Behind the Musical Instruments - Essay Example

Instrumental music has of existed for extraordinarily long period of time. However, even though this is the case, core compliments of good instrumental music have remained virtually static throughout the centuries. Whereas it is likely true that music originated with voice singing being the primary mechanism through which music was performed, the use of instrumentation to augment this voice and differentiated was soon utilized. As musical evolution came to grow, expand, and utilize ever-changing techniques and dynamics, the range and extent to which the instrument was utilized as a mechanism for enhancing the voice was re-engaged entirely and used without the vocal accompaniment that was normally meant to go alongside it. What is meant by this is the fact that instrumental music ultimately came to be a type of music that was played in the absence of voice. Although dissertation length response would necessarily be required with regards to determining specifically when this change was first exhibited, the following analysis will instead focus upon the unique mechanisms through which instrumental music is presented; focusing specifically the manner through which instrumental music mimics voice-like qualities within the piece of Jervy Hou’s “A Breathtaking Piano Piece”. It is therefore the hope and goal of this author to present instrumental music, with regards to the piece in question, as a highly developed and non-simplistic style that requires the individual musician to be even more cognizant of unique nuances and the means through which musical technique can help to extend the body and that of the music in question. Further, by leveraging music theory and understanding the way in which key developments and ideas are represented throughout all types of music, the reader will be able to come to a more informed level of understanding concerning the core elements of how instrumental music is able to uniquely mimic vocal performance. Firstly, it should be understood that traditional vocal music, accompanied by instruments, necessitates and demands a series of breath like pauses between the melody and harmony; allowing the vocalist, or vocalists as the case may be, the time to grieve, compose themselves, and is ready their voices for the upcoming requirements that a specific piece of music might engender. In almost an identical manner, the instrumental piece in question “A Breathtaking Piano Piece” allows for a series of pauses between melody and harmony and a series of dynamic brakes that help to mimic the voice like nature of the music that is being represented. Furthermore, the interplay between the left and the right hand of the piano solo allows for the listener to imagine that a type of cooperation between the accompaniment and the “voice” of the individual performer is taking place. In much the same way that a due West incorporates a series of pauses movements, breasts, nods, and facial expressions so that the duo can communicate nonverbally with regards to the passion, feeling, and pointed entry that the music must make, the same elements are represented with regards to the way in which an interplay is engaged between the melody and harmony of this specific piano piece (Gordon 33). Further, the relationship and the give and the give and take between melody and harmony within the piece closely represents the way in which such an interaction would take place between two or more musicians. Rather than belaboring this point with proof after proof, the reader can and should point to the way in which the harmony and melody flow together within the first 25 seconds of the piece; helping to emphasize the mechanisms through which a mimicry of voiced expression and melody within the instrumental approach exists alongside this. Furthermore, a level of mimicry with regards to the way in which harmony and melody coincide and/or a subtle level of communication between the left and the right hand of the pianist is only a very small portion of the way in which the particular piece tries to mimic the way in which a vocalist and accompaniments would sound. A further dynamic technique that is utilized is with regards to a full modulation of dynamic. Whereas it is true that instrumental music since its very inception has utilized dynamics as a means of alternating the mood that exists with respect to a particular piece of music, the use of dynamics within the piece in question is notable due to the fact that it distinctly mimics the way in which a vocalist would be able to sustain the notes and define the way in which the piece is understood. For instance, many instruments such as the violin, could keep a note alive as long as the bow is building. By much the same token, without a pause for breath, the instrument of the piano, and other stringed instruments can equally perform the same task. However, with regards to the vocalist, a clear and distinct pause must be made that there can be taken and the note/pitch reacquired and reengaged. In such a manner, this dynamic understanding of the power, and lack thereof, of the vocalist is represented within the piece in question. Rather than merely engaging with a specific note or series of notes and then rushing off to the next development, the pianist makes a special effort to allow for a “trailing off” dynamic through which an understanding of the way in which a vocalist with saying this particular piece is directly represented. Of all of the approaches that is thus far been engaged, it is the fact that melodic expression in and of itself is perhaps the most difficult level of voice the mimicry that is affected within this particular piece. Ultimately, this style, the urgency, and the emotion of a voice is almost impossible to duplicate utilizing an instrument alone. However, the pianist in question comes surprisingly close to copying the level of passion, commitment, energy, and shift in dynamics that would necessarily define the way in which a human voice would integrate with the piece. Nevertheless, the urgency, emotion, and style that the individual performer is able to evoke from this instrumental piece is much can to the same elements that would be found within a vocalist’s piece. Ultimately, rather than improving upon the music or seeking merely to mimic the way in which a vocalist would sing a song, the reader should engage with the understanding that the root intention of instrumental music, with regards to providing experience similar to that which would be found within a vocalist piece, is first to understand the fact that music is comprised of various elements; some of which are represented in a different format when they are a part of vocal music as compared to whether they are part of instrumental music. In seeking to bridge this gap, the individual musician is able to focus upon these core compliments as a means of creating a singularity between the two different formats. Roger Scruton and Anthyony Storr’s piece on the elements of instrumental music roughly engages the reader with an understanding of the core points that have thus far been discussed. However, an additional point that these authors note is the fact that the pitch of the music must keep in mind the fact that the modulation that a particular instrument has as compared to the human voice is far greater. As such, it comes as little surprise that the range of the instrumental piece in question is somewhat limited. Whereas the piano could make use of multiple octaves to express the piece, the music instead maintains a voice-like focus upon a certain range of notes that most closely mimics the range that a human vocalist could hope to reach within a normal range. As with each of the other factors that have thus far been discussed and analyzed within this brief analysis, it can be definitively understood that the approach of the pianist, and indeed of the original composer for that matter, was to provide the listener with a uniquely instrumental piece that closely mimicked the way in which a vocalist could have engaged with the music (Gerwin 225). In crafting the piece in this manner, the listener is able to appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches and come to a more broad understanding of the fact that either an instrumental approach or a vocalist can evoke many of the same feelings/emotions that their counterparts can within a piece of music. The ultimate intention of the composer was not to create a piece that negated the need for a vocalist; rather, it was instead to create a piece that showed the full range and complexity of emotions and feeling that a simple instrument could provide as well. Naturally, this process was not engaged via a simple comparison to the way in which a vocalist engages with the music; rather, core elements of a vocalist’s style and the manner through which he/she is able to incorporate pitch, timbre, dynamics, and emotion into the piece were mimicked as a means of allowing the piano to equally represent this litany of different representations. From the information that is thus far been presented, the reader can come to the firm understanding of the fact that the differentials between instrumental in local music are somewhat less than might originally be interpreted. By utilizing pitch, range, dynamics, and breath like pauses within the music, the composer and musician is able to represent an instrumental piece that is surprisingly similar to the way in which a musician would engage with it. Although it is of course impossible to represent an instrumental piece that is identical to the way in which a vocalist would perform, the level of similarity that is thus far been denoted is helpful in understanding the fact that a level of mimicry is able to decrease the differential that would otherwise exist between these two. Rather than understanding a far divide between these two forms of music, the composers of instrumental music are oftentimes keen to minimize the difference so that a distinctly “sung” version of a song or melody can be represented; notably without the presence of a vocalist. Works Cited GERWEN, ROB VAN. "Hearing Musicians Making Music: A Critique Of Roger Scruton On Acousmatic Experience." Journal Of Aesthetics & Art Criticism 70.2 (2012): 223-230. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. Gordon, Christopher. "Anthony Storr, The Dynamics Of Creation." International Journal Of Cultural Policy 16.1 (2010): 32-34.Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. 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