Serialism November 23, 2007

Serialism is a technique for creating music that uses a set of notes that are used in scrict order. It is also known as twelve-tone music as it uses all 12 notes of a scale and thus has no key. The music makes use of angular “melodies” (that don’t sound like melodies at all) where notes jump from high notes to lower notes and back again. When listening to the music you will notice that there is alot of contrast in dynamics and pitch – to the pont where listening often becomes very uncomfortable. The aim of the composer was to pour lots of emotion into the music and that is why it probably sounds so intense.

Important serial composers such as Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, Alban Berg. 

Aleatoric Music November 20, 2007

After today’s lesson about aleatoric music, think about some ways in which you could create a piece of music that leaves some of the composing material (i.e. tempo, structure, dynamics, pitch) up to the performer. Remember there are no rules so be creative! List them here

Musique Concréte November 15, 2007

Musique Concréte is a term that is often used to describe the process of taking real world sounds and making them “musical”. Traditionally, music begins as an abstract thought either on paper of through another medium, which is later on turned into music. The aim of musique concrète is different, in that it strives to begin with the sounds, experiment with them, and turn them into musical compositions. So, the starting point for traditional music is seperate from the sound. Musique concréte is the oppostie.

When: late 1940s and 1950s

How: helped by developments in technology, particularly microphones and tape recorder.

Who: Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Edgard Varèse

Here is an example, try and spot as many “real world” sounds as you can:

Clapping Music November 8, 2007

“Clapping music” is a minimalist piece written by Steve Reich in 1972. It was originally written for two performers and is performed entirely by clapping.

In this clips you see 12 performers who play the same rhythm but start a quaver beat later than each other. This is known as “Rhythmic Displacement”. After he last performer has come in, all rhythms should be in time with each other.

Experimental Music September 28, 2007

Experimental music is a term introduced by the American composer John Cage in 1955. He tried to defined it as “an experimental action where the outcome of which is unforeseen”. It is music that the composer or performer doesn’t know what the result of the composition will be. In a more general sense, it is music that challenges the commonly accepted notions of what music is. 

Some will argue that experimental music has little or no value. What do you think? Discuss reasons why/why not.