Blog Entry

Can't talk new music

Just returned from a public presentation of an analysis of a contemporary musical piece. Main observation? We do not have the tools or the language to describe or analyze certain types of music effectively. The musical tools we do have belong to an old and narrow musical tradition (the western pitch centric tradition) and do not lend themselves well to contemporary musical conceptions. We borrow the concepts and assumptions from this theoretical framework and force their application onto new music. A new music requires the development of a new language to describe it.

Posted on:
2008.03.26 -0500

Tags:
music