Adam Golding wrote:
[snip]
However, it seems to me that many rock scores ignore what are actually very
'phonemic' differences, to take an analogy from linguistics (explained
below)--to give you an idea where I'm coming from, in addition to wanting to
transcribe/study/analyze/perform popular music, I'm a composer who grew up
writing into metronomic sequencers long before i started playing an
instrument, and found rubato confusing and 'out of time' for years until I
had actually been a pianist for a several years. Recently I've been writing
more at the piano rather than on paper/screen, which has slown me down a
LOT, but writing on paper seems almost useless to me because the 'changes'
in pitch and tempo that I'm making while I work on the piece are often
subtle enough that they wouldn't show up in most notations.
I don't quite understand what you mean by "writing into
metronomic sequencers" -- did you actually write the notes
down on paper and then enter them into a computer-based
sequencer, or did you play them into the sequencers?
Furthermore, these differences seem to actually be phonemic to me in that
they can make the difference in whether what was played was the 'right'
note, so to speak. When I hear a singer sing a particular Beatles song
without a particular bend in a certain place, to me that can often be
equivalent to changing a note in the melody, that is, it sounds like wrong
note.
This seems to suggest that you feel the recorded version is
the "correct" version, and that the Beatles singer(s) on
that song always sang the song the same way, something which
recordings of their live performances show is definitely not
the case. This is also the case with the majority of
pop/jazz music (and even non-pop music), where the same
performer, recording the same song several times (Sinatra)
never sang it exactly the same way each time, an observation
supported again by listening to various live recordings of
the same song.
Similarly, while I was working on a song this week, I was trying all
the possible notes to end a certain phrase on, and had eliminated all but
two options, which included eliminating G. Suddenly however, I hit upon
singing G with a 'scoop' and it seemed to function entirely differently in
the piece--the scoop was about a whole-tone, and the hidden presence of the
F there helped carify the harmonic function in the way I wanted. Now if I
were to notate this and hand it to a singer, I'd want to make sure that
scoop was there. However I wouldn't want them to immitate every detail of a
vocal demo I'd give them, because I'm not the best vocalist in the world,
and many of those little details wouldn't be intentional or essential, and
I'd be open to hearing different ornamentations there. So, I need the
ability to insist on certain details in certain places, but to leave the
notation lax in other areas where it's not as important.
But you suppose that performers will follow every nuance you
notate, something which will never happen. At least not to
your liking. If the scoop from G to F and back again (at
least that's how I interpret your description) is supposed
to be a whole-step, and occur in some rhythmic pattern,
write what you want, exactly, using current notation. If
you simply indicate a scoop, it'll never be performed
exactly as you want -- should the person begin the scoop
immediately following the start of the G? Should the scoop
occur just before the end of the G? Should it be drawn out
over the entire length of the notated rhythm for the G, or
should it be very rapid and exactly in the center? No
notation will indicate exactly what you want in any manner
which will be clear to a performer and will result in exact
performance each time. Best is to give them your imperfect
vocal demo and say "This is basically what I want you to do,
only you've got a better voice so it will sound better."
And don't be so adamant about people interpreting your music
exactly how you want it, where and when you want it -- the
only way to achieve that in any personally satisfying way is
to perform your own music yourself all the time and don't
worry about publishing it. The moment you release your
music to another performer, they will interpret it in their
own manner. That's as true of non-pop music as it is of pop
music, only with non-pop music often the variance with
notated wishes is much more subtle than either adding or
eliminating a whole-step scoop at a cadence.
Your final sentence in the above paragraph -- "So, I need
the ability to insist on certain details in certain places"
-- will only lead to frustration. You need to trust your
performers more to convey the musical thoughts behind your
notation. Performances are three-way partnerships, with all
three parties involved (composer, performer, audience)
having equal responsibilities and needing trust of each
other to live up to their share of the partnership.
I'll check out the examples mentioned so far, please keep up the great
reccomendations :-)
[snip]
Good luck -- do keep us posted as to how you decide to do
things.
--
David H. Bailey
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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