Klarinet Archive - Posting 000087.txt from 2001/12

From: Bear Woodson <bearwoodson@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] "Functional" is not a frivolous term.
Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2001 02:49:39 -0500

Hello, Klarinet List.

I've hardly slept in days, and am WAY behind in
answering E-Mails, with about 60 more to go.

The Dissertation by (the now) Dr. Karen McGale
Fiehler at Arizona State University (near Phoenix) on
4 of my works for Horn was approved on Monday,
December 03, 2001. I had neglected several things
for months, because I was up to my Yin-Yang in
Chromatic Functional Modality Theory Explanations
for the Dissertation and doing the page layouts of the
orchestral parts of the Horn Concerto.

"Horn Concerto" (Piano Reduction Version)
(Dec. 1999, 3 mvts., 16:35)
"Sonata No. 1 for Horn and Piano" (Oct. 2000,
3 mvts., 20:31)
"Sonata for Four Horns" (Dec. 1996, 3 mvts.,
16:41)
"Sonata for Unaccompanied Horn" (Sept. 1997,
3 mvts., 17:41)
totaling almost 72 minutes.

(Warning! NEVER get a Horn Concerto stuck up
your Yin-Yang!)

It seems that the 6 professors at Arizona State Uni-
versity had been doing a search for months, to track
down more information on the Chromatic Functional
Modality System. They confirmed the obvious, known
facts, that Paul Hindemith wrote details about Chord
Roots. They know that Howard Hanson blended those
ideas with Quartal Harmony and Tertian Modal Chords,
and derived most of the System. Mr. Lo Presti added
a few of his own ideas, but little or nothing is written by
any of them that survives today. After extensive searches,
the ASU Professors have told me on the phone that *I*
am it! I don't have time for this!

It would be like being the last person on earth to sur-
vive a strange plague that killed off everyone else who
knew how to play baseball. There's nothing special about
my Music Theory Skills. For all the strange things that
some people have said to me, *I* did NOT INVENT
this system. I find it hysterical that people who have
little or no idea of how it works, can slam something,
when they don't know what they're talking about! It's
a further stretch to slam ME for a System that *I* did
not invent. I'm just the student. I still think that Mr. Lo
Presti was a Genius, and his unpublished symphonies
should be world famous forever.

When I was a student of Mr. Lo Presti in the early
1970's, he had at least 2 Symphonies, written only by
his meticulously neat hand-writing, on velum pages,
and recorded by the Student Orchestra. Those reel
tapes have now crumbled with age, or so I'm told.

Some days ago, some of you wrote about the word
"Function". To Music Theorists this usually means "that
emotional and/or acoustic 'pull' from one chord to the
next, that gives it meaning". Without Harmonic Func-
tion, notes wander mindlessly from one to the next.
Try to realize, that Howard Hanson was an Island of Pro-
Tonal/Modal Harmony in a stormy ocean of 12-Tone-
ONLY Universities, when he was deriving the Chro-
matic Functional Modality Principles in the 1950's. In
those days, if you did NOT Goose-Step to the drum-
beat of the 12-Tone Nazis, they'd destroy your career,
and throw you out of music.

I attended Cal Arts from August 1976 to December
1977, where Professor "Lucky" Stephen Mosko told
me, that I "MUST LOVE 12-Tone music" or else I'd
be graduated out of Cal Arts, to get rid of me! (Due
to Mr. Lo Presti's teachings in the years before that,
my skills at Tonal Harmonic Analysis and Counter-
point already far exceeded his, and many of their fac-
ulty and students.) But some people are too insecure
than to allow people to have Freedom of Thought.
Anyone can do 12-Tone homework assignments, but
in those days, Cal Arts, and many schools would NOT
allow you to have a different opinion in your heart.

The goal of Pure 12-Tone Music, was to avoid all
previous, familiar harmony. I can respect that. Why
listen to the same few chords forever? They do that
in Popular Music, where the 4 Primary Chords of
Tonality have reigned for 500 years. But I disapprove
of any system that requires Force Against Freedom
of Thought! "Functional" Harmony disavows Pure
12-Tone, which avoids all familiar Quartal, Tonal and
Modal Chord Progressions. The 12-Toners wanted
to commit genocide against ANY Modern Functional
Harmonic System. Mr. Lo Presti had told me of many
friends of his, scattered around the USA, who had
their music careers ruined, because they refused to
bow to the 12-Tone Nazi types.

I say, "what ever type of music makes you happy,
GO for it! But for me, I want something more than
just Traditional Tonality, but not as Anti-Functional as
12-Tone." Jazzers use "Bent Tonal Scales" often for 50
years. What they call "Bent Tonal Scale" I call the "7
Modern Church Modes", "Ethnic Modes", "Altered
Modes", etc.

The first rule of Chromatic Functional Modality is,
"the Ear is the Final Judge. If it sounds good, then it
must be functional!" No one complains about Phrygian
Flamenco Guitar Harmonies, but by strict Traditional
Tonal Definitions, they don't work! There's a lot of
beauty out there that hasn't been explained by Theory
Geeks, so the Chromatic Functional Modality System
makes room for that. It's an evolving system, and if
you find it offensive, then you'll have to stop listening
to Jazz, Poulenc, Hindemith, Bartok, Shostakovich,
the background music of many TV Shows and Movies,
etc.

"Functional" is not a frivolous term. It means that
the Harmony has "Emotional Pull". If it "aint got that
swing, it don't mean a thing"! If it isn't pretty, you lose
in this system, contrary to how things were done in 12-
Tone. Sorry, but even the 12-Tone Nazi types have
stopped trying to defend boring Nerd music. Let's go
back to Lyricism! I would love to see new composers
come forth, to follow in the footsteps of Hindemith,
Prokofieff, Poulenc, etc.! Don't you want that, too?

Meanwhile, I've done more sketching on ideas for
a new Sonata for Bb Clarinet with Piano, and I can
assure you, it won't be 12-Tone! I want to let the
clarinetist sing! If my music isn't lyrical enough, I
wouldn't expect people to want to play it.

Bear

Bear Woodson
Composer, Tucson, Arizona, USA
"Bear Woodson" <BearWoodson@-----.Com>
"Bear Woodson" <BearWoodson@-----.Com>

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