 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: janlynn
Date: 2011-03-30 17:56
I was trying to explain to a non clarinet playing friend that they might not enjoy the style of music our ensemble will be playing next because it is contemporary. (i do believe you have to have a taste for this) but he thought that meant he would recognize the "songs". I told him NO - he would not. The best way I could describe contemporary clarinet music so he would understand was eccentric. But that still doesnt seem like the right description.
How would you explain it?
And why is contemporary clarinet music different than contemporary piano music?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2011-03-30 18:22
Describe "contemporary". As in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAbvVAI04iY?
"eccentric" is not a bad way to describe it. :-)
Call me narrow-minded, but I'd like to hear at least one of "rhythm", "theme" and "harmonies" in a piece, be it contemporary or not. Else it sounds like noodling in your practice room, but in front of an audience. And if the audience is somewhat fresh to the inner workings of a piece, it's going to be a tough evening for them.
But that's just me, and if someone does have a mental access to this kind of music, even better for them! I don't judge, I just prefer.
--
Ben
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Joseph Brenner, Jr.
Date: 2011-03-30 18:26
If he's a friend, why go to the bother of describing it ; just play him some recorded contemporary serious music. best wishes, jbjr
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: EEBaum
Date: 2011-03-30 18:28
"Contemporary" is a huge misnomer that has unfortunately been assigned to a large swath of academic art music. The word itself means something that is of the present time, which is very much not how I would describe "contemporary music." Same goes for "modern" and "avant garde" music.
If you went by the definition of the words, contemporary might mean music that is relevant to and drawn from the present time and culture, modern might mean something that attempts to look ahead from current conventions, and avant garde might mean music that is ahead of its time.
Instead, modern tends to mean high academic stuff from the late 40s to 60s (Boulez), contemporary tends toward traditional-realm classical from the 70s to 90s (Corigliano). Avant garde tends to the somewhat riskier segment of the 70s-90s (Cage).
Really, though, all 3 terms are more or less interchangeable as "art music since 1940"
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2011-03-30 23:58
There are many different styles of contemporary music, you can't place them all in the same basket. As an orchestra player I love some new music and I really hate some others, that goes for clarinet music as well, any combination for that matter. There's pretty, exciting, tuneful, dynamic, ugly etc. It's not all bad. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Katrina
Date: 2011-03-31 01:50
I don't know about how I'd explain it, but depending on the friend you could always suggest they come to the show to see if they might like it even if it is "serious" or "deep" or "intellectual."
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: davyd
Date: 2011-03-31 18:38
The community band that I'm in might include on its next program the Berceuse and Finale sections of The Firebird. The harmonies of the former and the 7/4 time of the latter can result in the piece being labeled "crazy modern music". That may well have been true. How can something that's now 101 years old still be called "modern"?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: EEBaum
Date: 2011-03-31 21:09
While some of it is indeed serious, deep, or intellectual, just as much of it, imho, simply uses the same language as serious, deep, or intellectual music and somehow is also considered serious, deep, or intellectual by association.
A good swath of contemporary music is just as lousy as the latest Justin Bieber tune, but because it's harder to listen to and/or uses academic language and/or maybe took longer to write, it's afforded a lot more prestige.
Also, I don't know your situation, but something to consider: If I invite a friend to some music I'm into, I make sure I'm open to going to some music they're into. Willie Nelson puts on a heck of a show.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: janlynn
Date: 2011-04-01 12:22
We are playing a movement from The Bloomington Quartet by Alfred Prinz and another piece (cant remember exact name - something like Manege or Menege). I'm not that into this style music - our director is.
My friend wanted to come to our next performance and I wanted to explain to him what some of the music would be like so he can decide if he 'really' wants to come or not. so I was trying to describe it. The best I can really do is say its eccentric where notes seem random and harmonies dont fit. Atleast it sounds that way when our group plays it. lol
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2011-04-01 13:23
Ed Palanker wrote,
>>There are many different styles of contemporary music, you can't place them all in the same basket. >>
Yes, exactly. To me, "contemporary" means "recently composed," without a value judgment or much of a description attached. Contemporary is a location in time, not a style.
But I also think the word did get a built-in, informal value judgment attached to it in the last half of the 20th century, to the point where the *word* "contemporary" scares a lot of people who don't have opportunities to hear much recently-composed music that they might enjoy if they did hear it. Potential audiences fear that if they go to a concert featuring "contemporary" music (or "new" music or "modern" music), they're going to get subjected to a random-sounding assortment of screeching and popping and bellowing noises -- and somebody up front will probably give a snotty little lecture to the effect that if you don't *appreciate* this sort of thing, then you must be a musical illiterate member of the booboisie. I think the only way to avoid frightening off potential audiences is to avoid those trigger-words completely and just name the composer and tell people that you think they might love his or her music.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: EEBaum
Date: 2011-04-01 17:34
"My friend wanted to come to our next performance and I wanted to explain to him what some of the music would be like so he can decide if he 'really' wants to come or not. "
So you were trying to scare him off? :P
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
