Perennial Dissonance

There is a word among many aspiring young composers and music academics that is often fraught with much cringing and clenching of teeth: counterpoint. But what exactly is counterpoint, and what's all the fuss about? This week, we explore these questions and reminisce about the glory and frustration of studying contrapuntal techniques.

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When does music do socio-culture damage? It isn't a concept we're typically aware of, but the modern advent of newer technology and forms of media combined with its speed of distribution creates a situation where, with a mere roll of the dice, distributed media could actually do socio-cultural harm. What really happened when McDonald's spun out an ad campaign using "Down by the Riverside?" We discuss specific examples of how harm is done both on a socio-cultural basis and on an individual basis, and we also examine the opposite phenomenon: when music can actually fortify a preexisting concept or ideal. Should we be more aware of the implications of our actions with art, or should we work with the understanding that misinterpretations will be better solved down the road?

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Can music be perceived beyond its extramusical associations? This week, we explore the dichotomy between "Absolute" and "Program" music, and their varying degrees of applicability depending on composer intention, performer agency, and audience reception. And believe it or not, the two of us disagree...

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This week's episode attempts to draw a rough picture of how a 'sound' becomes 'musical.' We trace sound's development within the musical context throughout history in an attempt to understand how we came to listen to sound in musical setting as we do today, and discuss some of the problems facing composers and audiences of musical performances.

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We return to the Canon this week to discuss music for films and videogames, which are often ignored by the Canon due to the traditional considerations of the work concept and their necessary intertwinedness with other, more visual forms of artistic creation. We look at the birth of the two art forms, as well as the battles they've fought over the years just to be considered "artistic."

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This week, we discuss the Canon of established Western Classical compositions that have "stood the test of time," including what it is, how it emerged, how one gets into the Canon, how one falls out of the Canon, and whether the thing is actually justified.

Errata: at about the 12'00", I used the word "Platonian" instead of "Platonic."

Our discussion this week consists of basic musings and analysis surrounding the "why" and, to some degree, the "how" behind repetition in music. Just as repetition serves to reinforce organizational and structural elements throughout all facets of life, music is plagued with repetition as well. We look at movements towards and against repetition, and why we find the phenomenon not only a necessary part of music, but quite pleasurable as well.

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In this week's episode, we explore the concept of musical form. Our discussion winds through teleology, repetition, and musings on human psychology and pattern recognition. Throughout the epsiode, we ask four main questions: What is musical form? Why does it exist? Who determines it? Do we really need it?

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This week, we examine that weird moment in 20th century concert music when composers realized that tonality was actually pretty cool. Our discussion weaves around Messiaen, minimalism, and George Rochberg.

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This week, we begin to explore the birth of atonality with a special focus on dodecaphonic (12-tone) serialism. Our discussion veers through thoughts on Schoenberg and the Second Viennese School, Boulez's "Schoenberg is Dead," and a final attempt at determining whether dodecaphonic and integral serialism were justified artistic developments.