So, the other day I was listening to a CD (not that unusual), and my attention kept drifting to the point that I’d forget it was even playing because it sounded to me like directionless sonic doodling. So I’d stop and start the track over, but I became increasingly hostile each time I had to hit repeat. Why would you write this down? I wished I had the composer on speed dial so I could make him tell me.
Then I took a deep breath and got back in touch with reality. We can argue about whether it’s the composer’s responsibility to help me “get it” or not, but seriously, sometimes I think we could all use a What to Listen for in New Music reference guide. Or at least I could. There are just those pieces that elude me like those magic 3-D posters they sell in mall kiosks. I’m sure I’m just missing something that’s waiting in the chaos to jump out and bite me, and I just wish someone would tell me what that was.
At the Conference of World Affairs that I mentioned last month, Roger Ebert does this thing called “Interruptus”. On the first day he screens a film in full for the audience, and then the next day they start playing it again from the beginning and whenever someone in the audience wishes, she just raises her hand and can stop the film. This year the film was Chop Shop and the director, Ramin Bahran, was there on stage, as was the film critic Jim Emerson. As the scenes were reviewed, Bahran chatted about the challenges and goals of the project and how he did what he did and why–why he put the camera there, why he amped up the audio here, how he got that actor to make that face and those pigeons to fly that direction. Some of it was technical, some of it was quite esoteric. Emerson and the audience made comments and asked questions and everyone walked away with this deep understanding of the film and the the director, as well as a richer conception of the larger world of (well, at least indie) filmmaking in 2009. It was AMAZING!
Would this kind of thing work with music? Is anyone already doing something like this? I like the concept because it neither dumbs down the art nor infantilizes the audience. In fact, it actually restarts the dialogue we supposedly blew up a few decades back, empowering the creator to take risks and the audience to question, poke, and grow alongside the artists and the art form. Anyone want to try?
I’m trying! I’m trying!
I agree with you. The only thing I would add is that it is my experience that choreographers and composers do not consciously plan in advance how to be obtuse. I mention choreographers as I am currently composing music for a dance, and I’ve heard more than one musician tell me that they just don’t “get” dance. So there’s another layer of confusion that might be addressed.
Some of the most challenging and esoteric work I’ve experienced has come from some of the funniest, friendliest people I’ve ever met. Of course there are exceptions, but you know what I’m talking about! Musicians might be shy or have trouble putting their thoughts into words, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re trying to be confusing.
Molly adds: I’m not sure I have ever met any artist who admits to a general desire to be confusing as an MO in and of itself. I’ve met plenty who get all shy and awkward about talking about their music, however, and they are still completely charming and pretty much understandable even so. It has never hurt my impressions of their work, only deepened them.
Hey, my comments section is always open.
When I get a minute I’ll be posting the scores from Infernal Machines, and I would be delighted to get specific questions of the “why did you do that there” variety.
Very cool…this is going on my list of things to try over the next year.
A few issues popped into my head as I read your ideas:
1) Should the second time through the piece be from a recording (so the ensemble doesn’t have to keep getting interrupted)?
2) Can the musicians raise their hands in the middle and ask “WTF”?
3) What if no one raises their hands during the second time through? Have I written the New Music equivalent of Yanni? 😉
Molly adds: I wondered how #1 would work out in a live situation myself. Probably mostly depends on the musicians’ style/attitude and the demands of the music, but I think live would be super cool. Or what if you replayed a video of the live performance that just happened, like a sporting event replay? (I want one of those white pens that write on the screen!) #2 most definitely, and #3, well, certainly not but maybe let’s not even start down there!
I think it’s a very cool idea and it’s something that I would love to try. I wonder however,
if on some level this was so successful because film was the medium, which I think speaks more directly on a surface level.
Either way I think it could work and I do agree that it at least opens the dialogue.
Incidentally, I miss the Friday Informer!
Molly adds: Let me know if you take this out for a trial run! I know what you mean about film. I think a lot would be on the shoulders of the MC to get things off and running, otherwise people might feel shy or unsure of what they can say.
And on a personal note, sometimes I miss the Friday Informer, too. It could be a lot of work but tons of fun. Maybe she’ll get a second chance at life one of these days.
This could be a great alternative to the pre-concert lecture…it would work really well in aphoristic music like Webern or Kurtag. I could definitely see a performance of Jatekok where people asked questions in-between the short pieces–and if performed by the Kurtags themselves, they would probably hear some pretty good answers.