Human beings need to express themselves daily in a way that invites physical and emotional release.
Musical self-expression is a joyful and healthy means of communication available to absolutely everyone.
There are as many different ways to make music as there are people.
The human voice is the most natural and powerful vehicle for
musical self-expression. The differences in our voices add richness and
depth to music.
Sincerely expressed emotion is at the root of meaningful musical expression.
Your music is more authentically expressed when your body is involved in your musical expression.
The European tradition of music is only one sound. All other cultures and traditions deserve equal attention.
Any combination of people and instruments can make music together.
There are no "unmusical" people, only those with no musical experience.
Music improvisation is a unique and positive way to build skills for life-expression.
In improvisation as in life, we must be responsible for the vibrations we send one another. |
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Music for People Bill of Musical Rights (comment required)
I'll tell you more about Music for People tomorrow. And we'll talk about the MfP "Bill of Musical Rights," which is at http://musicforpeople.org/rights.html, and below as well. Write a comment. What's most appealing about this? Or surprising? Or resonates most deeply with you? Or doesn't ring true for you? Or how is it different from the way we experience classical music working?
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The following really rang true to me:
ReplyDeleteSincerely expressed emotion is at the root of meaningful musical expression.
Your music is more authentically expressed when your body is involved in your musical expression.
To me I feel Emotion helps to shape the music when performing. It helps you to be true to the music and allow for a musical line to form.
This statement I did not find to be entirely true:
There are no "unmusical" people, only those with no musical experience.
With how much music there is in the world I believe everyone has experienced music of some sort or another. Whether is be the beat of a heart or a song on the radio everyone has experienced rhythm in some sense and rhythm essentially is music.
The comments that resonate most strongly with me are "musical self-expression is a joyful and healthy means of communication available to absolutely everyone" and "sincerely expressed emotion is at the root of meaningful musical expression."You cannot have music without expression, and the expression varies with the performer. I think we are taught, when learning classical, more of the form of the music--the notes, dynamics, rhythms, etc. The hardest part, at least for me, is the expression. For a piece to sound meaningful, you have to fully embrace it, and it has to be a part of you. Then you can show the expression in your playing.
ReplyDeleteThis passage was the most interesting to me:
ReplyDeleteThe human voice is the most natural and powerful vehicle for musical self-expression. The differences in our voices add richness and depth to music.
I love that the author acknowledged differences in our voices. Specific instruments can be manipulated to sound different from each other, but the human voice is unique from birth--it's a fabulous idea to embrace our vocal potential in music, whether we consider ourselves 'good singers' or not.
On the other hand, I'm not sure that the voice is the MOST powerful way to be musically expressive. I think the body can be just as powerful. To me, it's similar to the difference between a great writer and a great speaker. One can make a statement just as powerful and effective as the other, but in a different way. Personally, I believe I can be more expressive and musically "in the zone" with dance and movement rather than shouting, singing, etc.
They all are wonderful. The most appealing to me however is "Musical self-expression is a joyful and healthy means of communication available to absolutely everyone."
ReplyDeleteAs I said on my comment on Babatunde's interview, music is a true language; it is expressed, in my opinion, through our instinctual and irrational spirit, as opposed to our "ordered" and logical one. Music is a cathartic language; it makes you abandon the real world and it transports you to another one. It is an abstract language as well. Differently from visual arts, drama or literature, music cannot directly evoke a tangible object or place to us; it evokes the emotion itself. That is the greatest characteristic of music for me. Finally, it is a universal language; people from every background or culture are able to understand and appreciate (or criticize) any sort of music.
I felt that these two were appealing and related to me:
ReplyDeleteSincerely expressed emotion is at the root of meaningful musical expression.
Your music is more authentically expressed when your body is involved in your musical expression.
All music has emotion and character. I feel that the way that is expressed really brings out the piece and is the majority of what makes it so good. Without emotion music would be much duller. Also with body movement you are displaying the emotion of the music. As a violinist I have always been told to move while I play and I used to think it was a ridiculous concept. Now, however, moving really helps me get into the music and emote it much better, and I find myself not being able to not move to the music.
The idea that even within a Bill of Rights for musical people it is deemed necessary to include a right for cultures other than that of European/Western descent. I feel bad all the time because that's me, and I don't like the idea that my culture is so dominating and controlling to other cultures. I also believe that the majority of my general generation do not have the views that generations before us had, and that this new view will result in a much more accepting Western culture that will, rather than stomping out other cultures and types of music, accept and incorporate their ideas. Or at least, I hope we can do so.
ReplyDeleteI liked how the Bill simplified what can be said about all music and how everyone is able to participate in the creation and expression of music as much as they want to. Also, the part about emotional expression being the root of musical expression was interesting because it means that for music to be expressive it has to come from a part of the musician playing it and they have to make the music theirs even if it was written hundreds of years by someone else.
ReplyDeleteI like the comment about putting your body into your music. That's where I really lose touch with the Orchestra. It takes the excitement out of it.
ReplyDeleteThe last bit about applying your improv experience to real life also resonated. It's a great way to practice feeding off of others energy in a fun and forgiving environment.
As for the title, I hardly think it a "Bill of Rights". It might be better to call it a list of truths.
This 'Music Bill of Rights' truly connects to every musician. Personally, these rights seem almost funny because someone is trying to provide structure for a freely expressive concept. JUST A THOUGHT! I loved the comment that addressed how everyone is musical, but some people have had no experience. I absoutely agree with this statement. Music is felt within everyone, because EVERYONE LOVES MUSIC! :)Those with no musical experience simply choose not to practice instruments/voice, and that's okay! Furthermore, I enjoyed the comment concerning classical music and how it is only one sound. While classical music is one of the oldest and more commonly accepted styles of music, it is not always the most loved style of music. Classical music can become boring- true fact. The various multicultural styles across the world deserve attention and also respect.
ReplyDelete