Re: anti-looper bigots

[stanitarium@earthlink.net]

well put!!
i'm savin' this to my 'loopere' folder

-----Original Message-----
>From: kkissinger@kevinkissinger.com
>Sent: Aug 5, 2009 10:56 PM
>To: Loopers-Delight@loopers-delight.com
>Subject: Re: anti-looper bigots
>
>Quoting Brian Good <bsgood@gmail.com>:
>>
>> Per Boysen wrote:
>>
>>> Very interesting historical two cents. Wonder what those early Baroque
>>> era people would think about the multi glissandi THX jingle! :-)
>>
>> They'd be hiding under the theater seats, I imagine. :-)
>>
>Actually, in the pre-Renaissance era, they chanted in parallel fifths  
>in a style known as "organum".  (A popular example are the monks in  
>Monty Python -- they are chanting in organum -- stopping only to beat  
>their own heads with boards. I don't think the boards were authentic  
>-- however the organum is.)
>
>The reason that parallel fifths and octaves are avoided in  
>contrapuntal music is that this motion destroys the independence of  
>the voices.
>
>So, to baroque ears, parallel fifths would likely have sounded "old  
>fashioned".  And, yes -- in choral singing (other than organum) a  
>careless (or random) parallel octave or fifth causes tuning problems  
>for the singers. (usually, when a choir runs across a "problem  
>passage" the culprit is usually a parallel fifth, parallel octave, or  
>some kind of poor voice-leading.)
>
>For any  Moondog fans -- he was really into classical counterpoint and  
>on my Moondog CD liner notes Moondog is quoted as saying that  
>voice-leading was very important to him.
>
>The power chord is a perfect example of parallel motion -- it is  
>parallel motion that blends into a mass sound.  That is, you don't  
>hear independent notes so much as one big, powerful sound.
>
>Popular songs such as "Iron Man" and "Smoke on the Water" derive their  
>sound from parallel fifths.
>
>Interestingly, in the twentieth century, parallelism returned as a  
>style.  What goes around, comes around.
>
>Hindemith, as I recall, wished to avoid parallel octaves and fifths  
>because it was "old fashioned" and has an ancient sound.
>
>Forgive me for rambling on -- I really enjoy counterpoint and, in  
>fact, the countrapuntal possibilities of live-looping inspires me when  
>I work with loops.
>
>-- Kevin
>