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Reading/Listening Comprehension Questions The following questions are based on the program "If You Build It, They Will Come!." Teachers may choose to use the program audio or accompanying essay by Kyle Gann. The stage was too small for his percussion orchestra, and there was no pit to put the players in. Cage invented the prepared piano.2) In the early 20th century, music based on the European model was pretty much all that was heard in America's concert halls. Why did this begin to change? America had become a democratic, noisy, fast-paced, commercial culture. The traditional music from Europe did not always reflect the needs of a changing America, so American maverick composers began to improvise and invent music and musical instruments to reflect America's changing culture.3) Henry Cowell is credited with being the first person to play the piano in what untraditional ways? Cowell was the first to strum the strings of the piano, and he also was the first to run his fingernail along a piano string.4) What did Henry Cowell invent and introduce in his early book New Musical Resources? Cowell invented a new approach to rhythm, dividing measures into many different divisions. This allowed several tempos to be played at the same time.5) What led to Conlon Nancarrow's extensive use of the player piano? He was responding to Henry Cowell's book New Musical Resources, which said that while polyrhythms may be impossible to play for human performers, "these highly engrossing rhythmical complexes could easily be cut on a player piano roll."6) What was Harry Partch rebelling against by burning his compositions at age 29? After reading Henry Cowell's book, New Musical Resources, and the classic 1885 text on musical acoustics, On the Sensations of Tone, by the German scientist Hermann Helmholtz, Partch burned his compositions as an act of rebellion against what he thought was the lie of European tuning, which only provided approximations of the true, consonant intervals found in nature.7) Of what kind of music has Harry Brant been a leading pioneer? Which one of Brant's inventions has not been built and why? Brandt was the leading pioneer of "spatial music." His invention of a concert hall, with moveable walls to change its acoustics has not yet been built because it is an extremely expensive project.8) What was Brant's reason for separating groups of instruments? By separating groups of instruments, Brant was able to use more contrapuntal lines at once, and still allow the ear to distinguish them.9) How does Trimpin's use of computers and electronics differ from most composers using computers? Trimpin uses computers to make acoustic music that is not played by human performers. He also invents new instruments from untraditional materials. Critical Thinking Questions The following questions are based on the program "If You Build It, They Will Come!." Teachers may choose to use the program audio or accompanying essay by Kyle Gann. The turn of the century birthed many new mechanical inventions such as the airplane, continued advances in the automobile and many devices that promised to make everyday life more convenient. With these machines came many noises. A 1943 Life magazine article about maverick composer Henry Cage, said "Cage believes that when people get to understand and like his music, which is produced by banging one object with another, they will find new beauty in modern life, which is full of noises made by objects banging against each other."2) How did Conlon Nancarrow's political decisions influence his move to Mexico City in 1940? How do you think it this move affected his musical career? Nancarrow was a member of the Communist Party in the McCarthy-era, when there was an increased paranoia about Communists. Many of Nancarrow's friends and fellow communists were beginning to be hassled by the government, so he moved to Mexico City. Working in isolation in Mexico, Nancarrow was allowed to experiment and express his ideas with great freedom, but it was not until researchers pursued his work in the late 1970s that his work was explored by human performers, and granted publicity.3) W.B. Yeats said of Harry Partch that he was "one of those young men with ideas, the development of which it is impossible to foretell, just as I was 30 years ago." Why would Yeats say this? What impact has the work of Harry Partch had on 21st century music? The Nobel Prize winning Yeats, was one of the greatest poets of the 20th century. As a young man, he had yet to reach his full potential, and most likely could not foretell his own imminent success. The work of Harry Partch paved the way for experimental music, and performance art with his focus on "corporeal" music. Current uses of technology in electronic music explore many of the ideas Partch was experimenting with, and performance art often expresses aesthetics through combinations of art forms, all visually expressing the idea of the creator/composer.4) Why did Ben Johnston begin writing in a new system of tuning named "extended just intonation"? Why did he think such a system was needed? Johnston had worked as an assistant to Partch, and had developed experience with the ideas of new tunings, and pitch relationships. In his own work, he found that there was not a way to write different tunings for conventional instruments, so he invented one.5) Economic realities influence the artist's world view. How did the Depression affect Harry Partch? How does economic recession affect the arts in general? Most often in times of economic recession and depression federal funding for the arts is severely limited. These restrictions manifest themselves in funding of national programs such as National Endowment of the Arts and arts education in the public school systems. Private funding is also restricted because arts funding is seen as a luxury as opposed to a necessity.After returning from Europe, Partch encountered such hardships. The Great Depression made arts, especially those that were more experimental, scarce. Partch became a Hobo and later used this experience in his musical works.6) What did Trimpin's early teachers think about him? How did Trimpin's educational experiences influence his career and inventions? Trimpin's early teachers declared him incapable of learning. Thus he was relegated to studying metal work and electronics. His inventions for handicapped patients most likely were a direct result of his earlier educational experiences, and his knowledge of electronics and metal influenced his work with junk-like materials and computers.7) Why would the advancement in technology and the onset of the digital age make "Yankee inventiveness" ubiquitous? Ubiquitous is defined as being everywhere at the same time or being omnipresent. The computer revolution allows a greater number of people to access and manipulate information and devices that, at one time, were only accessible to a smaller privileged class of people. The Internet now makes the sharing of these ideas more available and omnipresent. Research Challenges The following questions and project ideas are based on various features found on the American Mavericks Web site. Students are encouraged to explore this site (and others) to research their answers. Margaret Leng Tan and the Prepared Piano (12:37) Using found objects, create an unconventional instrument that produces varied pitches. How many pitches can one object make? Are there playing techniques that will change the sound of the instrument? Key Terms and Topics The following vocabulary words are taken from various features on the American Mavericks Web site.
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