Very great compositions. With a very well achieved progressive rythmic mutations, expression and melting conversations. They work out wonderfully. Congratulations.
Pleased to meet another music student! I'm very interested in your music. I've only just delved into modern music composition, and I can't quite pull it off without it sounding superficial, so I'm just going to study it some more for a while. I'll check in on your works often. :)
Thanks for your comment. I like your music to, especially Velorution I and ambients. Velorution is a single piece or it's the first movement of a more large piece?
Cody, I apologize for sounding disagreeable and aggressive, but I can be that way at times. Do not take my criticisms too seriously and keep in mind that I also disagree with Stravinsky, who once said, 'Rhythm and motion, not the element of feeling, are the foundation of musical art.' ...I just have a higher regard for 'feeling'. On the other hand, feelings can be taken too far with overly sentimental music and with the extremes of romanticism. This is my last post for this thread. BTW, I do not want you to think that I see your music as being without emotion. I just think the emotional content is too uniform, too static for MY tastes. About the cultural aspect- you and I can enjoy the music of India and yet we are both here, in the USA, where many choose to ignore the music of other continents, while many others here have a real diversity of tastes...
At 12:20pm on December 21, 2008, Doug Lauber said…
I understand. I understand the piece. I'm just saying it's a bad strategy to focus on the intellect and ignore the potential emotional power of music. The other extreme is probably just as bad. I applaud your experimentation, but would you also explore the power of music to convey complex emotions? Culture and conditioning do not influence us as much as you think. I do not know where you got that. I hate generalizations. I think there are huge differences between individuals, in the attitudes that they have. Individuals from the same culture have different tastes but that goes against your generalization. I believe that the way frequencies in music interact, affects the human nervous system, inducing various emotions, rather than the idea that culture and conditioning teach me how to feel a certain way. Creating music within the narrow context of intellectual structure, is like removing the flavor from food and focusing solely on the molecular composition. Anyway, I've made my point. I'm encouraging a holistic approach to composition. It's that simple. If you like complexity, you should consider Complexity Of Function. How does the music function on a social level, an emotional level, a psychological level, a structural level, a dramatic level, an intellectual level? etc. Saying you like dissonance is like an artist saying he likes the color green, right? I like sadness. I like turmoil. OK, but the world is not that narrow. It's a big place.
Thanks for the comment, and thanks for taking some time to listen. As to calling my work a symphony, I realize it does not fit the classical definition of the word, but in the sense that it is a long work in four movements I think the description fits. It is my musical take on the idea I suppose. As for not having much structure, you're right! This was my first attempt at something that long, and at a multi-movement piece alltogether. So, thank you for the criticism I really appreciate it.
Also, I stopped to listen to some of your music. I fear that the theory that must be involved to create music like yours would be far over my head. You've got a great sound, and it's great to hear someone who plays some of the same instruments I do in such a different way. Congrats.
Cody, I disagree with many of your statements. I truly believe that music CAN convey all kinds of emotions. It does not 'create emotion'. I come to music from a point of view of 'universalism'. If I play a melody that affects my emotions as I play it, I presume that there will be other people who are affected(emotionally) in a similar way. I think it is my responsibility as a composer to design music that will have an intended emotional/spiritual/intellectual affect. In the early 70's, I was listening to Cream and Led Zeppelin. In that context, I then discovered Beethoven and Brahms.
Soon after, I was listening to a fantastic Veena player, S. Balachander, who created music in the cultural context of classical music of southern India. So, you see, I disagree with your sweeping generalizations about Eastern or Western sensibilities. I think you've been brain-washed. Today, European music is enjoyed in Japan. Music is quite universal. The evidence is everywhere. It's a small world. As I said, you designed those movements of NDLO to be static. Granted, not perfectly static -there ARE subtle changes, and the structures are interesting. My point is that you are throwing away the emotional aspect of music composition. That's just my opinion. It is debatable whether or not music can be created that induces an entirely unique emotional experience, -an experience that is unlike any and all natural events or social interactions.
...where did I say that there was no emotional content? I agree that there are changes in emotion between your movements. I stand by my point- that each movement is quite static, in the way it affects (my) emotions.
What effect do you wish to achieve for the listener? How do you want this piece, NDLO,
to affect people? How do you feel about the static quality? Is it your intended effect? Is it your intention to induce agitation, followed by energetic discomfort?
Anger is an emotion, while 'Spiteful' is not. 'Adventurous' is also not an emotion. Euphoria is.
Dissonance and complexity of rhythm are... virtues? Why? Did your cultural environment teach you that? I see dissonance and complexity as means to an end, but not an end in itself.
It is important that you realize there exists the universality of biology/emotion. For example, facial expressions are associated with specific attitudes and emotions, universally, or at least globally. Music often DOES affect people in the same way. Beethoven's 6th does really feel like a jaunt into the bucolic countryside. A feeling is conveyed. You, the composer, are the conveyer.
Cody wrote: ...'Each movement is like a statue. It doesn't move, yet the viewer is free to move around it and see the different angles.' I don't understand that. It's vague to me. Instead of saying that the emotion is static, you could say the changes in emotion are VERY subtle. What I'm left with is that its value is based on intellectual concerns, rather than emotion and changes in emotional landscape. I think that's a big mistake, to go in the direction of constructing a house that is only valuable from the standpoint of materials used, rather than forming a beauty that is holistic, and unites intellectual structure with questions of balance and beauty. To minimize emotional effects is antithetical to art, in terms of my own values, and I think there a danger of becoming elitist.
What do you see as the meaning and importance?
At 12:15pm on December 20, 2008, Doug Lauber said…
My impressions of your music- I look at how it affects me on an emotional level. The structure is very interesting on an intellectual level. Within your NDLO, there is very little movement within each movement. You designed the piece to be this way, to have that quality. The emotional is constant, like bees flying around in a dark insane asylum. Having said that, I am a fan of Munch's 'The Scream', but a painting does not have the luxurious element of time which reflects 'change'. I myself am locked into the idea of music as a movement of emotions, from tense to relaxed, from horrified to euphoric, etc. I do not understand the view of music as a static picture. Instead, a composition should evolve on an emotional level through varying degrees of harmony and dissonance. Maybe that's an 'old-fashioned' idea. I don't know. I do know from experience that it is much easier to setup a musical scheme that does not go through changes of emotion. Why have you chosen to compose music that creates an unchanging emotional tone?
Congrats for 016.
Yes you did manage to create a tonal centre.
It sounds like you did it "classically", exploring the perfect 5ths and major 3rds contained--somewhat surprisingly--in the octatonic scale. (The 5ths may be my ears, please clarify, or post the score.)
(I have the impression that the 6 in 016 is the tonic (F#?), right?)
Contrary to others, I think the pianist did a good job. Clearly this piece is very hard to play. Yes it would require more rehearsal, but this performance is very good already.
At 10:47am on December 16, 2008, Stephen Barry said…
thanks a lot man I really appreciate it
At 10:16pm on December 13, 2008, John McIntyre said…
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Pleased to meet another music student! I'm very interested in your music. I've only just delved into modern music composition, and I can't quite pull it off without it sounding superficial, so I'm just going to study it some more for a while. I'll check in on your works often. :)
Thanks for your comment. I like your music to, especially Velorution I and ambients. Velorution is a single piece or it's the first movement of a more large piece?
Thanks for the comment, and thanks for taking some time to listen. As to calling my work a symphony, I realize it does not fit the classical definition of the word, but in the sense that it is a long work in four movements I think the description fits. It is my musical take on the idea I suppose. As for not having much structure, you're right! This was my first attempt at something that long, and at a multi-movement piece alltogether. So, thank you for the criticism I really appreciate it.
Also, I stopped to listen to some of your music. I fear that the theory that must be involved to create music like yours would be far over my head. You've got a great sound, and it's great to hear someone who plays some of the same instruments I do in such a different way. Congrats.
Soon after, I was listening to a fantastic Veena player, S. Balachander, who created music in the cultural context of classical music of southern India. So, you see, I disagree with your sweeping generalizations about Eastern or Western sensibilities. I think you've been brain-washed. Today, European music is enjoyed in Japan. Music is quite universal. The evidence is everywhere. It's a small world. As I said, you designed those movements of NDLO to be static. Granted, not perfectly static -there ARE subtle changes, and the structures are interesting. My point is that you are throwing away the emotional aspect of music composition. That's just my opinion. It is debatable whether or not music can be created that induces an entirely unique emotional experience, -an experience that is unlike any and all natural events or social interactions.
...where did I say that there was no emotional content? I agree that there are changes in emotion between your movements. I stand by my point- that each movement is quite static, in the way it affects (my) emotions.
What effect do you wish to achieve for the listener? How do you want this piece, NDLO,
to affect people? How do you feel about the static quality? Is it your intended effect? Is it your intention to induce agitation, followed by energetic discomfort?
Anger is an emotion, while 'Spiteful' is not. 'Adventurous' is also not an emotion. Euphoria is.
Dissonance and complexity of rhythm are... virtues? Why? Did your cultural environment teach you that? I see dissonance and complexity as means to an end, but not an end in itself.
It is important that you realize there exists the universality of biology/emotion. For example, facial expressions are associated with specific attitudes and emotions, universally, or at least globally. Music often DOES affect people in the same way. Beethoven's 6th does really feel like a jaunt into the bucolic countryside. A feeling is conveyed. You, the composer, are the conveyer.
What do you see as the meaning and importance?
Yes you did manage to create a tonal centre.
It sounds like you did it "classically", exploring the perfect 5ths and major 3rds contained--somewhat surprisingly--in the octatonic scale. (The 5ths may be my ears, please clarify, or post the score.)
(I have the impression that the 6 in 016 is the tonic (F#?), right?)
Contrary to others, I think the pianist did a good job. Clearly this piece is very hard to play. Yes it would require more rehearsal, but this performance is very good already.
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