music as situation in time - part 1, the beginning

i have been trying to create my own interpretation of an idea inspired by antheil.

most notably this, which is still in my mind over a month later:

"ballet mecanique, while utilizing (subconsiously, for at the time this work was written, 12 tone-ism was unknown as such) both systems, concentrated on what i then called "the time canvas." rather than to consider musical form as a series of tonalities, atonalities with a tonal center, or a tonal center at all, it supposed that music actually takes place in time; and that, therefore, are merely his crayons, his colors. the 'time-space' principle." -from the preface of "ballet mecanique"

which leads to the following from the nordic journal of music therapy (webpage of source cited below):

"Music itself is a kind of situation, with is particular materiality, syntax and semiotics. We need a music-focused musicology to describe some of the sonic differences, which give rise to our musical cognitions. However, to understand the pragmatics of the situation, i.e. the special effects, functions or consequences of music, one has to go beyond the analysis and out into the world, into the specific situation and its concomitant experience."

for the latest cd i am working on (6 completely finished, a 7th i need to completely do over and 3 others which keep on changing in content) i have taken the title "the time canvas" as a way in which to musically the explore the idea of music as a situation in time. intellectually, i am trying to work out the idea on this page. i hope the beginning posts in this blog have laid a steady foundation for me to work on and for you to understand as i continue this process. at this point i even hesitate to consider them songs, because i hope they will be able to evocate a moment in time which one could experience fully.

i will go into examples in the next post. i was writing out the elements expressed in song #2, "2 minutes of war" as can be heard on my myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/adititahiti until i realized one problem with the piece. it can be heard distinctly as a moment in the past. perhaps the 1910s, but most certainly not what we are used to experiencing now. so what does it mean to "create" a situation only to find that it does fit within a past time period? should the musical situation fit within our known linear period of time or should it be a period of itself, existing outside of time? does it make a difference? is it enough to mimic life within one framework of reference, i.e. music? does it have to be purified, existing purely as its own as a universal element as opposed to an identifiable period of time? i will try to address these questions over the course of the next few posts.


(http://www.njmt.no/artikkelruudnewmusic.html)