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.
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