Klarinet Archive - Posting 000346.txt from 2004/05
From: Bear Woodson <bearwoodson@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] no one left behind
Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 07:16:57 -0400
Hello, Klarinet List.
This is a very touchy subject for me. I think
there should be a bare minimum of 18th and
20th Century Music Theory for ALL school
children. It would be nice if we didn't have
Professional Musicians, who were SO far behind
the times, as to think that knowing their Key
Signatures and Major Scales was an impressive,
up-to-date thing! After all, Key Signatures and
Major Scales were NEW 600 years ago, and
were Common Knowledge by the Baroque Era,
300 years ago!
Not to mention that many composers for the
last 100 years have abandoned Key Signatures,
only because they modulate so often (as I do),
that it would actually be confusing and annoying
to write out Official Key Signatures, only to have
to Officially Change them, every 2 bars apart.
I'm the first to admit that there is a lot of trashy
"Intellectual Gibberish" music in the 20th Century,
(because I was forced to study a lot of it at "Cal
Arts" in the Late 1970's). But there are also a lot
of Gorgeous Works, that are ignored by people,
who have been burned so often by the unmusical
trash, that they hide in the past with Old, Key
Signature Music.
Time to wake up, people. It's not just the school
children, who've been left in the past. Too many
Adult Musicians can't explain the difference be-
tween a Pre-1900 Tonal Chord Progression, and
a Post- 1900 Functional Chord Progression. (I'd
be surprised there are Ten people on the entire
Klarinet List, who can do this!)
(By the way, "Functional" Harmony has several
meanings, but in essence it means "good sounding
chords", ergo "Pure" 12-Tone and Random Music
Chords are NOT what I'm talking about. Now think
about that for a moment. We live in a culture with a
7-second satellite-bounce delay, yet most Profes-
sional Musicians can't explain one of the many
Post-1900 Functional Chord Progressions, to save
their lives, even if they are chord progressions that
have been in daily use for the last 80 years, that
those musicians have played many times! It's not
just the kids, who've been left far behind!)
Bear Woodson
Composer in Tucson, Arizona, USA
Home: 520 - 881 - 2558
"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=McGale
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