NAMING MUSIC PERIODS

Hoday Hio,

Every musical era has been given a name by which we can recall its place in time but did that name exist during that period? I mean, did they call it The Time of Antiquity during the time of antiquity? Obviously not, since their name would have occured in their present! Actually we're now in the time of our antiquity 1500-or so-years from now, or are we!

Since we began naming the periods we have stereo typed a perception of what music will sound like even before we hear it. We must, for some reason, be able to determine the time and place the piece was written in human history to truly comprehend it. Do we appreciate it more if we know when it was written and what was going on at that time? Perhaps, but I submit that a beautiful piece of music doesn't have to be recognized by time but by its own arrangement of tones that pleases our individuality.

It seems as though we need a name for every possible permutation of musical style down to the dotted 8th, 16th note. And if we hear some sort of sequence we automatically shut it down as a particular style from the past. It is true that most musical ideas have been thought out by the masters - not Snoop Dog, dig a little deeper and you'll find that Beethoven pretty much put music and its history into perspective.

So where are we and what do we call it? I submit that we're lost for words at this point, we're moving too fast, and we're trying to hard. Why should we call it anything? Why do we need to classify whether it's a symphonic, a cool jazz, or a hip hop piece? Why do we always need to justify its worthiness like our opinion matters? Sometimes I feel like none of us humans know anything when we feel we know everything! However, one thing for sure is that when I finally get my doctorates, I will know everything and you will call me Doctor! Ha!

Stop naming periods, stop comparing, keep composing, keep playing, study your history and maybe we'll come up with something that will stay around for more than 10 weeks on a pop chart. I too, however want music to grow, but I seriously doubt that by the time we notice the growth, someone from the future will be naming it long after we've decomposed! Ouch!

Later!

John