A look at Experimentalism

When I chose to take this class, I had no idea on what to expect from it. After the first day, however, I somehow had less of an idea of what to expect from it. I inspected the examples of Avant-Garde art presented to me by our teacher with a mixed sense of wonder and confusion. Often times I would ask myself just what the hell I was looking at and at least once, I had to leave the classroom because it was too much for me. When the presentation had finished, we were asked to label what we felt were the differences between “Avant-Garde” music and “Experimentalism” music. For my post, I will explore moreso the latter, as I feel it relates most directly to my experiences in during that first class.

Avant-Garde music is music of experiments and new ideas. First developed during the dawn of the 20^th century, it was a departure from the norm. Experimentalism, though, is a departure of the norm of Avant-Garde. Some composers, such as John Cage and David Nicholls, felt like Avant-Garde was too rooted in tradition. “…(An) extreme position in the tradition”, Nicholls noted, but a position nonetheless. 

The term “Experimentalism”  first came into use around 1955. In my observation, two words can be used to describe it: “audacious”. Experimental music is Music with an unforeseeable outcome.

Take the John Cage piece 4’ 33” for only one example. First written in 1952, no two performances are ever the same. Why?

Because not a single note of music was ever written down. Three movements, all tacet, the performer sitting there doing nothing, letting the environment perform for them.

It certainly must’ve been a shock to those who first heard this piece. In a way, this is John Cage trolling the audience. To this day, there are some people who refuse to call 4’33” music.

4’33” is but one example of Experimentalism, music so unusual that people don’t know what to make of it. And it is only one of countless ways Experimentalism is so audacious.

And it’s not only performances that are so unusual, but also the way it is notated. Even in Avant-Garde music, standard music notation is typically adhered to. Experimentalism however, though standard notation is used, it is still a whole other matter entirely. In common forms, the sheet music consists of a few ideas plus a list of instructions that wouldn’t be out of place in Ikea. Other manuscripts, though,

…look as though they belong in a museum.

There is no doubt about it: from electronic pieces for loudspeakers to a series of sequences repeated ad nauseum, Experimentalism is unpredictable. Not to say Avant-Garde music isn’t audacious in its own right, but Experimental music is even more so. There is a sense of security with Avant-Garde that is incinerated with Experimentalism:  the listener comes in expecting one thing and ends up getting something completely different.

I had a similar experience in my first Avant-Garde class. I came in expecting a straight forward explanation of the class and what was expected of us. And that’s exactly what I got…after one of the most in-your-face Power Points I had ever experienced.  It was audacious and unpredictable, just like Experimentalism. And I walked out feeling shaken, but better prepared for what I may hear and see next. And I look forward to it.

I had no idea what I would get myself in to that first class period. This is also true for Experimentalism: there’s no telling what will happen.