This past week in class we have been looking and disscusing what exactly music is. I always thought it was just simply some artist or composer had created, then performed. In other words, what most people traditionally think of when they think of music. Then I also got to thinking later about how that really isn't true, as we have learned from John Cage. One thing I thought of right away in the case of sound music, was Sesame Street. There were several episodes in which the characters would have us listen to something, then say what it was, followed by several more sounds. Once all the soounds had been played they would then ask us if we could hear how it kind of sounded like music. And it really does sound like music. Another thing I thought of was the performance act Stomp, this group makes music out of everyday street or householdobjects including trash can lids, railings, plungers etc... which they incoorporate into their stage show. These things are what came to my mind right away after this week of class, and I can say I am definitely expanding my thoughts on what I think music is. (see link for a look at stomp below)
Stomp Montage
I like Emily's use of sounds in our environment to portray music. Most sounds that we consider music follows nature in it's manner of operation. It is the repeated exposure to these sounds that make them acceptable to us. The tolerance that one has for sounds is then used as a yard-stick to differentiate noise from pleasant sounds (music). It is my belief that music is relative and free from boundaries. Some may find death-metal a type of music while others find it to be noise. Therefore the parameters for music is dependent on one's tolerance of sound. Cage solidifies this point by arguing that any sound heard is music. He therefore implies that noise is music. So, music is a precipitate of your environmental sound and your tolerance.
ReplyDelete