August 11ths

8/11/1998

Book of interviews by Bill Duckworth, "Thinking Music"...section about Phil Glass. Interesting that he studied for years with Boulanger and then did something completely different. Lesson: Do something completely different and forget about theory. 

[8/11/2025: I’ve had a change about postmodern approaches to music, but not in visual art. “Anything goes” better in art than in music–at least for me at this point. Art generally is easier from a craft standpoint if all your focus is on ideas and concepts–which is different from generating art with zero art direction. With conceptual art, you are only the art director and the work is fabricated. With AI music, you are the producer only in the sense that you write prompts and curate the results. There is a fabrication process but there are no humans in the loop who are not anonymous or invisible. This is the biggest issue with AI music. Who are these musicians?]    

8/11/2014

Bass players and those into fishing--here's your next bass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8/11/2016

In the classical and baroque periods, major 7th chords were almost never used. It was only until Impressionism (Debussy, Ravel) did it become an acceptable sound, and of course it is a fixture of jazz. 70s pop songs used major 7ths (Stevie Wonder, Todd Rundgren, even Paul McCartney), then faded out in the 80s. Dominant 7ths are more common perhaps because of pop’s evolution from blues. Major 7ths tend to work best in the melody, and not necessarily as a part of the chord.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slippery Slope, based on Dynaxiom 2878. The vibe is Barrett-era Floyd with the characteristic descending chromatic line. The idea is that one can get a clear view of the past only at the end of the journey. But that doesn’t mean there are no other roads. The one I had been thinking about at the time was the arc of 20th century American history, particularly the postwar period, particularly the mid-1960s and later, which had a strange mix of hope and paranoia in a purple haze, that persists in the 2020s.

Songs are danced speech.--Alan Lomax 

 AI treatment with brass:

 

*** 

8/11/2026

Last day of the Songday diary, started 8/11/2024. It's good to bring things to a close, perhaps starting them again in the future. It also a frees the space and takes the place for something else, something new, a new series.

To have a routine doesn't mean you don't occasionally have to change it.