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Alvin Lucier’s Nothing is Real

Reem Zedan 7711552

Prof. Dr. Bernd Herzogenrath

The Future of [American] Music

02 February 2022

 

Alvin Lucier’s Nothing is Real

            In the beginning of the video, Lucier is seen recording and playing the piano. At first I thought he was playing snippets of different classical music, but later realized it was the melody of ”Strawberry Fields Forever” by The Beatles. The pop song is played in segments that are connected by frequent long pauses. These pauses emphasize sections of the melody and change the dynamic of the song. The sections end up having their own identity and become separated from their collective identity, which is the song. Another aspect to be noticed is the frequent use of the piano’s foot pedals to create a reverb sound effect.

After playing the segments, Lucier utilizes a teapot for further production of unique sounds. He views the teapot as a room and the lid as its rooftop, moving the lid changes the quality of the sounds and provides the listener an example of how music can change without a roof top and how the space and dimensions of the room influences different sounds. The teapot effect to me sounds very echoey and different but I admire the creative intake and the unconventional way to create music.

The musician, Lucier, stated that the teapot is his stradivarius. Personally, I find that a bit weird but also quite intriguing. If a teapot can be used as a musical instrument then what other unconventional object out there is just sitting there waiting to be able to produce sounds. This piece also raises questions such as what makes an object classify as a musical instrument and what is music anyway. It challenges the definition of music and broadens the spectrum of instruments. Although I did not really enjoy the music, I appreciate the aftermath of the creative aspects and how they have the potential to develop societal definitions and perspectives.
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