From: judd@wilkinson.cs.colorado.edu (Stephen Judd)
Subject: Classical Music for modern instrument (was Re: The shortest distance between two chords is...)
Organization: Universtiy of Coloardo, Boulder
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 18:35:29 GMT

Boy, what a popular thread. :-)  But, I asked this as part of a larger
question, which will be described below.

In article <1993Jan16.065206.4130@Princeton.EDU> roger@astro.princeton.edu (Roger Lustig) writes:
>In article <1993Jan16.055732.3158@colorado.edu> judd@wilkinson.cs.colorado.edu (Stephen Judd) writes:

I blew it at least a little.

>>Start:	G# B  E
>>	F# B  D#
>>	E  B  C#
>>	E  A  C#
>>	E  G# B
>>	D  G  B
>>	D  F# A

I think the above should be D F# B.  Maybe not.  It doesn't matter much.

>>	C  F# A
>>	C  F  A
>>	B  F  G#
>>	B  E  G#
>
>>Ta-da.  First question: Where did I find this?  Second question: What century
>>was this technique common?  Third question: Do other people have strange and
>>interesting ways of doing simple things.  (As in, if you do, I would like to
>>see them!)
>
>Well, to question 3, I'm not sure that it's a "simple thing" that's being
>done.  What we have here is basically a progression in parallel sixths,
> varied a bit in the middle.  The chromatic shift to G is a little 
>odd, as is the shift to 6-4 chords; are you sure there's no left 
>hand?  
>
>Finally, *why* is the chord being inverted/the interval being
>composed out?  What happens before and after?
>
>So what's the piece?  It's too diatonic to be the MAgic Fire.

I have another question.  Isn't this sort of thing, using a common note to
shift between chords and keys, the bread and butter of people like Wagner?

Now on to the larger issue.  I am curious about, for lack of a better
term, classical music for modern instruments.  As I listen to the awful
music that over the years has constituted popular music, I have to wonder
why exactly it is so abysmally trivial.  I see no real reason that a form
such as, say, rock and roll, needs to limit itself to three chords.

I suppose what I am looking for is a musical group that has read Piston's
book, and understands it, which also has a creative and inventive mind
working on the music.  I want to hear music that has had a lot of thought
put into it; creative, intellectual thought.

The Beatles were certainly creative and inventive.  Pink Floyd at one
time demonstrated clever music from time to time.  Compared to any
'real' composer, the music is simply not as good (clever, intelligent,
creative, whatever).  Compared to what I hear today, they are centuries
ahead.

So I am curious if there are any bands who demonstrate an ability to write
real music for modern instruments.

As to the chord progression above, it comes off of an album called Intuition,
from a band called TNT.  It is rock and roll.  It is the sole example I am
able to find of a band which has a clue as to what it is doing, and they are,
of course, not very popular at all.  This album, circa 1990 or so, contains
many things of interest.  It often seems to me like an excercise in major/
minor shifts.  Many of the songs are in E flat, the worst key for playing on
a guitar.  There are examples of some clever sequencing.  Finally, the very
last song uses quarter-tones, using a guitar fretted in quarter steps.

It brings rock and roll into the nineteenth century.  The singer, incidentally,
has an excellent voice.

>
>Roger

					-Steve
--
judd@colorado.edu
Newsgroups: rec.music.classical