"Even the most artful of writers will give himself (and his morality) away in about every third line." ~ Joseph Conrad
The topic of music is expansive. It involves each arena of study--mathematics, science, art, literature, history, anthropology, etc. It is a growing organism telling the story of the ages. So to pin down both the notion of music and to become better listeners of music, we can examine how we intake music.
According to Aaron Copland in What To Listen For In Music, we can start by asking ourselves as music lovers:
1. Are we really hearing everything that is going on? (Think the notes themselves).
2. Are we really being sensitive to it? (Concerns your response to the music).
We listen to music on three planes:
1. Sensuous Plane:
* The simplest way to listen
* The sheer pleasure of musical sound
* A powerful sort of escape that controls the very atmosphere of a room
* Often a plane abused by many who consider themselves "qualified music lovers"
~ "Yes, the sound appeal of music is a potent and primitive force, but you must not allow it to usurp a disproportionate share of your interest. The sensuous plane is an important one in music, a very important one, but it does not constitute the whole story" (8).
2. Expressive Plane:
* Asks the question, "Is there a meaning to music?"
* Can be controversial topic.
a.) Some artists believe the expressive meaning to music only goes as deep as its own musical existence and no more. Stravinsky, for example, saw music as an object "with a life of its own" (9). Stravinsky's view may be taken into consideration when you see how often certain views are read into certain pieces without proper context. Often the views of an artist are mismanaged by the hearer. The misinterpretation has the capacity to pull away from the overall notion of musical life within any given piece.
b.) Others believe that music must have a deeper expressive value that roots itself both within the audience and the composer. The point above is valid, "But that should not lead one to the other extreme of denying to music the right to be 'expressive.'" He continues by saying that, yes, music does have meaning. However, "'Can you state in so many words what the meanings is?' My answer to that would be, 'No.' Therein lies the difficulty."
a.) Some artists believe the expressive meaning to music only goes as deep as its own musical existence and no more. Stravinsky, for example, saw music as an object "with a life of its own" (9). Stravinsky's view may be taken into consideration when you see how often certain views are read into certain pieces without proper context. Often the views of an artist are mismanaged by the hearer. The misinterpretation has the capacity to pull away from the overall notion of musical life within any given piece.
b.) Others believe that music must have a deeper expressive value that roots itself both within the audience and the composer. The point above is valid, "But that should not lead one to the other extreme of denying to music the right to be 'expressive.'" He continues by saying that, yes, music does have meaning. However, "'Can you state in so many words what the meanings is?' My answer to that would be, 'No.' Therein lies the difficulty."
~ "The musician, in his exasperation, says it means nothing but the notes themselves, whereas the nonprofessional is only too anxious to hang on to any explanation that gives him the illusion of getting closer to the music's meaning" (12).
3. Purely Musical Plane:
* Value derived from the notes themselves and their manipulations.
* Often musicians are too conscious of this plane, denying the purpose and power of the Sensuous and Expressive planes. As exemplified in Stravinsky's view mentioned above.
* Musical Elements:
1. Rhythm is the how.
2. Melody is the what.
3. Harmony is the why and relationships.
4. Tone Color is the who and story-telling.
(We will continue to expand on this plane throughout the rest of the year).
~ "The intelligent listener must be prepared to increase his awareness of the musical material and what happens to it. He must hear the melodies, the rhythms, the harmonies, the tone colors in a more conscious fashion. But above all he must, in order to follow the line of the composer's thought, know something of the principles of musical form. Listening to all of these elements is listening on the sheerly musical plane" (13).
At this intersection, we owe this topic a little more discussion. Copland refers to a woman who came to him with the unfortunate reality that she found her appreciation of music lacking because she was often unable to connect it with anything definite. She was suggesting that because she couldn't listen to a piece and close her eyes to imagine real material objects or events, she must not be fully appreciating the music. To which Copland simply explains, "That is getting the whole thing backwards, of course" (10). Music cannot always be assessed for physical, tangible value. When I listen to Afternoon of a Faun, I can easily imagine a dewy meadow in which a faun is frolicking about nibbling grass. Prelude to the Afternoon of a Fawn
It is a beautifully expressive flute introduction. When I combine the tone color and expression of that very telling flute with what the composer has provided in his context, a clear story unfolds. However, not only can this piece be evaluated for historical context and musical quality, the expression of this piece offers more than any exact image. That is one of the beautiful truths of music. The intention of any artist to tell a story musically is then compounded by the hearer's intention to grow from listening.
When you read a book like For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, you might only discover the story of a soldier doing his job and finding love. You would gain the gist of the author's intent, but you might be missing the real power of the book by denying the cultural and personal introspection obtainable in having read it. By allowing the expressive value of the piece take full shape, you might discover how you yourself define love and be surprised by how that impacts your own moral code.
Herein lies the power and confusion of music. While it is important to grasp and attain as much as you can of the story that a composer is telling musically, it is then equally important to discover and reflect upon the cultural and personal significance of that story.
Copland is but a step away from my conclusions concerning assessing musical expression. He states, "How close should the intelligent music lover wish to come to pinning a definite meaning to any particular work? No closer than a general concept" (10). And I appreciate and enjoy his explanation:
"Music expresses, at different moments, serenity or exuberance, regret or triumph, fury or delight. [Take note of the extremes Copland puts hand in hand.] It expresses each of these moods, and many others, in a numberless variety of subtle shadings and differences. It may even express a state of meaning for which there exists no adequate word in any language. In that case, musicians often like to say that it only has a purely musical meaning. What they really mean is that no appropriate word can be found to express the music's meaning and that, even if it could, they do not feel the need of finding it."
While I concur with the notion he is touching on, I do believe that both professional musician and novice alike ought to reach deeper than a general concept of any given piece before letting it rest. The general concept is a great place to start. How do you feel when listening to a piece? What notions are coming to your mind?
Then you must make the next step of deciphering the patterns within the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, tone color, structure, etc. What do they convey about a general concept? What story can you put together? After you answer some of those questions, you can begin to ascertain that historical and biographical context is the next important step. How do the musical patterns of the piece fit into history? Does it reveal more about the general concept, or does it bring about specific revelations directly linked to the artist's intent? Who was the artist? Why did they care enough about those musical patterns to utilize them in telling a story? Why would they concern themselves with said expressions in the first place? What clues does that give us about the song's story?
Then from historical and biographical context, we need to understand the big picture. What does the piece tell us about the culture we live in or the cultures that came before us? Then we ask ourselves, "how should we then live?" What can we understand about ourselves and our own views that either is in need of correction or confirming? How can we apply those lessons to reach the hurting world around us? How can we relate those truths to ourselves and our testimony as it applies to others?
The range of this analytical approach is broad and wide, however it is not at all "general" as we might consider. Sometimes we confuse those two ideas. The idea of "seeing the big picture" is not an ability to see the general concept or to view things from a bird's eye view. It is the ability to see all the little details and pieces in relation to each other and yourself.
I believe in theory, Copland would probably agree with that approach. He would probably attest however that in using this approach, no two people might ever completely agree with the meaning of any given song. And therefore perhaps there is no one meaning. And that that is how it ought to be. He would be right, right only inasmuch as our short perception on earth can allot us. However, as a Christian, I believe that there is always an ultimate truth emanating from the Ordained Creator. It is our duty to delve into the meaning as much as possible, discover as much truth as we can handle, debate these meanings to reach a better understanding of our own beliefs and perhaps be proven wrong often, and trust in the truth we will one day come to know, not dimly but clearly (1 Corinthians 13). A joyous and hope-filled task, no doubt.
The danger within much of modern music is that expression is treated in extremes of self-promotion. In which case an artist is creating something that denies an awareness of one's value in time and space. Artists often create pieces that are so self-involved that communication breaks down. And therefore the piece can mean anything to any person, which then leads to the possibility that it may mean nothing at all. This form of expression not only denies the ability to communicate musically, but it also revokes music of its most honorable and beautiful power. It effectively denies God his due glory and diminishes the mysterious grandeur of music.
With that said, even this form of music can still be redeemed, not directly but by applying a discerning eye. To explain, let's take into account a tool utilized by one of literature's most distinguished story-tellers, Charles Dickens. He once said, "One of my most consistent and earnest endeavors has been to exhibit in all of my good people some faint reflections of our Master [...]" (Literature Lectures from Bleymaier 2005). He defined realistic truth by using God as the yardstick. When his characters proved "good," they were mirroring God. Therefore in the inverse application of that tool, when his characters proved "bad," they were reflecting the contradiction to that yardstick. Therefore when we examine a piece of music that was created without any rooted identity or is fundamentally self-interested, we can still use a discerning eye to discover truth. By applying the view Dickens took concerning his characters, we can listen to the most obtuse and uncommunicative pieces to realize truths about creation and thereby the Creator. We actually get an opportunity to sharpen the sword of discernment, cutting through the gristle to reach the meat.
As listeners and lovers of music, we should strengthen our discerning ears and look to delve deeper into any piece we hear to glean real truth. As music creators, we should take these notions deeply to heart. We should find ourselves capable of communicating truth and expressing our identity in Christ by which we are uniquely set apart through circumstance and spiritual growth. The more we know of our identity in Christ--whether strong or weak, growing or withering--the more we can exemplify the need for a Savior, the more we can glorify God, the more we can communicate truth.
Rookmaaker, author and art aficionado, explains a poignant definition of truth that any creator or lover of music should take into account when looking for the expressive value of any piece of music. He states:
"Truth in art does not mean doing accurate copies, but that the artist's insight is rich and full, that he really has a good view of reality, that he does justice to the different elements of the aspect of reality he is representing. Truth has to do with the fullness of reality, its scope and meaning [...] It is artistic truth!" (237)
What a lovely view to hold concerning the expression of truth! As ages pass and the mediums of music grow and contort with technological expansion, truth remains the same. The fullness of reality is told in both the highs and lows of life. Which when we consider the picture of extremes we painted earlier, the utter evil on one hand and the utter good on the other,
Now let's put our discernment to action.
Please listen to and discuss here and/or in Music Club:
Gregorian Chant, Monastic Choir of the Abbey of St. Pierre de Solesmes, 1930
Well Tempered Clavichord, Bach
Rite of Spring, Stravinsky (One of Four)
Allegro Barbaro, Béla Bartok
Rhapsody in Blue, Gershwin
And again with these new tools discussed, I Will Follow You Into The Dark, Death Cab For Cutie
3. Purely Musical Plane:
* Value derived from the notes themselves and their manipulations.
* Often musicians are too conscious of this plane, denying the purpose and power of the Sensuous and Expressive planes. As exemplified in Stravinsky's view mentioned above.
* Musical Elements:
1. Rhythm is the how.
2. Melody is the what.
3. Harmony is the why and relationships.
4. Tone Color is the who and story-telling.
(We will continue to expand on this plane throughout the rest of the year).
~ "The intelligent listener must be prepared to increase his awareness of the musical material and what happens to it. He must hear the melodies, the rhythms, the harmonies, the tone colors in a more conscious fashion. But above all he must, in order to follow the line of the composer's thought, know something of the principles of musical form. Listening to all of these elements is listening on the sheerly musical plane" (13).
At this intersection, we owe this topic a little more discussion. Copland refers to a woman who came to him with the unfortunate reality that she found her appreciation of music lacking because she was often unable to connect it with anything definite. She was suggesting that because she couldn't listen to a piece and close her eyes to imagine real material objects or events, she must not be fully appreciating the music. To which Copland simply explains, "That is getting the whole thing backwards, of course" (10). Music cannot always be assessed for physical, tangible value. When I listen to Afternoon of a Faun, I can easily imagine a dewy meadow in which a faun is frolicking about nibbling grass. Prelude to the Afternoon of a Fawn
It is a beautifully expressive flute introduction. When I combine the tone color and expression of that very telling flute with what the composer has provided in his context, a clear story unfolds. However, not only can this piece be evaluated for historical context and musical quality, the expression of this piece offers more than any exact image. That is one of the beautiful truths of music. The intention of any artist to tell a story musically is then compounded by the hearer's intention to grow from listening.
When you read a book like For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, you might only discover the story of a soldier doing his job and finding love. You would gain the gist of the author's intent, but you might be missing the real power of the book by denying the cultural and personal introspection obtainable in having read it. By allowing the expressive value of the piece take full shape, you might discover how you yourself define love and be surprised by how that impacts your own moral code.
Herein lies the power and confusion of music. While it is important to grasp and attain as much as you can of the story that a composer is telling musically, it is then equally important to discover and reflect upon the cultural and personal significance of that story.
Copland is but a step away from my conclusions concerning assessing musical expression. He states, "How close should the intelligent music lover wish to come to pinning a definite meaning to any particular work? No closer than a general concept" (10). And I appreciate and enjoy his explanation:
"Music expresses, at different moments, serenity or exuberance, regret or triumph, fury or delight. [Take note of the extremes Copland puts hand in hand.] It expresses each of these moods, and many others, in a numberless variety of subtle shadings and differences. It may even express a state of meaning for which there exists no adequate word in any language. In that case, musicians often like to say that it only has a purely musical meaning. What they really mean is that no appropriate word can be found to express the music's meaning and that, even if it could, they do not feel the need of finding it."
While I concur with the notion he is touching on, I do believe that both professional musician and novice alike ought to reach deeper than a general concept of any given piece before letting it rest. The general concept is a great place to start. How do you feel when listening to a piece? What notions are coming to your mind?
Then you must make the next step of deciphering the patterns within the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, tone color, structure, etc. What do they convey about a general concept? What story can you put together? After you answer some of those questions, you can begin to ascertain that historical and biographical context is the next important step. How do the musical patterns of the piece fit into history? Does it reveal more about the general concept, or does it bring about specific revelations directly linked to the artist's intent? Who was the artist? Why did they care enough about those musical patterns to utilize them in telling a story? Why would they concern themselves with said expressions in the first place? What clues does that give us about the song's story?
Then from historical and biographical context, we need to understand the big picture. What does the piece tell us about the culture we live in or the cultures that came before us? Then we ask ourselves, "how should we then live?" What can we understand about ourselves and our own views that either is in need of correction or confirming? How can we apply those lessons to reach the hurting world around us? How can we relate those truths to ourselves and our testimony as it applies to others?
The range of this analytical approach is broad and wide, however it is not at all "general" as we might consider. Sometimes we confuse those two ideas. The idea of "seeing the big picture" is not an ability to see the general concept or to view things from a bird's eye view. It is the ability to see all the little details and pieces in relation to each other and yourself.
I believe in theory, Copland would probably agree with that approach. He would probably attest however that in using this approach, no two people might ever completely agree with the meaning of any given song. And therefore perhaps there is no one meaning. And that that is how it ought to be. He would be right, right only inasmuch as our short perception on earth can allot us. However, as a Christian, I believe that there is always an ultimate truth emanating from the Ordained Creator. It is our duty to delve into the meaning as much as possible, discover as much truth as we can handle, debate these meanings to reach a better understanding of our own beliefs and perhaps be proven wrong often, and trust in the truth we will one day come to know, not dimly but clearly (1 Corinthians 13). A joyous and hope-filled task, no doubt.
The danger within much of modern music is that expression is treated in extremes of self-promotion. In which case an artist is creating something that denies an awareness of one's value in time and space. Artists often create pieces that are so self-involved that communication breaks down. And therefore the piece can mean anything to any person, which then leads to the possibility that it may mean nothing at all. This form of expression not only denies the ability to communicate musically, but it also revokes music of its most honorable and beautiful power. It effectively denies God his due glory and diminishes the mysterious grandeur of music.
With that said, even this form of music can still be redeemed, not directly but by applying a discerning eye. To explain, let's take into account a tool utilized by one of literature's most distinguished story-tellers, Charles Dickens. He once said, "One of my most consistent and earnest endeavors has been to exhibit in all of my good people some faint reflections of our Master [...]" (Literature Lectures from Bleymaier 2005). He defined realistic truth by using God as the yardstick. When his characters proved "good," they were mirroring God. Therefore in the inverse application of that tool, when his characters proved "bad," they were reflecting the contradiction to that yardstick. Therefore when we examine a piece of music that was created without any rooted identity or is fundamentally self-interested, we can still use a discerning eye to discover truth. By applying the view Dickens took concerning his characters, we can listen to the most obtuse and uncommunicative pieces to realize truths about creation and thereby the Creator. We actually get an opportunity to sharpen the sword of discernment, cutting through the gristle to reach the meat.
As listeners and lovers of music, we should strengthen our discerning ears and look to delve deeper into any piece we hear to glean real truth. As music creators, we should take these notions deeply to heart. We should find ourselves capable of communicating truth and expressing our identity in Christ by which we are uniquely set apart through circumstance and spiritual growth. The more we know of our identity in Christ--whether strong or weak, growing or withering--the more we can exemplify the need for a Savior, the more we can glorify God, the more we can communicate truth.
Rookmaaker, author and art aficionado, explains a poignant definition of truth that any creator or lover of music should take into account when looking for the expressive value of any piece of music. He states:
"Truth in art does not mean doing accurate copies, but that the artist's insight is rich and full, that he really has a good view of reality, that he does justice to the different elements of the aspect of reality he is representing. Truth has to do with the fullness of reality, its scope and meaning [...] It is artistic truth!" (237)
What a lovely view to hold concerning the expression of truth! As ages pass and the mediums of music grow and contort with technological expansion, truth remains the same. The fullness of reality is told in both the highs and lows of life. Which when we consider the picture of extremes we painted earlier, the utter evil on one hand and the utter good on the other,
Black G White
Sin R Righteousness
Ugly A Beautiful
Lost C Found
Despair E Hope
we see that both extremes are part of reality. Extremes of depression and joy both depict truths concerning the human condition and our Creator. When an artist lives in one extreme without balance, he denies the fullness of reality and denies truth. We looked last time at Psalm 13 from David. He began with despair and ended recognizing God's faithful love. The two extremes live much closer than we imagine. But not through a moral relativity that denies the reality of extremes, but rather only through grace. No other bridge offers passage between the two worlds.Now let's put our discernment to action.
Please listen to and discuss here and/or in Music Club:
Gregorian Chant, Monastic Choir of the Abbey of St. Pierre de Solesmes, 1930
Well Tempered Clavichord, Bach
Rite of Spring, Stravinsky (One of Four)
Allegro Barbaro, Béla Bartok
Rhapsody in Blue, Gershwin
And again with these new tools discussed, I Will Follow You Into The Dark, Death Cab For Cutie
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