instrumental music

[cellio]

ohiblather asked how people feel about instrumental music (playing or listening). (Yes, voice is an instrument too, and probably my best, but that's not the focus here.) Sure, get me going. :-)

I enjoy playing instrumental music, and have composed some and arranged a bunch more. My primary instrument is hammer dulcimer, with which I'm competent. But what I lack in skill I try to make up for in spirit. :-)

For listening, it depends on context. For "attentive listening", such as at a performance, I connect best if I can perceive that the musicians are connecting with it. A great example of this is Homespun Celeidh Band, dglenn's group, but performers don't have to be as physically active as they are to convey that they are into the music, either. I also enjoy music where the sheer intensity comes through, which requires a different performance style. Either way, though, I find it harder to perceive this connection between the performer and the music (even though it may well be there) in larger groups, like orchestras, so I don't generally enjoy performances of classical music. As background music to listen to on a CD, though, I do enjoy it.

And against all my predictions based on the preceeding, I find that I enjoy some modern electronic music even if, for all I know, it's purely computer-programmed or something. I enjoy the works of Christopher Franke, for example, though I have no clue how he produces them. Every now and then I noodle around with my computer in that musical space, but I don't know what I'm doing and I've never produced anything worth preserving.

When On the Mark started we were uncertain if people would sit still for instrumental music at performances, particularly at cons. (In the SCA, sure (somewhat). Cons? Not so much.) We tend to be fairly conservative -- one instrumental piece for about every 3-4 songs, and songs are on average a little longer. We've gotten mixed responses, but some people very much enjoy the instrumental music. I think mixing instrumental and vocal pieces in a concert (or on a recording) works best if your vocal pieces tend to also have rich instrumentation, so it's not as much of a change. We strive for that -- don't always succeed, but we try. This means we're doing less with vocal harmonies because people are busy playing instruments, though, so there are definitely trade-offs.

Comments

[cellio]

I get the impression you're not the first person to do that. Our long-term recording plans do actually include an instrumentals-only compilation, but we're not there yet.

With concerts, you can go the "all instrumentals" route, which works well for some audiences and in some settings (e.g. folk festivals), or you can do a mix. When we do mixes it seems that people mostly want the songs. Worst seems to be about half-and-half; then you get tension between the people who came for the songs (and why are all those instrumentals in the way?) and those who came for the instrumentals (will you stop singing and just play?). If you tilt the balance in one direction or the other at least you're giving clear signals. Mind, this is based on observations of cons; other situations may vary (and probably do).