http://jerryknight.com/wp This Internet thing is just a fad. Wed, 08 Jul 2009 18:04:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 http://jerryknight.com/wp/2006/08/31/the-mind-is-the-strangest-organ/ http://jerryknight.com/wp/2006/08/31/the-mind-is-the-strangest-organ/#comments Fri, 01 Sep 2006 01:41:14 +0000 Jerry http://jerryknight.com/wp/2006/08/31/the-mind-is-the-strangest-organ/ “easy” piano sonata by Mozart? In the movie Groundhog Day, the part where Phil takes piano lessons, they play that song. Here’s the thing – Phil rings the teacher’s doorbell at a precise moment in the song. Now, to this day, I can’t hear that sonata without also hearing the doorbell in exactly the right moment. If I had the score in front of me, I could probably find the exact note it’s at. It’s an annoying glitch!]]> http://jerryknight.com/wp/2006/08/31/the-mind-is-the-strangest-organ/feed/ 0 http://jerryknight.com/wp/2006/06/16/imitation-is-no-longer-any-form-of-flattery/ http://jerryknight.com/wp/2006/06/16/imitation-is-no-longer-any-form-of-flattery/#comments Fri, 16 Jun 2006 19:23:00 +0000 Jerry http://www.jerryknight.com/wp/?p=37 Gustav Holst Foundation is suing Hans Zimmer, the movie soundtrack composer, for copying parts of Holst’s Mars movement of The Planets in the soundtrack for Gladiator. There are so many things wrong with this, but here’s my take. Composers have been mimicking, adapting, and even wholesale copying parts of each others’ compositions for centuries. There’s no question that the Gladiator soundtrack stands on its own as a composition, rather than being a plagiarized copy of Holst’s work. It took the Holst Foundation 6 years to notice the similarities and do something about it. They should be happy that Holst’s music inspired Zimmer to create another great work. Copyright infringement should mean that parts of the copyrighted work have been taken and used verbatim. If Zimmer had simply used the Mars movement without permission (of the composer, having been dead 65 years, but that’s a separate issue), that would be copyright infringement. And not simply themes or chord progressions – it would have to be nearly 100% identical. Anything less would be mimicry, variation, etc. The line between mimicry and plagiarism and the line between derivative work and copyright infringement are usually the same line. It’s hard to figure out exactly where that line is, but Gustav Holst certainly did not compose the soundtrack for Gladiator, and the resemblence could not have harmed the copyright holders in any way. Rant finished.]]> http://jerryknight.com/wp/2006/06/16/imitation-is-no-longer-any-form-of-flattery/feed/ 2 http://jerryknight.com/wp/2006/04/21/clementi-whos-that/ http://jerryknight.com/wp/2006/04/21/clementi-whos-that/#comments Sat, 22 Apr 2006 00:37:06 +0000 Jerry http://www.jerryknight.com/wp/?p=25 Muzio Clementi (What piano student hasn’t?). Since then, I never thought much about this composer, since everything I’d heard or played was simplistic – charming, but not challenging or particularly interesting… At least this is the impression I remember. He wrote around the same time as Mozart, so most people probably consider Clementi’s music bland by comparison. But then, who’s heard anything by Clementi other than the beginning piano student’s friendly sonatinas? Music of this era was very formulaic (still is, isn’t it?). There were strictly-followed guidelines about how many movements, the manner of each movement, and even the melodic patterns within the movements. I would think this kind of composing method would stifle creativity or disguise the lack thereof, but miraculously, Mozart and others managed to write some very interesting and enjoyable pieces in these kinds of musical frameworks. Recently, I listened again to some of Clementi’s sonatinas and found recordings of a few of his sonatas (“harder” than a sonatina). I think everyone’s overlooked how good Clementi was at writing this kind of music. Because of the sonata framework, some of it is repetitive, but then even Mozart could take a theme and bludgeon you to death with it. Don’t get me wrong – I love Mozart’s piano works, but I think some of Clementi’s music rivals Mozart in creativity. If I heard a Clementi sonata on WCPE or another classical station, I would probably guess it was Mozart. (I’m usually pretty good at picking out a Mozart tune.) So I’ve added a section to my wishlist: sheet music I want to acquire to look at and maybe learn. Clementi wrote 110 piano sonatas; I have recordings of 5 and I’ve found books containing about 20 in all, so I have a lot of searching to do. I usually like to listen to something before seeking the sheet music, but I doubt there are very many Clementi CDs out there.]]> http://jerryknight.com/wp/2006/04/21/clementi-whos-that/feed/ 0