Hello guys! It´s a great pleasure to be here once again publishing one more article. This month´subject on my column is directly connected to musical instrumentation and the distribution of the instruments function in a band, orchestra or any type music gathering.
Whenever we observe an orchestra playing we have the clear impression of a simultaneity, we listen to several sounds, in different registers, intensity, duration and tuning, besides the spacial notion when we feel the positioning effects of the instruments in relation to the stage and the audience. The perception and observation of these phenomena is extremely important when listening to a concert, a show, as well as any musical performance.
I spent a week in Saquarema (Rio de Janeiro), during the Carnival street parades season and was invited to join one of the groups, called “Bloco da Rama” from Jaconé, this specific group has my cousin as one of its directors. During the entire parade I was focused on the “drumming” behavior (not that kind of drumming we see on stage but a percussion orchestra as they popularly call it), and I could experience a very high level organized system. The drumming is divided in several groups, separated by tuning (low, medium, high) and inside this primary division there is a secondary one which is the instrument itself that brings us this feeling of spatiality, a feeling which tends to disappear while we lean back. To command this complex formation it´s necessary to have a conductor (just like a maestro, who will mark the rhythm, the starts and stops of the instruments.
In a rock concert, for example we lose this characteristic of the sound because there is a “mixer” that flats all sounds in order to emit them simultaneously from a speaker which doesn´t disturb the other sound properties to be explored - and of course the listening of a rock concert is also a great experience.
The traditional line-up of a rock band consists in drums, bass, electric guitars, keyboards and vocals. All this without mentioning the infinity of rock bands supported by symphonic orchestras and chambers orchestras, giving a different atmosphere to the original sounding of the band besides a richer and more complex sonority than the famous “Power Trio” (guitars, bass, drums).
Do this experience at home: try to listen to each instrument separated and isolatedly when listening to a band. Listen only to the drums, identify and memorize its main elements and if necessary, repeat the procedure many times until the drumming line is familiar to you. After that do the same thing with the bass, the guitars (in case there are two, do it with one per each time), keyboards, and finally the vocals. When all lines sound familiar to you, try to listen to the song and identify the simultaneous lines and its elements. This experience will give you the simultaneity notion, it´s the prime element to create a conscience of the space e the time perception (observe the several simultaneous phenomenas inside a determined environment).
Within the time, apply this exercise in bigger instrument lineups until you are comfortable to apply it in the listening of a symphonic piece. Then you do it like this: separate the symphonic orchestra in 6 families: strings, woods, metals, percussion, choir and others (non traditional instruments) and try to listen isolatedly what happens inside each family. It will be a rewarding experience to the listeners of any kind of music.
The listening of this musical settings made by digital paths only tries to get close to what would be a natural hearing. Listening to orchestras in radios and stereos, doesn´t matter how modern they are, takes from us the real feeling of what it is to listen to a live orchestra. We have a sound understanding sensation taking away the perception of this phenomena which is the simultaneous set action and space.
But, with the developing of the musical language, the electro acoustic music (generated by computers) has as music making paradigms of our times exactly these two items: space and spectral exploring of the sound, since the first electro-acoustic experiences have been drawing development in a way they can supply the necessity of the realistic simulation of this phenomena. Today we have the 3D studios with speakers strategically positioned in a way to give us this impression.
But what does it have to do with Heavy Metal?
Among all music styles none of them is closer to classical music than Heavy Metal, the Brazilian Choro and the Jazz. These styles suffered a direct influence of the classical music. Heavy Metal musicians in their majority had classical education in at least a part of their lives and this is something explicit in their songs. But why taking these elements from 4 centuries ago?
And only from “Barroco” and “Classic” periods? Why not dive in the classical modern music and its infinite possibilities, in its music making freedom, bringing to the rock universe more modern classic music elements?
Only a few bands have created this conscience...
A musical project developed by me called “Cradle of Tales”, brings this direct influence of modern music added to ethnic elements of the Brazilian music. Another band that has invested a few seconds of modern music to its albums is the Swedish “Pain of Salvation” (I mention them on my first article, from January 2009), in my opinion they are on the top 3 of the best bands of these days. Progressive rock bands have always had direct relation with the composers of this denominated “New Music” (watch my January 2009 article), and several times, attending classes given by those Avant Garde composers, taking some of this new ideas to the rock stages. Everyday rock has been getting more space inside the academic environment, having several papers and thesis being dedicated to the subject all over the world. It´s necessary to be careful while talking about it though, cause everything must be treated as a very serious subject in the academic environment, always being coordinated by an academic advisor in order to give scientific and artistic expression to all the work and not only subjective aspects. And once more, being able to apply these Avant Garde concepts on stages and theaters, why not make rock as the special link between the pop and the classic?
Be cool, see you!
I recommend:
Karl-Heinz Stockhausen
Flo Menezes |
