Experimental music defined

[justin3am]

a lot of BS

But, history showed us that lots of great discovery where the fruit of accident and unexpected results of experiments...it's one of the true nature of creativity in relation with irrationality...

Many of my compositions have accidents in them...and the funny thing is that those are the parts I almost like the most ...after some time away from these compositions...

In fact, changes and evolution are almost always related to accidents, "impacts" ...one way or another...IMO, evolution of music is no exception

I personnaly think that the genius is to recognize which "accidents" have something significant for yourself and also others who will listen to it

I agree completely! Happy accidents are often the best part of an experiment and I take much joy and pride in the work that I do that comes from these accidents. Often times these accidents lead to experiments that are far more interesting than my initial investigations. Still, the objective of almost all of my experiments is to gain an understanding of how or why something does what it does. If the experiment fails (inconclusive results) it may have still been more interesting than if i was able to prove or disprove my hypothesis.

As you can see, I approach this subject from more of technical standpoint than a musical one. What I find surprising is how musical the results of my experiments can be weather the the experiment is successful or not.

[Chuck E. Jesus]

the scrotum is a cool place to hang out.

that's your own personal option, and i wish you well with that...

its science

i suppose the balls need to hang low for scientific reasons... but you hanging out with them is your own beeswax...

now its yours too.

indeed...

[wrench45us]

when John Cage referred to experimental music as the composer not knowing the outcome I'm sure he was referring to his own compositions that did things like incorporate a radio into the piece and have a 'musician' tune the radio to a station or not at set intervals in the piece

or when working with Merce Cunningham (along with Gordon Mumma) they would set up microphones and/or sensors on stage that would capture or trigger 'sound events' . The mixing was done 'live' as they were so moved every night of a performance.

Obviously there was no telling what would be on a radio station at a given time every evening and as they performed on tour, different stations would be active in differnt cities. Dancers would tend to get close to certain sensors/microphones at the same time in a piece, but that wouyldn't mean the mix would always capture that event.

even some of his 'prepared' piano piece had elements of chance with some random movement and reaction of metal balls on the soundbopard of the piano.
it's a bit of letting the conditions of the moment a larger participation.
I've always understood 'experimental music' as having this sort of element of live performance. Terry Riley's 'In C' encourages players to play a phrase as long as they wish before they move to the next. There are recording of this piece, of course, but I've seen about a dozen performances and none of them were the same.
Same thing with some Stockhausen pieces where players are given written instructions and not much music -- play a note until you can't tell if you or someone else are playing that note, then move it's overtone series. It's differnt every performance. Some are phenomenal, some not so much.

[Armored78]

i apply the term "experimental" to the sounds i create because i both use experimental methods for sound creation, as well as composition regarding melody and meter. in this case, i feel that the definition of the word "experiment" applies in its purest sense, that being, i have an idea and experiment with it to see if the outcome matches what i expected. sometimes the results are pleasant, sometimes not. but i agree that it's up to each individual listener to decide for themselves if such an experiment is a success or failure.

[zerocrossing]

Most music is in fact abstract

Wouldn't you say all music is abstract in as far as it's language/communication?

[vurt]

Most music is in fact abstract

Wouldn't you say all music is abstract in as far as it's language/communication?

not muzak though.

[Audio Gnostic]

experimental music definition: where u experiment w. sounds and call it music.

[vurt]

experimental music definition: where u experiment w. sounds and call it music.

well, thats that settled.
next question ed

[dirty oscillators]

I don't believe experimental is a style of music, similar to what Cage said, it is a description of the process.

totally. i know my reply on this thread is late, but i *just* read the first page. to me "experimental" refers to experimenting, as in a verb. it's not a noun or a label.

[dirty oscillators]

well experimental == seeking new territories.

abstrakt and avangard is simly a bit homo imo .

Is mispelling every other word in a sentence experimental too? Really its just simply a bit "homo", IMO.

[dirty oscillators]

But, for the listener, it may be truly experimental.

i disagree, because how would the listener ever know what went into the composition or production of what they're listening to?

[dirty oscillators]

the scrotum is a cool place to hang out.

that's your own personal option, and i wish you well with that...

its science

oh man, sorry to hear about those "extra credit projects" that your biology teacher put you through back in jr. high...

[dirty oscillators]

experimental music definition: where u experiment w. sounds and call it music.

experimental posting on threads definition: where you experiment with short hand writing and call it communication.

[whyterabbyt]

to me "experimental" refers to experimenting, as in a verb. it's not a noun or a label.

indeed. and its entirely lazy (one might even suggest 'retarded') thinking to assume that everything which sounds 'different' can be adequately lumped together under the umbrella title 'experimental' as though that were some kind of indicator of commonality.

since the sole actual commonality of 'experimental' is rooted in other factors, such as workflow, or methodology, and swathes of work with the same commonality are excluded because the final outcome fits within some more easily-pigeonholed genre, and because entirely new genres have come into acceptance which are rooted in experimentation without ever being categorised as 'experimental', then the notion that there is a defineable genre of 'experimental music' that defines any commonality is entirely ludicrous, and defines as much about the music as the equally-retarded genre classifications 'alternative' and 'indie'
the thread is based on a question which relies on a fallacy.

[JohnDX]

i forget who said it, but i love this quote: "We've suffered for our art, now it's your turn."

Or in the immortal words of Bleeding Gums Murphy: "The blues isn't about making yourself feel better, it's about making other people feel worse. And makin' a few bucks while you're at it."