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Topic: Non-repetition  (Read 1841 times)

Offline philolog

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Non-repetition
on: November 18, 2015, 01:02:05 AM
For any plinkologists out there (Thal, take note), a performance of "the perfect ping." You'll have to sit through an introductory lecture of around seven minutes to understand the title, but if you have the patience you'll be rewarded with a piece of music that's at least the equal in "plinkiness" to any you know.Silly, I know, but I couldn't resist...

Offline philolog

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Re: Non-repetition
Reply #1 on: November 18, 2015, 01:04:38 AM
I forgot to post the link:

Offline outin

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Re: Non-repetition
Reply #2 on: November 18, 2015, 05:33:43 AM
Thanks for the link!

Now we should ask why "normal" people see/hear beauty in repetition, while for me it's almost the opposite. This was not ugly music at all. I've heard better, but it was still more beautiful than ugly.

Offline mjames

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Re: Non-repetition
Reply #3 on: November 18, 2015, 07:48:01 AM
Thanks for the link!

Now we should ask why "normal" people see/hear beauty in repetition, while for me it's almost the opposite.

It's not that people find the idea of repetition beautiful. If a melody's pretty enough, you'd want to hear it again in the same work..no?

You don't enjoy the repetition of beautiful phrases? Why is it that so many of the works you work on have that then? XD I recall that you had chopin's op. 72 in e minor. A classical ABA, and you told me you enjoyed it!


As someone who majors in mathematics I find this completely stupid and boring. What's the point of doing this again? In the end its just a sequence of notes...so what?

like someone else said in the comments section, who wants to read a novel of 300 non-repeating words and letters? Rofl.

Offline outin

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Re: Non-repetition
Reply #4 on: November 18, 2015, 10:20:38 AM
It's not that people find the idea of repetition beautiful. If a melody's pretty enough, you'd want to hear it again in the same work..no?

You don't enjoy the repetition of beautiful phrases? Why is it that so many of the works you work on have that then? XD I recall that you had chopin's op. 72 in e minor. A classical ABA, and you told me you enjoyed it!


As someone who majors in mathematics I find this completely stupid and boring. What's the point of doing this again? In the end its just a sequence of notes...so what?

like someone else said in the comments section, who wants to read a novel of 300 non-repeating words and letters? Rofl.

We were discussing beauty, which is not the same as what pieces I like to listen and play. But I do actually prefer short, compact and forward moving, just say what you have to say and then stop ;D
Repeated or easy to perceive melodies don't make the music more or less beautiful in my ears. And I'd love to play more modern music, but it's just too difficult...

I do not see beauty in words in the way I hear beauty in sounds. That's probably why I hate poetry. To me words are only tools while sounds have value of their own. Does this make any sense to you? So I would not read your book. But I do know people who can enjoy words as themselves.

Now to the video: The method of composing may not make much sense, but the finished product is not ugly in my ears. The combination of sounds contains beauty. You either hear it or not...

Offline mjames

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Re: Non-repetition
Reply #5 on: November 18, 2015, 12:03:37 PM
Oh i hear it. I would just rather focus my energies on actual music.

Offline outin

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Re: Non-repetition
Reply #6 on: November 18, 2015, 12:20:38 PM
Oh i hear it. I would just rather focus my energies on actual music.

Now I should ask you what is actual music ;)

Online ted

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Re: Non-repetition
Reply #7 on: November 21, 2015, 02:21:31 AM
But is that generating method not a repeating pattern itself, and a pretty simple one at that ? Are not data and instruction interchangeable ? Is it not just a matter of degree, the size of the listening brain ? A super listening mind might see it at once.

Fancy Golomb doing that sort of thing. His main claim to fame seems to have been promotion of polyominoes as popular puzzles in the sixties. I think a local friend wrote to him when he marketed "Pentacubes" here in the late seventies.

It is all very interesting, but in the end, pattern and repetition in music are just personal creative options like anything else.
"Mistakes are the portals of discovery." - James Joyce

Offline briansaddleback

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Re: Non-repetition
Reply #8 on: November 21, 2015, 09:17:32 AM
This is lame. Nothing to do with art expression music.
Just some peculiar human mind concept that happens to have some application to mathematics and certain science facilities. 

Work in progress:

Rondo Alla Turca

Offline hardy_practice

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Re: Non-repetition
Reply #9 on: November 21, 2015, 10:13:44 AM
Boulez and Messiaen were doing that in the 50's.  The composer here failed to serialize dynamics also (called  total serialism).  Schoenberg was doing serialism well before the 30's.
B Mus, PGCE, DipABRSM
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