NEVER Too Close for Comfort by Emma Dunkelberger https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3 Padlet Exploration 10 en-us 2017-11-12 23:55:36 UTC 2023-04-19 19:15:55 UTC hello@padlet.com Introduction emmadunkelberger https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206057388   In Chapter 14, Ratliff describes musical closeness as "two or more musicians, or musical elements, acting in the purest coordination." He gives examples of many musical duos and groups that have achieved such degree of musicality in their work, such as John Coltrane and Elvis Jones, and he describes just what it is about their synchronization that is so pleasing to the ear. 
  I definitely agree with Ratliff about this concept of musical closeness, it's an wonder for the ear to hear musicians be so in sync with each other that their music is almost a collective, uniform emotion coming out of bodies on a stage. Additionally, I agree with his definition of the concept because I felt its effects in a band of my own when it was still together. All four of us were very individual musicians (bass, guitar, drums, vocals), yet we all had a certain groove that we easily shared and passed between each other while we performed the songs we wrote. We also weren't the most experienced or knowledgeable musicians (our bassist was really just a guitarist who picked up a bass for the sake of the band), but our music was still well put together; our closeness was an element of our playing that I believe was the sole reason for the interest people showed in our music. 

Ratliff, Ben. Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen in an Age of Musical Plenty (p. 161). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Kindle Edition. ]]> 2017-11-13 00:07:35 UTC https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206057388 emmadunkelberger https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206058759 2017-11-13 00:20:52 UTC https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206058759 Media Example emmadunkelberger https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206059629    As a personal example of musical closeness, a song from a band I used to sing in comes to mind. When our band first formed, our drummer honestly couldn't keep time to save his life. It was a distracting component in our music since his style was already very artistic and unconventional. But over time, this stylistic type of drumming turned into more of an intentional complement to the rest of the band's intricacies as well as a device that kept the band moving cooperatively from one to four and all over again. In the intro of "Infernum," the guitar is strategically haunting and resonating; as a result, the drums that kick in after the first few measures are simply tom hits and subtle rolls as to not overpower the melodic guitar, and the rest of the song is filled with non-traditional drum rhythms that work, even though they shouldn't. 
   This type of drumming wouldn't work in every band, but the closeness we were sometimes able to achieve as a band allow the drums to fit nicely into the puzzle and create a fluid and cohesive song. 
  ]]> 2017-11-13 00:27:57 UTC https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206059629 Quote 1: "Particularly playing with Reed, he had to keep the fish on the line. Reed sometimes sounds wobbly, not in control, or pulled in different rhythmic directions. In “Little Rain” the sound of his shoe tapping the ground is profoundly out of time; the closeness in the track runs between Phillips’s drum and Reed’s guitar, hands, and voice." emmadunkelberger https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206060325   I appreciate this quote a lot because of how I can relate it once again to what I experienced in a band with my own drummer. Even though his sense of rhythm wasn't always immaculate, his drumming still managed to embellish the song and serve as an engine to drive the song with. 

Source: Ratliff, Ben. Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen in an Age of Musical Plenty (pp. 161-162). ]]> 2017-11-13 00:33:32 UTC https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206060325 Quote 2: "It sounds fragile and upside down, full of silent spaces, and its charm is like the little dip, or break, in the Antillean dance step, the emphasis on the two-and-a-half: one-and-two-AND-three-and-four-and." emmadunkelberger https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206060857 This quote is interesting to me because it not only give an example as to why an intricacy can link up with another musician's tendencies and create a hypnotizingly close musical experience, but also because when I read "emphasis on the one-and-two-AND-three-and-four-and," I was immediately able to pick up on the significance of the rhythm, just as other musicians reading the chapter most likely did. 
It made me question whether only those able to read music would be able to understand what the phonetic expression of rhythm was getting at, or if anybody reading would be able to feel and experience the rhythm for themselves. 

Source: Ratliff, Ben. Every Song Ever: Twenty Ways to Listen in an Age of Musical Plenty (p. 162). Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Kindle Edition. ]]> 2017-11-13 00:38:08 UTC https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206060857 Media Example emmadunkelberger https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206066646 One example of closeness Ratliff gave was the musical style found in "One Up, One Down" by John Coltrane and John Elvis. The song is very sporadic, and probably wouldn't resonate very much in anyone who isn't a fan of Coltrane and/or this style of jazz music. The sharp dissonances of the saxophone and piano notes make for a conflicting piece of music, but one can't help but gaze off into the distance in concentration while listening to the two very different sounds add together to create an interesting and exciting piece of music.  ]]> 2017-11-13 01:22:18 UTC https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206066646 emmadunkelberger https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206066866 2017-11-13 01:24:05 UTC https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206066866 John Coltrane and Elvin Jones emmadunkelberger https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206068350 Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/52987733085477091/?lp=true]]> 2017-11-13 01:34:39 UTC https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206068350 Wren (2017) emmadunkelberger https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206071014 2017-11-13 01:51:38 UTC https://padlet.com/emmadunkelberger/didtos0w8oz3/wish/206071014