The Story So Far…
This post has as a primary purpose of condensing my previous posts into one post to give you an idea of what we have found out about experimental music so far – it’s much more concise!
- History is important in music, as it gives us knowledge about the past journey music has taken
- Many music styles rely on history as they have evolved from past musical styles
- Too much emphasis placed on popular styles, thus the lesser known styles, such as experimental music, are ignored and their value isn’t noticed
- Through my examination of experimental music, I attempted to explain the genre because I believe it is a heavily under explored genre and thus find a reason why it isn’t part of the mainstream music styles and reinforce why it should be
- All music is valid because it is all interconnected and styles influence each other and evolve from one another, thus even though experimental music may not be popular, it has still contributed to the field of music
- Experimental music appears to be in opposition to popular music in many ways, as explained in my previous post
- John Cage features prominently in the history of experimental music – his academic writing was a major source of my research
- Because of the nature of experimental music, many people question whether it is music at all
- This is because it strays so far from many people’s traditional conceptions of music
- Experimental music is still seen as new even though it has a legitimate history dating back at least 50 years
- Because the style is so different from much of the music featured in the mainstream, many people don’t take the time to appreciate it or understand it
- Sound is pivotal in the creation of experimental music. Experimentation with sound is the main purpose. It revolves around the experimentation, production and combination of sounds.
- The final product is not the purpose – the journey of creation is.
- Improvisation is a characteristic of experimental music, thus leading to the diversity, unknown quality and uniqueness of the genre.
- The genre challenges peoples conceptions of music and is in a state on constant change and experimentation
- The listener and their interpretation are key to understanding the purpose of experimental music
- The procedure of composing experimental music tends to be radical and different from most mainstream styles
- The music of the experimental genre can act as a means of communication between the band members
- Experimentation music involves releasing control and just experimenting and creating with music
To conclude, I believe experimental music has been left out of the mainstream genres of music and also out of the recorded music history because it is a niche music style and also because it challenges what people conceive to be music. Experimental music is highly valuable to the field of music because it is constantly pushing the boundaries of music and making way for the future of music. I believe that experimental music needs to be appreciated for what it is – not criticised for being so different from the popular music. Experimental music deserves a place in the history of music, as does any other music style, because they are all valid and have something to offer the field of music. I think experimental music is fantastic because of the way it challenges people’s conceptions of what music is. This is why I chose to investigate it and fight for its rightful place in music history!
