speech and music, effability and ineffability kristen butchatsky, stela solar, emery schubert and...

Speech and Music, Effability and Ineffability

Kristen Butchatsky, Stela Solar, Emery Schubert and Joe Wolfe

No, you didn't

No, you didn't Yes we did

Well if you didn't agree, what do you think about it?

I think I can communicate as well as any of you

Of course you can communicate, but in a rather different way...

What do you mean?

In speech we use phonemes

In speech we use phonemes:we vary the spectrum and envelope independently of the pitch:

In speech we use phonemes:we vary the spectrum and envelope independently of the pitch:The sounds 'bah' and 'do' have different meanings, even different grammatical functions

So 'ba ba ba ba ba ba' is one timbre and 'do do do do do do' is another?

to to to to to to

to to to to to to be be be be be be

to to to to to to be be be be be be or or or or or not…..

So if instruments wanted to talk to us in our language,they could change the timbre on each note:

So if instruments wanted to talk to us in our language,they could change the timbre on each note:

it sounds like Klangfarbenmelodie*

* technique invented by Arnold Schönberg during a severe case of writer's block

Klangfarbenmelodie*?

* Tonecolourmelody

Perhaps Klangfarbenmelodie does have something to say to usafter all.

* sure, just play the same note on different instruments. Beats having to come

up with a new tune.

But except for Klangfarbenmelodie, isn't the choice of noteslimited?

* Actually, Klangfarbenmelodie was invented in 2055 by Conal Goodtown,pictured, and brought back to Vienna andSchönberg by a travelling time lord

Especially in tonal music: some notes just don't fit.

You can show it with probe tones.

What are probe tones?

[Cadenza*]

* Technique invented by Monteverdi during a severe case of writer's block.

And that really cuts down the notes you can use.

So if you take a melody,

So if you take a melody, with the notes in one key

and if notes don't

and if notes don't stretch my range too far, I'd be glad,

That's a problem too:

for music has its own set of rules:

even obbligati have to fit in the rhythm.

You can't just choose any notes that you want:

they must fit together,

they must fit together, without a clash

to make a tonal song.

You can use a scale as a motif,

then just add the words.

And then we'll all harmonise you can just close your eyes and listen:

sing in thirds.

Then we’ll sing melisma-a-a-a

That’s a message too

And if you have nothing left to say, just pause...

For then you can restate the theme

If you do, what’s that mean?

And if the notes go up too high

we’ll share them around

That’s called harmony

For music has its own set of rules

Ev’ry note must fit in the rhythm

You have to make sure the notes will all fit

Just like in a canon

Just like in a canon like in a canon?

or in a fugue

or in a fugue or in a fugue?

To make a tonal song.

Tonal predictability,

Tonal predictability, is that what makes written music easy to compress?

That's right, you can repeat a phrase in music...

and it's all part of musical communication.

But you can't make a symphony just by repeating

But you can't make a symphony just by repeating a simple phrase.

Oh yes you can.

Oh no you can’t,

Oh no you can’t,

Oh no you can’t, oh yes you can,

Oh no you can’t, oh yes you can,

oh yes you can.

Oh no you can’t, oh yes you can,

oh yes you can.Oh no you can’t,

Oh no you can’t, oh yes you can,

oh yes you can.Oh no you can’t,

oh yes you can,

Oh no you can’t, oh yes you can,

oh yes you can.Oh no you can’t,

oh yes you can,oh yes you can.

Change just one note,

Change just one note, and then invert

Change just one note, and then invert

You can go on

Change just one note, and then invert

You can go onsee how it works

Change just one note, and then invert

You can go onsee how it works

You can go on all day!

You can repeat

You can repeata simple phrase

You can repeata simple phrase

You can repeat

You can repeata simple phrase

You can repeatyou can repeat

You can repeata simple phrase

You can repeatyou can repeat

With just four notes you can go on

You can repeata simple phrase

You can repeatyou can repeat

With just four notes you can go onon and on, on and on, on and on

You can repeata simple phrase

You can repeatyou can repeat

With just four notes you can go onon and on, on and on, on and on

on and on, on and on

With just four notes you can create a little motif or a theme

Don’t have to work, don’t have to think,

Don’t have to work, don’t have to think, don’t have to sweat, don’t have to dream

And if we change the colour and we make the leap a perfect fifth,

Watch!

It sounds completely new!

Simpler than that,

Simpler than that, you can repeat

Simpler than that, you can repeat just the one note

Simpler than that, you can repeat just the one noteover again

Simpler than that, you can repeat just the one noteover again

You can

Simpler than that, you can repeat just the one noteover again

You canover again

Simpler than that, you can repeat just the one noteover again

You canover again

Over again,

Simpler than that, you can repeat just the one noteover again

You canover again

Over again, over again

Simpler than that, you can repeat just the one noteover again

You canover again

Over again, over again over and over and over….

But what if the musician doesn't have a score?

Improvise something? You mean make it up?

We could never do that

I'm not singing without any music

She’s not singing without any music

You mean we could make our own like all of those jazz cats can do?

Beeya, beeya, dap dap, da doya doya do.

I think she’s got it

I think she’s got it, by George she’s got it!

Beeya, beeya, dap dap, da doya doya do.

Bia diyada diayda diyada diyada diyiya dayada

(I think she's got it, by George she's got it!)

Bi a diya da dowap, ba doya daya da. Doya? Doya?

Diyap da doyou doyado. Bada dayadadoyap, doyap diya dow, baya dayap,

Dap! Da doya doyado.,

Ba doya, doya, diya dow? Badoya, bayado wow wow, bayado wow wow

Boyadoyadoya? Baya, daya do wow.

Bi a diya da dowap, ba doya daya da. Doya? Doya?

Diyap da doyou doyado. Bada dayadadoyap, doyap diya dow, baya dayap,

Dap! da doya doyado.

Badoya, do ya, diya dow, ba do ya?Bayado wow wow!Bayado wow wow!

Boyadoya doya? Baya, daya do wow.

We could never do that.

We could never do that. We could never do that.

We could never do that. We could never do that.

Do wha?

What did that mean?

Who cares? How did it make you feel?

If I could put it into words I wouldn’t need music.

Perhaps

Perhaps it is

Perhaps it is ineffable.

Ineffable.

And if it is ineffable.

And if it is

Just what that is

Just what that iswe can’t be sure of

To take the inexpressible

Whatever that is, we want more of that.

If music is in F,

If music is ineffable.

We’ll see if we can eff it anyhow.

And if it is ineffable?

Ineffable. Ineffable.

But if words were all we had...

But if words were all we had...

There would be no philosophy,

There would be no philosophy, no trips to Sydney

We’d have to find another job

We’d have to find another job-what could we do without music?

No Shepherd tones,

No Shepherd tones,no ring tones on phones

Hey that seems to be a good idea Oh what a world

But tell me where would we be without words?

Where would we find the precision,

Where would we find the precision,to say, with concision, whatever we think?

In a world without speech,

all our friends would be out of reachNo way!

You can say what you like

You can say what you like: but that’s just my point!

But if words were all we had

There would be no songs to make you

No music to take you

No music to take you away from the world.

There would be no songs to sing you

And no harmonies to bring you

There’d just be words and words and words….

What are words for?

Five minutes left, we must conclude

No! If we stop now, they’ll all ask questions.

To run away would just seem rude.

Perhaps we’ll get them all to join in.

We need some music all can sing

I think we’ll manage, it’s not hard to

Sing an ostinato, it’s not very hard to

Sing an ostinato, Gentlemen, please join us

La, la, la, la, la, laLa la la-la-la-la <repeat>

Join us ladies:La-la-la-la-la, La-la-la-la-la, La-la-la-la-la, La-la-la,

Tutti, sempre al fine

If music is ineffable

If music is ineffable We'll see if we can eff it anyhow.

* * *

Kristen Butchatsky SopranoStela Solar Alto & CelloEmery Schubert Bass & HornJoe Wolfe Baritone & Bassoon

Words and music by Joe Wolfe(with quotations from L. van Beethoven)

To allow information compression, Shenkerian analysis, metamelodic reduction, Easter egg research and for the righteous indignation of sensitive people who were not here to be offended in person, the transcript & score for this paper is available at

www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/ICCS.html

Surtitles and luce wrangler Christina Abdul-Karim