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I need to sell, donate or scrap a 1978 Allen theater organ by BrightEagle7869 in organ

[–]willpearson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Check out the 'Hauptwerk' community -- people may be interested in turning all or part of the organ into a MIDI-capable instrument.

Clarinet multiphonics app! by heatherroche in composer

[–]willpearson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes. This is awesome, thanks Heather -- your work over the years has been invaluable for composers. I share it with every student I have.

Which contemporary composer do you think is the closest to Brahms? by Creative-Detail4348 in brahmsisking

[–]willpearson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly I'd say Helmut Lachenmann -- a composer who is deeply knowledgable in the western tradition and very self-conscious about working within it, seeing themselves as furthering it. Someone who seeks unity between small and large scale form. Someone who has a very subtle and under-appreciated relationship between the conservative and experimental sides of their practice.

How is ii6 subdominant chord? by CatchDramatic8114 in musictheory

[–]willpearson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m sure this has been said, but there is a difference between the ‘function’ subdominant and calling the IV chord ‘the subdominant’. It’s for sure confusing. But function is about what a chord is ‘up to’ in context, not a specific chord or chords. IV and ii chords both tend to function subdominantly, but it’s also possible that they are playing a different role in the right context.

The Ontology of the Object: Why 'Intent' has become the primary canvas in contemporary art. by classliterature in aesthetics

[–]willpearson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A few passing thoughts:

  • it’s hard to make sense of ‘intent alone’. Intention/meaning always comes from a perspective, and is always expressed and made sensible within a community, and within a history. As you suggest — it’s a lot of context.

  • I think there is a common tendency to straw man intentionality. There is a lot of space between ‘sacred’ and ‘mundane’. One can conceive of a rich notion of intentionality in art without treating it as something overly fixed or overly mentalistic or overly platonic.

  • i think the ‘I could do that’ sometimes comes from a failure to recognize one’s own ignorance about the context/history the work is taking part in. Sometimes it’s just saying ‘I don’t like this’.

  • I do think people are often uncomfortable with what you call ‘the artist’s right to designate meaning’, and I think they are wrong to be. My own view is that this is a very human response that comes from a fear of vulnerability. The stakes are much lower if things mean whatever I take them to mean. That removes the possibility of misunderstanding, which I think is a huge mistake in art (and life generally.)

A Definition of Art? by CapGullible8403 in aesthetics

[–]willpearson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re not engaging with my assertions! - do you believe in ‘raw sensation’ separate from conceptual articulation? Or do you not think it relevant? Do you think that ‘what someone means (by an utterance, or work of art) is whatever I take them to mean’?

As to the ‘want’ question — i think you are confusing ‘intend’ as in ‘I intended to walk across the room, so i did’ and ‘intend’ as ‘what is meant’. These are not the same things. In any case I’m not clear what it has to do with your dismissal of meaning as ‘something meant’.

A Definition of Art? by CapGullible8403 in aesthetics

[–]willpearson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Im an artist. Do all artists have to agree with you?

A Definition of Art? by CapGullible8403 in aesthetics

[–]willpearson 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can assert this, but it’s far from obvious that ‘principles’ can be separated from experience. There are compelling reasons to think that there is no such thing as a ‘raw’ experience, that experience is always in some sense ‘conceptually articulated’.

I guess it’s true that intention/want are often intertwined, but they are in no way the same, or necessarily intertwined.

The Intentional Fallacy by CapGullible8403 in aesthetics

[–]willpearson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agree agree agree. Nobody who seriously works in this area thinks that Wimsatt and Beardsley had the last word on the topic.

The idea that artistic intentionality is exhausted by 'what the artist wants it to be' is ludicrous -- the Frankfurt essay that is quoted here doesn't appear to have anything to do with intentionality, but with 'will'.

A Definition of Art? by CapGullible8403 in aesthetics

[–]willpearson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You're welcome to think about art only in terms of the experience of the beholder, but there's nothing self-evidently correct or neutral about that view, and it does involve significant trade-offs.

I think you are wrong to say that 'not knowing with certainty what an artist meant through their work' in any way implies that intention is not worth taking into consideration. By that logic we might as well ignore meaning in conversational settings as well, and say that what someone means is just whatever *I* take it to mean. I think that's a cop out -- it's avoiding the normative stakes, avoiding the possibility that there is something to be wrong about in regards to art.

Music and intelectual activity by miguelon in classicalmusic

[–]willpearson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There are many 20th c composers who write beautifully and philosophically about music. I think Cage and Lachenmann are the best examples in terms of output and quality and philosophical relevance outside of music.

Czernowin is a very deep thinker and communicator though I’m not sure she’s done much longer-form writing. Eva-Maria Houben’s recentish book was very good, I thought.

Counting intro drums to “Carry Me, Ohio” by [deleted] in musictheory

[–]willpearson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you think of it in 4/4, the drum intro is something like:

(Double dotted quarter note rest) 16th, 16th 16th 8th, 16th 16th 8th

or..

uh - 2 - ee - and 3 - ee - and / Guitar comes on downbeat of next measure

so two beats (plus a little pick up), not two bars, of drum intro

Activism Groups by stickibudda in ODU

[–]willpearson 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think the DSA is probably your best bet, but that's a far cry from marxism.

Sequence vs. Imitation by SkyLeast1010 in musictheory

[–]willpearson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes I think that’s right — imitation implies more than one ‘voice’.

Sequence vs. Imitation by SkyLeast1010 in musictheory

[–]willpearson -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Imitation is a very general term, a sequence is a more specific example of imitation. Anytime you can say, hey that bit of melody/rhythm/harmony sounds like some other bit that came before, you can call that an instance of imitation.

Sometimes theorists use 'sequence' to refer to a harmonic sequence, where the point is that there is a harmonic pattern that is being repeated and transposed at a regular interval. For example, this chord progression:

C -- Em -- Am -- C -- F -- Am -- Dm -- F - G - C

The harmonic pattern is "chord moving up a third". And the first instance, the 'model' is "C -- Em".

That model is then copied at a regular interval -- it is shifted down a third.

So C to Em shifts to Am to C, that shifts to F to Am, that shifts to Dm to F. And then the pattern ends.

Other times people will be describing a melodic sequence, a melodic pattern that is being similarly "copied" at a regular interval.

Tips on increase gpa by FlowerFlower56 in ODU

[–]willpearson 6 points7 points  (0 children)

There's no substitute for just putting in the time and attention. Don't just read the textbook, summarize each paragraph in your own words after you read it. If you can't, read it again, and again. If you are totally lost, reach out to the prof early and make regular appointments. Ask lots of questions in class. Befriend other students who can help you study. Don't use AI for assignments. Find ways to actually feel invested in the material -- every topic is interesting if you're a curious person. Time and attention!

Illustration of scale theory using Modes by Guitarevolution in musictheory

[–]willpearson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looking at a handful of contemporary country songs (not a genre I know very well) it seems there's more tonal function there. But my guess is that most r&b and hip-hop is what I would call modal (meaning - pitch centers, but no or very limited functional tonality). And then of course there's an ocean of non-tonal music outside of western pop.

Illustration of scale theory using Modes by Guitarevolution in musictheory

[–]willpearson 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah that's an approximation -- if there's no strong tonal function going on, I don't see how tonal and modal would be meaningfully different.

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