ethnomusicologyreview
Sacred Abjection in Zen Shakuhachi
In a manuscript from the 1820s, Japanese shakuhachi player Hisamatsu Fuyo proclaims it is “despicable, if someone loves to produce a splendid tone” on the instrument (an end-blown bamboo flute) (Gutzwiller 1984:61). This strongly worded condemnation expresses an often overlooked aesthetic—and ethical—orientation within the shakuhachi tradition, one still active among certain practitioners: to play beautifully is something loathsome, expressive not just of poor musical judgment, but of bad character. “Splendid tone” is a mark, indeed, of the abject.
weeklystandard
John Coltrane and the End of Jazz
The Renaissance, taking man as the measure of all things, produced music for soloists. The Age of Revolutions, gestating democracy and the nation at arms, expressed its collectivism in orchestral music. The 20th century saw the triumph of capitalism, eventually, and the musical format of the market economy was the quartet. A quartet is the cheapest way to mimic an orchestra’s range. Ringo plays the rhythm, Paul holds down the bass, John adds the chords, and George does the decorations. The logical consequence, economically if not musically, was for all four members to sing a bit and write their own tunes. Hence the Beatles, self-contained and self-commodified, with a little help from their friend Brian Epstein.
WWNO
Beethoven's Famous 4 Notes: Truly Revolutionary Music
A new book, a new recording and some old instruments, all addressing the most memorable phrase in music: the opening of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
BBC
Did Syria create the world’s first song?
Syria’s musical traditions show histories and cultures that transcend contemporary politics and war. This is a country that gave the world song.
JAKUBMARIAN
The “432 Hz vs. 440 Hz” conspiracy theory
Would you believe that there is a conspiracy theory about the way we tune musical instruments? And that this theory even involves the Nazis, chakras, and whatnot? No? Then sit down and enjoy perhaps the most ridiculous conspiracy theory of all times.
stanford.edu
Fantasia Apocalyptica
A multimedia work for pipe organ, accompanied by several video tracks. It can be regarded as a somewhat literal translation of the Biblical book of Revelation into music.
the-tls
Mozart: Rational revolutionary
Stephen Brown on ‘the problem that Mozart poses for our contemporary ears’: explosions of invention within a tightly structured geometry
TECHBLOG
Generating Music
Recently I’ve undertaken a personal project (computoser) that is a bit strange. I tried to write software that generates music at random. Good music, that is, because “random” usually generates noise. The idea, of course, is not at all new – there has been research on the topic and there is software that attempts to generate music.