A Rambling Response

I approached the Remix reading from my familiar perspective of classical music, a world in which I have felt this tug and pull very keenly. Reading copyright and remixing arguments brought up issues I have struggled with for years, which I now share with you.

As a classical musician, I was taught in a very RO world. The music is to be played as it is written, as exactly as possible. Hours are spent honing every inflection, attempting to bring the music to life just as the composer envisioned. Access to music is regulated by the publisher. Jazz, as has been mentioned, is the opposite. Jazz breathes the life and imagination of the performer directly into the work of a composer or fellow musician, whereas in classical music, the performer is neatly tucked away behind the identity of the composer. Jazz was too scary for me, so I followed all the rules to be an ideal classical player.

In this RO world, performers and composers are the experts speaking to the masses. The audience is expected to absorb, observe, appreciate, but not participate (except in the case of John Cage, but he's another story).

We talked in class last week about how schools are being told to cut music programs in order to meet the "No Child Left Behind" requirements. Music programs have been the first to go for years, and it bothers me to no end. There is so much that is taught through music, not to mention it aids in cognitive development of students, but that's not the soapbox I'm on right now. Losing this early education does a number of things. First, anyone who has tried a musical instrument even for a little bit, understands the effort required to make truly beautiful music. By not teaching even a basic history of music, which can be accomplished through a performance class, we are losing the foundations of where we are now culturally.

My concern is that our current RW culture is losing valuable material to learn from and remix, which is why pop music is as uninspired and repetitive as it is. I'm passionate about watching cultural expressions as an understanding for the socio-political events of each generation; I just happen to be more passionate about those happening 100 or more years ago. But seriously, how much richer would we all be if we understood how what John Cage was doing in the 1950s paved the way for our current participatory culture? Or think back even to bands like Queen or the Beatles, who actually knew how to play their instruments and write meaningful (or simply entertaining) lyrics.

Sousa criticizing the loss of amateur was a powerful thought. As a professional, you could expect that he would want to protect his status as such and not care as much about the people sitting in a living room, doing a hack job of a Mozart string quartet. However, he is bemoaning the loss of ability for people to create culture. This is the argument I have against current pop music: that people have not been educated enough to either create something new or to intelligently remix something old, thereby creating something new.

And don't get me started on John Williams. Williams is everybody's favorite composer and conductor, having written scores for everything from Jaws to Harry Potter. Don't get me wrong, John Williams is good at what he does. But what he does isn't what most people think he does. John Williams is a remixer. His notable them from Jaws comes straight from the 4th movement of Dvorak's 9th Symphony. Harry Potter from Saint-Saens and Star Wars from Mendelssohn. The problem I have is that Williams is hailed as a visionary and original composer. I think it would be so much more powerful if people understood the references and how brilliant he is at weaving them into new compositions. Because he really is.

But then there is copyright. I would like to be an upstanding, law-abiding citizen, really I would. And yet, I'm not. For you see, I make copies of my orchestral parts. This is a habit I have had for years, having learned it from wise teachers and fellow players. Against any reading of copyright law, I am in violation. The reason we copy our music is to have it always on hand in order to be ready for auditions or the odd concert/rehearsal we're called to play at the last minute. I also use my copies to prepare my students for the same. None of us have used the copied music for anything but good purposes and it makes sense why we do it, but I still feel that pull in my stomach whenever I think of how much music I have that is illegally copied.

I found it interesting that Sousa was the one pushing for greater copyright legislation. Sousa, whose arguably most famous and recognizable piece, Stars and Stripes Forever, was used in a Velveeta commercial. Probably not what he had in mind when he was testifying to Congress. Who do you think took the money for the rights to use it?

Tied to the copyright issue is one of accessibility. I am very involved with a community orchestra, and there have been numerous times when we were not able to play great works because of the prohibitive cost of rental, or the fact that copyright law has a piece completely out of commission. It is frustrating, because our mission as a not-for-profit organization is to do good in the community by creating a place where people have access to play and listen to incredible pieces of our living history.

I understand artists, composers, musicians, etc. needing to earn a living, which is why a sternly RO culture makes sense. And at the same time, I'm pulled to the other side of arguing the need for access to the culture, so that it is not lost and so that new works can be created. In all, I'm not sure which side of the argument I'm on. Maybe there is some happy middle ground somewhere that hasn't quite been discovered (or crafted) just yet.

So that's my soapbox. Related or not, it was what I was thinking about as I read the chapters, since it is one of the things I am most excited about.

P.S. Darwin mentioned Cliff Evans. For those who haven't seen his exhibit, here is the link to Cliff Evans' latest work, Citizen. You can also see videos of his work on Vimeo.

P.P.S. Peter Schickele, aka PDQ Bach, is a great example of classical remix. Here and here are excellent examples.