(HD) Alvin Lucier: Nothing is Real for piano, amplified teapot, recorder, & mini-sound system

[mattpolofka]

This is a really cool piece. I might give it a try, it'd be a cool technique to use with my own music if I can get manage it. Was that a zoom h2 you used to record it?

[LHSMusicClass]

@mattpolofka It was, if you mean recording the piano during the piece. I used a Sony D-50 to record the sound as a whole.

[LHSMusicClass]

@mattpolofka : one more thing. through experimentation, I discovered that the rounder the teapot, the better the overtones. Definitely try out the teapots before you buy them. I brought my cellphone to stores and played music through the speaker to check how they rang. There was a lot of variation. For this piece, specifically, you also need to hear the music coming from inside the pot. The thickness of the teapot walls had quite an effect on the volume.

[wtficantgetausername]

i do not understand. Please explain the purpose. I am curious

[LHSMusicClass]

@wtficantgetausername i think the piece explores "hidden" music. Modifying the recorded sound with the teapot creates a dream-like sound world that wasn't readily apparent in performance. Specifically, I think the teapot suggests an Alice in Wonderland kind of surrealism which works with the psychedelic "Strawberry Fields". The work has a theatricality about it as the audience waits to see what is going to happen next. The overtone wash surprises every time!

[MuseDuCafe]

Like it so much. My one 'fault' finding - no simultaneous interaction [composer's choice]. A.) here's the piano, source material. B.) here's the electronics permutations. A bit too 'lecture demo' for my sense of theater. Tricky to perform well(and build the right thing in the teapot!), and very very nicely done. Thanks

[LHSMusicClass]

@MuseDuCafe Thank you so much for your comments! I think the theater of the "demo" part is such a surprise live, though. When I have performed it live, there are always audible gasps at the amplified overtones. You are right about the trickiness of crafting the teapot and amplifying the thing. I found that you get the best overtones from the roundest pots. Thanks again!

[yourockets3]

great musician - nothing to say

[MrJrpjazz]

Lucier has taken "Strawberry Fields Forever" to new sonic heights.

[LHSMusicClass]

@MrJrpjazz Amen.  Thanks for the comment!

[duefriday0]

@MrJrpjazz Ha, I was thinking the same thing! Mumbling "Nothing is real..." while listening :)

[neeeiiiilll]

I love Lucier's work, but I always thought this one was maybe a bit too 'cute'. Watching this has changed my mind - I feel quite involved somehow. Thanks!

[LHSMusicClass]

@neeeiiiilll Thank you so much for watching and the nice compliment! I find the work to be quite magical. It is tricky to play live- to get the amplification levels right is not that easy. Yet, I have found that it opens up an aesthetic world to people who might never have listened to music like this before.

[danielanezgarcia]

I want to play it!

[LHSMusicClass]

@danielanezgarcia Thanks for watching! You are a terrific pianist.

[teekerbeaks]

You know, I kept waiting for you to play the recorder until I got to around 8:51 and said, Oh, THAT kind of recorder.

Liked the soundscape of the teapot.