The Ear: Tin, Satin, and In-Between

I was born with a satin ear: responsive, welcoming, warm.  When it became clear to me that this attribute was not going to get me anywhere I worked hard to change my mode of hearing.

I accomplished this by practicing what was preached to me: the false doctrine of equal temperament which holds that all keys on the piano are inter-changeable and that pitches do not have inherent attributes.  My method included transposing everything I played, shamelessly; and perfecting sight-reading to the point where it was irrelevant whether I was listening or not.  By this means I became extremely proficient in playing the music no one else wanted to play, i.e., student compositions.

By the time I was 22 I could no longer respond to the satin aspects of my own ear and had to relearn the art of listening without visual interference.

This continues to be a huge issue, witness an ongoing discussion on the Music Theory Society's talk-line over "inner ear."  The inner ear I am talking about is the one that works independent of the visual symbol.  It apparently does not even occur to the others taking part in the discussion that there is such a thing.

Is Fame Necessary?

Fame is probably the most significant element of our culture in that it determines more of how people spend their money and, more importantly, how they use their imaginations.

A certain violinist is famous therefore he must be good.  But what if that is all he is, namely good?  What if he is not good enough for the repertoire he plays? How likely is it that people will notice his boredom and his reliance on speed to conceal it from himself?

How hard it can be for not-famous musicians to capture the imagination of listeners.  Good listening practice is readily available and it doesn't cost a penny.  Find out when the student recitals take place at a music school in your neighborhood and make a point of going with the intention of noticing what you are responding to as you listen to the young people play.  And I mean young people, not only conservatory undergraduates. 

Black Keys vs. White Keys

One of my arguments against using a piano in Music Theory class is that I have yet to hear tell of a Theory instructor who encouraged students to take into account the disposition of black and white keys in a given harmony.  It makes the difference between a harmony in the abstract and an actual acoustically vivid event.

D major on the piano is not at all the equivalent of E-flat major.

I suspect that the theory establishment has been thoroughly immunized against the effect of this critical observation.  Please correct me if you know of individuals for whom this is not the case.

A String Improvisation: For The Most Part Pink

Coverlet: Wool / alpaca / silk blend / tencel  42" x 24"

Loops, bows, fuzzy bits : Highly textured

For the 
Most 
Part 
Pink






Plenty going on to warm body,
heart and imagination.

One Tone At a Time

Returning to the notion that in the culture of our time a single tone has the power to evoke musical response: Why else would there be so many contemporary compositions so fixated on single tones?  The one that comes most readily to mind is Terry Riley's C, a piece I do not, frankly, enjoy, but the sense of which has become clearer to me now that I think about how sorely we need to be made aware of how much we lose by distancing ourselves from the living tone of which music is made.

My favorite example of music contained within a single tone is by Henry Purcell.  Setting the lyric"Music for a while shall all our cares beguile" he repeats the word "music" first on the single tone G, then immediately again on another single tone D.  When first I encountered this I found it shocking.

Acoustic Sense

In casual conversation with a composer/theorist the other day--a friend whose musicianship and knowledge I trust--the Beethoven "Spring" Sonata came up (Op. 24 in F for piano and violin).  He brought up the extraordinary modulation in the slow movement.  At the same instant he said "To F# minor" and I said "To D major."

According to him it is actually a modulation to G-flat minor.

I don't think it is a modulation in any traditional sense, but rather the sound that pivots between piano heaven (G-flat major, the measure preceding the F# minor measure) and violin heaven (D major, the measure following).  This is the difference between acoustically generated thought and the need to have things make sense on paper.

I know from a lifetime of involvement in Beethoven's chamber music for mixed ensemble that he was fascinated by the acoustical specificity of instruments, the clash between them furnishing much of the so-called thematic material of the compositions.

String Improvisations, continued: Full Spectrum

Full Spectrum  mostly wool 71" x 44"

Full Spectrum  detail

Another String Improvisation on sale.  Silent auction bids open May 15 at www.tonalrefraction.com

Crocheted of recycled string, mostly wool