Over the course of your lifetime your auditory complex learns your preferences in terms of what you want to focus on in environment and music. We can make a lot of technical comparisons like the way AI learns our likes and dislikes: Music, Shopping, Foods, and more. Every day our ears filter sounds. And each of us develop our own “playlist” during the course of our lives.
Perhaps the most distinctive element of music is the one that gives nuance to our daily lives. Our ears never really sleep. They interpret the world, keep us safe, and give ongoing descriptions as we make our way through the day. When you ask yourself what your favorite song or singer or type of music is, consider the timbre.
The Camera can’t be equated with the Phonograph if you consider artists were capturing images and likenesses for centuries. The phonograph is more like the first canvas that can hold a performance or a moment in perpetuity. It came sixty years after the camera. It’s been here for one hundred years. Now the camera and the digital audio station are about on par. Music hasn’t caught up with art by any means. It’s just getting started.
This week’s episode makes a wide arc from classical musicians and how they determine authenticity in an orchestral audition scenario, to how non musicians listen to music and determine which artists earn the badge of “authentic” in a variety of genres. More in the show notes at https://accelerandocast.com/show_notes/
What better way to mark 100 episodes in the Accelerando Podcast than to feature Pittsburgh’s son Henry Mancini. I also talked to another great musician who hails from Aliquippa- George Perilli, when he performed for Chambersite’s Diamante Jazz Quartet this weekend. Joined by Kevin Clark, Lilly Abreu and Bob Insko, they played for the Roaring Twenties Garden Gala at the Northland Public Library. Enjoy this episode and please continue to support live music!
The Italian word, sprezzatura, was invented in the sixteenth century by Castiglione, a writer. His book: The Book of the Courtier describes the perfect courtier, and uses the word to define and group the qualities that exemplify him. The word is popular today in fashion, and is useful to musicians who also strive to please their listeners. In today’s podcast we explore musicians that display these qualities in particular. Ben Ratliff’s book Every Song Ever explores a number of artists and sprezzatura.
Daniel Kahnemann wrote about how we make decisions, and he won s Nobel Prize for his work on Behavioral Economics. With his passing last week we are thinking about his impact, and contribution to the world. When I began this podcast in April 2022 it was Kahneman who inspired this first episode. If his book could change the way Major Baseball Leagues choose their players, maybe Major Symphony Orchestras could follow suit.
Composers often use a single repeated note in a piece of music, and it usually tends to get the attention of the audience in a particular manner. Sometimes it’s soft, other times loud, but it’s always persistent. Today we talk about some well known pieces that use the One Note
It seems appropriate to post a podcast about the masterpieces Bach dedicated on the same date (March 24) a little over three hundred years ago, 1721 to be exact. They were first published in 1850, one hundred years after Bach’s death. The original scores were passed down haphazardly, we don’t know where they went after the Margrave of Brandenburg died. The pieces were not listed among his belongings, or to whom he left them. Fortunately, many years later, a student of the composer came across them, and eventually gave them to Princess Ann Amalia. After that we have a clear lineage, but some drama occurred during the second World War as a librarian flees Berlin in an attempt to save the precious relics of Bach’s legacy. Today’s episode dives into the music in the hopes you will listen further. It’s also a week where Bach’s memory is celebrated worldwide with spontaneous concerts in subways and other venues. The trend began in 2010 when Dale Henderson played all six cello suites in the subways of New York City. He invited others to join and the next year he had 2 cellists join him. In 2012 he had 13 musicians playing in the subways. In 2013 there were 40 in New York and 3 in other cities. In 2014 there were 77 in NYC, Canada, Germany and Taiwan. The next year thousands of musicians in 150 cities joined the celebration. In 2016 the party was extended to multiple days. This year we’re playing from March 21-31. You can take part in the fun by attending a performance or playing Bach in honor of his birth 334 years ago. I hope you enjoy the episode. More in the show notes at https://accelerandocast.com/show_notes/