Category Archives: thoughts

2009, music, philosophy, thoughts

John Cage's 4'33"

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John Cage’s 4’33” Is probably the single most talked about work of the 20th century. For those of you not “in the know” John Cage was a composer in the middle of the last century that was most interested in Eastern Philosophies, thinking about the question “what is music?” and using the Tao Te Ching as a guide to his compositions. There is much more to this multi-faceted composer (and mycologist…a combination that doesn’t exactly come up all the time.). He utilized chance as a means to composition and developed interesting ways of notating his intentions through the use of graphically representational scores.

Cage was concerned with aleatory in his music, and argued that it appeared in all music whether it was intended by the

John Cage
John Cage

composer or not. Differences in tempo, slight gaffes, changes in articulation, accidentally missing a cue, coming in too late, coming in too early, these are the obvious and very slight (arguably) changes that any piece is subject to in a live performance. Nobody is perfect right? The score, as written by a composer, must be accepted as how the piece should sound if everything goes as planned, “In a perfect world”. Honestly though, how often is that even possible? Is it possible at all? What about sounds made by the audience? Cell phones ring, people cough intermittently, programs are dropped on the floor, the conductor may smack the baton on the stand accidentally and so on. Should these things be accepted as part of the piece? Are we smart enough, as listeners to know what to separate out from the actual music?

Along with his constant curiosity about “What is music?” he wondered, perhaps more importantly, “what is silence?”. Does true silence even exist? Throughout Cage’s life he was concerned with the issue of silence. He even titled his first collection of writings and lectures Silence. His work, 4’33” stands as a testament, through arguments that still go on to this day, of the important philosophical implications of a work, and what a work of music is, among many other things.

The work is written for any instrument or combination of instruments to remain tacet for 4 minutes and 33 seconds, divided into 3 movements. What does the performer do during this time? What is the performer thinking about? What about the audience, what role are they playing? I think that this work is at once the most ridiculous piece of “music” and at the same time the most amazing and, undoubtedly, the most thought provoking. Here is a piece that didn’t really require any writing, doesn’t really require any practice, it doesn’t even require an instrument. Does this imply that any silence that we hear, anywhere, is part of Cage’s work? Did he effectively “copyright” silence? Another important thing to think about is, why was this simple piece never thought of before?

While composers were concerned with other means of manipulating notes, organizing them, disorganzing them, searching out new timbres, using electronics and other machines to create new sounds (which Cage was also an important part of, through several sound experiments with David Tudor).  Here was a man that went in completely the opposite direction that everyone else seemed to be going. Cage was almost alone in his crusade or thinking about music. He was thought of, by some, as a joke of a composer. I personally believe that Cage was the most important musician/philosopher of the 20th century. There is nobody that has created a more thought provoking collection of works than him.  4’33” is at once a piece that is extreme in its simplicity and complexity. The audience is left questioning not only the music, but themselves, and what they just “heard”. What is hearing? Are we all hearing the same things during a performance?

It is interesting that 4 and a half minutes of silence can generate so many thoughts about anything and everything. It is also interesting that so many words need to be used to describe silence, yet they never even come close to truly describing it.

2009, miscellaneous, music, personal, philosophy, thoughts

Taking action from far away

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Facebook can be just about the most annoying website/application in existence, or so it seems. Every time I log in I am inundated with a myriad of stories of the time wasted by my friends and acquaintances, which magically turns into time wasted for me as I sit for 20 or 30 minutes reading about all the stupid, pointless quizzes, tests and pokes and other mindless garbage that goes on.

Every single day I consider abandoning facebook, just like I did with Myspace. The über-connectivity of the internet gets to be a bit much sometimes, especially for someone like me that finds great enjoyment during weekends spent alone, completely alone, cut off from the world and locked in my room listening to music, reading a book or watching Alton Brown and learning about the history of pasteurization, replete with an actor playing Louis Pasteur.

Then, once in a very great while the hyper-connectivity of it all actually finds a use, and I realize that there is a point to being able to reach out to people for some cause, other than begging you to join their cause (“We want to be teh larg3st groop on teh fac3b00k!!”).

I was looking through my facebook newsfeed and saw that a friend of mine had “attended” an event “An email to help save Gates-Chili’s music” or something to that effect. Seeing as how I grew up in the Gates, NY school district (Gates and Chili are right next to each other, so they share schools), I clicked on the event and read.

The story was nothing new. School district is facing hard times (and aren’t we all these days) and looking for places to cut some money out of the budget. Of course the first thing they look to cut is music. Without going into a crude value-based judgement on what should stay and what should go in this situation I decided that I would immediately write an email, as the group requested, to the address at the top of the page. My letter, that I wrote without much thought, but simply a passionate plea from one music lover/student/active American citizen (a rare breed, indeed) appears below for you:

My name is Adam Shanley. I grew up in Gates. I attended Kindergarten through 4th grade at Neil Armstrong and I still hold fond memories of that institution as shaping me to the person that I am today.

Currently I am finishing up two Masters degrees in Music at SUNY Fredonia, one in Classical Guitar Performance, and one in Music Theory/Composition. I completed my bachelors degree in Music Composition in 2006.

After being in college, and coming into contact with so many people with an astounding array of different backgrounds I have only become stronger in my opinion that music education from an early age has benefits to all involved. I feel so incredibly strongly about this that I have made it my life goal to insist that music education be held in equally high regard with the  sciences and math. Music education and art appreciation go hand in hand, not only forming a more well-rounded person, but it also helps a student to think abstractly.

Mathematics and music have incredible amounts in common. This is so much the case that several universities offer a “Math in Music” course that studies the ratios that are so important to music, tuning systems, the imperfections that arise with each of these tuning systems and all the details that come with it. If mathematics is important for solidifying a skill for abstract thinking because math occurs in everyday life I would have to argue that the same is true for music. Music is not simply “all around us”, but the fact that math exists naturally in the world and humans have been striving to discover all of its intricacies, and music and math share so much in common, wouldn’t it be completely unwise to cutoff this avenue of exploration?

Denying a young adult access to proper music education, especially music theory, would be the equivalent of not teaching algebra in math, or not teaching the periodic table of elements in science. There are so many more reasons to continue teaching music than there are to cease and desist.

Music Technology would be just as big a mistake to get rid of altogether. Allowing students to have access to the programs and tools that are used today in the creation of music, after they have studied the science behind how music is structurally put together (through music theory, history and a general music education) it is of the utmost importance that students are able to create something from that knowledge that they have learned.

Music education should never be thought of as something like a “niche market” that is only valuable to a student that is going to grow up to be a musician. Music education will ultimately strengthen our culture, which is already failing drastically in the world as far as cultural significance goes. Music education would benefit anyone not just as a musician, but as one who appreciates music. A person that learns to appreciate music, and the arts in general will most certainly foster a love for mathematics, the English language, the sciences, art and just being a creative person. Wouldn’t it be absolutely wonderful to have an entire generation of people that are curious about the world?

Imagine a country where people didn’t simply sit down on the couch every day and watch 6 hours of television a night but instead became interested in music or math or science or anything and went out to research anything that they were curious about. Imagine a world where people were driven to life long education because of an instilled interest in the arts and music. Imagine a world where everyone got involved and stood up to make a difference and cared about something deeply and made their voices heard.

It is a fact that music education has all of these benefits and more. Cutting music theory and music technology classes, or any music classes for that matter would ultimately hurt the society that your school should be striving to help flourish.

Adam Shanley

—

I was informed the next day that this very email, which was not alone – in fact there are emails written by current Eastman School of music faculty and other concerned Gates-Chili alumnus- will be read at a school board meeting in which the fate of the music program will be discussed.

Through the din of useless chatter in the ultra-connected world there is hope that a difference could possibly be made.

2008, DRAM, music, reviews, thoughts

DRAM playlist from June

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I realized that I only mentioned that I wrote a playlist/blogpost for DRAM (the Directory of Recorded American Music) but I never posted it here. I remembered this when I was asked by them to do another one in October or November. So while I go over there and rifle through all of their recordings trying to figure out what my theme is going to be I have copied and pasted my playlist from June for you to enjoy.

 If you do not have the ability to play these files on the DRAM site (i.e. you are not a student/faculty member at a school that has access) then please let me know. You should still check out their news section, where they keep all the playlists. It is very informative, and there is always something new happening there, as they are pretty much still getting started. They could use the traffic! Support new music!

 

1.)  Charles Ives – “Three Quarter-tone Pieces: III. Chorale” From – The Unknown Ives, Vol. 2 – NWR80618

This first selection may be familiar to many listeners. I believe that music has the power to change lives, and this piece, in particular, remains very close to me, as it led me to pursue the study of new music, and cemented my interest in new American music in particular. During my second semester as an undergraduate student at SUNY Fredonia, Continuum, a new music ensemble performed. The final pieces on the program were the 3 Quartertone pieces for 2 pianos by Charles Ives.  I sat in awe in the concert hall, hearing sounds that I had never heard before. I still remember that concert every time I listen to this work. Throughout this piece, Ives repeatedly hints at the tune “America (My Country ‘Tis of Thee)” but never quite brings the quote to fruition, thwarting the completion of the familiar melody with cascading jazz-like melodic lines interspersed with more cerebral, “serious” music.

2.)  Easley Blackwood – “Suite for Guitar in 15-note Equal Tuning, Op. 33: IV. Gigue (Vivo) From – Blackwood: Microtonal Compositions – CDR018

As a guitarist with a strong interest in new music, this piece struck me as particularly intriguing. Blackwood utilizes a new tuning system, but within the form of a Baroque suite, complete with its familiar rhythms and harmonic motion. The resulting work might sound a bit curious, but it remains easily comprehensible, as the swirling arpeggiated passages and steady, strong bass motion make the alternate tuning scheme less foreign to an ear accustomed to standard 12 note, equal temperament tuning. This juxtaposition works quite well, expanding a familiar form with the introduction of a new tuning.

3.)  Annie Gosfield – “Marked by a Hat” From – EGP: Extreme Guitar Project MO157

Gosfield offers a different take on composing for guitar than Blackwood. She creates a microtonal tuning for Marco Capelli’s 10-stringed “Extreme Guitar” that centers on the pitches E, D, and C, and the quarter tones that surround them. One can hear this tuning spelled out at around 1:43, and at times, it might sound as though the guitar has been specially prepared, though it has not. The unorthodox sounds are actually due to the fact that Gosfield wrote the piece solely for open strings. This choice, combined with Capelli’s unique tremolos and picking techniques gives the instrument an altogether different sound, as though it has been prepared. Evocations of Eastern instruments abound, which makes the unorthodox tuning seem entirely appropriate to the ear. While the many different effects comprise different sections in the composition, there is always a strong dance-like rhythmic sense. This recording is featured on Mode Record’s album, “EGP: Extreme Guitar Project” which features several different composers and as many approaches to composing for the guitar.

4.)  Harry Partch – “San Francisco II” From – Enclosure Two: Harry Partch IN401

Somewhere in between folk music, Americana, and classical music lies Harry Partch. Far ahead of his time and with extremely idiosyncratic demands, it is a wonder that he was able to get as much of his music recorded and performed as he did. For that matter, it is a wonder how Partch conceived of his music at all. His experiments in alternate tuning systems and his fascination with Greek mythology led him to invent many new instruments necessary for performing a panoply of works unlike any other composer before or after him. This work utilizes three guitars played with some type of slide, a flute that enters and quickly bends its pitch, and a cello that is playing a perpetual glissando that may create a very uneasy feeling in the listener. Throughout the work, Partch displays his strong ability as a dramatic large-scale composer by marking off sections of extreme drama with a fantastic interplay of instruments.

5.)  Larry Polansky – “Movement for Andrea Smith (My Funny Valentine for Just String Quartet) From – Larry Polansky – Simple Harmonic Motion ART1011

The differences between equal temperament and just intonation can seem slight to modern ears, but this piece makes good use of bringing out the “grind” in the altered tuning. Mr. Polansky utilizes the string quartet in an interesting way here too. Never do the instruments separate as much as one would typically think of in a “string quartet.” Instead, here the four instruments function more as one, creating an amorphous and otherworldly ambient sound sculpture that encapsulates the sonic landscape of the just intonation system, creating a remarkable, solid, unified tone.

6.)  Ben Johnston – “Sonata for Microtonal Piano: Movement II” From – Sound Forms for Piano NWR80203

Like the Ives piece earlier in this playlist, though with only one piano, here Johnston explores microtones on a piano. Unlike the Ives piece, however, this work is in the 12-tone idiom. This second movement in particular is violent in dynamics and rhythm, with the 12 tone compositional technique adding a degree of dissonance to the already harsh sound of the piano. Live performance of this piece is about as rare as they come, so this recording is truly a gem and a gift. Note the reoccurrence of the Ives quote. It appears in the second movement as well as across the entirety of the work. Also effective is the use of extended techniques (i.e. direct play on the strings) that bring out the full array of sounds possible on the instrument, at times evoking the sound of a Japanese Koto. Again, as in the Gosfield, we hear the parallel drawn between altered tunings and Eastern music.

7.)  Ezra Sims – “Concert Piece: Excited” From – Microtonal Music of Ezra Sims CR643

Here we hear the use of microtones in a full ensemble with a computer used to help with the tuning of various chords, as opposed to the solo microtonal works featured earlier in this playlist.  The winds, which make up the majority of the ensemble, are responsible for most of the colorful pitches throughout this work, the microtones from that section of the orchestra heard most clearly. This is the final, fast, movement of Sims’ larger work and I find it simultaneously the most daring use of microtones and the most understated way of incorporating them. It’s daring as it uses an entire orchestra, which is no small feat, yet it remains understated, because this work is not about these “other,” microtonal pitches. Sims simply employs microtones as part of his vocabulary, but not the focus.

8.)  Carter Scholz – “Lattice” From – Carter Scholz – 8 Pieces FP009

This work for electronics is quite different from the others in the list. Similar in effect to the Polansky quartet, this piece has the effect of layers working together to form a single “wall of sound.” The microtones blend in with the total fabric of the work, sometimes causing dissonance and beating against the other layers of sound, and sometimes resulting in a swelled effect pulsating through an ambient space. The resulting timbres feature resonance without any attack preceding it, like the peal of bells, until the lowest octave makes its appearance. In this manner, “Lattice” grows in every dimension throughout its duration, expanding sonically until the end.

9.)  Dean Drummond – “Before the Last Laugh” From – Newband Partch and Drummond IN561

It might seem that microtonal composers start almost completely from scratch, casting off anything and everything of their predecessors, right down to the instruments and notes used to create their works. However, here is a prime example to the contrary. One could say that Drummond picks up where Harry Partch left off, further expanding Harry Partch’s original ideas. Here, Drummond actually utilizes some of Partch’s unique, original instruments, but he has also taken the time to create his own instruments to suit his personal compositional needs. The resultant piece is a combination of alien sounds paired with the familiar. Specifically, Drummond relies heavily on strange percussion and instruments with heavy attacks, while having a flute play much of the prime material. The orchestration in this work is quite colorful and shows off his new instruments well.

10.)  Gloria Coates – “Fragment from Leonardo’s Notebooks, “Fonte di Rimini” From – Gloria Coates NWR80599

The grand drama of this orchestral work begins with sustained string harmonics that quickly grow to a forceful dynamic, the strings consistently demanding the listener’s attention through their incredibly slow and controlled glissandi. The effect created is that of “passing microtones.” It is hard to tell where one pitch ends and another begins, and each infinite pitch seems to be held for so long that one gets disoriented attempting to steady himself on a tonal center. The programmatic insinuations in this piece are endless, bringing to mind bombs dropping or planes cutting across the sky. One may also note that the vocals towards the end of the work, mimicking the string’s glissandi.

2008, music, personal, reviews, thoughts

Monthly Muxtape Madness Vol. 1

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So I decided that I am going to lend my time to yet another page on teh interwebs. Muxtape.com allows users to create a mix tape of up to 12 songs. Who doesn’t remember creating mixes for your friends and family to listen to? I definitely created tons when I was a kid.

Now it is popular with the hipster set as not only a form of nostalgia (hipsters love nostalgia, seeing as how they never want to grow up) but as a way to show everyone how eclectic, strange and indie their taste in music is. That being said, I’m going to start making my own mix and update it, change the tracks periodically (hopefully monthly or so). I’ll blog up little descriptions of each track here and give you a link to the tape. Big surprise, it is http://quartertonality.muxtape.com. Just click on the track you want to start with (

Here is Volume 1:

“Wake Me When It’s Over” is off of Longwave’s 2nd full length album and is quite a change from their first, though it definitely extrapolates off of the influences that they clearly feel strongly about (Television, U2, Radiohead, The Strokes etc…) This is the opening track off of that album and I thought it would make a good opening track here. This song kind of feels like a sunrise anyway, with orange light bouncing off of dust as it flies through the air. Lots of delayed effect on the guitars and atmospherics. Great song

“Get a Shot of the Refrigerator” is typical Stereolab. Sometimes instrumental, sometimes not. Sometimes the lyrics are in French, sometimes English, sometimes both. This is a truly unique band with a very devoted, indie “insider” following. Somewhere between rock and dance music lies Stereolab with their groovy jams and tight ensemble work. “The groop”, as their fans call them are unlike anything you have heard before.

“Love and Death” is off of The Stills’ first album. This Canadian band made quite a splash with their first album, only to completely lose me with their second. This album feels nostalgic to me for some reason. It is great in all the right spots. This song has not only a great chorus but a great verse as well. The whole thing fits together very well. I like the interplay and counterpoint between both of the guitars and the way the verses really work towards the choruses to create a seamless texture, similar to the Longwave but a little more overproduced.

“Range Life” is off of the now defunct California outfit Pavement’s absolutely amazing album entitled “Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain” and features a very loose ensemble with barely tuned guitars creating a song that feels like it is in slow motion. Lead singer Stephen Malkmus’s voice is shaky and somewhere between falsetto and full voiced belting, but it seems like he is trying to keep it quiet. Sarcastic lyrics with a lazy delivery and all genius.

“First Day” is off of Sunderland England’s own The Futureheads first blistering album full of jangly, angular punk songs. The guitars are all over the place in this one darting in and out of the way of each other with the entire gang joining in to sing the chorus. The band builds up faster and faster until it seems like they are going to completely fall apart, the trick is that is when they are at their best, right before everything falls apart.

“My Mathematical Mind” is from Austin, Texas’ own Spoon’s album “Gimme Fiction”. Though that album did not quite do it for me as much as their most recent effort (“Ga ga ga ga ga” from 2007) it still has a few decent tracks on it. This is one of them. The lyrics are almost too brainy and self-absorbed, but they never quite cross the line. The bouncy, hemiola inflected piano line helps give the opening a good swing and the throbbing, present bass propels the song forward while the guitar struggles for air just below Britt Daniel’s soaring vocal.

“Stereo Sanctity” is from Sonic Youth’s album Sister. The group experiments with altered tunings, noise and chaos as part of its aesthetic flawlessly combining the ideals of the post-punk crowd and the downtown music composition scene of Eliot Sharp, Glen Branca and free jazzers like Sun Ra. This song has always been one of my favorites of theirs, very energetic, very noisy. Just plain great.

“Freak Out” by Liars, originally from Australia, then moved to NYC and now based out of Berlin Liars have experimented with each of their albums. This is off of their most recent offering simply called “Liars” which features a whole series of really tight rock songs that are similar in vane to early Sonic Youth, but a little more percussion driven. This album combines elements of all their past efforts and shows them finally focusing in and going out on one clear path. This song brings forward the jangle of a reverb soaked, out of tune guitar and the chant-like approach to singing.

“Your Hand in Mine” by Explosions in the Sky is one of the only examples of music in a rock band format that is truly orchestral in scope. This band, again from Texas, creates grand sonic soundscapes on each of their albums that are usually full of lengthy, developmental structures. This song is one of the most beautiful rock songs I have ever heard. Simple, in E major, utilizing the open strings on the guitar to create a truly moving sound. You can tell that each line was painstakingly put together. The structure of this song is almost mathematical and it is even divided into sections, but they work so well together it is scary.

“Goodbye Ukulele” by Peterborough, Ontario’s The Burning Hell is depressing, yes. It is also a great way to close an album. Singer Matthias Kom bids adieu to each of the instruments in the band one by one and they disappear until he is completely alone with his ukulele. This is one of the only really slow songs that I have ever really liked this much.

I hope I haven’t rambled on too long. I hope you enjoy this mix.

2008, live, music, reviews, thoughts, Uncategorized

Rush in Toronto (July 9, 2008 Molson Ampitheater)

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Nothing can beat a good arena rock show. It is a totally different experience than seeing a concert at a small venue put on by an act that is only known by a relative few. Not better, not worse, different.

Rush has always been able to play large venues. Their first live album, that came out after their 4th studio effort (the legendary “2112”) was recorded in Massey Hall, which was probably the last time that they played a venue so small. This was the third time that I have seen Rush live, my first time being in 1997 on their “Test for Echo” tour, which I was lucky enough to end up in the front row (don’t ask me how that happened) and then I saw them last year on the “Snakes and Arrows” tour at the same venue, only in the very cheap seats, on the 4th of July. What better way to celebrate American Independence than with 3 Canadians? Those shows and this one had almost the exact same venue: a large, outdoor ampitheater with the partially covered, bowl shaped seating arrangement, pretty common. The view from the lawn seats at the Molson in Toronto is much better than the one I saw them at the first 2 times.

As usual with Geddy Lee and Co. there is no opening band. The show is nearly 3 hours of just Rush, which is enough to satisfy their rabid fans. This being a hometown show for them I was particularly excited about seeing them. It appeared that the band was having a good time too, as this was the most animated I’ve seen them. There usually isn’t too much in-between song banter, but there was a touch this time as Geddy gave us a taste of his “true Canadian accent” with the requisite “eh?” and “give’r” and what have you.

The set contained a pretty good retrospective of their entire career. From memory they played (though not in this order):

Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta, YYZ, The Trees, the first two parts of 2112, Digital Man, Beneath the Wheels (awesome!), Where’s my Thing?, The Larger Bowl, Armor and Sword, One Little Victory, Workin’ them Angels, Ghost of a Chance, Dreamline, Witch Hunt, Limelight (I do remember this was the opener), The Spirit of Radio, and a bunch of others.

I am familiar, musically, with all of their material, but the names of some of the newer songs I don’t know. I know that they played a lot more newer material, but they did make it a point to play the classics. My friend and I discussed after the show how Rush is in a unique position from other current rock bands. They have managed to be active for 30 years and still are able to go on tour and not be viewed as “dinosaurs” or a museum type act like so many other bands that started at the same time as them. Styx is currently, as far as I’m concerned, a joke and a retrospective tribute band of themselves, as is Journey, Boston, Yes, Jethro Tull and countless others.

Rush is an arena rock band. That is what they do. They have been able to do it without selling their souls, or being overly or stereotypically “commercial”. Instead of letting the term “commercial” define them they choose, so it seems, to define the term for themselves. Throughout all their albums their sounds has evolved, significantly. They started by sounding like a bar band, developed into a prog-art rock band with songs that took up entire sides of albums, then they began creating 5 minute rock tunes that were extremely memorable in their own style. In the 80’s they delved into icy waters by taking a turn towards the realms of adult contemporary music, but then ushered themselves into the 90’s by becoming heavier, and still keeping their edgy sound they left off with 15 years prior. Throughout all this their fans remained with them, and in concert all of these songs can be played back to back seamlessly. They have always been true to themselves and I believe that that is truly shown in their music. There is a reason why they are a long lasting act as well as a top-selling act.

Unfortunately cameras were not allowed in the venue and although I had mine with me I did not remove it from my pocket from fear of it being taken away by a security guard. The videos that I present below are from the July 4, 2007 concert from Darien Lake (near Buffalo) New York.

“What about the voice of Geddy Lee? How did it get so high? I wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy…”

2008, music, personal, thoughts, writing

My Writing Process

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So I decided that something people are always interested in, whether they write music or not, whether they ever care to or not, is the process by which someone creates music.

For as many composers there are out there, there are just as many ways of doing things. There is no right or wrong way, this is art after all. This is a form of expression, our own way of describing the world. I may as well get down to it, I think the way I do things is kinda different and I am still developing in my process.

From very early on I realized that rhythm was the most important element in music, at least to me. I was always a fan of prog-rock, where it is expected that the most complex rhythms and strangest accents are used. That is what those songs are about. The dragons, sorcery and nymphs are secondary. Anyway, the other thing that I find quite important to any piece of music, no matter what the genre is that the form is accessible.

This being said, when I need to start writing a piece of music the first thing that I do is grab my notebook. A simple notebook of lined paper, not manuscript, not yet. In the notebook I start off from the most basic characteristics of the piece and slowly build up from there. I’ll decide how long I want the piece to be, in minutes and seconds, what the piece is going to be scored for and what initial tonal center I am going to begin with.

The decisions for all of these aspects can either be a pretty simple endeavor (“It will be 5 minutes, because 5 minutes seems like a reasonable amount of time for this kind of work) or a more complex decision that relies on some other aspect of the music (“Well this is a piece for Brass so perhaps starting in Bb will be good…”). At this stage of the game I try to move as fast as possible across all these “pre-compositional” workings. I am not saying that they are lesser aspects of completing the work, on the contrary, these are the foundations of the entire work, on which the rest of my writing will balance upon, but I like to get through it quickly to keep the momentum going, start the ball rolling, and reminding myself that the piece should never be so complex that the audience will never understand it. In moving through this phase fairly quick I am assuring myself that I don’t complicate matters.

Right after this initial phase I begin pulling back, slowly. I imagine myself analyzing something visual, a landscape or a painting. I am quite far away at the beginning, I can make out that I see something and I slowly move in to see what exactly it is, and how it is made, right down to the most fine detail. I keep writing, in words, describing how I wan the piece to “go”. I’m going to use a form, let’s go with a tried and true A B A. The piece is 5 minutes long so how long is each A section, is the B shorter, longer? How are things weighted? Will B be developmental or just different, contrasting? Slow, Fast, Slow or Fast, Slow, Fast? No tempo change at all? etc.

I zoom in further. How is the A section divided up? How long is it going to be? Time signature? Will it move from the initial tonal center to another? Will the tonal center that it moves to help me get to where the B section begins? How many phrases are in the A section? How long are they? What about the basic durational units? Registral placement? etc. etc.

There is plenty to think about at this point, early on. This is where some of my best thinking takes place. I really love this part of the process. I can burn out a whole slew of ideas in a wild frenzy. Some people call this “sketching” but for some reason I despise the use of that word. It just seems so pretentious to me. I’m laying the foundation for my piece, in words. I am more comfortable to start off in my first language, that being English. After I have planned out my piece in as much verbose prose as possible, getting as specific as I can I move to the manuscript paper.

Though this part happens in stages as well. I don’t immediately run to a piano and start splashing notes down. That would be counterproductive, I must continue on the path that I have started for myself, that being: zooming into the picture as slowly as possible. Rhythm first. All of the outer parameters of the music I have laid out beforehand, in words. I know how long the piece is, and the tempo, so I know how many beats it will take me to get to the end. I know the phrase structure and the overall form. All this is mapped out. I now begin writing rhythms and general pitch information. Nothing gets too specific. Notes are simple: High or Low. The rhythm and the inflection working together as I sing out what I hear in my head. All the basic elements of the music are now in place, I mark out where important things are going to happen (“should sound like a half cadence here”, “cadence”, “moving towards D#” etc.) I circle things and make notes, general things like harmonic pulse and motion are marked out at this point too.

Things are beginning to solidify at this point and things may change from what I had initially planned. I find that it is better to let the piece, to a certain degree, go where it wants to go. There are certain things that just need to happen, and the music will go where it needs to go, or else it will sound unnatural and forced. Flexibility is the key, though if it is desired to stick strictly to the plan that was drawn out beforehand then that can be done too, it is completely up in the air.

After the piece is mapped out, with rhythms and general inflections I move operations to my computer, or to the piano. It is time to start hearing the piece in further detail, hearing specific notes and trying out several harmonies. The reason that I do the rhythm first is so that my thoughts are allowed to move fairly quickly, this final step moves pretty slowly, but calmly because I know that I will not lose sight of what the piece is supposed to be about. If I am at a piano I play through all sorts of ideas that fit within the rhythmic and inflection parameters that I have started out with, in the tonal center that I decided on. This way everything that I can think of is taken care of beforehand, freeing up my mind and my creativity because I don’t have to think of 40 things at once, I am just following the directions on the paper that I have written myself.

I am usually able to come up with several ideas for each phrase and this is the point in the process where subtle tricks come into play, little details that could not have been planned ahead of time that now seem so obvious and excite me to no end, propelling me to finish as much of the piece as possible in one sitting. These things are all possible if sitting in front of the computer as well. This all depends on where I am at the time.

Nothing is set in stone, and things often change all the way through the process. Practical application of notes to the schematic that is laid out will cause some things to shift. I personally find that this is the way that works best for me. I don’t know of anyone else that works in this manner, but I tried for years in vain to write in the way that I thought everyone else worked and my music was scattered, without focus and difficult to hear and understand. This process I developed for me to help my writing and so far I like the way that it is working, it is helping me to write more efficiently and just to write more.

music, philosophy, thoughts, Uncategorized

Listening to Jandek

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A few weeks ago a friend gave me a recording of various albums by reclusive, outsider musician superstar Jandek. If you don’t know anything about Jandek, and you are interested, there is quite a back story involved. A good place to start is with the wikipedia article about him. Although I usually stay away from wikipedia for anything even quasi-“research” related, there is such scant information about the man anywhere that this is pretty much the authority, along with a very detailed fansite, done fastidiously by Seth Tisue (http://tisue.net/jandek/). Seth’s site includes vary detailed descriptions of many of the albums, ordering info and what not in case you are interested.

Basically the story is that there is a guy, living in Houston, Texas, nobody is 100% sure who he is (though his real name is most likely Sterling Richard Smith), and nobody is sure what he does for a living (possibly a machinist)…but basically somewhere along the line this man, whoever he is, began recording music, alone. He releases albums by himself through a label that represents nobody else called Corwood Industries. He has released 51 albums to date since 1978, and up until just recently (2004) NEVER appeared in public. He gave an interview that appeared in the first article of Spin, but other than that has been almost completely anonymous.

Somehow his music was discovered, through all of this. Somehow people became interested in this very strange music. Through the wikipedia article one can find out what they need to know about the mystery that is Jandek, that’s where I learned all that I know about him, and that is not what I would like to concentrate on in this post. What I would like to discuss is one of my favorite topics: “What is music?”

There are two camps of people basically, amongst those that even know about Jandek. The first feel that he is a genius like no other and that he is pretty damn near close to a god walking on this Earth. The other faction feels that what he creates is not music and he should not be held up on this pedestal that fans of outsider music have put him up on. I stand pretty much with the first group, though I often hesitate to throw out the “genius” qualifier.

It is true that this music is like no other, though that is not to say that it doesn’t have its influence from something. It is clear that the lyrics, their content, their form (where there is one) and the style of singing that is totally wrought with intense emotion are derived from the folk and more importantly the blues traditions of the south, namely his home of Texas. This is intense music. I will say that I disagree with the naysayers that feel that Jandek is just making noise, not music, and that he is talentless.

First of all what we need to discuss is not only what is music, but what does one expect from music? This, I feel, is a more important question than anything, it is THE question. Not just regarding music, this question should be asked of everything. What do you expect to take away from any experience that you percieve?

JandekListening to Jandek requires one to be an active participant. One can not just passively let the sound wash over them, it is not art that functions in that way. This is not the kind of music that one would put on in the background at a part. This is intensely heartfelt, soul wrenching and usually terrifying stuff. Although it is usually assumed that Jandek does not tune his guitar, if one listens closely it is possible to hear that the guitar is usually tuned to an open tuning of some sort or another, usually something bizarre, most likely of his own devising. The early albums consist completely of open strings on the guitar and a waling vocal. Later works may include other instruments, and violent and dramatic guitar butchering. His left hand attacks the fretboard while he screams out in pain.

There is no question as to whether or not this is art or not. The fact is, plain and simple, that it is art, an art that appeals to a certain group of open minded individuals. I will be bold enough to say that I am one such of the open minded individuals. One may ask, “where is the melody, where is the harmony, where is the rhythm, WHAT is the rhythm?”….all of the elements of music are in fact there though, I would argue.

The melody is, of course, in the vocal line. The harmony is in the guitar, the rhythm is in the combination of the two. This is where things get complicated: It is not that there is a lack of any of these elements, for there can’t be. You can not have sound, any sound at all without something that can be deemed melody, rhythm or harmony, you just need to redefine it for each instance. The melody is extremely hard to follow, does not repeat usually or regularly and can waver between only a few pitches. The harmony is not able to be defined by roman numeral analysis, such that music theorists may try, or by chord names or anything that has been previously thought of.

In order to appreciate this music on any level at all one must completely set aside everything that they think they already know about music. One has to listen with a fresh perspective, it’s going to ask you what you truly think and know about music, it is truly going to test your limits. I think that someone that comes to discover Jandek is most likely already pretty deep into music and will be willing to listen with an openness that someone who hears Jandek, say, through a friend, may not have.

Jandek is to pop/rock/folk/blues (whatever guitar driven music you can even think to classify it as) what John Cage was to concert music. He is more a philosopher than a musician. It is true that he is telling a story through his lyrics, he is creating a different world for us to visit while we listen and he is definitely amplifying the emotion and meaning of his thoughts through the medium of music. He chooses to do it in such a personal style that nobody could ever duplicate. If you think that his music is just aimless noise then by all means, try to mimic him. You will not be able to. The music is connected to Jandek alone.

Thoughts like this make me wish that I could start my musical training all over again. One of the hardestJandek album cover things to do is to find a voice and style of your own when you decide that you are going to create music. It is so easy to sound derivative, mimicking everything that you take in. Jandek apparently did not get this memo. Without going on for days and days repeating myself I could conclude by saying that everything that Jandek presents to us should shock us.

Another question that comes to mind is: How does music or art of this kind come to be discovered? It is my belief that something this truly originally, and this emotionally shocking will intrigue whoever decides to pay attention. Something of this nature says something about ourselves, not only is is challenging to ourselves, but it is shocking and frustrating because it is art that is telling us something about ourselves that either we did not know about ourselves, or we were repressing for a long time. How did Jandek know this about us? That is the frustrating and angering part, that there can be someone out there that is more in tune with how we feel and what it is to be human than ourselves. If you ever thought you knew yourself well enough, you may now discover that you were wrong. The scariest things sometimes come from within. Imagine carrying around with you something that you were not aware of and then one day someone reaches in and pulls out this shocking, revealing piece of your psyche. Of course you are going to be devastated. This is the music of Jandek.

He is making us question what we would define as music, and all the elements contained therein. He is also forcing us to think about how that would pertain to everything else in our lives. We should always be thinking about our motivations, our expectations and our thoughts about everything and there should never be a single thing that we let slip by unnoticed or unanalyzed. We should be active in our minds at all times, constantly questioning and requestioning everything that we think should be considered a “given”. Not a single thing in life should be taken for granted. Continue reading Listening to Jandek →

miscellaneous, music, personal, thoughts

Classic albums

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Today I was flipping through the channels, for the first time in a long time. When I am at school I don’t ever have a chance to watch television, and my apartment doesn’t have cable, so often times I’m out of the loop when it comes to current events. I just keep my nose to the grindstone and plow forward with my head down, ignoring pretty much all that is around me. This makes the passage of time seem to me very quick.

While I was flipping through the channels I came across one of the extended cable channels, MTV Hits. I don’t know what their normal programming is, but as long as it is nothing like Fuse (R.I.P. MuchMusic USA) or like any of the other MTV channels…..(remember when they promised MTV2 would ONLY show videos?) I’ll give it a shot. Today they were playing Nirvana unplugged. There was a scroll across the bottom of the screen stating that “Finally, nearly 14 years to the day after this session of unplugged, Nirvana Unplugged will be available on DVD“.

I thought to myself, 14 years? That can’t be right, it’s 2007, and this is from 1993, that’s only…..14 years! When did this happen? Where has the time gone.

I remember waiting to see Nirvana Unplugged, it was in this house actually, just over there. I remember afterwards, I think the next day, my brother hooked up our stereo to the VCR and we stripped the audio from our video tape and listened to it in our walkmans (cassette walkmans). We were so ahead of our time, but I digress.

So much has happened since then. I was in 7th grade, now I’m halfway through 2 master’s degrees. My brother was a Sophomore in high school and now he lives in Chicago with his wife and has a real actual career. Where has the time gone? I remember lots of things happening, but I can’t believe it has been 14 years. I guess it is just getting to the point in my life, and the lives of everyone I know where we are starting to realize that somewhere along the way our lives have begun without us knowing. I think we are all still trying to resist.

I get notifications on facebook or myspace about people getting engaged, or having kids and I usually just scoff like people that I graduated with shouldn’t be worrying about that stuff yet. But in all honesty, their timing is just about right. I’m the one that is in denial.

Somewhere along the way Nirvana’s entire career became legendary. This was already happening to some extent while they were still around and touring. It was solidified when Kurt died. Nirvana would be legendary, the gold standard for quality in music for years and years to come. They became our generations band, not only being our voice but our representative for our feelings, our politics and our middle finger to the establishment. Finally we had a band that our parents would never understand. While they cling to the Beatles we have Nirvana.

Nevermind was an important album, and stands up to the test of time, as does In Utero. The Unplugged performance is a wholly other thing, raw, emotional, honest, great. I guess part of my disbelief in that it occurred so long ago was that I can’t believe that I was lucky enough to have lived in the right time to have witnessed it all. Things going on in music now just aren’t as exciting.

We had Pearl Jam. Yes, they are still around today, but haven’t done anything worthwhile since No Code in my opinion. We had Soundgarden, Sonic Youth, and on and on.

Pearl Jam’s “Ten” I remember listening to until my tape wore out and I had to buy another. I couldn’t believe how awesome the guitar solo on “Alive” was. I still listen to that album on occasion and remember how I felt back in 199—-whatever staying over at friends houses and listening to it over and over again.

Soundgarden’s “Superunknown” is another one that got fairly constant rotation on my walkman. Also “Down on the Upside”, their brilliant swan song. These albums defined me as a teenager, wandering around the town I lived in wondering what the hell I was doing, what I was going to do and hating everyone and everything just like any good 14 year old should. Growing up and not wanting to, being too smart for my own good and having dreams that I could never achieve.

No album exemplified these feelings better than the Smashing Pumpkins “Siamese Dream”. I remember stealing that tape from my brother and going on a camping trip with my friend Dave. We listened to that album probably 50 times in those 2 days. Sure the singles were great, “Today”, “Cherub Rock”, but we were always more interested in “Soma”, “Hummer”, and “Mayonnaise”. We formed a band. We were terrible, we tried to play those songs, it rarely, if ever worked, but it was fun.

These albums, with Sonic Youth’s “Dirty” and “Experimental, Jet Set, Trash and No Star” were all so important to me, and still are. There is no way that they ever won’t be. My life is forever defined by these albums, it is undeniable. The noise on “Dirty” was so unbelievable when I first heard it, and the sound, the rhythms, it was everything I ever wanted in an album. I remember thinking to myself when confused about something going on in “Dirty”, “Well it’s Sonic Youth, they can do whatever they want”. This seems just about right, yeah, but I had no frame of reference, that was the first SY album that I had heard. I just knew, you can just tell with some bands that they are worthy.

I spend countless hours downloading, or trying to download new music, fueling this need to hear what is going to be my next soundtrack. Very rarely does anything fill such an important spot. The most important and influential holes have already been plugged. Radiohead was in existence with my Smashing Pumpkins obsession, there was an overlap, but they never really reached the same status. Although Radiohead apparently has much more in terms of staying power with their phenomenal “In Rainbows” up against the forgettable “Zeitgeist” by the Pumpkins, my poor, poor fallen Smashing Pumpkins. They should have just stopped after Adore, that was their peak. I could slap Billy Corgan if I was given the chance.

There is nothing wrong with embracing these albums as generation defining. I will never listen to adult contemporary factory produced garbage. These albums are my life, Nirvana is my Beatles, and that is something to be proud of. Music evolves, defines us, takes a snapshot of society, and culture. We can hold on to our memories and our childhood while time forces us to become all the things we never wanted to become but are inevitable, and the music will help with that. Our music is honest to a fault and will never lie to us.