brettworks

thinking through music

energy

  • Drumming Diaries: Energies of Performance

    Edgar Degas, Musicians in the Orchestra (1872) “There’s a whole orchestra down there. This is where all the music happens.” “Look—he’s playing a huge xylophone!” “He’s trained his entire life to learn those instruments.” At the show over the past few years I’ve noticed more and more curious audience members peering over the pit at… Continue reading

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  • Music and Energy

    Paul Klee, Ancient Sound (1925) Music is all energy. From its oscillating sound waves to its emotional effects on listeners, music encapsulates and compresses energy and then unleashes it back into the world. The orchestra, the choir, the DJ, the percussionist–musicians are energy artisans who use sound to build fleeting structures of feeling. Composing, a… Continue reading