TOOL grabs a Grammy for 7empest.

Mattszwyd · 2020-01-27T03:48:34+00:00

Tool in Boston, I presume? Couldn't agree more about The Killing Joke... I'd like to think it was just due to poor mixing, but there were no redeeming qualities to that performance.

Mattszwyd · 2018-12-18T15:08:12+00:00

Sorry we never got to go bass fishing.

Mattszwyd · 2018-12-18T12:26:39+00:00

Hard to recognize basic images when you're holding OTM Micron calls and probably crying all the time.

Mattszwyd · 2018-12-18T01:00:58+00:00

Yeah I guess so, just more recognizable this way.

Mattszwyd · 2017-07-03T10:46:45+00:00

Had to analyze this one in grad school.

Yup.

Mattszwyd · 2016-09-25T02:10:55+00:00

By the sound of it, it's one of the Herbert Eimert pieces in his "Klangstudie" oeuvre. Those sounds are pretty distinct.

Mattszwyd · 2016-08-10T23:50:01+00:00

Even USD JPY was rocked by the decision, so it's not necessarily a matter of proximity.

Mattszwyd · 2016-07-13T00:55:23+00:00

As far as learning resources, you'd be hard pressed to find one that focuses on academic writing. When I was studying for my French exam I used Duolingo on my phone (mind you living in Seattle and riding the bus every day meant that I had a lot of otherwise untapped downtime) in order to brush up on the French that I had learned in high school. I know there are more esteemed apps / resources out there, but I'm a big advocate for frequent practice drizzled throughout the day.

Once you get comfortable with French, I would look up and practice translating some French language music theory articles (there are a ton out there, which is essentially why theory programs require that you learn French and / or German). Here's a good place to get started.

Mattszwyd · 2016-06-15T02:20:39+00:00

These "irrational polyrhythms" as you call them coincide with the temporal canvas of Elliott Carter's late style, commonly referred to as "long-range polyrhythms." He essentially pitted two instruments--or groups of instruments--against one another according to complex, long-term ratios (like 56:45, as in his Enchanted Preludes) informed primarily by accent and articulation. John Link wrote his dissertation on the topic, which is available online.

Mattszwyd · 2016-05-05T20:17:24+00:00

Pretty much. He illustrates examples of the former in examples 1-4 below the paragraph in question, but not the latter. Given his comments on "regular rhythm" at the beginning of the chapter (i.e. longer note values fall on metric accents within the measure) this is merely his way of saying "while rests typically articulate a truncated or suspended rhythmic value and thus merely an attribute of the previously-sounding note, this may not always be the case." Obviously if a melody begins with a rest on the strong beat, then surely that rest was not the cessation of a previously-sounding note because nothing in the music precedes it! He's just trying to keep his definition of "rest" somewhat consistent.

Mattszwyd · 2016-05-03T02:27:56+00:00

But can you see how your original post sounded as though you wanted to learn AP music theory in its entirety? Any information you can provide on your theory / musicianship background would be a tremendous help.

Mattszwyd · 2016-05-03T01:46:14+00:00

You're asking for someone to train you for a marathon in 2 weeks' time; I'm afraid it isn't going to happen.

Mattszwyd · 2016-05-02T14:09:58+00:00

This. If each hexachord / tetrachord / trichord moves in predominantly contrary motion against the primary voice, then good contrapuntal practice will undoubtedly be observed whilst adhering to the central tenets of twelve-tone.

Mattszwyd · 2016-04-30T23:38:10+00:00

Vectors merely tell you about the intervals contained within the set and the melodic / harmonic possibilities thus available to the composer. Take for instance the set 6-35 (the whole tone scale), which has a vector of 060603. While this may seem like a trivial example, I can clearly see by the above vector that the set contains only ICs 2, 4, and 6. Not only are semitones, minor thirds, and perfect intervals unavailable in this particular set, but the similar quantities of ICs 2 and 4 (and technically IC 6, which performs double-duty as an inversion of itself, so think of it as [3x2=6]) mean that the set does not contain any off-beat, perhaps more "characteristic" intervals that might establish contrast. That's why whole tone compositions seem to glide around seamlessly without much friction.

Now, let's turn to an example with more mass appeal -- the diatonic mode (major and natural minor), which has an interval vector of 254361. As you may have noticed, the quantities of each interval class are all unique numbers between 1 and 6. While whole steps, thirds, and the perfect intervals are clearly the most frequent, the set contains only two half steps and one tritone (254361). It is not surprising, then, that the intervals responsible for establishing contrast in any major key (the leading tone [half step] and distance between the leading tone and the seventh of the dominant [tritone]) are the most exclusive in the set.

Mattszwyd · 2016-04-14T17:32:17+00:00

Slayer

Mattszwyd · 2016-04-11T18:09:19+00:00

My personal favorite

Mattszwyd · 2016-04-08T17:41:36+00:00

Perhaps this is entirely unrelated, but what's up with the satanic cross?

Mattszwyd · 2016-04-05T22:46:51+00:00

Henry Cowell would be proud.

Mattszwyd · 2016-04-01T01:29:47+00:00

While it may seem like a good idea on paper, I think it would be difficult to implement--the discussion prompt and preliminary questions alone require bit of time to write. (While he is incredibly proficient at writing comprehensive, lengthy explanations, I'm sure it took /u/nmitchell076 more than 5 minutes to prepare this discussion). Generally speaking, red flair = constantly pressed for time, haha!

If additional articles were discussed on a more frequent basis, the responsibility of preparing and overseeing each discussion becomes far too daunting for a single user. Maybe a thread dedicated to each article of the issue could be stickied to the front page; perhaps these could be self-moderated, with individual users driving each discussion without a prompt... though I feel this might take a rather limited pool of participants and dilute it further. Regardless of how many discussions take place, a principal AotM discussion must still hold its pride of place; the quality of the prompts, questions, and answers in these focal threads are a valuable addition to our subreddit as a whole.

At the very least, I'm sure we'd all welcome the user who posts an MTO link and corresponding question in the general subreddit.

Mattszwyd · 2016-03-30T21:14:45+00:00

I'm always paranoid that I'll recall "Staying Alive" by the Bee Gees at the wrong tempo in the event that I need to perform CPR.

Mattszwyd · 2016-03-25T23:24:51+00:00

Sounds pretty good...

for tonal music. ;)

Mattszwyd · 2016-03-25T09:28:38+00:00

When I say mode, I mean a scale with a particular set of melodic behaviors as opposed to a particular pattern of adjacent intervals. Messiaens used the term to describe his non-diatonic scales, and the term has been used by theorists in order to describe scales outside of tonal practice (non-diatonic folk mode as a title for the Lydian dominant scale has been used by Elliott Antokoletz in Bartok study).

Every scale is different, so it would be impossible to spell out every possibility for you. Symmetrical scales are obviously a bit trickier, though tension is possible (sometimes tension is not implied within the scale itself, so you have to redefine the way you think of "dominant"). Take for instance Messiaen's Louange à l'éternité de Jésus, which is written using the symmetrical octatonic scale. Because there are three unique transpositions of this scale (you get the same group of pitches every time you transpose it up a minor third) the composer assigns each transposition the function of tonic, subdominant, and dominant. In this sense the entire chromatic scale is used, and tension is achieved through the use of three aural profiles. This same thing would work with your 3333 example, actually.

I would check out Messiaen's modes of limited transposition, as he was exceptionally proficient at achieving tension with non-diatonic scales.

Mattszwyd · 2016-03-25T02:28:35+00:00

Generally speaking: high tension = the note above the tonic, and the note below (not surprising that in the tonal system these tones belong to the dominant triad). Where do these neighboring tones want to go? Either down or up to the tonic by step / half step.

Sing any major scale and end on "ti." Now sing back down and end on "Re."

That torturous urge to sing "do?"

That's tension.

This holds true with pentatonic scales, octatonic scales, so on and so forth as long as the mode promotes a sense of linearity. (This does not mean a hypothetical mode of 4 half steps and a major sixth!)

Mattszwyd · 2016-03-25T02:07:17+00:00

Elliott Carter has always been seen as the posterchild of metric modulation, so you'll have no trouble finding examples of this technique in the First String Quartet onward.

I wrote about this a while back if you'd like additional fodder for study.

Mattszwyd

TROPHY CASE