What, a sensible person might ask, does this open door policy do for me?
First posted on Mark Is Cranky:…
"A sinister cabal of superior writers."
What Is Music? - Comments Page 2
What, a sensible person might ask, does this open door policy do for me?
First posted on Mark Is Cranky:…
Article comments
26 - Mark Saleski
i have to admit that sometimes it's fun to put on stuff like that (Stockhausen, Varese, etc.) just to see the reactions wash over peoples faces.
...but i do seriously love the stuff. the 'why' is the hard part. something i haven't yet written about because it's the hardest part to get to.
27 - Shark
John Cage said that the sound of traffic is the "new" silence.
Good stuff.
PS: Mark, nice to include the late-great Harry Partch, CD, AND the photo!
PPS: "What is art" and "What is music" are questions to be pondered ONLY by college students at 3 A.M. while smoking dope.
Seriously.
It's the law.
STOP IT.
xxoo
S
28 - Mark Saleski
to be pondered ONLY by college students at 3 A.M. while smoking dope
i spose...tho the problem there was that "what is music?" was soon replaced by "who's gonna call for pizza".
29 - Shark
Oh. Almost forgot:
it's amazing how adaptable our 'hearing' is. (at least mine, heh)
ie. Today's "noise" is tomorrow's music.
30 - JR
The old silence was way better than the crap the kids are listening to nowadays. In my opinion, it ain't even really silence anymore.
31 - Mark Saleski
not only that, their attention span is so short that they don't even appreciate a full 4'33" of silence. hell, they hardly make it to 2'27"!
32 - Phillip Winn
I'd tune in if a ClearChannel station starting broadcasting silence in either 2'27" or 4'33" chunks!
33 - Douglas Mays
Shark, re: comment 27. The art question. I have the answer.
Q: What is art?
A: What isn't?
-Pablo Picasso
34 - boldergeizd
It's been said before, and i agree.
It's all a perception thing.
Something becomes music as soon as you perceive it as music.
I think a key ingredient is time. Time provokes music. Standalone sounds start relating to
eachother as soon as time gets involved.
Sounds become series of sounds, and series of sounds can be perceived as music.
I think Miles was referring to time when he said "Music is the space between notes".
Which makes a nice bridge to my next point.
I'd like to add that i think the reach of music is not limited to our ears. I think it can
be experienced with other senses just as well. You can see music in a motion, in a painting,
...
I think it's no coincidence Miles used the word space to refer to time.
Space is a visual representation of time. Space is a distance on a time line.
Defining music with a visual parameter is no abstract concept to Miles,
space actually is what he perceives and tries to express.
Many artists use such swithes to talk about what they do.
Describing music with colors ( blue music, caramel drums, ...).
Describing paintings using terms as rhythm and harmony.
Describing literature with dynamical elements as flow.
Describing an architectural piece of work with "there's a slow but steady beat to it."
Music is a mood thing, and moods are cross-platform.
what about these questions :
Does music exist ?
Is music an illusion ?
Is music mathematics ?
Is music a perversion of our mind and senses ?
Do animals experience music as music ?
Well, I think I'll have a big pepperoni with cheese and extra cacciatore.
Burrrps ...
What was it again we were talking about only seconds ago ?
Damn, I know we were talking about something really interesting, i just can't remember what
it was. What was it ?
boldergeizd
35 - mpho
Hey Mark,
Great rumination. With this you've hit the nail on the head: "An aesthetically pleasing or harmonious sound or combination of sounds: the music of the wind in the pines." Reminds me of the subjective nature of dance. You know how there's always one or two people in the room about whom is said s/he can't dance? My brother had a great observation. It's not that they can't dance, it's that they're dancing to a different song than everyone else, and that song is always the same: Jimmy Cracked Corn. Next time you see someone who you think can't dance, get Jimmy Cracked Corn going in your head and you'll realize that they are actually dancing quite well. Dancing, music, art--all so subjective, all aesthetically pleasing to one person but not the next one. Trout Mask Replica is a good example of music that isn't conventional, but it has pleased (and influenced) a lot of people. Thanks for the props by the way. I'm going to cross-post you too. Kudos.
36 - Mark Saleski
thanks mpho.
and i tell ya, i've never heard that jimmy cracked corn thing about dancing...but it's fricken funny!
37 - Shark
um, you've apparently never seen me "dance".
It's best if you imagine I'm *dancing to John Cage's 4'33'' !
*I'm not only extremely white, but I don't move at all.
38 - Mark Saleski
i liked douglas mays' picasso comment. very cool.
39 - Al Barger
Trout Mask Replica is chock full of melody, rhythm and harmony. These are some highly organized sounds.
40 - Mark Saleski
very true.
but there's plenty of other music out there with none of those components.
41 - Al Barger
Please be more specific, Mark. What would be some worthwhile music that does NOT have melody, rhythm or harmony? What artist, album, composition?
42 - Mark Saleski
there's a ton of fully improvised music out there that's closer to what we're discussing:
Derek Bailey
Han Bennink
Bruce Eisenbeil
Peter Brotzmann
Evan Parker
43 - Al Barger
Alright, that's narrowing it down a little. Could you recommend specific works by some of these composers?
"Improvised" however does not mean lacking in melody, but just describes the manner in which it is being generated.
44 - Mark Saleski
go ahead and check out almost anything by Derek Bailey. no melody there. still music.
45 - damme vi
hi!!!!!!!!!!! you see me dancing me? i'm damme vi necesario fron cadiz city negross occ. in philippines and i know also in singing..................