Flat Top Reed: News

We live in a culture that is fixated on the foreground (notes, technique, tunes, etc.), and yet we must reveal the background (silence, rhythm, cultural context, etc.). This background is the source of the power and drama of the music. It gives life and makes the music breathe. It provokes rather than distracts, confronts rather than pacifies. This is why the old music can be offensive. It doesn't sit nicely within or beside our contemporary culture. Most people only teach the foreground and most people only ever "get" the foreground, because it is the easiest part of music to acquire. It is easy to point to; it's tangible, but it is also superficial. The foreground is important only to the degree that it points to the background, to make the background leap out. This is what it means for the music to "get" you--to be seized by the power of the old music. The background is precisely what is deepest, most poignant, and most real about the music.
Adapted from a quote by Dr. Bradley Park