Postmodernism and Music
John Cage: The Composer Who Will Make You Ask, “Why?”
“If everything is more or less of equal value, as the Postmodernists say, why not just leave art to chance?” - Craig Wright
John Cage was a postmodernist composer who took this idea to heart. John Cage’s father was John Milton Cage Sr, an inventor. John Cage Jr took after his father, although instead of inventing machines and other things, he invented music. John Cage not only composed music but he composed in an extremely different style of music than anyone else had ever heard before. Cage challenged the very foundations of music itself in a very modern way. John Cage challenged these fundamentals of music and argued that common noises could be music too, by inventing what we now call “chance music.” Craig Wright describes chance music as music where, “musical events are not carefully predetermined by the composer, but come instead in an unpredictable sequence as the result of non-musical decisions such as following astrological charts, tossing coins, throwing dice, or shuffling randomly the pages of music to be played” (Wright 258). Cage’s composition called 4’33” is the best example of chance music, as there is actually no music composed at all. To perform the song, musicians of any instrument would walk onstage with their instrument, sit down, open the “score,” and sit in silence for exactly four minutes and thirty three seconds. The music, in this case, comes from random sounds from the surrounding area or audience members purely by chance. Click here to listen to 4'33" By John Cage Performed by a Symphony Orchestra. John Cage also invented a new instrument called the “prepared piano.” A prepared piano is just a regular piano, except with nails, screws, pieces of metal, and more, shoved in between the strings to create more percussive and interesting sounds.
Click here to watch a prepared piano being played. Indeed, John Cage exemplified many postmodern ideas and invented many things. His desire to “root for noises” and “be on the side of the underdog” is clear in all of his works.
The Maximalist
John Adams is a post-modern composer who is characterized by his use of Minimalism. He won the Pulitzer prize and three Grammys for On the Translation of Souls, and has published operas, oratorios, and minimalist compositions with funk bass lines. He attended Harvard where he became unfond of the twelve tone style he was taught. This encouraged him to create his own melting pot of popular, classical, and minimalist music. His popular piece Short Ride in a Fast Machine is a perfect example of this. This piece has five sections and is scored for a full orchestra. He uses short musical units called motives repeating over and over that slightly change. The music appears to speed up as more instruments are added. The gradual change in motives keeps the pulse of the music, but still allows for expression. This type of music is known for putting people in a trance-like state, and has a hypnotic effect. It seems counterintuitive, as one may assume it would get boring, but Minimalist music is very successful and has influenced a lot of popular music. Electronic dance music, sometimes called rave or techno music, draws on minimalist concepts to take advantage of the trance-like effect. Like Claude DeBussy, John Adams wrote what he found appealing to his ear instead of following the mainstream classical concepts. His success can be used as evidence that music is relative and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
John Adams: Short Ride in a Fast Machine – BBC Proms 2014
John Adams - China Gates (Sarah Cahill, piano)
Funky Music
“Digital processing of sound has not only revolutionized how we get music, but also how we create it,” (Wright 255). The invention of the phonograph brought around a whole new world of music and how we see it. The first composer that used this odd new style of creating music was Edgard Varese. Edgard took many different snippets of recorded sounds and splice them together creating masterpieces like Poeme electronique. Electronic music did not stop there, in the 1980's synthesizers became increasingly popular. “Technological developments such as FM synthesis and affordable analogue components helped make synths more affordable to the average musician.” ( BREWSTER). Everyday musicians could participate in this new wave of music and It led to electronic music being put into movies and other media.These postmodernism ideals and styles forever changed how we view music and what is deemed acceptable. Songs like 'You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)' by Dead or Alive and many others utilize this new style of music to draw in everybody and make music that all can enjoy. In conclusion the Postmodernism style of electronic music allowed for all to participate and all to be included.
John Williams (An Icon)
“Similarly, Williams's film music has clear influences from other classical and film composers, including Holst, Stravinsky, Korngold, and others. But while many have specifically referenced the similarities, these are generally attributed to the natural influence of one composer on another” (Gabler).
John Williams is an extremely famous postmodern composer that was mentioned in our book this week. He has composed many iconic movie scores that have transcended American pop culture, such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jaws, Indiana Jones, Superman, and E.T. Along with being a composer, he is also a pianist and trombonist. During his early years he joined the U.S. Air Force and Air Force Band, and composed/arranged music for the group while also playing piano and trombone. From there he moved on to Julliard and studied piano professionally underneath Rosina Lhevinne. As his reputation as a composer grew, an up and coming film writer and director approached Williams about writing the music for his debut film, The Sugarland Express. This fresh director was none other than the famous Steven Spielberg. Spielberg then recommended Williams to his fellow friend and writer George Lucas, who hired him to compose his world-renowned film Star Wars. Fun Fact: John Williams was also the conductor for the Boston Pops Orchestra for a short time!
Sugarland Express: Title Theme
Aaron Copland
Aaron Copland was a man that transformed the way of music, and gave it more of an “American voice.” Including new styles such as jazz and folk songs into his music made his music exceptional and innovative.The Jazz Age quickly failed. He was born to Jewish immigrant parents in Brooklyn. As Copland was crafting the new American style of music, it broke away from the European modernist composers (Debussy, Stravinsky, Schoenberg, etc.) Copland’s music was breaking away from this because of the core of their music. The modernist composers included styles of music that were atonal, while Copland created his “open scoring.” (Strong bass, thin middle with clear tones from flute or clarinet.) His Appalachian Spring is an example of how he infused folk songs. It tells the story of how a bride and farmer husband enjoy living in pioneer America. Throughout the eight sections, it goes through what each of them are feeling, and the actions they take. Fanfare for the Common Man is a fanfare Copland wrote for the spirit of democracy. This plus a lot of others of his can illustrate how Copland used Folk songs in his music to change music.
Division Of Labor
John Cage: The Composer Who Will Make You Ask Yourself, "Why?"/blog/works cited - Aidan Hille
The Maximalist - Jake Kesling
Funky Music - Ryan Lelli
John Williams (An Icon) - Hannah McVay
Aaron Copland - Carl Reese
Works Cited
“Aaron Copland.” Wmich.edu, 2021, wmich.edu/mus-gened/mus150/CB-Copland.htm.
Brewster, Will. “The 15 Best Synthesisers of the 1980s.” Mixdown Magazine, 13 Apr. 2021, www.google.com/url?q=mixdownmag.com.au/features/the-15-best-synthesisers-of-the-1980s/&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1636356521143000&usg=AOvVaw2rxj0qK8PPC_sSwEHpzwYa. Accessed 8 Nov. 2021.
Gabler, Jay. “Star Wars: John Williams’s Classical Influences.” Www.yourclassical.org, 4 May 2021, www.yourclassical.org/story/2015/10/20/star-wars-john-williams-influences.
Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber. “John Adams the Minimalist.” Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, 20 Jan. 2015, www.laco.org/minimalism/. Accessed 8 Nov. 2021.
PBS. “Aaron Copland ~ Aaron Copland Biography | American Masters | PBS.” American Masters, 11 July 2005, www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/aaron-copland-about-the-composer/475/#.
The Kennedy Center. “Aaron Copland + Fanfare for the Common Man.” Www.kennedy-Center.org, www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/music/aaron-copland--fanfare-for-the-common-man/.
Wright, Craig M. The Essential Listening to Music. Australia, Wadsworth, 2016.
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