A Rant About Notes
Notes piss me off sometimes... As a musician who plays music primarily from the classical genre I get overwhelmed at times with the amount of notes I have to deal with. To be proficient in classical music, or western music in general, one must understand that character, purpose and tendency of every note contained in the piece they are playing. This can be frustrating to say the least.. I'm actually starting to question the validity of this mode of thinking. Playing in this manor is equivalent to coloring inside the lines in a coloring book. Actually if you think about it, it's more like coloring inside the lines using the same color as everybody else who has ever colored that page. Shouldn't we be able to decide for ourselves how notes are interpreted? Call me crazy but I think so! Another thing that I think is interesting while I'm on the subject of notes is that there are notes in western music that are considered "unusable" because of their harmonic relationship to other notes in the harmonic series. The reason these notes are considered unusable is because we made them that way. The equal tempered series, the collection of tones that western music is based on, is modified into 12 equal semitones. This is what causes certain notes in the natural series to be out of tune within this modified harmonic series. I believe this was done partly so that they could make the tuning on the piano more feasible which is why the piano sounds so good! Here is a good article from wikipedia that explains the mathematics of the harmonic series and if you scroll down to the "Harmonics and Tuning" section it talks about the 12 tone equal-tempered scale that most, if not all, western instruments are tuned to. Despite all my bickering, notes are the building blocks for music and without them we wouldn't be able to convey our musical ideas as easily. You cant live with em and you cant live without em..
4 Minutes 33 Seconds
This is one of my all time favorite musical compositions. It is one of the most, if not the most, literal representation of out of the box composing. It challenges not only our preconceived notions about music, but about sound in general. 4 minutes 33 seconds was written by John Cage to prove one simple point: there is no such thing as silence. It requires much more from the audience than normal classical or contemporary pieces because it forces the audience to perceive the music being made on a much more ambient level.
Usually, at least in western music, everything is given to you up front and you interpret what you are hearing as it is brought to your attention. With this piece you actually have to key into everything that is happening around you and string them together before you can interpret what you are hearing. The piece is broken up into several movements of varying lengths in which the performer sits at their instrument and waits for the 4 and a half minutes to be up. Other than sitting there turning pages the performer's role in the actual performance is minimal(and by minimal i mean non-existent).
Watch..
The music in this piece is made up of the ambient sounds that occur during the 4 minutes and 33 seconds. A shuffling of the feet, a cough, or the clearing of someone's throat are just a few musical elements that are likely to occur during the performance. Not only can this piece be performed by any instrument it can be performed in any setting: a concert hall, in your home or even outdoors. For some people it is used as a form of meditation and a reminder that music exists in a purer form than just notes on a page. It is a liberating experience that everybody should try at least once. Give this a try the next time you have a spare 4 and a half minutes and let me know what you heard.
Usually, at least in western music, everything is given to you up front and you interpret what you are hearing as it is brought to your attention. With this piece you actually have to key into everything that is happening around you and string them together before you can interpret what you are hearing. The piece is broken up into several movements of varying lengths in which the performer sits at their instrument and waits for the 4 and a half minutes to be up. Other than sitting there turning pages the performer's role in the actual performance is minimal(and by minimal i mean non-existent).
Watch..
The music in this piece is made up of the ambient sounds that occur during the 4 minutes and 33 seconds. A shuffling of the feet, a cough, or the clearing of someone's throat are just a few musical elements that are likely to occur during the performance. Not only can this piece be performed by any instrument it can be performed in any setting: a concert hall, in your home or even outdoors. For some people it is used as a form of meditation and a reminder that music exists in a purer form than just notes on a page. It is a liberating experience that everybody should try at least once. Give this a try the next time you have a spare 4 and a half minutes and let me know what you heard.