Wednesday 27 April 2016

Deciphering musical codes

Recent blogs have looked at the processes which are involved our decision making when composing and listening to music. Some may consider that the blogs have somehow reduced the subtle qualities that we share, this diagram outlines some of these qualities which we bring into play when listening.

I use the term "code" as music is information that requires processing, the fact that this can be done at such a remarkable speed by an experienced listener is testament to our extraordinary brain. There are musicians who can within the time it takes to play two notes recognise a composer, bring to mind a catalogue of his or her music, state the period of life in which the music was written (early period, late period), its historical context, other arrangements of the music and so on. Furthermore, even if the music is not known to the listener, he or she will be able to anticipate certain progressions and composing decisions and experience 'pleasure' or surprise when these progressions are not given (novelty).

If you feel that you cannot see yourself as an experienced listener at this time the table may well be useful as a simple way of putting a focus on a given element of the music you wish to listen to, some works will naturally feature a category above others.


4 comments:

  1. This is really an amazing chart in the illustration of the process of listening AND a very comprehensive demonstration of complexities involved. We do not listen to each component individually but we listen to music as a whole. Even in composing the decisions required are made considering all aspects simultaneously. I might be wrong, but no composer can make the decisions during the composition process note by note considering each component such as dynamics, harmony, speed, rhythm sequentially and hope to write even one piece. All decisions are made simultaneously with relatively large chunks of music (say a dozen beats, a phrase or a sentence) at a time. The ear has to do the same and more. Beyond recognition, recall and comprehension most of us will also associate the music with something abstract or concrete. This is an amazingly huge task and Ken's chart demonstrates this well.

    In one way the chart also explains the difficulties associated with understanding why one may prefer or enjoy one piece over another. I think, if I am reading the messages in this chart correctly, we are ever so close to understanding the issues presented in the past blogs on motivation, pleasure and ease or difficulty of musical statements and yet we are so far from this goal.

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  2. These "flow chart" (more than one), are exaustive and show our brain at strong work for listening and for appreciating a simple melody. There is an aesthetic element that plays, but it is too difficult to define, maybe impossible to define. Perhaps it is the sum of all elements in the chart and a "quid".

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  3. Grazie per questo commento, quando Edmund Hilary è stato chiesto perché ha scalato l'Everest ha detto... "se non puoi capire che c'è qualcosa nell'uomo che risponde alla sfida di questa montagna e va incontro a esso, che la lotta è la lotta della vita verso l'alto e verso l'alto per sempre, quindi non vedrai perché ci vai."

    Sì è un compito di capire cosa ci motiva a scrivere musica e perché alcuni di noi provare piacere durante l'ascolto impegnativo opere ed io abbiamo scoperto che le risposte sono a volte scomode, ma poi essere umano può essere troppo scomodo.

    C'è un altro blog a venire, tenta di rispondere alla domanda che cosa ci fa sentire emozione quando sentiamo suoni e dalla musica di estensione.

    Thank you for that comment, when Edmund Hilary was asked why he climbed Everest he said, If you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won't see why we go. Yes it is a challenge to understand what motivates us to write music and why some of us experience pleasure when listening to challenging works and I have discovered that the answers are sometimes uncomfortable, but then being human can be uncomfortable too.
    There is one more blog to come, it attempts to answer the question what causes us to feel emotion when we hear sounds and by extension music.

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  4. It is form plain and simple. To arrive at form you have a process of building it,whether it is a sentence,dog house or phrase. Does form fit function? That is the main question I think on how does process fit our "loose ideas" like a jotted half melody into something we can mine later.This is also a key question in design,conformance to specifications in quality.
    There is also the in the moment approach as well, most of the time ..Charlie Parker, etc. was better at it on the fly than what many who teach can barely inspire with a sabbatical by winter.
    This is a nice organizational chart, but...I would use it to work backwards, because I tend to start from the middle on out with a short beginning to at least workshop with in draft stage. I write with an end in mind more than a beginning, but that may be the problem as well :) Which I will gladly stick to. This reminds me of reading Dr. Ruth while trying to have sex.
    This is not a disagreement to the blogs author and contributors whatsoever in this case, but merely my tastes personally. As Nurtan had said in his comment, an explanation on what we may like to listen to and involve ourselves with. SPC analysis of algorhythms and data would be exhaustive, but statistical freaks and trends on process may reflect some knowledge and insight. At the end of the day though? Would it help us decide between e flat or d sharp? A rondo or free form aba romantic diversion into dreams? Maybe, but Babbit is forgotten for a reason. A brilliant curiosity.

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