Tuesday, October 25, 2011

From a Diary: I:viii

It might be useful if we followed the Oulipo and presented our work as potentially music rather than definitively (good, bad, or indifferent) music. If we were more relaxed about the issue, it would eliminate a serious distraction and help to make surprises — particularly those drawn from our preconceptions about the extent and limits of the musical — even more so. Listening to a new piece and recognizing — for yourself, as a listener — that it's not quite music doesn't depreciate the experience altogether and, in the best cases, recognizing that it expands your understanding of the musical demonstrates best the benefit of experiment in music. A life without experiment has been lived to the least.

1 comment:

rachMiel said...

why use the terms "music" or "musical" at all? they're SO loaded. if i make something and want to share it i'll generally call it: a piece. not song, because that's just as loaded as music. as are: track (sounds techy), composition (sounds pretentious/academic).