Monday, May 18, 2009

Honk if You Love Atonal Music

I met someone on Sunday who is getting his PhD in music composition and is writing his dissertation on atonal music. He claims that the only reason people dislike atonal music is because they've been trained for centuries to like tonal music. That's kind of like saying that the only reason people like salt is because they've been putting it on their food for a long time. I tend to think that the real reason there is not much interest in atonal music is that, like T.S. Elliot's poetry, you have to study it for hours to get anything out of it. I must admit that I am not the most experienced when it comes to modern atonal or "meta-tonal"(?) composition. I'd love to give it another try if anyone has any suggestions for composers.

ps If anyone with ginormous monitors is still experiencing Mohammed Ali scalp at the bottom of their screen, please let me know.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm on a 24" monitor right now, and I don't see any Mohammed Ali. I do, however, see a gross-looking picture of the inside of a McRib sandwich. And I thought those things looked bad on the outside!

MKShelley said...

Again.. ugh with the McRib!

Also on a 24" monitor and NO Ali!

Eva Aurora said...

I find atonal music to be so useful, mostly in "B" movies involving hilariously green-screened monsters and a science fiction theme.

I may be wrong about exactly what atonal music is, but isn't it when you let your very young child loose on a synthesizer?