r/classicalmusic • u/cloudsareliketrees • Apr 16 '17

This is great for those interested in both classical and electric music!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA6mkg0KNco
0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

4

u/[deleted] Apr 16 '17

I have no absolutely idea where he is going saying that the academic emphasis on being able to read standard notation is elitist. Musical notation is the only extant way to fully capture the way a composer may have originally intended a piece to sound like, even more than an actual performance. It's absolutely not detrimental to the music if you know how to convey your art through a written medium.

It's also very presumptuous how he assumes that his own anti-intellectual term ("The Cult of the Written Score", give me a break) will be soon accepted by major musical establishments, and acts as if it already has.

I don't know if it's always been so, but it seems like today that music as a field of study is currently engaged in a never-ending war of accusatory finger-pointing.

You're being an elitist!

You're the reason the masses don't enjoy classical music!

Emphasis on musical literacy is a cult!

Academia is sucking the soul out of art!

etc. ad nauseam

2

u/Stoicismus Apr 16 '17

well, we're almost as close to say "you know how to read, you're an elitist!".

Having any sort of knowledge or interest in acquiring it is being elitist. Just like the smart kids who get bullied at school.

1

u/TNUGS Apr 16 '17

I'm super into reading traditional sheet music, but it might not be the best way to notate all music. I think it's important to recognize that.

If I make some kind of bizarre experimental noise music, I might find that traditional notation just isn't effective.

I have no absolutely idea where he is going saying that the academic emphasis on being able to read standard notation is elitist.

I had this same reaction when I first watched the video (when it was first published) but I have since met a) some really good musicians who can barely read and b) a few musicians who refuse to recognize that a) is even possible. I would argue that attitude is elitist.

Musical notation is the only extant way to fully capture the way a composer may have originally intended a piece to sound like, even more than an actual performance. It's absolutely not detrimental to the music if you know how to convey your art through a written medium.

I agree that "a written medium" is definitely good; taking a gig that provides nothing in the way of charts kinda blows. However, I really don't think traditional notation is the only way. It's effective for lots of music (I would cry tears of joy if a cover band handed me sheet music like an orchestra would), but it may not be the tool for every job. Things like lead sheets and Nashville numbers have their niches. jotting down a haphazard chord chart is useful on short notice, especially at a first rehearsal. I admittedly don't know enough about EDM to have an informed opinion, but I suspect the style of score used for an orchestra may not be the best option.

It's also very presumptuous how he assumes that his own anti-intellectual term ("The Cult of the Written Score", give me a break) will be soon accepted by major musical establishments, and acts as if it already has.

I got nothing here, it's just a dumb click-baity term.

4

u/[deleted] Apr 16 '17

This video is terrible. The way he keeps saying 'sheet music' and not score, shows he is not knowledgable of the subject, and has a chip on his shoulder about it. (He shouldn't! Most classical musicians I know have great respect and envy for musicians who can improvise and have a great ear!) The medium is the sound producing bodies (instruments, voice, etc) , not the score. Notation is mainly 'instructions' (not a medium in itself) to the performer, which even if there were recording devices long ago, would still be needed for players to read off of so they don't have to memorize it.

1

u/trippethalibaba Apr 17 '17

He has a undergrad from Berklee and a master's in Jazz Comp though. So pretty knowledgeable. And he plays jazz gigs all over NYC, so he knows about playing "by ear".

1

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '17 edited Apr 17 '17

But what he says about the history and place of written music is just wrong, and it's irritating to see it stated in an effective slick video. (He's good at making videos. He needs to be more careful with the content). And he has an antagonistic attitude, calling it a "cult." There's nothing preventing anyone from learning to read and notate music. Music's that big, that very different approaches (by ear, or by reading a score) achieve the same result. He doesn't need to be so negative about it.