The use of 3D mapping for art is not novel. Trisha Brown’s Locus uses this same 3D system in order to create a dance based on motifs from the sentence, “at reed college in portland oregon and then as adjunct assistant professor at New York University 1967 (Brown, 1975).” Much of Trisha Brown’s work is based on this idea of motivic development. With this idea of motivic development, a statement from Kirnberger appears: “A simple melody is like a dance: it must be able to stand on its own feet (Kirnberger, 1982).” This idea can be seen in an inverse manner with Trisha Brown’s Accumulation (Marques, 2009).
Trisha took small movements and slowly combined other small movements in order to culminate in a thoroughly composed choreography. While dance is of a different medium than dance, this concept of motivic development of movement maps to the compositional practice through the idea of ‘One mind, any weapon (Orozco, 2014).’ In addition to dance, the 3D mapping of snare drumming shares that same application through MCMAP’s philosophy. For harmony, there is a way to map scales and triads in a manner that reflects the detail of motion capture studies for snare drumming.
One of the connections of dance and melody I've come across is the practice of Cuban Rumba. As a practioner of Rumba, I've found pathways that encounter both dance and rhythm in performance through improvisation on basic movement paradigms. Much like Brown's Accumilation, I began to study and see the foundation of the dance structure of Rumba as well as the many variations these seemingly simple move sets can become. Through my various studies with my dance teacher for Rumba, Wilfredo Guilbiac, and the Rumba group I was apart of in Austin, Texas, Quimbata (2016) with Lazaro Martinez, Rudy Canales, Mike Longoria, and Shauna.
This practice of Cuban Rumba informed my composition and intrument practice. One of the biggest concepts I gained from the practice of Rumba is the ability to play an instrument and sing. In addition to the physical traits I've gained, there are some interested musical ideas that are found in rumba as well. One of my favorites is how the melody 'floats' over the percussion which is both fixed and in a state of constant improvisation with the dancer and other musicians. This idea can be seen throughout the graduate recital, but more importantly in the first movement of the recital; Madre No Llores, by Los Muñequitos De Matanzas (Rumba Guaguanco).
Dance as Melody isn't a new concept as Kirnberger had wrote in the 1770's. However, I think this distinction, and more importantly, the practice of dance as half of the musical coin has been lost in most areas of music performance and education. Most, if not all, of my pieces written have this idea of melody as dance without the need to add an extra narrative component to the musical piece. This hasn't been the practice of classical composers as they wrote music to dance styles of the time. While this is true, there is still the issue that arises. While I can study both the music and dance of that time, in order to write in the same manner I would have to write music to the dance settings of my time. Any selection of Western composers yields an issue with culture, in which I am not apart of. For one, most of the dance practices some of these compositions are based on are far removed from the culture of dance I practice. My dance practice is comprised of the following: Cuban Rumba and Son, Lindy Hop, and Afro-Contemporary Ballet. In order to continue to write in the vain of a classical composer, I would have to continue to develop music based on dance. This dance informed style of composition can only help my other types of compositions through the ideas of motivic development.
Works Cited
Brown, T. (1975). Trisha Brown. Untitled (Locus). (1975). The Museum of Modern Art; MoMA. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/184698?artist_id=34784&page=1&sov_referrer=artist
Johann Philipp Kirnberger. (1982). The art of strict musical composition. Yale University Press.
Marques, A. (2009). Accumulation - Trisha Brown [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86I6icDKH3M
Orozco, Cpl. (2014, February 11). “One mind, any weapon.” United States Marine Corps Flagship.
https://www.marines.mil/News/News-Display/Article/523442/one-mind-any-weapon/