THE FUTURE IS HERE!
An Undergraduate Music History Class in the Year 2378 A.D.
Introductory Note
Greetings, Medium.com readers! The final week of the 2021 Spring semester for the University of Arizona has arrived. I have thoroughly enjoyed our “MUS 533 — Music of the Twentieth Century” class and I hope that you have likewise enjoyed the blog posts that I have written on various 20th century musical topics. I’d like to thank Dr. Matthew Mugmon for an exceptional class!
What follows is my final project for this class: an anthology of 20th century music compositions that would be included in the syllabus for a 24th century undergraduate music history class. As a final project, you’ll find this blog post much lengthier than my usual blog posts but I hope you will take the time to join me on this completely fantastical journey of what a music history class might look like in the year 2378 A.D. What musical discussions and discourses are occurring? How has history affected musical output? What musical pieces from the 20th century are deemed important? As always, I would love your feedback and insights, so please feel free to include these in the comment section.
The Collegiate Classroom in the 24th century
What does the collegiate classroom look like in the 24th century, you wonder? Similar to today’s virtual classroom environment, all classes continue in the virtual realm. In fact, ALL activities in life occur in the virtual realm (now known as “VR”.) Technology has greatly advanced. Now, virtual images are 3-D and encompass the entire room in which one sits. Imagine our current “surround sound” systems but with “surround visual” added in. This technology provides the feel of sitting in a classroom in a chair right next to a classmate or in a music rehearsal. There is no difference to be noted between this new VR classroom and in-person classrooms. Likewise for family gatherings or occasions such as weddings… there is no noticeable difference between the VR environment and the in-person environment.
Wonderful benefits have resulted from VR technology. Greenhouse gasses have been almost completely eliminated, climate change has been reversed and the skies are once again beautifully clear. There continue to be “Natural Habitater’s” or “NH-er’s” who completely shun technology and continue with in-person lives. But even the NH-er’s are grateful for the advances in VR as they can enjoy life in person with the restoration of nature, minimal threat of viruses and illness; perhaps the biggest advantage for a NH-er is a short commute to their farm or business! Few vehicles are on the road and they are all either wind, solar or electrical powered.
The Academic Calendar in the 24th Century
Due to some unfortunate history in the United States during the 21st century (more to follow on that), the academic calendar changed dramatically. All courses are three weeks in length and students are only allowed to take one course at a time. Students progress at their own pace, whether at the undergraduate or the graduate level. In other words, students may proceed with consecutive three week classes or choose to take breaks between three week classes.
The new academic school year begins on the first day of Summer (termed the Solstice Time Point or STP). Typically, there is a nine week Rejuvenation Time Point (RTP) break from mid-November to mid-January. There is also one three week break between academic years from the beginning of June until the Summer solstice.
Initially, these three week time frames were imperative and out of necessity and practicality secondary to US events and disruptions in collegiate education; but this academic calendar became the standard as life returned to “normal.”
As an aside, the world has changed greatly when we arrive to the 24th century. Wars, persecution, strife have been eliminated. In fact, any persecution at all, whether it be racial, ethnic, gender-based, economic-based, geographic, cultural, etc., is strictly forbidden and carries very heavy penalties if convicted of transgressions.
All country borders are firmly established. There is a world-wide federation of representatives from every single country which gathers monthly. This federation has absolutely no authority over any country but is in place for consultation and to help maintain ongoing world peace. “Life is good”, for the most part, as the trademarked saying goes.
The Beginning of the 2378–2379 Academic Year!
First Class Interaction for “MUSIC 445 — Music of the 20th and 21st Centuries”
Monday, June 21, 2378
(You’ll notice these one hour sessions are called “class interactions” as the learning environment is meant to be collaborative between teachers and students. They are similar to the seminar-style graduate class format.)
Introducing the presentation by Dr. Amanda Mugmon:
Hello, class! Welcome to the first Time Point of the 2378–2379 academic year!
I am Dr. Amanda Mugmon, your professor for “MUSIC 445 — Music of the 20th and 21st Centuries.” I am so excited to start the Solstice Time Point in our VR classroom and journey into the music history of the Experimental era of Western Art Music!
We have a lot to review in this three week Time Point and I look forward to our collaborative discussions! Is everyone’s VR connections working ok? Please note that I will be recording our class interactions. This is for a few reasons. First, we have learned from our own US history that preservation of instructional materials and documents is extremely important. Secondly, some of you may need to miss a class interaction and catch up with the recording at a later time. Please do send me a VR notification if you will be missing class interaction and after you have viewed the recording. Lastly, there are some NH-er’s that will be participating in our class and will need the recordings to review at their in-person class sessions. The leader of the NH-er group would like me to pass along that they would love to have you visit their complex at any time to experience the in-person lifestyle! I hope that you will take the time to do this as it is an amazing opportunity and a mirror into the past. There is a 25 point extra credit bonus for the submission of a written report on your in-person experience, if you so choose. You will need to provide a comparative analysis of the benefits and disadvantages of the VR learning environment in contrast to the in-person learning environment.
Ok, I’d like to move on and discuss our syllabus for this Time Point class. In our next class interaction this Wednesday, I will briefly review the history of the US from approximately 2030 to our present time. We will then focus on how historical events affect musical output and creativity. The following weeks, as you can see, we will discuss different genres of 20th and 21st century Western Art Music. We will learn about composers who were influential for each genre. Our interactive discussions will proceed after my initial brief presentation at the beginning of each class interaction. Remember, class participation is important!
Also, please refer frequently to our VR class site. I will be posting primary source documents for many of the music compositions discussed in class. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of primary sources and this will be an important aspect of your final project for this class!
For the remainder of this class time, I would like to hear a little bit from each one of you. What is your specialization in music? 12-tone Theory? 19-tone Theory? Musicology? Ethnomusicology? Music Education? Historical Performance? Composition? Instrumental Development and Extended Techniques?
(class proceeds with student introductions)
See you on the VR at our next class interaction on Wednesday!
Second Class Interaction — History of the United States from 2030 to the present and effects on music culture
Wednesday, June 23, 2378
Hello, class! Today, we will be discussing how historical events can affect and shape musical creativity and output. First, a brief review of the Western Art Music eras and their approximate time frames. Please remember that these dates are somewhat fluid and there can be overlap in the transitions between consecutive eras.
I know that an overview of the eras of Western Art Music has been discussed in the MUS 345 — Survey of Western Art Music Time Point class. This class will focus specifically on The Experimental era of the 20th and early 21st century and The GUS era and censorship of music. We will also touch briefly on the early Restoration/Renewal period.
The GUS era and censorship of music
Perhaps the most glaring example of the intersection of historical events and musical output would be the GUS period. Of course, you know from your history classes that GUS is the abbreviation for the “Great United States.” This period began on January 6th, 2030 with a coup and the overthrow of the constitutional and democratic government of the United States… just nine years after the initial coup attempt at the US Capitol in 2021. Society literally changed overnight.
Oddly enough, the impetus for the coup was that the government was too involved in citizens’ lives. But the coup participants then proceeded to form the autocratic and totalitarian regime of the “Great United States.”
Shortly after the formation of this new GUS government, censorship of the arts began. The GUS ideology and policies were very similar to the Entartete Kunst (degenerate art) and Entartete Musik (degenerate music) propaganda of the mid-20th century Nazi Germany regime.
Here is an example of the German propaganda on Entartete Musik from 1937/1938. This was the cover page of a program brochure for a public presentation on “degenerate music.” I find this propaganda highly offensive and certainly there would be severe penalties for this kind of racism and antisemitism should this ever occur in our 24th century society.
But it is very important, class, to always refer to the historical events of humanity, to remember our past transgressions against each other so that we never repeat these egregious errors.
Similar censorship of music and art was instituted by the GUS government in 2030 AD.
Any art or music compositions that represented any culture other than “America” or the “Great United States” were banned and/or destroyed.
African-American music was considered a part of the American music by the GUS government, as it should be, and was not banned. Thus genres often associated with African-American culture, such as jazz, blues, and rap music, survived the GUS censorship.
I’d like to now give you an example of the censorship of music during the reign of the GUS government. As you know, my specialty is in the field of musicology. I come from a long line of musicologists and I have actually traced my family genealogy back to the 20th century and to the first musicologist in our family, Dr. Matthew Mugmon. He was a Professor of Musicology at the academic institution called the University of Arizona and the Fred Fox School of Music. Believe it or not, my distant ancestor’s book, Aaron Copland and the American Legacy of Gustav Mahler (2019), was banned simply because Gustav Mahler was an Austro-Bohemian composer and conductor. This illustrates how strict the GUS government was with censorship protocols.
Right after the coup of 2030, there was an almost complete collapse of the collegiate educational system. “Academics”, as professors were called back then, were labeled as too progressive and forward thinking; many were arrested and imprisoned. Universities and their associated campuses were shut down.
But all was not lost. An underground network of academic music professors formed the covert group called AUtuMN, the acronym for Academic Underground Musicians Network. In fact, I have primary source records revealing the Dr. Matthew Mugmon was a member of this network, as well as many other University of Arizona School of Music faculty. AUtuMN members were from Universities and Conservatories nationwide.
Their task was to collect and store away as much printed music material and audio recordings as they could in order to preserve America’s music history. In addition, they developed an underground academic environment and educational system that was the forebear of our three week Time Point academic system. It was highly dangerous to be caught either teaching or participating as students in these underground music classes. Hence, the condensed three week time frame for courses. Locations and venues would change every three weeks to avoid detection. These brave souls, both faculty and students, risked their lives. We have AUtuMN to thank for the historical documents and primary sources that we have access to today.
As you know from the history books, in January of 2076 AD, the Great United States announced plans to extend the country’s borders into Mexico and Canada for annexation; essentially, a military occupation and attempted coup of these neighboring governments. It was at this point that the nations of the world formed a global coalition to stop these efforts. World War III was born and played out right here on our American soil. On July 4th, 2076, exactly 300 years after the first Independence Day of America, World War III ended, a treaty was signed and the former democratic government and title of the United States of America was restored. We now celebrate two Independence Days every July 4th! And “the rest is history” as they say.
The Restoration/Renewal era
The Restoration/Renewal era, 2076 AD-2200 AD, is exactly as the name implies. Following the second Independence Day of America, musicians were free again to compose, perform, teach. The AUtuMN group was instrumental in restoring music history via the materials they had preserved. New educational and academic institutions were developed albeit in a very different form from the early 21st century. There were no more physical Universities with a campus; all learning proceeded online.
The 23rd Century era
The 23rd Century era, 2200 AD to the present: We see now a turning away from experimental compositional techniques of the 20th and 21st centuries and a full circle back to tonal music. This experimentalism was an important contribution to music history but we have learned through scientific research and studies that the human brain is truly programmed to prefer tonal music. I invite you to consider taking the MUS 498 class “Physics and Psycho-Acoustics” which reviews all the research and literature to date on tonal preferences as well as explorations into the nature of complete silence.
Our 23rd and 24th century music endeavors transitioned from experimental compositional techniques to the embracing of the 19-tone tonal system and the creation of new musical instruments as well as continued exploration of extended techniques on traditional instruments.
Let’s now proceed with our discussions on intersection of historical events and musical output.
(class discussion ensues)
At the next class interaction, we will review the different genres of the 20th century Western Art Music prior to the GUS time period.
Third Class Interaction — Genres of the Experimental Era (20th century, 1900–2030)
Friday, June 25, 2378
As the name indicates, the early 1900’s were the springboard of experimental compositional techniques.
This era begins initially with subtle and not so subtle dissonance in the music of Mahler, Strauss, Debussy and Stravinsky, to mention a few notable composers of the early 20th century.
Let us listen to Gustav Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder, song #1, “Nun will die Sonn’ so hell aufgeh’n.” Listen closely for the dissonant harmonies.
Gustav Mahler, an important composer of the early 20th century:
Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring (1913) is another example of the use of dissonance. Stravinsky employs bi-tonality as well as complex and variable metered rhythms. By the way, class, the reviews for the Rite of Spring and the perpetuation of a myth of a “riot” at the premiere illustrates the importance of comparing and evaluating primary sources. This myth continued throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries.
(Source: NY Times article, June 8, 1913.) Hissing but no riots!
Certainly, these are not the only 20th century composers who utilized dissonance in their compositions nor are they the earliest examples of dissonance in Western Art Music.
(class discussion ensues on the use of dissonance in early 20th century compositions)
At our next class interaction, we will review different 20th century composers who used the twelve-tone serial technique.
Fourth Class Interaction — 12-tone music: serialism
Monday, June 28, 2378
Good morning, class, and welcome to our fourth class interaction. We are starting the second week of class! Today’s discussions will center around the intriguing concept of what is often viewed as mathematical composition: 12-tone serial technique.
You may wonder why composers in the 20th century were exploring the bounds of tonal music and advancing into atonal music. Well, this is how music composition has been from the earliest musics of humankind… always adding on to previous techniques and concepts.
In the case of 12-tone music, composers were not just exploring a mathematical way of composing music. Nay, rather, they were looking towards creating music outside of the tonal system. Some theorists and musicologists suggest that the events such as the first World War and the prevailing philosophies at the turn of the 20th century empowered composers to “color outside the box.”
Who developed the 12-tone technique? Well, there have been disputes about this over time. For many years, Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951) was credited as the inventor. But we now know that Charles Ives (1874–1954) and Josef Hauer (1883–1959) developed their own 12-tone compositional techniques.
I’ve included a pamphlet on our class VR site which details how 12-tone music is composed. I also highly recommend the MUS 470 class, “20th Century Music Theory Concepts” for those who are interested in learning more about the theoretical aspects.
Here are two examples of 12-tone technique of the early 20th century:
Webern was very strict and methodical in his use of 12-tone technique.
And my apologies to the class for the advertisements in these historical youtube videos; they are annoying!
(class discussion ensues on 12-tone technique)
At our next class interaction, we will be looking at the development of electronic music and the interesting genre of musique concrète.
Fifth Class Interaction — Electronic music and Musique Concrète
Wednesday, June 30, 2378
Hello, class! I hope that you have recuperated from the atonal sounds of the 12-tone technique. I am sure that some of the composition majors are now fiddling around with a serial 19-tone technique, am I right??
Today, our class discussions will turn to the beginnings of experimentation with electronic music and also the genre of musique concrète.
There are many, many examples of 20th century composers who created music with electronic techniques. So many that it is hard to be equitable with what composers to discuss today. That being said, I have chosen to show a video of Wendy Carlos and her discussion of the Moog synthesizer; arguably one of the first electronic music composers of the 20th century!
Fortunately, in today’s culture, all gender types are accepted and welcome in society but this was not the case in Wendy Carlos’ time period and as a transgender composer.
This article from the NY Times, February 17, 1980, details Wendy Carlos’ thoughts on composing her original compositions versus arrangements of JS Bach.
Wendy Carlos’ album, “Switched on Bach”, became a huge hit in 1968! Unfortunately, all recordings were destroyed by the GUS government so I am unable to show you any primary source videos or audio recordings. But I have placed links on the class VR site and I would like for you to read a 2005 essay by Louis Niebur entitled, “Switched-On Bach” — Wendy Carlos (1968)” from the restored Library of Congress website. There is also a link to a very historic document… Wendy Carlos’ personal webpage from the 21st century!
Moving along to the 21st century, Mason Bates was a composer of electronic music. Electronic sounds became more refined and developed as compared to the late 1960’s. His unique compositional style seamlessly blends electronics with the traditional orchestra of that time period.
Musique concrète
Musique concrète is a specific type of electronic music in which the composer uses recorded sounds for his composition. In the video below, Pierre Schaeffer (1910–1995) uses the sound of the historical vehicular transport system called the “train” and creates an arrangement based on the sounds.
To the “Instrumental Development and Extended Techniques” majors in this class, I would posit that the “manipulating” of sound as described in the beginning of the video is similar to our quest in modern times to create new musical instruments for the manipulation of sound as well as the development of new sounds through extended techniques!
But one must remember that the electronic recording technology of 1948 was an indomitable beast; a horridly slow process with large and physically clunky recording devices as compared to the technology of today!
Well, class, how do you think electronic music of the 20th/21st centuries compares with the electronic sounds we can produce with the new VR-PPAA (physics-psycho-aural-acoustical) recording platforms?
(class discussion ensues)
Our next class interaction will delve into aleatoric or chance music.
Sixth Class Interaction — Aleatoric or chance music
Friday, July 2, 2378
Good morning, class, let’s dive right into aleatoric or chance music. This music was one of the experimental compositional methods of the 20th century. Again, like many of the compositional techniques of the Experimental era, the methods themselves do not last beyond the 20th/21st century but can be considered as a connection to other compositional techniques.
John Cage (1912-1992) is one example of a 20th century composer who created music using chance. As the name implies, one or more musical elements are left to “chance” thus each performance will be different. A few examples would be Cage’s “One” (1987), “Music of Changes” (1951) as well as his famous “4'33”(1952).
One of the incredible feats of the AUtuMN group was the preservation of the content of John Cage’s personal website as well as his book, Silence: Lectures and Writings (1961). In this book is an essay by Cage entitled, “To Describe the Process of Composition Used in Music of Changes and Imaginary Landscape №4”. I have placed this essay on our VR class site for you to review.
Let us now listen to Cage’s “Music of Changes”:
(audible laughter as the class is listening to this piece)
Well, class, I hear laughter so I think that is our cue to begin our discussions on aleatoric or chance music. My first question is: how do you feel this compositional technique could be important to our contemporary 24th century musics?
Seventh Class Interaction — Minimalism; Silence and Deep Listening
Monday, July 5, 2378
Good morning, class! By the sixth decade of the 20th century, musical composition has turned towards the use of simplicity or minimalism. There is also an exploration of silence and what has been termed “deep listening” which is very similar to our contemporary meditation practices.
As with all the 20th/21st century genres that we are contemplating, each genre has a plethora of composers who created music within that particular genre. Likewise, with minimalism. Minimalist composers included Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Arvo Pärt and the almost lost composer, Julius Eastman.
As an example of fairly extreme minimalist technique, let’s view Arvo Pärt’s “Für Alina”:
This primary source snippet from a May 30, 1986 NY Philharmonic concert program quotes Arvo Pärt. Pärt relays that he uses “sparse tones” to evoke the connection of “Time and timelessness.”
I would posit that minimalism was almost akin to going back to the basic music elements and sounds that were produced at the beginning of humanity’s exploration of music. In other words, a retrogression from the era of Medieval music, a journey back to the origins of music.
If we take minimalism one step further, we proceed to silence. I think it’s evident to the class by now that one of my favorite 20th century composers is John Cage. My doctoral dissertation was on the many genres of John Cage. Cage dabbled not only in chance music but in extended techniques (prepared piano) and electronic music as evidenced by the title of an October 17, 1966 NY Times article:
In my view, Cage pushed the boundaries of evaluating what qualifies as “music” in two of his compositions. In “4'33”, Cage’s piece is one where the musicians have no notation on their scores, they produce no musical sounds. Each performance will be different based on the sounds captured in the environment... for example, the rustle of a program, the cough of an audience member. Here is one such recording:
What is your opinion, class? Is this music?
Continuing down this current topic of conversation, do you feel that this video of John Cage’s “Water Walk” is music?
Well, class, I want to have time to discuss “What qualifies as music?” before our class interaction time ends today. We will continue with the Deep Listening movement at our next class interaction.
Eighth Class Interaction — Instrumental extended techniques
Wednesday, July 7, 2378
Good morning, class! I’d like return to where we left off in our last class interaction with a presentation of the Deep Listening and Sonic Meditations of Pauline Oliveros (1932-2016). Pauline wanted people to listen closely to music, to their environment, to the soundscapes.
Although the AUtuMN group was not able to store and preserve all youtube videos of the 20th/21st century, thankfully they were able to preserve this 2015 Tedx Talk by Oliveros on “The difference between hearing and listening.” In the interest of time, I am asking that you please listen to this talk before our next class interaction. In addition, I would like you to read this December 9, 2016 article published in The New Yorker entitled, “Listening as Activism: The ‘Sonic Meditations’ of Pauline Oliveros.”
We will now witness one of Pauline Oliveros’ sonic meditations:
Moving on to today’s topic of Extended Instrumental Techniques, this is the 20th/21st century compositional technique the most closely aligns with some of our contemporary musical explorations and creative inspiration. I’m looking forward to hearing opinions from everyone in class but in particular from our “Instrumental Development and Extended Techniques” majors!
Extended instrumental techniques probably date even farther back than this, but one of the first documented composers to try extended techniques was Henry Cowell (1897–1965) and his string technique for piano. This was followed by John Cage and the prepared piano. I think you’ll find this 20th century thesis document interesting: “A Pedagogical Guide to Extended Piano Techniques”. I am curious if we have tried any of these extended techniques on our virtual 19-tone Steinway Ultra-deluxe pianos?
Certainly, by the early 21st century, extended techniques were being used on virtually every traditional instrument of that time period.
This video shows some extended techniques on the Bb clarinet along with electronic aspects:
Lest the brass performance majors feel forgotten, here is a fascinating video on trombone extended techniques:
(class discussions ensue on extended techniques from the 20th/21st century and their relationships to new instrument development and extended techniques in the 24th century)
Ninth and final Class Interaction — Vernacular and nationalistic music; and “lost” composers of 20th century music
Friday, July 9, 2378
Good morning, class! It is so hard to believe that we have reached our final destination for this class! We have had some interesting and thought-provoking discussions. I hope this class has inspired some of you to become musicology experts in the field of 20th/21st century music. I’d like to end this Time Point class with a brief discussion of vernacular music and another topic of “lost” composers of the 20th century.
Vernacular and nationalistic music
Vernacular and nationalistic music became a touchy subject after WWIII/the Second American Revolution in 2076 and with the downfall GUS regime, of what was a very authoritarian, totalitarian and culturally limiting government. Speaking of vernacular music or nationalistic music sometimes evokes fear that there would be a possibility of returning to a period of art and music censorship in which only one nationalistic music is allowed.
But I posit that vernacular music is very important as a way to honor all the various world cultures and societies. We need only to remember the past and do whatever we can to prevent censorship in the arts.
In brief, some important 20th century composers of vernacular music include Béla Bartók (1881–1945) (Hungarian), who is regarded as one of the first ethnomusicologists; Carlos Chávez (1899–1978) (Mexico); Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) (Finland), and Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) (England). Of course, Aaron Copland (1900-1990) is often regarded as the premier composer for the American tradition.
“Lost” composers
Perhaps one of the most frustrating aspects of teaching a music history class is the inability to honor all composers. In our contemporary undergrad music classes, this is purely a matter of the amount of time that we have together during a three week Time Point class.
But sadly, prior to the 21st century, there was another reason that not all music composers were discussed. Thus we arrive to our topic of “lost” composers. I used parentheses in that these composers were not truly “lost” but rather not acknowledged. It was not until approximately the late 20th century that female composers and composers of color began to be discussed in undergraduate music classes.
Gradually, these important composers such as Florence Price (1887–1953), Lili Boulanger (1893–1918), William Grant Still (1895–1978), Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953), and Julius Eastman (1940–1990) were included in the music literature surveys. Unfortunately, just as music professors were gaining momentum in adding “lost” or previously unacknowledged composers to the curriculum, the 2030 coup occurred and music censorship began.
Of course, there is no longer a Western Art Music “canon” that is specifically taught… all 24th century music professors now do their best to provide students with a wide array of composers to discuss.
Musicologists as well as music theorists continue to search for these “lost” composers, to honor their works and contributions and in the hope of discovering insights into historical musicological and theoretical practices.
As a conclusion to this class, I will leave you with one last thought…
Never, ever, let any person or government censor your creative music efforts, developments, inventions and/or performances!
