Music Listening, Music Therapy, Phenomenology and Neuroscience

Appendix

 2.04

 Experimental

 listening
 Webern

1

Experimental listening 24 Aug 2011. EC’s preparation
Webern: Bagatelle for String Quartet op. 9 no. 1: Mässig (1913) 0’30
Emerson String Quartet DGG CD 445 828-2

Abbreviations: open: open listening
foc: music-focused listening
herm: hermeneutical listening

EC’s preliminary observations and reactions, new questions, new tasks, and problems.

Preceding preparation: A number of open listenings to get acquainted with the music.

1st and 2nd listening: open listenings open

3rd listening: Hear the music as movement foc

Beginning: Like caresses. Towards the end: abruptly jumping

New question: What physical surfaces meet to produce the sound?
New task: Division in sections

4th listening: Hear the music as gestures and body movements herm

The gentle movements are most likely to be understood as body movements

5th listening: Hear the music as voices herm

Intimate conversation – agitation – calming down

Problem: Everything happens very fast, hard to grasp
New task: Listen for emotions

6th and 7th listening: Listen for sections foc

Two sections, which may be subdivided:
0’00-0’12
0’13-0’30

Appendix 2.03 Experimental listening Webern Appendix

 2.04

 Experimental

 listening
 Webern

2

8th listening: Listen for subdivisions foc

Four sections:

0’00-0’07

0’08-0’12

0’13-0’23

0’23-0’30

New questions: Why are the sections heard as sections?

What is going on in the ticking background?

9th listening: Open listening open

Beautiful, emotive music. The agitated section is important, cannot be eliminated

10th listening: Question: What characterizes the different sound qualities? foc

Coherent versus solitary

Deep versus high

Thuds, excited sounds

11th and 12th listening: open listenings open

New task: Let the melody slide into the background

13th listening : Question: What can you hear apart from the melody? open/foc

Tic-toc deep cello, vibrating high tremolo

14th listening: open listening open

New question: What similarities, what contrasts?