Interchanging Idioms

There are a lot of different forms of music being made - and laptop music is a recent addition to the list. I'm not talking about writing music on the laptop to have it played back (although that's certainly a tool composers have really taken advantage of allowing new compositions to be self-published). Nor am I talking about using the computer tied to a synthesiser to generate sounds. This new form is actually making the laptop itself a musical instrument. Ok - there are a lot of different forms of music, most of which will go by the wayside as a fade, an exploration, but nothing will come of them. I think this one has real possibilities. - It's not going to replace the orchestra for many things, but it is augmenting it.

I am not trying to be morbid, but rather pay respects to fellow musicians/composers. We live in a world where Mozarts' can die bankrupt, and Beethovens' popularity wains as they get older. Society finds gems and celebrates them, but then all to quickly the attention fades and new gems are found and celebrated. When people pass, it is important (IMHO) to mark, with some reverence, their contribution to this world. So, if you were not aware of the two composers who have recently passed, take a moment and find out more about them. Both were innovators.

Jimmy Giuffre died on Thursday in Massechutes; he was 86. He composed "Four Bothers" which was a hit for Woody Herman's band in 1947. After early experience in jazz bands, Mr. Giuffre took an interest in counterpoint, fugues and other elements of classical music. He became identified with John Lewis, George Russell, Gunther Schuller and other musicians who sought to blend jazz and classical music in a style known as Third Stream. He also formed a group called Jimmy Giuffre 3 with guitarist Jim Hall and trombonist Bob Brookmeyer. As his musical style moved further and further from mainstream, Jimmy directed his attentions to composing and teaching. He started composing for theater, ballet and commercials and also taught at New York University, the New School and the New England Conservatory of Music. "I don't play to win a mass audience, although I wouldn't shun them if they wanted to come along," he told The Washington ...

The music world morns the loss of another composer today. Tristram Cary died Thursday; he was 82. Some may know him for his music used in the Doctor Who series, but he is also one of the pioneers of electronic music in Britian. He was educated in classical music at the Westminster School in London. Whle working as a radar operator during World War II, he developed a variety of concepts in electronic music, eventually leading him to co-develope the EMS VCS3 synthesiser, used by a number of avant-gard musicians including The Who and Pink Floyd. Cary was one of the first British composers to work in musique concrète. In 1967 he created the first electronic music studio of the Royal College of Music.

There seems to be thread developing on this blog (not surprising since it's a thread that exists in my life and this blog is an extension of that...) - the effects of classical music on other forms of music and the effects of those other forms on classical music. On the 28th, I blog'd about My Classical Music Style , discussing the elements of "pop" music that is leaking into my classical writing. My good friend Shay commented on the effects of classical music in his own "Americana" style ( click here for a listen ). On the 18th I posted a note about the Blending of jazz and classical music by not only me but other composers as well. And today the Telegraph writes of how Folk and Classical are blending. The basic thread is "we are a product of our roots" so let's not deny them. Schoenberg said (roughly), there is no new music that is not built on what comes before. And in our modern world where all forms ...

I am all in favour of playing classical music in as many venues as possible, but I'm not sure how I feel about this one . Music, of all forms, should produce harmony, be a way of bringing people together, not run them off or create a further divide between the ages. In the store in Northhampton they are using classical music to "attack" the youth (ok, in a non-violent way) - but the concept is, "The teenagers hate the music so much that whenever it plays they simply move away." And since the idea of playing it is to push away the teenagers, this tells the teenagers - We don't want you. We are doing something you "hate" intensionally - which only serves to create more anger an animosity amoung the youth (IMHO). In England there is a device known as the Mosquito which emits a high pitched frequency that typically only the young can hear. This is done for the same reason, to drive off the youth and prevent mayhem. H...

When I was young I played trombone... well, I still play the trombone on occasion, but that's not the point. When I was young and playing the trombone I was exposed to a variety of different music styles. The concert band played mostly classical music, but occasionally band tunes from the likes of Souza. The stage band played jazz tunes from the big band era to modern Dave Brubeck and Chuck Mangione. Outside of band there was disco, which was great for dancing but not something I actually listened to, or other popular music from people like Miami Sound Machine or the harder edged anthem rock bands like Kansas, Styx, Yes, Led Zeppelin (the list goes on). Without realising it, these sounds affected my musical tastes, interests and have crept into my compositions. My classical compositional background leads me to want to score the music, so very little of anything I write isn't done with notation software at some point. (I rather enjoy putting the...