot lids).  Not real-time though, very interesting
nevertheless. 

> I think these are important questions.  It's easier to look back and
> talk about xenakis and cage, but what about what people are up to now?

This is a strange behaviour, indeed.  And it started around the 19th
century, I think, when composers/musicians started (re)discovering
scores of past composers and bringing them to life again.  This
practice has been magnified in the 20th century (and probably the most
since the discovery of recording and a spossiility of marketing the
recordings).  

What I find fascinating when I
read biographies of various (past) composers is that they were into studying
their contemporaries, studying contemporary music and playing
techniques.  right from the start they were 'up-to-date'.  They'd go
study with their contempories and possibly change teachers a couple of
times in order to learn different things.

Today, you can graduate with a bachelor's degree and know jack about
contemporary music besides a slight notion of how weird 2nd vienese
school composers sounded (ah! atonal music).  Your mileage will
(hopefully) vary.  The point is that there is so much to learn about
the history (and I do belive it is important) that we tend to forget (or
overlook) the present.  The fact that musicians need to be trained to play in
finest orchestras and make fine living has probably influence on the
academic syllabi if we take into the consideration the repertoire
the former play (and sell).  This of course applies to certain other
genres of not so 'serious' music.  Many other aspects come to play but
forgive me, it's late.

-- 
	      _
      __  __ (_)___   Michal Seta
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    /  	     V |_  \ @creazone.32k.org
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