Why I Hate Concerts

Brad Garton

To the left of the stage at Vario Hall in Tokyo, placed on the wall abo
or 20 feet from the floor, is a giant digital clock. The passing hours
minutes are registered in large (about 12" high, I think), softly lit
seven-segment digits. This clock is the thing I remember most from the
ICMC concerts. The ICMC organizers had graciously published the approx
length of each piece performed in the Hall in the ICMC program. The mo
vivid recollection I have of nearly all the music done in Vario Hall is
memory of watching the minutes tick by and thinking: "only 4 more minut
go... only 3 minutes left...". Occasionally I would play the game of n
looking at the clock for a period of time, hoping that the numbers woul
change faster. They never did.

This clock-watching was a symptom. I wasn't having a good time at thes

concerts. Why was this so? Was the *music* so horrible? No, in fact
would very much enjoy hearing many of the ICMC-93 pieces again -- somew
other than a concert-hall, however. I think that my bad musical experi
were more rooted in the concept of a "concert" itself and the intersect
of that concept with the academic computer music community.

In an attempt to articulate the reasons for my concert-phobia, I decide

try the null-hypothesis technique. On the way back from the 1993 ICMC,
listed the reasons why music *should* be heard in a concert setting. W
wrote can be grouped into four broad categories. Here they are:

- cultural reasons

When most people in our culture think of music, they think of the music
being *performed*. Concerts are the archetypal setting for a musical
performance -- witness the large number of music videos on MTV showing
concert "performances" of recorded music. I would argue that this is a
essential part of music. A person listening to a recorded piece of mus
hearing a virtual recreation of some concert or performance situation.
This has been shaped by centuries of music concerts, evolving from the
organized human societies through the religious gatherings of the middl
ages to the contemporary concert format as established in the nineteent
twentieth centuries. Any composer laying claim to the 'tradition' of
western art music implicitly embraces the concert hall. In the western
world, concerts are where music happens.

- practical reasons

The most obvious explanation for this state of affairs is that the conc
hall (the church in older times) was one of the few places where the re
for the production of music could be gathered. In order to hear music,
had to go to some type of concert.

This reason holds true for computer musicians today. Especially for
live/interactive pieces involving a heavy computational load, it is
difficult to gain access to the equipment and musicians required for
contemporary computer music. In addition, it is still necessary to per
the music in a large hall if more than a few people want to see the
performance.

Another practical reason for a concert presentation of computer music i

tied to technical resources. Few people can afford a sound system as l
as most concert systems. For better or for worse, a sizeable array of
loudspeakers in a large space can produce a sense of 'bigness' that is
difficult to reproduce in other environments.

- aesthetic reasons

When a 'big' sound is a desired result, using a concert hall for the
presentation of a new piece of music becomes an aesthetic issue. To be
sure, the entire pro- vs. anti- concert debate could be recast as an is
of aesthetics only. For some listeners, music simply sounds better in
concert hall.

The aesthetics of a concert hall presentation are obviously apparent if

the diffusion of sound is made an integral part of the performance. Wh
skilled diffusion artist performs on a good concert playback system, th
musical results can have a visceral dramatic impact.

For pieces involving live musicians (computer or otherwise), the perfor

is necessarily part of the aesthetic experience. The physical actions,
real-time response, the performance tightrope walked by the participant
a fundamental part of the music.

- social reasons

Watching the performance take place is the audience, a group of people

ostensibly gathered together for a shared purpose -- to hear the music.
Concerts are by definition a social event. Speaking for myself (but I
this is true of others), I go to concerts not only to hear the music, b
also to see friends, to check out who else is there, and frequently bec
a sense of obligation tells me that we need to "support" the composers
attending (just try going to an ICMC and *not* attending any concerts..

These social reasons take a turn towards the political when the concert
attended are largely in the domain of academia. Concert performances c
as "scores" (no pun intended); the points gained go towards the climb u
academic ladder of success. Resume-scanners are always on the lookout
the latest performances of someone's work: When was a particular piece
done? Where was it done? How many times? The more concerts devoted t
certain person, the greater the POWER that person has. Does the last t
played my tape piece for a few friends at home count in this game?

It is this last group of reasons that forms the core of my dislike of

concerts. Perhaps this is more a symptom of the selection of
concerts in New York that I have been attending recently, but I often f
that the concerts exist as nothing more than sorry excuses for reinforc
peculiar academic social hierarchy. Sure, I have a good time; I see
friends, I meet new people, I occasionally enjoy the music. However, t
whole concert context -- and I'm certainly aiming this criticism at ICM
concerts, too -- seems infused by a feeling of competitiveness that
nullifies aspects of music I value most. The music takes place as part
mechanism intended to show who is the current Top Dog Hot Shot Composer

The concert event takes on an aura of some perverse contest: composer v

composer, composer vs. performer, performer vs. computer, musician vs.
omniscient/judging audience. This infected atmosphere so colors my
perception of music in concert that any intellectual and emotional con
is lost. Is this the best place for a lasting musical experience?

I don't see these competitive aspects of the concert hall being

intrinsically located "in" the music. However, the context exerts a po
influence upon the perception of the music. Much music I truly love is
downright embarrassing in a concert. Sitting in the cramped environs o
darkened concert hall, I often find myself struggling to get through a
that is absolutely marvelous when I hear it at home. Concerts change m
and I don't particularly like the results.

If these reprehensible "social reasons" for holding concerts are indeed

poisoning the music, then the solution -- as I see it -- is to change t
presentation (more on this later). But what about the other reasons I
outlined for the existence of concerts? The focus of many of the "prac
reasons" can simply be shifted if the premise of a concert hall is remo
For example, I can imagine a performance venue designed to take full ad
of a diffusion playback system without the stultifying trappings of con
society. The ultimate result might even be much more satisfying from a
technical-sonic aspect. I can also think of several ways to deliver a
performance to a large group of people without herding them into some
auditorium and forcing them to sit quietly for several hours. A little
effort in redirecting existing resources to meet practical demands can
interesting dividends -- if we can lose our concert hall blinders.

I can't argue too much with those who find the concert itself aesthetic
appealing. Obviously, my own musical aesthetics are poorly served by a
concert. For those who love sitting in a hall and hearing music, I can
respond with "I am different from you."

As for the "cultural reasons" for concerts, my hope is that the musical
heritage carried through the concert hall endows us with an evolving an
dynamic tradition where the weight of history is more than counterbalan
by the contemporary creative impulse. If we do indeed implicitly embra
the concert hall when we lay claim to the western art tradition, and if
virtual recreation of that tradition is present in the pieces we as com
write, then is it really necessary to maintain our strong links to the
of the concert hall itself? Can't we to break down the aspects of the
experience we dislike, and begin building upon the features of music mo
suited to our contemporary aesthetics? Of course, in these statements
assuming a contemporary aesthetics intended to encompass the multiplici
music extant in the world coupled with a 'tradition' of musical innovat
I intend for this position to stand in contradistinction from those who
proclaim loudly that they are "preserving the Tradition" by remaining r
in a music of the near-past. I believe that these neo-traditionalists
not really want to preserve an on-going tradition, but would rather fre
particular moment in musical history; a static snapshot of how music sh
go forevermore. Instead, I would like to see preservation efforts (if
want to call them that) directed at maintaining a continuity of change
creative invention.

My challenge to the ICMA, then, is to think beyond the narrow confines

the concert hall. We should design performances intended to emphasize
diversity of musical experience. The consideration of how a piece is t
presented to an audience ought to be an explicit part of the compositio
rather than an implicit assumption often ill-suited to the compositiona
intent. The not-so-benign influence of the concert hall on composers
becomes especially apparent in the translation to different media. Doe
computer music composed with a concert in mind translate well to compac
disc? We are in the business of working with new media by the very nat
of what we do -- we should use it! No longer should we use the concert
the locus of our musical activity... frankly, I wouldn't mind attending
ICMC with no concerts planned at all. A lot of *music* planned, howeve

I realize that I'm wielding a fairly polemical paintbrush in this artic

There are certainly many shades of grey missing in my grotesque portrai
the concert scene. I thought about passing this article around to othe
the ICMA who probably strongly disagree with me for commentary, but dec
against it because I wanted this to stand as a statement of my own -- I
take the full blame for this viewpoint myself (plus I'm past deadline a
for this issue of ARRAY!). If you do have opinions about how our music
done, however, please write us and speak your mind. I really do wonder
other ICMA members think about this.