Skip to main content

Listening Report of Alvin Lucier’s “Nothing is Real”

 

Patryk Merci

The Future of American Music

Matriculation number: 7613841

Dr. Herzogenrath

WS 22/23

 

Listening Report of Alvin Lucier’s “Nothing is Real”

 

Lucier’s „Nothing is Real” does not reveal much about the nature of the piece before it actually concludes, as the piece starts and continues through the use of a piano. However, the truly futuristic trait is revealed at the very end, when Lucier steps down from the piano and replicates its sounds by the use of an amplified tea pot.

 

The piece starts with fast paced high notes, which almost serve as a warm up for the composer before he starts going deeper into the sounds, as the following rhythm is created by low notes which are much slower and create a sad atmosphere. This sad aura then turns into an ominous and threatening rhythm, but it suddenly stops and leads the listener back to the high notes, which prevent the emergence of a depressive atmosphere. Those new high notes are much happier now, and they are organized into a positive rhythm which completely changes the appearance of the piece. This happy rhythm reminds of a sound which accompanies dream scenes in movies, because it creates a very promising and pleasant mood, just like spring in nature. Nevertheless, this happy atmosphere does not last very long, as the low notes eventually slowly make their way back into the piece, almost as if they were supposed to remind the listener that happiness is not everlasting. Finally, the piano stops and there is a short pause before the piece continues, this time by the help of a tea pot. A careful readjustment of the top cover allows for a manipulation of sound, creating an organized rhythm, very much like that of the piano. The sound stays pretty much the same, but is a little quieter, which is very interesting considering the fact that a common household item is able to replicate sounds of a highly complex piano. This practice underlines how beautiful music can also be created without using any traditional instruments, which also truly emphasizes the fact that modern music is evolving and reaching beyond limits of conventional standards.

 

The whole piece really serves as a comparison between sounds created by instruments, and sounds created by conventional items that people use in their everyday life. Lucier also makes sure that it serves as a proof that music can be created everywhere and through the use of every item, not just instruments. In that way, the piece also stays true to its title, because in the end a listener would not be able to distinguish between the sounds of a tea pot and the sounds of a piano, which results in questioning the concept of music and reality in general.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Listening Report on John Oswald: Plexure

 Sarah Kumar Dr. Bernd Herzogenrath The Future of (American) Music 06 Mar. 2023 Listening Report on John Oswald: Plexure According to John Oswald, “[a] plunderphone is a recognizable sonic quote, using the actual sound of something familiar which has already been recorded” (Lecture Slides 18). However, only if the source stays recognizable can it be called plunderphonics. In his album Plexure , several songs are played back and mixed together, thus creating a new sound. This is interesting because while the excerpts of songs that are used are recognizable or at least sound familiar to some degree, played backwards and mashed up as they are in Plexure , they create a new sound. Like on the cover of the album, on which a collage making up a man can be seen, the mixing of different songs played backwards gives a new feeling to something known. The way the songs are mixed makes them unintelligible. The meaning of the words of the original recordings are not able to be compr...
Post a Comment
Read more

John Cage – Inlets

  This does not sound like music to me. Depending on the interpretation of different players or performers, this piece will always sound different. In this case, it sounds to me like someone is walking through a cave with water at the bottom, dragging their feet through it. Sometimes it sounds like water in a toilet bowl, especially when we hear the water in a bigger shell being swished around. These sounds are relaxing in the background, it is like a gentle stream of water. I just wonder what went through the head of the composer while writing this piece. But I guess he had some experimental ideas that are interesting to try out. Those shells are quite pretty, I have never seen such big ones that are not broken. I was surprised when something else happened towards the end of the piece. That tone which came out of the one shell was so clear, it sounded like a trumpet. I didn’t know that shells can sound like that. It was quite beautiful. It was a nice way to end the piece. I di...
Post a Comment
Read more

William Basinski – The Disintegration Loops III

  The Disintegration Loops is a quartet of albums published in 2002 and 2003 by American avant-garde composer William Basinski. The pieces are made up of tape loop recordings that were played over time, with noise and crackles rising as the tape deteriorated. Basinski noticed this effect when attempting to convert his older recordings to digital format. The completion of the recordings coincided with the September 11, 2001 events, which Basinski witnessed and adds a deeper meaning to the composition. The composition is fascinating in many ways and makes the listener lose track of time. The tape loop recording had a very calming effect on me and put me in a trance-like state when I listened to it in its entirety. The tape loop is really soothing, so much so that I didn't even notice the loss of quality when I first listened to it. It makes you forget about time and allows you to really get into the piece capturing the calmness it exudes. You forget or don't really notice how i...
Post a Comment
Read more