Evolution: Music-Making

The four types of music-making exemplified and explained: Participatory, Presentational, High Fidelity, and Studio Audio Art.

1. Participatory

Group Improvisation with sticks in Kampala, Uganda

Participatory music-making, defined as the type of music-making in which no main soloist or leader is featured, but rather a gathering a people creating music together, is featured above. Some signs to recognize this form: the way this piece of music is both started and ended in a "feathered" manner, where one-few musicians start and others join in, etc., as well as cultural value/expectation for everyone in the room to participate.

An unfortunate characteristic of this style is how more a handful of more skilled musicians are hindered from adding greater complexity or creativity for the sake of the group as a whole. Another drawback is that while the people in within this gathering may be having a great experience, the onlooker who cannot participate, either in person or virtually experiences the music in a completely different way (the affect of the togetherness is most likely not communicable outside of the situation).

However, positives about this form of music-making abound! The bond forged in collectively improvising and creating sound together is a strong and encouraging one. The group mentality these musicians are exposed to opens their minds as "performers" with each other. These musicians also learn from each other in the process, and support each other's learnings and creativity.

2. Presentational

Rachmaninov: Slava v vishnich Bogu

Slava v vyshnikh Bogu, i na zemli mir,
v chelovetsekh blagovoleniye.
Gospodi, ustne moyi otverzeshi,
i usta moya vozveztyat khvalu Tvoyu.

Russian to English: "Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace, goodwill among men.
O Lord, open thou my lips and my
mouth shall proclaim thy praise."

Presentational music-making is much less "open" than the previous style, as it is much more seriously rehearsed and prepared-for, as well as "presented" to a group of people. This presentational form means that not every person--in fact, most people--do not perform, and instead are expected to look on and quietly appreciate any given piece during its performance. This non-participatory setup is one major negative side to Presentational music-making, as the experience of music-making is rarely improvisational and inclusive of all attending. Another negative side the chance for the audience to miss the emotion or meaning in a piece. This miscommunication is due to the audience member's expected place that does not allow them to connect physically/musically in the moment. (I performed the example piece with the 2014 Western Division ACDA Honor Choir in Santa Barbara. After performing, I was describing how the concert went with my Mom, and spoke to the immense sadness and beauty of this piece--which was my favorite of the concert. My Mom expressed in turn that she hadn't seen the piece from this point of view, because she didn't know its meaning or felt its emotion like she had with the others. This was an example to me of how vastly different a perception can become between the performers and the audience).

The positive qualities of this performance style are the refinement and professionalism brought about by knowing ahead of time the intentions and direction of the piece performed. The ability to have the piece understood and mapped out to perform is a powerful tool. With this form in mind, the performers have the potential to enhance an audience's listening experience through the communication expression can deliver.

3. High Fidelity

Asia: Bury Me in Willow

High Fidelity music-making is the first of two styles to involve the recording arts. In this form, artists record their separate tracks to create one cohesive song. The piece embedded above, "Bury Me In Willow" is one such song, recorded by the band Asia in 2012.

High Fidelity encourages preservation of new innovative ideas, captures the skill of any one musician/group, and dramatically increases the spread of music in its ease of accessibility. The cultural values of a people who largely prefers this type of music are that of "talent" and the skill required to become famous though a recording. The expectation of this performance type is that an audience only buys in and listens. However, the genuine awe and connection inspired by any type of live performance is lost beginning in this form. Because this type of music-making is more synthetic and available to edit, less people will experience an accurate, in-person representation of the abilities of a musician/group.

4. Studio Audio Art

Enigma: Eppur Si Mouve

Eppur Si Mouve

Latin to English: "And Yet It Moves"

This piece is from an German/English "music project" known as Enigma. This project does not perform, but instead experiments with new musical ideas in sound. Its audience is expected to again, buy in and listen, but also be adventurous and open enough to sounds potentially never heard before. Because Enigma does not perform and exists purely on a ground-breaking, creative basis, their music belongs in the "Studio Audio Art" style of music-making.

The benefits of this style definitely include innovation and interesting developments, as well as the ability to convey messages in ways not done before... adding an air of mystery and possibility. Studio Audio Art does have nearly-identical negative sides to that of High Fidelity music-making. This form may also feel too foreign as it draws from sounds made/combined by computers. Because of this unfamiliarity, people may have a more difficult time connecting emotionally to music that may not even sound "human". The cultural values in this music are mainly existent in the drive to move forward and perpetually reinvent what is "modern".

This song, while possessing certain human elements such as vocals, spoken word, and vague reminders of instruments, still remains a Studio Audio Art in its experimentation.

-Krista Schaarschmidt