I send out my first "post" -- I believe that's the word the young people use -- and the electricals in the house have not burst into flame (note to self: thank goodness I put real Lincoln pennies in the fuse box!) I'll take that as a good sign.
And in the meantime, I realize that one of my charges -- in proclaiming the purposefulness of music -- is describing the different ways in which music can be purposeful.
So let's begin to explore the different aspects of "purpose" as it relates to music. For example: Why is that music being made here?
Historically, musical style or genre has often been defined by the venue or place in which it is played. For example, you will most likely find a college marching band striding across the turf at halftime in the local football stadium. Why?
Because that particular combination of brass, woodwind, reed, and percussion had been designed to fill the open air with sound. Historically, the practice had originated with the Turks, when they used drums and reeds to transmit commands to the forces across the field of battle.
And that is why, when the Williamsburg Fife and Drum Corps performed several years ago as part of the Patriots Day celebrations in the Concord Armory in Concord, Massachusetts, the sound was, well, dinful. (audio to come, I hope) The combined forces of fife and drum were created to be heard across a battlefield, not within the confines of a gym.
Let's see if I can get some of that extraordinary sound up here.
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