Forum

Very humanistic way to give folks freedom to talk of whatever they would like in a given time, in a free order, without any binding hands within a reasonable time span. First, students explore themselves what is available and what is interesting to talk about, then they take their time to prepare properly, and at last, they are personally engaged in a subject they talk about. I learned during the forum a lot of cool links in internet sites that might be helpful in musical studies. Good job everybody!

Musical shares

There is this new fashion of creating some musical excerpt in Garageband or similar for 10 min and then letting everybody in class/room/meeting to edit it for 5 min to their tastes in a full round. Outcomes of musical shares can be stunning. The idea how it works is similar to work scheme of UN, AA, human rights orders etc. For the first time the creative idea, the art is put on a round table. Artists can say, musical shares shade individuality of author’s work. But in fact, it even accents one’s idea in musical environment that would be fashionable, to the date and easy to be understood by everyone.

Faking

When I hear computers play music instead of humans I feel it’s fake. Programs like Garageband do great job recreating sounds. But where are the obertones? And does this music have a soul at all? Personally I doubt it. Though I really appreciate possibilities that electronic programming opens to musicians. Studying, practicing, learning – awesome capabilities!… performing for humans, conducting music therapy to live creatures by computers in my taste is cheating. Why?

Music is language of a soul, not only time. Indians believe, soul has a structure, as a body does, with energetic centers called ‘chakras’ (or ‘sphirot’ in Hebrew). Every center has vibrations that come along with particular sound, and there are 7 main sounds which they believe to be notes (c,d, e etc.). Everything can produce sound that would vibrate together with body centers… or there are physical requirements to the quality of a sound? Ancient Indians forgot to explain. However, I think that quality of a sound has to be naturally produced, if the goal of listening to music is to influence. Although, in many movies, it is particularly electronic music that provides audience with emotions. Logically I understand it, but physically I stand for the old ways: love and music have to be true.

Here I’m waiting what music therapy students have to say. Any comments?

Dream and Technology

I have a dream of a New age grand piano. So it would be built normally, with woods and strings, mechanical details… but that it would have second manual, with lots of electronic effects one could imagine. I dream performing all Beethoven sonatas on this grandpiano. But no regular accompaniment will be played (like broken chords), but mixed and edited sound effects. So that Tempest sonata would have storm sounds and outworldy voices of spirits. That Waldstein accompaniment in the finale will sound like harp and flowing water… edited with some cool electronic effects. And I dream that this will have to be performed by a human and emphasize the idea of interpretation. I would love to make Mephisto’s laughters from Liszt’s sonata B-minor to sound like an actual evil laughter, not only base repeated notes… I dream that it still would be dominated by performer’s interpretation, touch, taste etc. Who and when will design this instrument? He could save this way tones of classical masterpieces and entire culture of performing keyboard instruments from total obliteration.

10 blog posts?!.

Yes, this is what is asked to write about Comp&Tech class. Hm… fine, writing.

It’s a wonderful course about things that I never got in touch with, with music that personally I don’t usually listen to (unless having wild party in some club). Well, rare animal? Yes. But I like what we are doing in this class! It’s creative and definitely fun. Really, if I listen to something that is not classical music, it would be “4.33” by John Cage – in any interpretation that considers all details of what “silence” should be. Yes, wrong old-fashioned education and often migraines. Apologies to people who feel differently about pop-music.

About silence BTW: once in my life I dragged a friend to visit an ancient Greek monastery in downtown Jerusalem, in the middle of Independence park. The monastery of Holy Cross was build between IX and XIII centuries… whatsoever, the cathedral was never ever renovated or remodeled since XIII century. Now all visitors are allowed to enter the altar and stay there as long as they like. So I entered… And lost any count of time, amazed by what I felt inside there.