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Which words work with which music? W. W. W. W. W. M. ?
How do we react to music based on the WORDS used to describe the style, genre, time period, composer, songwriter, musician, improviser, pianist, keyboardist, singer, soprano, mezzo-soprano, diva, chick singer, etc.How do we react when we are told little? Very little? Nothing? When we see a video BEFORE we hear the music? AT THE SAME TIME as we hear the music? AFTER we hear the music?How do we react when we are told what to expect from the music? From the musical performance? About the music? About how the music was composed? Whether the music was composed or improvised? Whether the composer is young, middle aged or old? "Trained" or "untrained?" From the European Union? United States? Latin America? (Latin America is Flavor Of The Month in classical/art music in the past few years.) Asia? The Subcontinent?
Three Songs (5/4) & Some Thoughts (7/4) About Dave Brubeck (9/8)
One of the important features of a lot of Dave Brubeck's music is his use of rhythm and especially uncommon time signatures. Brubeck met with resistance from Columbia Records when he insisted on having songs with unusual meter/time signatures on his brilliant million-selling album, Time Out. Fortunately for music, the public and Columbia Records, they gave in.I have selected three (3) Dave Brubeck songs, each in a different and unusual meter. 5 beats per measure, 7 beats per measure and 9 beats per measure are far less common than the most common meter in Western music - 4 beats per measure. In keeping with the idea of three - 3 different time signatures/meters - I have also compiled three (3) sets of three (3) songs each. In each of these three 3-song sets, I have chosen a Brubeck composition and followed it with two (2) other compositions that share the same number of beats. In each example, the songs I have selected are not of the same style.
How NOT To Write A Hit Song (Pt. 3/3), Ernő Rubik, Bob Dylan, Iannis Xenakis, Whitfield & Strong
Do you think the eleven (11) constructs/stipulations are good advice for a songwriter? For a composer? (What’s the difference between a songwriter and a composer? This is a question to be explored in future posts.)Could you write a a great piece of music following these eleven (11) points?If you wrote a song that followed these exact eleven (11) stipulations, would you be infringing copyright? That's an enormous question and one that could lead to debate, certainty, uncertainty, anxiety, anger or confusion. Of that, I am certain. If you'd like, please start off that discussion below. I promise I can add to whatever discussion begins. :-)I expect that an attorney in the future will ask me this specific question at a deposition. (Rather than answer this question now, I'll leave it in this post just to annoy an attorney or two. I have also inserted a few statements in previous posts to see if attorneys or their paralegals are paying attention. This includes a factual omission I'm almost certain they'll never catch - smile smile!)
How NOT To Write Great Music - Part 1
How do we create music? What are the best and worst ways to create music? Is it possible to answer these questions? I try to answer them in my own life and will begin a discussion with this post. So, here goes. I hope that the end result is laudable. I know the answer/end point and will concoct this path to get to the end. The way I'll approach these particular posts is to examine what NOT to do. By examining what NOT to do, we might better deduce what TO DO.