"How in the hell do they do that?" How can anyone possibly take a few strands of string and wood and have so much influence on how people react? This the ultimate power that music creatives possess. The even scarier part is that the creation of music seems to have the same affect on everyone—it makes us react—that is the sauce and why musicians are respected and revered all in the same breath.
Music as Rhetoric
The appreciation of music is perhaps one of the most misunderstood aspects of its existence. We can truly fall in love with a song without having any deep theoretical understanding of how it was created, the key, the time signature or even cover the full breadth of the instrumentation used—however, we can still benefit from its existence—even more so we begin to embrace the "Illusion of Life" in which we began to symbolize life experiences through music.
How do musicians conjure this magic on a constant basis to influence, change, transport and excite people in many ways that we can do not do ourselves? In some way shape of form sometimes the process is very random, but in most cases there is a foundation or formula that helps to achieve desired results. One of the key elements according Snellnow's perspective, music as rhetoric is a strong catalyst to how arrangements are composed in order make the listener react in some way, shape or form. Simply put, the use of intensity and release is one of the most important factors.
Prince performing "Computer Blue" from the movie "Purple Rain"
I had the pleasure or producing and recording arguably one of the most prolific musicians of our time, Prince, at his studio Paisley Park Studios in 2013. I got to witness up-close how the process of one of the most celebrated and decorated recording artists of our time created and recorded music. One thing that stood out the most was his understanding of congruity; or using a combination of both comical lyrics, political awareness, and heartfelt ballads, could reach the heart and soul of each listener. He simply makes us react.
Knowing that musicians have the ability to evoke change and feeling within our culture, do you feel that all musicians have a social responsibility regarding the works that they create and promote?
Derek, how amazing that you worked with Prince! Congrats on that. I love that you chose "Computer Blue" to share here. Simply mesmerizing, as were so many of his tracks. I always mention him when people ask me to name my favorite guitarists of all time, frequently to pushback like "I think of him more as a singer," or "more as a performer," or "more as an artist." He was the complete package.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, too, that you note his understanding of congruity. Delivering messages and feeling as art was certainly another of his geniuses.
To your question, I do think that musicians have some level of social responsibility when it comes to what they're promoting, but I also wonder whether we hold them to too high a standard sometimes. I mean, don't we all have some level of social responsibility for what we make, do, etc., when those actions impact others? I suspect we'll all have failures in that area. As humans. I'd like to think there's responsibility for all of us, but also that we get some grace along the way.