CHOICE CUTS

 

PROMPT 1, Question 3:

 

Over the next couple of days, take note of the dominant sounds in areas that you consistently walk. What are the sounds you notice most of all? Be specific. 

 

I am currently living on residence, so I walk almost the same path everyday; to and from the dining hall or the music building. On this daily walk, I tend to notice the same sounds. At the start, I hear the construction that’s happening right outside my dorm building. It usually sounds like the roaring of large vehicles. The bulldozer tends to make the most noise; the repeated relocation of concrete slabs causes the ground to shake, and can be felt from blocks away. This has been happening every morning at 7:30am. I tend to use it as a natural alarm clock, but some days I can’t help but feel frustrated at these destructive noises. Sometimes I feel scared about how they affect my mood.

It is during these times that I ponder the difference between noise, sound, and music. I believe that sounds are what make up music, and that both are very subjective concepts. One may consider a birds song to be music, and another consider them just a string of sounds. Noise, however, I believe are sound vibrations that one considers neither sound nor music. Noise, to me, is either irritating, repetitive, or belongs to inanimate things. However, I believe it is important to state that this is entirely my opinion, and I understand that everyone interprets sound, noise, and music differently. 

Once I am far enough away from the construction zone, I start to hear birds chirping from the trees above me. Often I hear squirrels scampering in the trees. (I can see them too. The other day I saw one with a french fry, from what I assume was left on the ground by a student who couldn’t find the compost bin in time.) If I’m being honest, I prefer the sound of nature over the noise of construction. From there I pass the ring road. Cars are surprisingly loud on this road, and I tend to notice their sounds, (or shall I say noise?) the most; especially when it has rained, and you can hear their tires charging through the puddles. 

The most prominent sound I hear, however, are the ones of students with their groups of friends. If I dare say, it is music to my ears! Being in a dorm room by yourself for most of the day really makes you notice a person’s voice. It’s almost reassuring, as it makes me feel less alone. I think my favourite sound at this moment in time is laughter. (Especially if it’s my own!) There is much beauty in laughter. I love how unique the sound is, it is almost a defining characteristic to an individual. Sometimes they are higher in pitch and can be heard from blocks away (I have been told I am one of those people). Sometimes they can be a lower chuckle, or more of a hysterical fit. Whatever the frequency, I believe these sounds to be my favourite ones to listen to on my dailly and tedious walk to get food or practice at the music building. Sometimes it’s nice to stop thinking about how scary the world is right now, and instead listen to the happiness that is occurring all around you. 

 

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PROMPT 2: 

 

Imagine you’ve been hired by Elon Musk to create a golden record type project for a space probe leaving Earth today. Select 3 examples of music, sound of noise that you would include. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckKeQNCyPBU Jimmie Davis- You Are My Sunshine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cBzMSPYKas (a lullaby version)

Description: This song has been recorded by dozens of artists, but was made most popular by Jimmie Davis. It was originally created as a country song, but has been adapted as a lullaby. 

Rationale: This song has significance in my life, as my mom used to sing it as a lullaby to me when I was younger. I associate it with love and comfort, and I believe it’s important that every being is able to experience this feeling. The delicate poetry of the words express this, and is elevated with the soft background support of the guitar. It is a beautifully abstract concept for humans to be able to take comfort in music. For many, music serves as a way to remind themselves of home or calm anxious thoughts. Certain songs, such as this lullaby, are important in our society, as they pass ideas down from past generations and therefore have greater significance to those who grew up listening to them. Including this song in this project may allow extraterrestrial beings to understand and feel this idea of a mothers love, and be able to experience how humans find home and comfort in music. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvsR1GBJc8E (starting at 0:07) Small crowd of people talking and laughing

Description: This sound records a small crowd of people talking amongst themselves. Every few seconds, a person’s laugh can be heard over the group. 

Rationale: One of the great joys of being human is the ability to be part of a community; to surround yourself with a variety of beautiful beings whose stories are so excitingly different. There are many ways to share stories; speech, laughter, music, art, and more. These forms of communication are what make humans so special and unique, as we have created all these things just to share our experiences with others. Life is not just about yourself, but being able to be a part of something much greater, whether that be friends to share stories with, or a band to create music with. I believe that the sound of a small crowd could allow other worldly beings to visualize this unique quality of humankind, in the sound of small talk or deep conversation, and the occasional laugh that fills the room with joy. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o37Za-ifxKw Rest- Frank Ticheli 

Description: This is a piece Ticheli wrote based on a choral piece, and inspired by the poem Rest by Sara Teasdale. It is written for a wind band. 

Rationale: Rest is a piece about loss and moving on. I remember the first time I heard this piece in my city’s concert hall. The story it tells helped me to cope with a recent loss, and to this day I still tear up when I hear it. The Romantic Period was the start of composers incorporating emotion into music, rather than conveying religious ideas. Though this piece was written in the 20th century, I believe it does an excellent job at presenting how emotions and feelings can be expressed in music, just as what the Romantic Period inspired in composers. This artistic form of expressionism in this piece is evident in the rise and fall of the orchestra, and the final conclusion of the composition. The build up of emotion in the climax of the piece allows listeners to be fully submerged in Ticheli’s thoughts and ideas of raw emotion, almost uncontainable. I believe that this piece has the ability to allow extra-terrestrial beings to experience this idea of losing a loved one, as well as overcoming that loss.That feeling is so prevalent to our society, I feel it is important to put out into the universe. 

 

Rest- Sara Teasdale

“There will be rest, and sure stars shining 

Over the roof-tops crowned with snow,

A reign of rest, serene forgetting,

The music of stillness holy and low.

I will make this world of my devising

Out of a dream in my lonely mind.

I shall find the crystal of peace, – above me

Stars I shall find.”

 

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PROMPT 3

 

Listen to Gould’s 1955 recording of the Goldberg Variations. Then listen to this 1981 version of the same piece. Choose the same section of each version. Compare and contrast the differences in each performance. Considering SHMRG elements, textural elements, and anything else that serves your interpretation of these very distinct and different performances. 

Section: Goldberg Variations, BWV 988: Aria da capo 

 

Aria da capo in the Goldberg Variations is a beautiful piece of music, and is evidently performed this way in both the 1955 and 1981 versions. However, both recordings are quite different in style, rhythm, sound, and shape. 

The 1955 version of Aria da Capo begins with a steady base line in the left hand, and a light and delicate right hand melody. The bass line allows it to drive forward, interrupted by a few ritardandos to end some phrases and give shape. This creates motion to the piece. The melody serves as a storyteller, having some dynamic pulses to outline the phrasing and give it a slight push and pull. The trills are executed with grace, giving off a sense of purposeful delicateness . These quick notes give breaks to the melody and bass line, defining almost a beautiful afterthought of the composer’s feelings. The performer follows a growth arch throughout the piece, and concludes on a lighter sounding note by coming down from the build up in the middle section. This allows the listener to perceive the piece as more joyful, as the concluding note sets the tone for the piece’s memory in their mind. Overall, this recording gives off a more happy and stable sound, has a driving rhythm, and uses dynamics in an arch to tell a story.

In comparison, the 1981 version of Aria da Capo provides a very different and contrasting sound. Right from the beginning, listeners will feel a different emotion than what they did listening to the 1955 version. We hear that the rhythm and tempo are more relaxed, and follows feeling and mood, rather than a strict time. This infrequency of rhythmic pattern allows for greater contrast in the mood this piece invokes in listeners. The tempo is at the liberty of the performer. Rather than a graceful dance, this piece fills listeners with feelings of contemplative sadness. The flowing bass line allows for a greater push and pull of the piece, creating this beautiful and enchanting tension that is released after each phrase. This is also enhanced by the dynamics, which flow throughout the piece, following an arch and almost telling the story of the performer. It allows for a rise and fall of the melody, creating these contrasting highs and lows of the piece. There is also great contrast in growth in this piece. The phrases are outlined by this dynamic growth, adding to the piece’s intensity. A big difference that can be noticed between these two versions is the way the performer plays the trills. Rather than with a light and graceful touch, the 1981 version uses grace notes as a way to pull the listener in, and creates tension and release by use of the infrequent rhythm patterns. This version follows a similar growth arc to the 1955 version, however concludes with a different emotion. It sounds as if the performer is reflecting on a melancholic memory, leaving the listener with much to ponder after the last note sounds. 

 

In analyzing style, rhythm, sound and shape, we can understand how two recordings of the same piece can be so contrasting and sound so different, and how listeners can invoke different thoughts and emotions from two very different versions of this piece. 

 

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PROMPT 5

 

Listen to a piece of music we learned about in the text. Describe your experience. What changed for you over repeated listenings? What new perspectives did you attain? 

 

I chose to listen to Handel’s “Watermusic”. At first listen, I would describe this piece as light dance music. It begins with a waltz, and follows with a climactic faster tempo section, ending in the same time signature, but in a more similar style to the opening. It has a minor sound, alternating with certain major sections, but it gives off an overall happy tone. The tempo is held consistent throughout the entire duration of the piece. 

When I repeated the piece, I realized I was concentrating more on memorizing the melody rather than focusing on the different components of the composition. I became fixated on trying to be able to sing back the string parts, which only led me to isolating this section and therefore not concentrate on the multiple different voices. 

I found myself restarting the piece over and over again; trying to isolate the harpsichord, or perhaps listen to the shape of the dynamics. I started to understand the steadiness of the harpsichord, and listen to how it fit in with the lower cello/bass line. However, I still found it hard to fully concentrate on just one line, as this piece was still fresh in my brain and my mind kept wandering and hearing new things about each different part at once. The more I listened, the more the melodic lines started to become familiar, and I eventually allowed myself to succumb to the music. Doing so helped me relax, and allowed the hidden accompanying lines to speak out for themselves. 

I started to hear how different instruments would use articulation to outline different phrases. This added to the dance-like quality of this piece of music. The triple meter also contributed to the waltz style dance. I also realized that the middle-end section changed time signatures to a duple meter. This added excitement to the dance, and created musical contrast. During this selection, the bass lines took charge and had a playful musical conversation with the upper voices. I found it interesting how Handel incorporated different voices to lead at some point in this piece. 

After listening to this piece a few times, I started to imagine myself dancing to the music. It was hard not to with the flowing triple meter and the continuous moving of the phrasing. I also started to tap the rhythm out on my legs and move along with the melody. I felt as if I were in a movie, and this was the soundtrack. I enjoyed feeling more connected to the different instruments and being able to sing different parts and anticipate various melodies. It was truly an interesting way to analyze a piece of music, and I am interested in how my perspective would change the more I listened to Handel’s “Watermusic”. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yurw5Cf4HY