| Revision as of 00:48, 18 December 2003 editCamembert (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users18,991 edits calling these "tricks" sounds a bit demeaning, so cutting that; adding a few links; not sure about "playing with disregard" or the closing para, but i'll leave it← Previous edit | Revision as of 01:38, 18 December 2003 edit undoLexor (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users12,806 editsm typo, copyedit.Next edit → | ||
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| Some of the more common techniques include: | Some of the more common techniques include: | ||
| * "Prepared" instruments. Ordinary instruments are modified in their tuning or sound-producing characteristics. For example, guitar strings can have a weight attached at a certain point, changing their harmonic characteristics (] is one musician to have experimented with such |
* "Prepared" instruments. Ordinary instruments are modified in their tuning or sound-producing characteristics. For example, guitar strings can have a weight attached at a certain point, changing their harmonic characteristics (] is one musician to have experimented with such techniques). The ] is also common. | ||
| * Unconventional playing techniques. For example, strings on a piano can be plucked with a pick instead of played the orthodox way, or the tuning pegs on a guitar can be rotated while a note sounds (called a "tuner ]"). | * Unconventional playing techniques. For example, strings on a piano can be plucked with a pick instead of being played the orthodox way, or the tuning pegs on a guitar can be rotated while a note sounds (called a "tuner ]"). | ||
| * Incorporation of ]s or ]s from non-Western musical traditions | * Incorporation of ]s or ]s from non-Western musical traditions | ||
| * Use of sound sources other than conventional musical instruments such as trash cans, telephone ringers and doors slamming. | * Use of sound sources other than conventional musical instruments such as trash cans, telephone ringers and doors slamming. | ||
Revision as of 01:38, 18 December 2003
Experimental music, or Avant-garde music, is any music that challenges the commonly accepted notions of what music is. John Cage was a pioneer in experimental music and defined and gave credibility to the form.
As with other edge forms that push the limits of a particular form of expression, there is little agreement as to the boundaries of experimental music, even amongst its practitioners. On the one hand, some experimental music is an extension of traditional music, adding unconventional instruments, modifications to instruments, noises, and other novelties to orchestral compositions. At the other extreme, there are performances that most listeners would not characterize as music at all.
Some of the more common techniques include:
- "Prepared" instruments. Ordinary instruments are modified in their tuning or sound-producing characteristics. For example, guitar strings can have a weight attached at a certain point, changing their harmonic characteristics (Keith Rowe is one musician to have experimented with such techniques). The prepared piano is also common.
- Unconventional playing techniques. For example, strings on a piano can be plucked with a pick instead of being played the orthodox way, or the tuning pegs on a guitar can be rotated while a note sounds (called a "tuner glissando").
- Incorporation of instruments or scales from non-Western musical traditions
- Use of sound sources other than conventional musical instruments such as trash cans, telephone ringers and doors slamming.
- Playing with deliberate disregard for the ordinary musical controls (pitch, duration, volume), as when depressing as many piano keys as possible with the forearm
- Use of tunings or scales inconsistent with the Western chromatic scale
While much discussion of experimental music centers on definitional issues and its validity as a musical form, the most frequently performed experimental music is entertaining and, at its best, can lead the listener to question core assumptions about the nature of music.