tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10680113.post4187104381464193351..comments2024-03-23T11:40:13.092-05:00Comments on Musical Assumptions: Ira Glass Interviews His Cousin PhilipElaine Finehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14248422399226824168noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10680113.post-36641470254849101882012-02-02T21:49:42.311-06:002012-02-02T21:49:42.311-06:00I love what you've written here in response. ...I love what you've written here in response. I see what you mean--and yes, it has to be best to simply "go about your business and not worry what your face looks like." Well said.Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10680113.post-41501646046498450882012-02-01T21:10:18.607-06:002012-02-01T21:10:18.607-06:00What got me first was they way Glass learned from ...What got me first was they way Glass learned from Boulanger something she specifically did not say, but he UNDERSTOOD what she meant. <br /><br />The whole relationship between technique and style is a big deal for me as a composer. For me "style" just happens and I use technique all the time, though it is not something I think about consciously, unless I have a problem to solve. I have never heard something this basic to writing music articulated quite this way before. It is so honest.<br /><br />What struck me on the side of the head was the fear that everything that I do might actually be only a series of accidents. <br /><br />Glass's confession that he tries constantly and fails miserably at not "sounding like Philip Glass" is something that I have also experienced (trying not to sound like me, that is. I have never tried to sound like Philip Glass). The experience of composing is sometimes like looking at the same face in the mirror day after day. Some days it is familiar, some days it is strange, some days it is grotesque, some days it is friendly. You can put a mask of make-up on it, I guess (but I never think of that), or you can go about your business and not worry about what your face looks like. It is unique, after all.Elaine Finehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14248422399226824168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10680113.post-5535291481734318782012-02-01T20:47:12.212-06:002012-02-01T20:47:12.212-06:00This is fascinating, though of course I'm very...This is fascinating, though of course I'm very curious what struck you about it. This struck me, particularly: "Getting the voice isn't hard, it's getting rid of the damn thing. Because once you've got the voice then you're kind of stuck with it." Interesting from Glass, given the way he keeps on cranking it out. To me, he does seem stuck; unlike, say John Adams, who has been able to move on. I stupidly never thought it bothered him, as a composer--it certainly has bothered me, in listening to his work.Susan Scheidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09250142489341777926noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10680113.post-26703594463933798062012-02-01T10:19:50.003-06:002012-02-01T10:19:50.003-06:00I heard that interview, too, and found it fascinat...I heard that interview, too, and found it fascinating. You posted the real heart of it here.<br /><br />"In order to arrive at a personal style, you have to have a technique to begin with."<br /><br />"You're hearing the predilection of the composer to resolve a technical problem in a highly personal way." <br /><br />"If you don't have a basis on which to make to make the choice, then you don't have a style at all, you have a series of accidents." :-)<br /><br />"the difficulty we have is how we continue to learn"<br /><br />This was a fascinating glimpse into a composer's mind -- not only how he thinks about the process of composing, but how he perceives himself in the continuum of Western music.<br /><br />Thanks for posting and commenting - this gave me the opportunity to think about it again.peregrinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05310871394184407035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10680113.post-62160022625818222632012-02-01T09:09:49.192-06:002012-02-01T09:09:49.192-06:00Thanks very much for finding and posting on this i...Thanks very much for finding and posting on this interview and giving the link to the transcript. That excerpt you put up is wonderful, and it never occurred to me Ira and Philip might be cousins!Lyle Sanford, RMThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312150272934828223noreply@blogger.com