|
THE 'PHYSICS' OF MUSIC
On Musical Momentum and its Compositional Implications
The language we use to talk about music tells us a great deal about how we conceptualize our listening experience. With metaphors of agency (eg 'the deceptive cadence demands proper resolution at a later time, thus propelling the music forward'), we bring an added sense of dynamism to the music we seek to describe; it is as though musical events exert forces on one another, much like objects in the physical world.
Just who exactly is responsible for these 'natural' forces in music, however, is open to debate. Are the physical experiences of the human body ingrained in the compositional process?..
Copyright © 18 March 2013
Andrew Schartmann, Connecticut, USA
|
