“My nine-month old son engages with music in a variety of ways as he moves through his daily life,” writes composer Jason Freeman on Thursday’s (4/22) New York Times Opinionator blog, “but he enjoys creating music the most. I similarly like to listen to music but enjoy creating it even more. I love to sing a soft lullaby to my son more than playing him a recording. I love to sit at the piano to play a familiar song more than listening to it on the stereo. And more than any of these things, I love to compose music. … Beginning in the 1950s, several avant-garde composers developed a fascinating technique through which to share their creative process with others. Their ‘open’ musical scores included elements that could change with each performance. … In ‘Piano Etudes’ (2009), I use technology to make the open score accessible not only to performers but also to audiences, inviting everyone to experience and participate in the work’s creative process. … Since this printed score is only accessible to musicians who play the piano and read music notation, I also developed an interactive Web site in collaboration with Akito Van Troyer. On the site, anyone can create a remix regardless of musical experience: the notation is graphical and you can hear your version as you build it.”
Posted April 23, 2010
