[LAU] Re: That must suck. For me it's about beauty -- musicisjustone path

Louis Acresti lra4691 at rit.edu
Wed Apr 4 16:00:20 EDT 2007


> I never attempt to analyse the music I enjoy, nor that which I compose
> myself. My experience is that the closer you try to examine something
> that moves you, the further away you get from it.

I used to feel exactly the same way, but this suggests that the
analytical mind has no connection with our emotional responses; lately
I've been seeing the unbreakable connection between thoughts and
feelings, and it's changed the way I enjoy music/art. I realize that
the music that I enjoy most is the kind that strikes an emotional
chord -- this is a crucial part -- but I also realize that you can
(without over-analyzing; neglecting the emotional aspect) make
connections with the patterns of music and the patterns of our
experiences, which in turn, are very closely tied to our emotional
responses.

I know it sounds a little vague, but for instance, imagine a carefully
choreographed music-video, if you will, to "Fur Elise": A man courting
a woman (I shan't have to debate that this can be a situation tied
taut to our emotions); the man being the bass part, the female being
the treble. The two move back and forth from each other, never quite
meeting, perhaps until the bass reaches it's highest note. Here the
treble trembles between A and B# for two whole bars, until the two go
back to their usual routine again. Interpret this however you want. I
inferred this silly scenario the day I learned to play Fur Elise,
simply by observing the motions of my hands as I played. The song
always made me *feel* a certain way, but it wasn't until I had thought
up this metaphor that it *meant* something (to me) at the same time.

Out of curiosity, I looked up the song on Wikipedia, and it so happens
that Beethoven had written the song for (hence "Fur") a woman whom he
proposed to; incidentally, she turned down his proposal.

So to summarize, I like to think of listening to music as lowering a
bridge between my thoughts and my feelings.


Now, back on topic!

With regards to *music* and the "nature vs. nurture" debate, I mainly
agree with the idea that much of our conception of music is culturally
instilled, yet they still can vary greatly from person to person
within a given culture.

> Returning to pure 'sound', even this is complex. The way we appreciate
> sounds probably depends on the complex interaction bewteen various
> factors:
> - Conditioning by evolution,
> - Conditioning by personal experience,
> - Acquired knowledge about the sound, how it is made, etc.

Absolutely. One's understanding of how particular music is made
greatly enhances (or affects, at the very least) their appreciation of
said music.

- Lou



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