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| THE
SCORE
Paul Ramsay
| This
lecture examines some of the various ways in which music has
been translated into the visual world via 'the score'. It looks
at the origins of written music and discusses two key instruments:
the Aeolian
harp and the Monochord
in terms of indeterminacy and determinacy, respectively. Examples
of conventional written music will be shown as well as the work
of composers who have sought to radicalise the score (especially
John Cage). Music examples will be played at strategic points
potentially including works by Bach,
Debussy,
Cage,
LaMonte
Young, Trevor
Wishart and Peter
Cusack/Max Eastley. |
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In
previous seminars I have discussed the passage of language from
Orality to Literacy in Western
culture. What I am now proposing is that we trace a similar
passage: that of music as an Aural (and Oral) event to a Visual
(or written) one. The piece of music you heard upon entering
the lecture theatre is called 'nest of wasps'
- an oblique reference to my intention today of opening a 'can
of worms' ;-)
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Here is a key point summary:
(I can only give a very 'broad brush' approach here - for
further information please visit the links and/or do further
research: references are given at
the bottom of this page. The writing is in terms of 'topics'
rather than chronological events).
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Before
writing and other forms of recording, music was solely an ephemeral
aural event, organised, by cooperation, between performers.
Once writing developed (and was extended to music) many new
possibilities arose.
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Neumes/Aeolian
Harp/Indeterminacy
One of the earliest developments in the writing of music was
the use of neumes. Neumes (still actively used today
in some parts of the world) do not convey specific information
about a performance but act as a kind of 'aide memoire' for
a melodic contour. Because of this they are a partly indeterminate
system - they do not guarantee a particular outcome - space
is acknowledged for the performer's interpretation (see Wishart
1985).
The Aeolian Harp is an indeterminate
musical instrument: you cannot write down what it is going to
play in advance because it is subject to the unpredictability
of natural conditions: Aeolian Harps are meant to be played
by the wind (they are often left in trees for this purpose).
Such instruments could be said to be open to chance. |
Monochord/Determinacy
The Monochord, as conceived by Pythagoras,
however, is a determinate musical instrument. It was
noted that by dividing and playing its single string according
to different ratios (half, third etc.) a series of pitches or
intervals were produced thus suggesting, to the ancient Greeks,
an intimate connection between Mathematics and Music (James
1995). The emphasis here is in controlling and obtaining a predictable
experience.
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Tuning
If however, one tunes the strings of a keyboard instrument according
to this Pythagorean 'natural tuning', the system quickly breaks
down - the link between Number and Music is not so neatly made
and humans seem to have a preference for certain tunings, revealing
both a psychological and a cultural dimension to the appreciation
of music.
| Johann
Sebastian Bach's composition 'The
Well Tempered Clavier', published in 1722, celebrated
a new tuning system for the keyboard in Western culture,
pointing the way to the development of 'Equal Temperament',
a different but (almost) universally adopted system in
Europe from the 19thC onwards (Goodall 2000: 122-134).
Thus 'tuning' is not a given but an agreed upon system;
other cultures may use other tunings. |
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The
Birth of the Composer
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Music is predominantly a social activity, as illustrated
in the picture on the left. A Medieval choir is singing
music by Johannes Ockeghem (c1410 - 97) from a single
illuminated manuscript page. However, as written music
developed, there was a tendency to move away from the
communal to the individual, leading to the notion of the
'composer': a romantic personality touched by genius.
The musical work (which in folk music would be continually
reinvented with no identifiable 'author') became fixed
and determinate. This tendency was a feature brought about
by written music. |
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Some
More Features of Written Music
As
the writing of music developed several things happened:
* Music became more controlled and organised
with a recognised set of conventions (it must be remembered
that other systems for writing music outside of notation were
developed, such as tablature).
* The writing of music presupposed a determined outcome of performance
- it said to a musician 'do this and then do this and then do
this' etc. If one did not play what was written, one was guilty
of getting the music 'wrong', playing 'wrong' notes and so on,
perhaps comparable to misspelling a word - a notion brought
about by the advent of the dictionary.
* The ability to reflect on what one had
written led to further innovation.
* Written music transcended time and space
just as written text had done - the work of composers could
outlive them and outreach them as well as being bought and sold
in the marketplace.
| *
The visual aspect of the score took music into the realm
of the eye as well as the ear (an early example is to
be found in the work of late 14th century Baude
Cordier). In the 20th C the score was reinvented (particularly
under the influence of John Cage) as an idiosyncratic,
visual domain and a site of interpretation (allowing indeterminacy)
rather than specific instruction. |
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Aspects
of Definition for Certain Musics
It is hard to find a convincing definition of what we often
refer to as 'Classical'
music but one aspect, I think is clear - it is first and foremost
a written music. Folk
music, for obvious reasons, has strong connections with
Orality. Jazz
has its origins in the Oral community of black americans but
also grew, interestingly, in parallel with the development of
sound recording (Sidran 1995). Rock
also has strong connections to Orality but mainly established
itself through the grammophone record - sound recording is Rock's
'writing' method: one that allows control over aspects that
conventional writing tended to neglect especially timbre.
This aspect is often commented upon by Brian
Eno. |
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Some
Features of Conventional Notation
Conventional notation is:
•
very
good at specifying certain aspects of music, such as pitch
and duration
•
very
good at enabling players to synchronise their performance
•
quite
good at specifying rhythm
•
not
so good (or at least not so concerned with) specifying timbre
(the 'sound of the sound')
•
not
so good (or at least not so concerned with)
the situation the music is to be performed in
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Innovation
in Written Music (19thC)
Given the first entry of the above list, it is perhaps unsurprising
(at least to a technological determinist as myself) that composed
music in the West moved progressively towards more complexity
(and fluidity) in both melody and harmony (since specifying
pitch and duration is what written music does well). Debussy's
'Prelude
a l'apres-midi d'un faune' (1892-4) has been described
by some as the birth of 'modern' music (see Griffiths 1984:
7) as its key is ambiguous and its theme 'hesitant' and 'unassertive'
(Griffith's words) thus structurally, the piece anticipates
future 'modernistic' tendancies. I claim this complexity and
sophistication in Debussy's music was facilitated by writing.
Innovation
in Written Music (20thC and beyond)
It is John Cage who has been credited with the radicalisation
of the score and his influence permeated through his immediate
circle (David Tudor, the pianist, was described as being able
to play the currents in a fruitcake) and beyond. Cage moved
from using aspects of indeterminacy, as in the invention of
the Prepared Piano, through to the full-blown use of chance
in the acts of composition and performance.
The most radical score, however, has been claimed for
the composer and Cage disciple, Earle Brown, whose DECEMBER
1952 heralded the (musical) 'open work':
 
During the 40's & 50's there were two other significant
movements or trends in music which began to develop: one was
Musique Concrete, pioneered by Pierre Schaeffer; the other,
Electronic Music, whose main proponent at the time was Karlheinz
Stockhausen. Both of these musics required new versions of the
'score'.
LaMonte Young and later, members of the Fluxus group (including
George Brecht, Yoko Ono, Nam June Paik etc.) began producing
scores in the 1960's which were much less about specifying certain
sonic events and much more about describing (and recognising)
the situations in which music could be created. Freed
by Cage, these composers sought to find fresh areas of experience
outside of the 'crotchets and quavers' of conventional notation.
Members of the Scratch Orchestra, begun in England by Cornelius
Cardew in 1969, were invited, by Cardew (an established composer)
to produce 'Scratch Music' - homegrown scores - in order to
give the punctual Orchestra musicians something to do and play
while the latecomers trickled in... The Scratch Orchestra itself
was an unorthodox blend of trained and untrained musicians and
a similar ensemble, the Portsmouth Sinfonia was begun by Gavin
Bryars in late sixties/early seventies.
Some
contemporary composers, such as Trevor Wishart, have sought
to redefine their very subject matter with Wishart describing
what he does as 'Sonic Art' rather than 'music'. Wishart draws
much of his inspiration from nature and the physical world
producing exquisitely systematic charts and diagrams (scores).
Another approach is taken by artists who make sound sculptures,
such as Max Eastley. In this kind of work the physical elements
of the piece may be understood as their own score - the work
inscribes itself.
Finally, this notion of 'inscription' may be applied to many
other contemporary musical trends: the technology of writing
being extended by other technologies of representation and
performance such as the gramophone record (scratching), the
synthesiser, the recording studio, the computer and so on.
Although outside of the scope of this lecture it is my hope
that you may begin to explore some of these aspects for yourself.
©
Paul Ramsay 2003/8
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(Potential)
Play List:
Cusack, Peter and Max Eastley, (2000), 'nest of wasps'
from 'Day For Night', Paradigm Discs PD 14
Bach, Johann Sebastian [1685 - 1750], 'Goldberg Variations' (No. 6),
performed by Glenn Gould, Sony Classical SMK 52 619
Debussy, Claude [1862 - 1918], 'Prelude a l'apres-midi d'un faune'
(excerpt), performed by BRT Philharmonic Orchestra, Naxos 8.550262
Cage, John [1912 - 1992], 'And the Earth Shall Bear Again' performed
by Boris Berman, Naxos 8.554562
Young, La Monte, 'Dream House' (excerpt), Fluxus Anthology ANT 18.11
Wishart, Trevor, 'Liss' and 'Listen to Reason' both from 'Red Bird',
accompanying CD to 'On Sonic Art' - see below
Cusack, Peter and Max Eastley, (2000), 'day for night' (excerpt)
from 'Day For Night', Paradigm Discs PD 14
| References: |
Reading
List:
•
Cage, John, (1987), 'Silence', Marion Boyars [writings by Cage]
• Cardew, Cornelius, (1972), 'Scratch Music', Latimer New
Directions
• Goodall, Howard, (2000), 'Big Bangs: The Story of Five
Discoveries That Changed Musical History', London: Vintage
• Griffiths, Paul, (1984), 'Modern Music - a Concise History
from Debussy to Boulez', Thames and Hudson
• James, Jamie, (1995), 'The Music Of The Spheres: Music,
Science and the Natural Order of the Universe', Abacus
•
Kahn, Douglas, (2001), 'Noise Water Meat', MIT Press
• Karolyi, Otto, (1984), 'Introducing Music', Pelican
• Lovelock, William, (1984), 'The Rudiments of Music',
Bell & Hyman Ltd. [both written music primers]
• Marshall, Kimberly, (ed.), (1993), 'Rediscovering the
Muses - Women's Musical Traditions', Northeastern University
Press: Boston
• Nyman, Michael, (1999), 'Experimental Music: Cage and
Beyond", Cambridge University Press
• Ono, Yoko, (1970), 'Grapefruit', Peter Owen Ltd. [Collection
of Yoko Ono's proposals for Painting, Music, Dance etc.]
• Revill, David, (1992), 'The Roaring Silence - John Cage:
A Life', Bloomsbury [excellent Cage Biography]
• Sidran, Ben, (1995), 'Black Talk: How the Music of Black
America Created a Radical Alternative to the Values of Western
Literary Tradition', Payback Press
• Wishart, Trevor, (1985), 'On Sonic Art', Imagineering
Press [Fascinating account of alternative ways of thinking about
'Sound Art']
• Various Authors, (1986), 'Eye Music: the Graphic Art
of New Musical Notation', Arts Council Catalogue [pursues the
notion of the visual score, with examples]
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| Web
Links: (sorted into General; Medieval; Music
for the Eye; Composers; Fluxus) |
| General
Definition
of Music
'Bailey,
Derek - Improvisation: its nature and practice in music'
Free
Improvisation
www.bbc.co.uk/music/experimental/
Aleatoric
(or aleatory) music
Musique Concrete and Tape Loops
Electronic
Music Interactive
Electronic Music
Foundation
Experimental
Musical Instruments
Gerard
Hoffnung (music cartoonist)
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Medieval
Reading
the Book of the Heart from the Middle Ages to the Twenty-First
Century
Ars
Nova
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Music
for the Eye
'Augenmusik'
(Eye Music)
Music
Notation - Music graphics: show curated by Niksa Gligo
JOHN
TOTH music scores
Colour
Mapping
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Composers
Bach (J.S.)
- Coffee
Cantata
Beethoven
Berio
Hildegard
of Bingen
George
Brecht
Event
by George Brecht
GEORGE
BRECHT selections from "WATER YAM"
Photograph
of George Brecht performing his Solo for Violin
Earle
Brown: December 1952 Earle
Brown
John
Cage
John
Cage biog
John
Cage Online - further links for Cage
John
Cage quotations
Cage
and the Anechoic Chamber
www.bbc.co.uk/music/artist/p325/
Cage
and the Prepared Piano (very good background)
Cornelius
Cardew
(2 seperate links)
Cornelius
Cardew: Treatise (excerpt) Morton Feldman: Why Patterns
Cardew
and the Scratch Orchestra - Portsmouth
Sinfonia
Max
Eastley: Images of Sound
Brian
Eno
Yoko
Ono - one woman show 1971
Yoko
Ono
Henri
Pousseur
Pierre
Schaeffer (originator of Musique Concrete - see General
links above)
Stockhausen
(originator of Electronic Music)
Free
samples of Stockhausen's music
David
Toop
LaMonte
Young
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Fluxus
The
Fluxus Home Page
Fluxlist
Fluxus Portal
Fluxus
Debris! |
See
also: 'Sound Art References'
Please send further 'Score' links/references for inclusion to:
p1ramsay@plymouth.ac.uk
Paul Ramsay
2003 - revised 2008
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