Impact- David Byrne's Article

Discussion Questions for David Byrne's Article

Byrne's theory on artistic creation is that that we unconsciously and instinctively make work to fit preexisting formats,which means that we randomly think of things and go with it that way. While the "accepted story" a composer gets a strange look in his or her eye and begins furiously scribbling a fully realized composition, and that all song lyrics and recording came out perfectly the first time.

 He talks about how African Folk and medieval European music differs because in African Folk music it was mostly played outside with instruments that were available for them, while medieval European music is played in giant cathedrals where the notes could be held and wouldn't sound jumbled and such. 

The difference between the original audiences of classical music and opera versus because he says that his music was first played in smalls rooms because the sound was better, then he goes on describing a concert saying that "rooms like these would be filled with people whose bodies and elaborate dress would deaden the sound, and that, combined with the frilly décor and their modest size meant that his similarly frilly music could be heard clearly in all its intricate detail." Opera begin in new places that consisted of booths/ stalls rather than rows of seats, but the venues had to make changes as the bands got bigger. 

By the mid-twentieth century, jazz had evolved into a kind of classical music, and in order to keep the dancers happy, the players would jam over those chord changes while maintaining the same groove. The musicians learned to stretch out and extend whatever section of the tune. 

Byrne says that the behavior of classical audiences changed around 1900 because classical audiences were no longer allowed to shout, eat, and chat during a performance. As Alex Ross hints that this was a way of keeping the “common people” out of the new symphony halls and opera houses, because lower classes were loud and noisy.

 The effects of the introduction of recorded music and radio on the sense of place by saying if you hear a song on the radio and you love it, you're going to want to hear it blasting in a club or listen to it in a music hall. He also mentions crooning, singing in a soft, low voice, would have never been able to happen without a microphone because the "intimacy" wouldn't be heard. 

When he talks about disco he says that "usually only works in those social and physical spaces" which he means that don't work well at home or in small spaces, mostly in places where is can be played loud over a system. As the music moved to bigger areas like arenas or stadiums, disco wasn't sounding very good, but metal was excellent to play in the stadiums. He states that the stadiums were usually full of all white kids. 

As for hip-hop it has morphed into something else entirely. People are singing and dancing in their cars now more than anything. The MP3 qualities, can be appreciated by the detail and when you're listening to it, you can listen to the beauty of it.