Music and Memory
I had a random thought this morning:
Just like photographs, videos and journals, I never really thought about music being another way to store memory… maybe it’s because I don’t do it deliberately (like taking a photograph with the purpose of preserving a memory).. but can it be controlled? Can I or do I seek out music to store my feelings, so I can remember the feelings later on?
To memory:
The photograph is the denotation
The music is the connotation
*Photographs: They are not only denotations because there are many that truly capture the feelings of the moment. However, they do illustrate the context/time period very well
I’m a bit slow since my symphonies were written to store my memories of past events, and only after listening back to it can I vividly remember when I write it and what the story behind them were about.
Where can this be taken further?
August 11th, 2009 at 2:04 am
After reading this, I started thinking about Sound and Memory (actually this comment will be more like a stream of thoughts). Well music is sound..but how about music that is composed of sounds (like real-life sounds?). I can picture a “song” that is purely made of sound recordings not made by instruments. Sounds such as cars passing by, streetcars screeching, door locking, air conditioner….etc etc. oops now i am talking in moments like today terms. Wait and it could totally relate to people you know too. I want to record my grandmother’s laughter, or the sound of my grandpa sweeping the leaves in the backyard. These sounds become memories. I’m sure the are some out there but it would be really cool to construct something that is personal.
October 28th, 2009 at 12:41 am
What you’re describing: The usages of sounds (derived from other than instruments) is already explored greatly in experimental music.
That would be interesting to incorporate with experience design: recreating (or producing from fresh) an experience through a compilation of sounds.
I found this artist randomly today (he mixes found sounds with instruments): http://www.myspace.com/nicolasbernier Check it out
On the side: I actually stumbled across “musique concrète.” It was pioneered by this French composer: Pierre Schaeffer (there’s some of his stuff on Youtube). Many instruments can leave sounds (such as feedbacks when you amplify them), when they resonate long after the instrument itself has struck the original key, they could leave an “aftermath” of really interesting noises that might not resemble the original key, therefore rendering it a bit ambiguous to identify). You can probably hear some of the first feedback plays/experiments with Velvet Underground’s stuff? (The track Heroin?)