I put my FYSP ipod on shuffle last night and the eighth song that cam up was Hendrix’s version of All Along the Watchtower. Hearing that song after some serious compositions made me realize its compositional traits. Since we have been talking about texture with Feldman, I thought this piece was appropriate. Hendrix was not known for his mastery of varying texture, however, this song is. Hendrix’s guitar sound ont this song is truly varied. There are loud, hard, abrasive tones at the beginning and early middle. This is abruptly changed during a solo break where he introduces his inter-versal solo with a wes montgomery-like octaves figure followed by some quiet riffing, all with a wah. He creates a pillow of sound in this part of the song that gives more depth to his volume and cutting tone when he returns to it. The soloing is very carefully constructed as is the rhythm playing on his part. It is easy to understand Hendrix’s compositional ability in this song. He gives rise and fall, a range of emotion, and varying, yet intertwining textures. It is wel built, well produced and well recorded. All Along The Watchtower is truly a masterpiece. One of Jimi’s best!
When we first listened in classto Feldman, I was not sure what to think. My initial thought was that he was self centered in his composing. The sparsety and ghostly qualities seemed to communicate his love for his own abilities. However, after listening to his Rothko Chapel 2 and 3, i realized that my initial thoughts were off base. These two pieces were gorgious. They left me with an echoing emptyness that could only be filled wih more choral beauty. The ghosly qalities i origionally percieved were still haunting. However, this hauting set of pieces is not something i wouold have nightmares about.
Feldman is truly a master of texture. As i listened, i realized that throught the seven or so minutes that he was creating a sonic cloth of sorts. I invisioned his music as a simple yet elegant tapestry with all the imperfections neccesary to make something human. I can now fully appreciate what he is trying to achieve. He is not some overindulagant composer who loved the sound of notes that he wrote; he is a man interested in making beautiful sounds. These two compositions are truly gorgious and simply elegant. With few notes and few performers, he made me reevaluate my concept of modern composers. I truly enjoyed these pieces.
There were four sirens, really loud, making music. How is that not awsome. This piece is the best thing, in my opinion, that we have listened to in class so far. After our class last night, I ook some time and though about why I love it and why It is musical to me. The theme of layers kept popping into my head. My appreciation for this piece developed and is manifestedin layers. At the onset, the first layer was the “cool” part. Four sirens blasting out pitches just oozes intrigue and badassery. The first layer of appreciation was not sonic, it was just the concept that got my attention. Next, the actual sounds, tthe second layer, was stunning. The fact that a combination of four air sirens meant to communicate danger or fear, could make such a musical sound, was a breath of fresh air to me. Although i have enjoyed the music so far in this class, musical sounds have not been a theme. The third layer was the amazing rollercoaster ride i was put through while lstening to this. The anticipation for the unknown was amazing. I didnt kn ow what was going to happen when all of the pitches and the pice itself reached their zenith. When it happened, although perfect unison was not achieved, there was an incredible release. I loved the emotions that were manipulated in me and the controll the piece had over them. The fourth layer was the appreciation for the things i could not hear. There were interensting things going on that i could not quite discern. Maybe they were in the recording istself or in the seemingly inadequite speaker system. (This piece required a subwoofer of epic proportions). Regardless of where they came from the sounds or lack there of were intriguing and inspiring. The sixth and final layer of appreciation was for the layers of the piece. This work had an innumerable amount of layers and depths to explore sonicall. There were new things to discover and i will be listening to this piece a lot to discover them. I loved these four simple sirens.
This piece was extremely intriguing. The initial back-story about the “cave-people” was terrifically engaging and it gave a much needed context for the music.
Initially, the preparation, skill and work that went into this was enough to engender my respect and admiration for the music and for the performers. I truly can appreciate hard work and this recording truly exemplified that.
The music itself was a little off-putting at first, just meaningless sounds and syllables coming from a barbershop quartet. But as the recording progressed i found myself listening on bot a meticulous academic leave and a deeper more instinctual level. Every time i heard an overtone, or thought I heard an overtone, my interest was peaked and the intellectual side of my brain tried to pick it apart. This also happened when i heard the straight-up ninth chord. I began to think of all the jazz tunes i know that utilize ninth chords and what whole-tone scale would work over them. Eventually I let my mind settle and began feeling the music more. I have a great love for religious and liturgical musics. This helped me enjoy the monk-like droning of he singers. As a frequent music listener, I rarely find myself listening on both an academic level and an instinctual level. I am either analyzing or grooving. This piece, however, forced me to do both, which was a truly enjoyable experience.
Another aspect of music that i have a hard time finding in many recordings is humor. Music should be a joyous think and humor is a part of that. There is a country artist named Brad Paisley who I enjoy. In fact, he is the only popular country artist that i enjoy. Other than his blazing guitar chops and songwriting prowess, he is funny. Most of his songs are dotted with humor. For example, in his song Ticks, he sings, “I’d like to see you out in the moonlight; I’d like to kiss you, way out in the sticks; I’d like to walk you through a field of wild flowers; And I’d like to check you for ticks.” Hilarious. That humor makes the songs just a little better. That playful musicality was obviously present in Stimmung. The bravery for a composer to put humor in a major piece is wonderful to hear. The “Monday”s and “Thursday”s add a terrific bit of levity in such a heavy piece.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this work. I lived listening to it and this weekend I hope t get through the whole thing.
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