Listening Report: Philip Glass

 

Philip Glass uses instruments which is probably why, at first, his music is not totally appalling for people who are only used to western music or non-avantgarde music. But what he does in many of his pieces is repetition. Or at least it sounds very similar. It varies, of course, but in itself, it sounds pretty much the same. But it is different than a pop song for example. Because in many ways, for the westernized ear, the parts of songs (even if they are one song) sound different – or at least distinguishable enough for us to say, “oh this is at the beginning, or the bridge, or the end, or the chorus”. This is not the case with Glass’s pieces – even if they sound familiar in the way they are created, upon first listen.

 

This also reminded me of the self-similarity we talked about in class, and I feel like it is reflected in Philip Glass's pieces very well. I feel like I already describes this when I talked about distinguishing parts, but when skipping through these 16-minute-long videos, it only sounds as though the video froze for a moment and then continued playing at the same part it started from.

 

Apart from that, I also get a kind of Sharman vibe from his pieces. The repetition of topics and the rhythmical steadiness are nothing new. It is often used to bring people into a meditative state and if I really listen to a piece of his from start to finish – perhaps even with headphones – and try to relax and kind of fall into this music, I could get to this trance as well.

 

This is why we appreciate music so much; I think. It is in some form a mind-expanding entity (even in little doses). Philip Glass just amplifies this phenomenon by exaggerating the parts (chorus) that have this potential. And that is why they are so mesmerizing. He went into the extreme – cut almost everything in a song that doesn't have enough mind-expansion potential – and gives it its own room to play.

 

I also don’t think that this music is not an attempt to corrupt or agitate people by showing that music can be music without being typically western. These pieces, we’ve listened to have the potential to make people feel big feelings if they are received in the right capacity. Such as in a great concert hall.  And I think that’s fantastic.