Posted by jonvon on July 27, 2001 at 22:57:47:
In Reply to: Re: the great idea that struck me at Village Inn posted by jason on July 26, 2001 at 12:49:24:
: : chaos theory / indeterminancy found in order, mandelbrot, etc
: Does any of this spill into other "forms" (i.e. primitive spirituality, rituals, or rites) ??? I'm going to look up "mandelbrot"
i was thinking about this last night. i kept staring at the ceiling until like almost 4am, i probably should have gotten up again, maybe i would have slept more.
for what its worth, minimalism in classical music actually has strong roots in west african drumming. both philip glass and steve reich studied with african drum gurus as part of their training. their music is highly influenced by all of that.
the african traditions don't really have melody in their songs, at least not the way we usually use it or think of it. melody is often referred to as a "narrator" in western music, it is a voice that tells a story. perhaps in africa the drums and other instruments are traditionally simply used as a backdrop for dancers to tell a story. in other words there is a narration as people are dancing around in costume or what-have-you, but the narration is outside the music. so melody would probably get in the way.
so there is a good connection for you. one armchair quarterback signing out for now...