NormanKliman -> RE: Does over analising/intellectualizing kill flamenco? (Jan. 16 2009 0:20:31)
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Hi Ailsa, Fascinating subject you've brought up, about the appeal of music. People's reactions to intervals in pitch may be a more subjective matter (like humor) but I think that one's impression of intervals of time may be much more objective. If we simplify things to quarter notes, eighths, triplets and sixteenths (and quintuplets for flamenco), we're talking about a very limited range of possibilities, the perception of which, IMO, falls easily within the capacity of the average human being (whether or not he or she realizes it). So, I think that a very large part of the allure of music has to do with precise subdivisions of a steady beat because the absence of distractions frees the mind to engage in abstract thinking. It's like hearing someone speak with an odd accent: You spend so much time paying attention to the pronunciation that you're not able to concentrate on the message. In the case of music, distractions would be imprecise phrasing, but I once read in a book on carpentry that a well-built house makes people feel at ease because, on a subconcious level, you're always going to be distracted by poor workmanship (unaligned joints, dribble marks in the paint, etc.) It seems that some of life's most exciting moments involve knowing what's going to happen but not knowing how it's going to happen, and I think this is the case quite often in flamenco. I don't like defining what is and isn't flamenco, but I'd go so far as to say that a big part of flamenco involves coming up with a great ending and working backwards from there in order to present it. Sorry for running on like this, but I hope somebody else will have something to add (or disagree!), as I'm very interested in the subject.
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