Anyone?
Anyone?
I have heard a lot of definitions and I think a lot is left to be desired from all of them. I am a bit of a music nerd (as if you hadn't noticed) and I have heard a range of them.
- Organized pitches in time.
That was one I learned in college. Thats what music is. Well maybe if you're lame, but I think it can be a little more interesting than that, why do we need to have actual pitches? John Cage threw that definition right out the window when he wrote his 3'44" (which can be heard HERE ) I honestly like the idea of it; he puts an elaborate frame around a chunk of time and whatever happens to spring out of it -- well so be it.
I am glad we have a John Cage around to remind us that music can (if you are willing to let it) just spontaneously happen when we are sitting around waiting for the performance to start.
I, happen to like mechanical noises -- I had a brief period as a kid working in a factory which sterilized medical equipment. The machinations in there, with all of the looming, ominous sounds of these enormous hulking metal tote things were a thing of beauty -- I don't think everyone heard them the way I did, but I wanted nothing more than to record some of those sounds and use them as effects for stuff I had going on in my head at the time. That never happened due to me having a slight injury (I was almost crushed to death by a forklift driver after we were working 13 hours straight, which was the norm there...) and not returning to work there. It worked out for the best (no more factory work for me woohoo!), I still would have liked to take some audio samples from there though -- no other place on Earth had the same metallic ring to it as that one did.
But I digress, THAT was music to me: an improvised daily cacophony of audible colors, I am sure pitches did play a part in it but the unnatural rhythms and the chunk-chunk of gears and such was incredibly musical to me.
I still enjoy noise as art, if anyone knows anything about me its that the sound of a guitar feeding back can be like angels singing --
it can also be an ear piercing cluster funk <--------(Like that last edit ?)
Most people dont see music in any of these ways though -- their perceptions (epecially with the advent of visual media that originally accompanied the music) has replaced the "sound as art" almost altogether. It is based more on the packaging, rather than the actual sound product.
This has led me to the conclusion I recently let my wife in on-- I am not sure if she agrees, but the fact is that most people want music as a 'decor for their lives' rather than hearing any thing that really deserves an active listening. When I began making music I really wanted music that could change the world and turn music on its ear... While I probably haven't achieved anything close to that (as of yet), I HAVE always gone out there with a relatively eclectic attitude and people can take from it what they wish. I think I have enough musical quirks as to identify my music as being mine -- even when I am playing covers, I try and put that stamp on it that lets you know this has been put through the 'schizoid' filter and "this here noise" is what comes out.
Fantasia was the beginning of the end I think as no one just wanted to hear the music -- now we need little pictures to tell us what to think -- we can't just imagine things for ourselves and come up with our own ideas -- its better to have people who can take the time for that and leave us to think about "what normal folks think about."
Jut remember that its the Music that is everything.
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