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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.
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