I just watched this fascinating TED video, featuring David Byrne, about the extent the sound of a building (or other environment) influences the style of music people write.
The most obvious example to many of us would be rock bands who make the leap form playing clubs to theaters to arenas. When you’re playing a small room, you can play intricate guitar solos and drum fills that would get lost in the reverberation of an building meant to host hockey games. So, as bands play larger rooms, they tend to play less notes, taking advantage of the sound of the rooms they find themselves playing.
This is the easy example that many of us have probably thought about. Byrne runs through some other great examples that may not be as obvious to us. How does the outdoor environment in Africa influence the rich African rhythms? Why did the music of Bach and Mozart differ so much? It may have had quite a bit to do with the rooms they knew they’d be playing their latest pieces in.
Very interesting. I hope you enjoy it!
