The priniciple of Inderterminacy
The principle of Indeterminacy in Music
The old music is based on the same principle as the old Newtonian physics
There was a belief that the physical world of electrons and particle velocity could be known in an absolute sense. And then the Principle of Indeterminacy turned physics upside down for scientists realized that knowing the physical universe was by definition impossible. The same way one can not know the face of God in any absolute provable fashion.
If one were to record and study the wave patterns of a classical music performance and analyze them, through repetitions of the same work of music played by the same person one would see that each performance was slightly different, like every flower of the same species is different. In fact there is no way to make it the same if you try. It is the true law of nature. Music that seeks to perform pieces with absolute rigidity to specific interpretation and land all the notes exactly each time is a chasing of the old dream. This results in trying to perform music in such a way that you prove its truth and validity. This may seem to occur on the audible level but underneath a totally other phenomena is occurring.
The improvising musician not only admits the unrepeatable aspect of events but actually embraces, magnifies, and worships this aspect of nature through their approach to musical performance. We are always searching for those chance moments where God will reveal itself, the veil will part, and true divinity can be witnessed. All the artist can do is cultivate a process that invites these chance encounters and keep his/her eyes and ears wide open to hear the music beyond the notes and rhythm.
The old music is based on the same principle as the old Newtonian physics
There was a belief that the physical world of electrons and particle velocity could be known in an absolute sense. And then the Principle of Indeterminacy turned physics upside down for scientists realized that knowing the physical universe was by definition impossible. The same way one can not know the face of God in any absolute provable fashion.
If one were to record and study the wave patterns of a classical music performance and analyze them, through repetitions of the same work of music played by the same person one would see that each performance was slightly different, like every flower of the same species is different. In fact there is no way to make it the same if you try. It is the true law of nature. Music that seeks to perform pieces with absolute rigidity to specific interpretation and land all the notes exactly each time is a chasing of the old dream. This results in trying to perform music in such a way that you prove its truth and validity. This may seem to occur on the audible level but underneath a totally other phenomena is occurring.
The improvising musician not only admits the unrepeatable aspect of events but actually embraces, magnifies, and worships this aspect of nature through their approach to musical performance. We are always searching for those chance moments where God will reveal itself, the veil will part, and true divinity can be witnessed. All the artist can do is cultivate a process that invites these chance encounters and keep his/her eyes and ears wide open to hear the music beyond the notes and rhythm.