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

[Louis Acresti]

> Here the treble trembles between A and B# for two whole bars
Whoops, I meant E and D# here, in case you're wondering what I'm talking about.

On 4/4/07, Louis Acresti <lra4691 at rit.edu> wrote:
> > 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
>