Category: Theory

Here are essays that have to do with music theory generally.

The starting point is energy. 

All of music reaches us initially through our ears, which modify complex physical vibrations into analogous streams of electrochemical energy that pass into the brain. The transformation of vibration into energy is first a physical, mechanical phenomenon, and the further into the brain it gets, the more it becomes a psychological phenomenon.  Thus there is… Continue reading The starting point is energy. 

More on Contemplative Music Theory

In a previous post, I discussed Contemplative Music Theory in the context of beginner’s mind, and asked what that might offer to improve our thinking about music, and music theory. That essay barely scratched the surface of what contemplation brings to the endeavor, so I’ll add a bit more now. One primary benefit of allowing… Continue reading More on Contemplative Music Theory

Contemplative Music Theory

This blog is called Contemplating Music for very specific reasons, the primary one being that it urges the adoption of an approach to knowing that differs from the paradigm of learning and knowing that pervades our culture. It’s hard to pin down in just a few words what that paradigm is, but I’ll make an… Continue reading Contemplative Music Theory

Sound!

The foundation of my work is that sound itself is the primary expressive phenomenon. I come to that state of thinking by the influence of a couple of sources: one, experience performing and then composing modern classical music, and another, the realization that what I love about rock and roll music is the combined sound… Continue reading Sound!

Energy of sound, energy of mind

Clearly there’s a distinction between the energy of the sound we hear, the sound that travels through the air as compressions and rarefactions, and the energy it creates in our minds. The SEA theory is interested in both, and the relation between them.  The relation between them is particularly of interest because it is obvious… Continue reading Energy of sound, energy of mind

Drawing musical energy

In my teaching, I have a habit of getting people to draw their account of a piece. Since I call virtually everything into question, a natural thought arises: what’s that drawing all about?  Drawing asks for an embodiment of a visual sort, which helps a person put the thoughts they may have about a piece… Continue reading Drawing musical energy

In Praise of Debussy (Musical Energy: Register)

Claude Debussy pioneered the world of sound in western classical music, and I revere him as the head of the sound-as-such movement that includes Varèse, Ligeti, and many, many recent composers. In this post, I’ll explore a single piece of Debussy’s, focussing narrowly on one aspect of the piece to demonstrate how he created music using… Continue reading In Praise of Debussy (Musical Energy: Register)

Musical Energy: Horizontal Density

An important, time-honored way to increase the energy of music is by speeding up.  Of course, speeding up the tempo, the speed of the beat, is a very familiar means of doing so. I want to explore a larger concept here, horizontal density, which refers to the number of events per unit of time. Events… Continue reading Musical Energy: Horizontal Density

Grateful for Being Noticed

This spring I was awarded a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council to support my workshop, Just Listening. It matters deeply to be noticed, recognized for what one does. I’ve been working on a new venture for several years now, always returning to the idea that I am bringing an experience of value to others.… Continue reading Grateful for Being Noticed