Different Fields of Music Making

• Participatory

When we first learned what exactly participatory music was, I realized that this was a type of music I had always wanted to engage in. I think the idea behind this field is truly remarkable. I have always had an enormous interest in improvisation and percussion with large groups. As soon as I saw this video I thought it was an incredible example of what modern participatory music could sound like. There's really no specific melody or lead line at all in this gathering and at no point is there any expectation or suspension of any such idea even.


One of the easily recognizable potentials of this style of music is the idea that everyone is a part of the music-making, no matter how large or small the role they play is. It also allows for absolute musical expression of one's self despite possibly having no musical exposure whatsoever. One can tell from the video that some of the children seem to be uncomfortable with playing at all and thus begin playing a very minuscule part and as soon as they see how much fun everyone else is having, they immediately just play their heart out. I think that's incredible and a good show of the values this music style exhibits which is obviously that of entire group participation. The music is truly flowing through everyone. One of the limitations however is that if this were to go on for an extended period of time, it would begin to sound very repetitive and as if every beat possible had been played. For many Western listeners, this would be something that might not appeal as much as something that had a set track time.

• Presentational

I'm sure just about any video of a live performance could have been chosen for this category but I picked this one for a reason. Although it is 27 minutes long, keep in mind that interest is kept throughout due to melodic and ideological changes during all that time. That is one of the limitations of presentational music: the musicians are solely responsible for keeping the audience entertained and enthused throughout the performance. In that last sentence is another significant difference presentational music exhibits when compared to participatory - there is a notable separation between the music-makers and music-observers or -listeners. The primary idea behind such music is for one group of people (audience) to view and listen to other specialists of the art (the band). As specialists, the musicians also exemplify one of the primary potentials of the art in that they are very rehearsed and exhibit what many people would consider a polished and "good" performance.

• High Fidelity

As with Presentational music, I'm certain almost any studio recorded song could have worked as an example and so I picked a song that's both short and I've seen performed live. One of the expectations and values of high fidelity music is that it is meant to sound as thought the musician or musicians can or would perform the same track live. I think this is a great example because there are only 4 parts (2 guitars, 1 bass, and percussion) and is the exact same setup live as well; there are no additional parts or overdubs necessary. One of the limitations of any such track is that most of the time during recording, the band or group of musicians have never performed the song or recorded in the same room at the same time as a full group. Although they know their individual parts and know how to make the song come together as a whole the idea of group music-making is nonexistent. However, one great potential is that the ideas the group has acts as the leaders in this style - they can control what they want and how they'd like it to sound.

• Studio Audio Art

Studio Audio Art is a music style that has been increasingly growing as of recently. Originally started as exchanges between academic composers with no intent of being performed live, this style gives the writer full power and control over how the track sounds. Although the play button could be pressed at a concert, the music and sounds you hear in this recording are not actually what are being performed; they are just being replayed. This is both an expectation and a limitation. The empowerment to the musician is what gives this style such a great potential in that every recorded sound or beat can be exactly what the composer wants for other to hear.