Notes from the Bridge

Ceative Cacophonies




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This image is a 50 foot long, transcribed score for Euan Macdonald’s video art: 9000 Pieces (2010), which features a piano-testing machine in a Chinese musical instrument factory…

The video’s subject is a loud machine of wheels, cams and levers, mechanically beating the hell out of the keys of a new piano. The piece subtly points to questions about the sustainability and speed of fast changing economies and globalized societies. More obviously, it is an exploration of repetition and noise. But is repetition and noise art – or creative? Well, there are some precedents…

Steve Reich’s was a genuine pioneer in experimental and avante-guard ‘music’. His ‘6 Pianos’ is a repetitive and phased piece of shifting ‘sonic’ textures. We have Jacob Mashak’s ‘Beatus’, which uses two pianos over an 11 hour performance – which must tests one’s musical sensibilities whatever its merits. John Cage coined the term ‘prepared piano’ – where various bits and pieces are placed, suspended or intertwined with the strings. This clearly influenced the late pianist, Esbjörn Svensson, of the jazz trio EST, who made effective use of interfering with his strings.

Stockhausen was the granddaddy of ‘noisy’ experimental music and is said to have influenced many of our own generation of musicians, including the Beatles, Frank Zappa, Kraftwork, Björk and Delia Derbyshire (of Dr.Who theme fame) – all of whom have used experimental, repetitive, electronic noise motifs in more accessible and popular music.

A more recent musical experimenter is Brian Eno. He was not adverse to creating his own noise: an early musical activity, ‘playing tennis’, involved trowing tennis balls at stripped-down pianos. However, he now likes to be known as a sonic landscaper and prefers ambient moods to repetitive noise. Which is a welcome shift from musical art such as 9000 pieces. A development of all these influences has resulted in applications such as Eno’s ‘Bloom’ for the iPhone will create patterns and unique melodies by tapping the screen. A nice piece of non-cacophonous creativity.

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