Micro Music Laboratories
Micro Music Laboratories
Ethnic Music

Home

Site Map

Editorial

ETHNIC MUSIC

The Science of Music

The Scope of the
Science of Music

The Inner Breath of Music

The Function of the
Inner Breath in Music

The Scientific Aspect
in Music

The Perfect Musical
Description

The Twofold System
of Music Analysis
of the Composer

The Aspect of
Humanities in Music

The True Field of
Science in Music

The Sociology of Music

The Ecology of Music

The Physics of Music

The Physiology of Music

The Economy of Music

Music Critique

Dance in Music

 

Peter Huebner
Founder of the
Micro Music Laboratories

MAIN LINKS

 






  The Science of Music
       
 
The Economy of Music


   
 
The economy of music is concerned with the economical application of the musical parameters.
Here the following principle applies: whatever can be expressed with a motif, does not require a melody or even a sequence, and what can be expressed with a tone should not be expressed with a motif.

 
The Economical Application of the Musical Parameters
 
 
The precisely proportioned application of the musical elements is the decisive factor for the clarity of the musical statement.

 
The Clarity of the Musical Statement
 
 
Just as the highest concentration of carbon creates the clarity of the diamond, while the lack of density in carbon causes the opaque blackness of coal, likewise the high concentration of the musical elements in the form of musical simplicity makes the composition “transparent”: makes it perfect music.

 
Concentrating the Musical Elements
 
 
The importance of proportioning the parameters of space and time has been previously described, and the same importance applies to the proportioning of all the other parameters - where “proportioning” does not mean equality or equalization, as for example in twelve-tone-music.

 
Proportioning the Musical Parameters
 
 
Just as the head has a dimension of tasks different from that of the foot, in the same way the motif and the sound belong to different dimensions, and the sequence too is of quite a different order of magnitude than the motif.

 
Orders of Magnitude in Music
 
 
The effect of proportioning in such a way, that all components are of equal importance, is demonstrated by twelve-tone-music and its further development, the serial composing technique.

 
Equating the Parameters in Twelve-Tone Music
 
 
And what happens when, for example, the foot gains a greater importance in music than the head, and even begins to rule over the head, is demonstrated by the entire entertainment music.

 
The Reversal of the Natural Musical Order
 
 
The economy of music not only comprises the entire important field of the proper proportioning of the sound, motif, melody, sequence, and harmony, but also the proportioning of the motifs amongst each other, the tonalities amongst each other, the sequences amongst each other - and even the tones amongst each other.

 
The Total Range of the Economy of Music
 
 
In addition, the economy of music also concerns the investment of energy by the listener during the hearing process.
If the listener, for example, has to resist dissonances, the entire concert for him is uneconomical, and mentally-spiritually he has made a “bad deal.” And only if, after listening to music, he is happy, strengthened and full of energy, will he have made a “good deal” mentally-spiritually.

 
The Energy Investment of the Listener During the Hearing Process
 
 
Whether the listener “wins” or “loses” while listening to music, depends on the natural organization of the compositional parameters in the musical work - on the integration of the composition, and on the persuasive power of the piece of music: it depends on the entire economy of music itself.

 
Economy of Listening to Music
 
 
“Where language ends, music begins.”

E.T.A. Hoffmann


   
     
     
                                 
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                     
                                     
  With kind permission of AAR EDITION INTERNATIONAL
© 1998 –  MICRO MUSIC LABORATORIES



 
.