life is so busy at this time that I really could not engage in what is argu=
ably one of my favorite topics. However, I could not pass up this moment. T=
here has been much said about music, the process of learning music and the =
process of making music. I offer the following as things to consider when c=
onsidering what makes music, music. Apparently music is far more than melod=
y, rhythm, theory, counterpoint, scales, etc...
John Cage 4:33 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DhUJagb7hL0E
(I love that he still turns to the concert master at the end for the congra=
tulatory handshake.)
Here is another offering from Cage. This one is for prepared piano
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DVYsx5Di3bso
Then there is pointillism...Anton Webern http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DW=
KZt6nPrKJQ
Or Symphony op 21 by Webern http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DbBf2K4S4Nmk
Then there is synthesized music...Some purists cringe at the thought of wha=
t you can now do with electronic music. The idea that a modern keyboard is =
able to create the sounds of virtually any instrument through sampling then=
synthesizing the signal sends chills down many spines. Yet, I can't help b=
ut think what Mozart or Bach would have done with such instruments. Who is =
the Mozart or Bach of today?
Chris Bigenho
Director of Educational Technology
Greenhill School
4141 Spring Valley Road
Addison, TX 75001
Ph. 972-628-5479
Fx. 972-628-5279
bigenhoc@greenhill.org
www.greenhill.org
AIM: chris bigenho
Yahoo: chris_bigenho
Skype: chris_bigenho
Tapped In: ChrisWB
-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators [mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.=
EDU] On Behalf Of Keith E Gatling
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 7:07 AM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: 21st Century Computer Skills
On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 9:27 AM, Ernest Koe <ernestkoe@gmail.com> wrote:
> Speaking of music, check this out
>
>
> http://www.ted.com/talks/david_merrill_demos_siftables_the_smart_blocks.h=
tml
>
I found them to be an amusing musical toy, but are we really ready to
redefine music as simply being random note patterns generated by a machine?
Do we ever want to? What about melody and harmony? What about theme and
variation? What about the beauty of a live performance by trained musicians=
?
I write music as an avocation, and ever since I got my first computer 23
years ago, have been able to put the music in my head down in notes in one
music program or another. The early programs, which could only handle four
voices at a time, forced me to rework some of my pieces into four-part
harmony, but that too was a useful exercise. Over the years, as I got bette=
r
programs, I was able to do better and more complex music with them, and hea=
r
it played back with MIDI simulated instruments.
But nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to being able to hear my music
played by real people. For months I was able to hear the music I was workin=
g
on for our wedding played back by the simulated string quartet on my Mac SE=
.
But now, when I want to hear that music, I play back the MP3 I made from th=
e
videotape of the live quartet that played that day. Similarly, I had writte=
n
a woodwind quintet that I was able to hear day after day with simulated
instruments. But the day I heard our student orchestra play it live was
something that almost made me have to go out an buy Depends.
Even in music - especially in music - you still need to learn the basics.
Technology will not replace creativity, and creativity needs to learn the
tools that will help it to be expressed. Things like YouTube and podcasting
will get your music exposed to a wider audience than before, but you still
have to know the basics.
--
keg
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Keith E Gatling
mailto:keith@gatling.us
http://www.gatling.us/keith
The fact that I'm open-minded doesn't mean that I have to agree with you.
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