Another month gone past. The compilation is progressing nicely. No, can't put a release date on it yet. I feel like that means it's not news, in which case I guess news means "something to sell". Well, nothing to sell just yet, so I'll carry on like last time with some hopefully amusing rambles.
I could add that for my own part in the compilation, I've changed the selection of material I've made, so there's a ready track looking for another home. It's called 'Beware of Trains', which may be good advice, but probably not relevant to any musical element in the track. Still, titles for instrumental music are like that. But then, instrumental music is like that too...
I watched the film Music & Lyrics a few days ago, and there was a line that stood out for me, where Drew Barrymore says that "a melody is like seeing someone for the first time. The physical attraction. Sex. But then, as you get to know the person, that's the lyrics. Their story. Who they are underneath." Well, it's got its depth, but it kinda leaves you with the question "what about instrumental music"?
(I should be fair: I think the comparison is about song, rather than music in general. Also, it's about melody rather than music in general; and a lot of instrumentalists will no doubt agree with the notion that melody is the "physical attraction" in relation to all else their music has to offer.)
Anyway, I've always liked instrumental music as much as songs. I can't remember not listening to it, whether it were old show tunes performed on the Moog, traditional Irish jigs, or surf rock. I can remember the thrill I felt as a kid when I gradually discovered one of the tracks on an RTR compilation was an instrumental. I can remember the not-complete-frustration I felt when I discovered that both sides of my 'Ghostbusters' 7" were the instrumental B-side (I also discovered that it sounded great at 16rpm).
And then it connects back to what I was saying about titles: I like the story I heard that Vaughan Williams was asked what his Symphony in D minor was about, and he replied that it was about D minor. That's a bit out of my league though; I don't think I could get away with naming a work purely on its musical form. One of the works I've put into the upcoming compilation could, on such terms, be called a "five-voice diminution canon", but that would look far too pretentious as a title for the kind of music I write. I've called it "Hommage à Africa du Toto" instead...
(here's a note about diminution canons. The one I've written is not particularly complex, so take the line about them being "difficult to write" with a grain of salt...)
Posted by Andrew at April 14, 2008 11:27 AM