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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000004.txt from 2004/04
From: Bear Woodson <bearwoodson@-----.net>
Subj: [DR-L] Libel Policy?
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 2004 00:57:59 -0500
Hello, Everyone.=20
For the first time in months, I am caught up on
doing my E-Mails, but with all the different works
that I'm composing and editing, I won't stay caught
up on E-Mails for long.
Now that there's a new Double Reed List in place,
what is the policy for handling people who cause
malicious Libel? For 30 years I have kept up-to-date
on the Latest information of Modern Music Theory,
Compositional Techniques and Counterpoint, only
to frequently be slammed by one idiot after another,
who hasn't got a clue! They think that a Key Signa-
ture is the Latest Concept, when in reality they began
to evolve into existence 600 YEARS AGO, were
regarded as COMMON KNOWLEGDE about 400
YEARS AGO, and a growing list of modernistic
composers grew beyond Key Signatures 100
YEARS AGO! (Time to wake up.)
Anyone with two brain cells to rub together, who
has performed and/or studied the scores of the
Operas of Richard Wagner, (from the Late 1850's
onward), knows about the Complex Tonal Chro-
maticism of these works, that made staying in one
Key Signature progressively more of a nuisance
than a benefit. By the Early 1900's, some of the
works of Richard Strau=DF, Claude Debussy, Gustav
Mahler, Charles Ives, Maurice Ravel, Bela Bartok,
etc., had used Bi-Tonal and Poly-Tonal Harmony,
as well as Modes from Medieval Europe and
around the world. These facts are NOT military
secrets! They are COMMON KNOWLEDGE!
But NOOOOO, I get slammed from all kinds of
arrogant morons, who think they know better, be-
cause they know little or nothing about this! (Hint:
If you haven't spent 4 years, or more, studying Late
20th Century Avant Garde Music Composition,
then you have little clue as to what I'm talking
about. This has been my specialty for 30 years.)
This all has to do with the time on November 10,
2003, that I was LIBELED by obviously ignorant,
yet adamant opinions of Ms. Jennifer Devey. In just
a few choice words, she managed to accuse me of
being a 12-Tone-Formula Composer, even though
in the article in question, I had specified that "I am a
Modern Composer, specializing in Counterpoint
and Chromatic Modal Harmony".
It is COMMON KNOWLEDGE that the biggest
problem with 12-Tone Music was not merely that
it was "Non-Functional Harmony" (which means
"it sounds boring and ugly"), but also that 12-
Toners were notorious as Thought-Nazis, who did
NOT allow people to Right to Chose what kind of
harmony you did, or did not, enjoy! They wanted
to FORCE everyone to like ONLY 12-Tone Music.
Around the year 1990, 12-Tone was Officially
Declared DEAD worldwide, and anyone who still
uses 12-Tone is regarded as a Moron and a Nazi!
=20
I, Bear Woodson, NEVER did like, nor use 12-
Tone, have often stated so, and have Always written
in Chromatic Modal Harmony in all my Official
Works. To be falsely accused of being a 12-Toner
by Ms. Jennifer Devey on the Double Reed List
on November 10, 2004, is moronic LIBEL, and she
at least deserves to be exposed for her bad manners,
if not sued for the damage that she has done to me,
for no warranted reason.
Too many people are still SO uneducated as to
think, that all there was in the 20th Century, was
"Traditional Tonality" and "12-Tone-Formulae".
How then do you explain Shostakovich, Bartok,
Hindemith, Prokofieff, Lutoslawski, Messiaen,
Zwilich, Ran, Ung, Tower, etc.? Obviously these
composers ARE using Scales, but NOT exclusively
the Major Scale, and they tend to avoid Dominant
Progressions (like going from G Major Triad to
a C Major Triad). These composers, plus many
TV and Film Score Composers, and even many
Jazzers, have been using these Chromatic Modal
Harmonies for over 60 YEARS.
I, Bear Woodson, have ONLY used Chromatic
Modal Harmony in ALL my works for 30 YEARS.
I have often spoken and written AGAINST the use
of any Mechanical Composition Methods for the
last 30 YEARS, and for Ms. Devey and others to
imply or state otherwise, is a documented LIE and
is International LIBEL! I see no reason to reward
such people, and the record must be set straight.
It took 300 years of Primitive Tonality being
used, before a Music Theory System was coined
by J.S. Bach and Rameau in 1722, to finally
correctly explain it. In a similar fashion, Chromatic
Modality started from 1530 to 1650, disappeared
for 250 years, and then resurfaced circa 1900 to
likely flourish for the next 300 years, or more.
Many people have tried to explain it, especially the
Film Score and Studio Jazz Musicians, as they
have to record their music Quickly, ergo they have
various Shorthand Systems for writing out Chords.
The best Music Theory System for it was the
Chromatic Functional Modality System invented
by Howard Hanson (1896-1981), based on the
teachings of Paul Hindemith (1895-1963). Hanson
taught it privately to his students, which included
Ronald Lo Presti (1933-1985), who taught it to me
from 1971 to 1976. I've used it religiously for 30
years, and now several universities are contacting
me to say, that *I*, Bear Woodson, am the Last
Surviving Expert on the Chromatic Functional
Modality System, and that since it will likely be
the Harmony for Most Popular and Serious Music
for the next 300 years, that I should pen the First
Text Book on it. The big obstacle being that I have
very little time.=20
The one big problem with the Chromatic Func-
tional Modality System is that it has a cumbersome
way of writing out the Harmonic Analysis. In 1722
Rameau began using Roman Numerals for Chord
Symbols, and we still use that today for Traditional
Tonality. The Chromatic Modal System will probably
have to wait a hundred years for someone to invent
a similarly simple system for writing Chord Func-
tions, whether I find the time to write the first text
book, or not.=20
The real problem is the pandemic ignorance of
the musicians and public. Let me explain it this way.
If a Medical Doctor, Computer Technician or
"expert" in any job, should tell you that they know
their craft, isn't it reasonable to expect that they
know CURRENT Information?!?!?! Would YOU
go to a Doctor, whose latest information was 150
to 400 YEARS behind the times? Try going to a
Computer Expert, whose best ideas on computer
technology are 150 YEARS behind the times! And
yet even most of the musicians are too ignorant to
know that according to all Music Conservatories
and university music departments, Key Signatures
"reigned" roughly from the years 1600 to 1900.
The Popular Mu$ic Indu$try only has Billion$ of
rea$ons to keep the public ignorant, and thinking
that they are getting a NEW kind of music. (Don't
blame me if you just realized that your "new"
Popular Music is 100% Harmony that has been
around for 150 to 600 years!)
If I showed you a Computer Technician or
Medical Doctor, whose newest idea was 150 years,
or more, behind the times, wouldn't you call that
person a "phony", "liar", "con artist", "fraud" or
something along those lines? Wouldn't it be simple
HONESTY to use the same words to call any
Musician, whose knowledge of Harmony was over
150 years behind the times? It is to me! Sadly I
know too many University "Music Theory Pro-
fessors" whose knowledge stops with Traditional
Tonality and the now defunct (and ugly) 12-Tone
System. I realize that most performing musicians
make their living playing OLD Harmonies, that
the public understands, but if we never pushed
forward, we'd still be living in a pre-scientific,
pre-electric culture ruled by superstitions and
bigotry. How very Pro-Nazi and Taliban! That's
not for me.=20
If I ask most people to give me examples of a
Form of Transportation, Form of Communication,
and Medical Procedure from Before 300 Years
Ago, and Since the Last 100 Years, most people
can do it in seconds! If I ask people to give me
examples of Harmony that were INVENTED
Before 300 Years Ago, and INVENTED Since
the Last 100 Years, most people THINK they
can do it, but usually don't even know, that they
haven't got a clue! You've been Brainwashed by
the Popular Music Industry. Blame them, not
me. I've told you the truth.
The only solution for Pandemic Ignorance is
Education. My time is very limited, but maybe I
should start writing Short Music Theory Hints
and/or Quizzes each day. Perhaps I will send a
Music Theory Quiz in a few minutes.
Bear Woodson =20
Composer in Tucson, Arizona, USA
"Bear Woodson" <bearwoodson@-----.net>
Bachelor's in Music Theory & Composition from:
Arizona State University and
California Institute of the Arts, Dec. 1977
Full Fellowship at the Richard Strauss Conservatory
under Dr. Peter Jona Korn 1979-1980
Master's in Music Theory & Composition from:
Arizona State University, May 1996
Nominated in Spring 2003 for:
Arizona Governor's Arts Award and a Pulitzer
http://www.fluteconnection.net/
Then click on "Contemporary Composers",
then click on "Bear Woodson".
Here is the library listing of an Entire Dissertation
written about 4 of my works for Horn:
http://catalog.lib.asu.edu/search/a?SEARCH=3DMcGale
=20
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