{"id":898,"date":"2016-01-09T12:45:01","date_gmt":"2016-01-09T17:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/?p=898"},"modified":"2016-01-09T12:45:01","modified_gmt":"2016-01-09T17:45:01","slug":"non-linear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/2016\/01\/non-linear.html","title":{"rendered":"non-linear"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/k14071309.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-899\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-899 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/k14071309.jpg\" alt=\"k14071309\" width=\"170\" height=\"170\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/k14071309.jpg 170w, https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/k14071309-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/k14071309-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 170px) 100vw, 170px\" \/><\/a>Many of the most interesting developments in musical form over the last few decades have featured explorations in non-linear progression.\u00a0 Influenced in part by the implications of Relativity theory, but equally by the ease with which filmed narrative can shift us back and forth in time, composers have sought ways to manipulate notions of linear time, finding lovely juxtapositions and surprising destinations in the process.<\/p>\n<p>As much as I love contemplating the multiverse, though, I can\u2019t help wondering about the yearnings behind this way of viewing time.\u00a0 Is it unkind to see it as a form of denial?\u00a0 Viewing time as non-linear certainly doesn\u2019t change the fact that we are all mortal, that every minute brings us one minute closer to our end.\u00a0 Seen from that perspective, life could hardly be more linear, more unidirectional.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, I understand that this way of thinking is simplistic and reductive, but it nonetheless keeps me suspicious of being seduced by trends in non-linear composition.\u00a0 That\u2019s not to say that there aren\u2019t wonderful things being accomplished by composers in this vein.\u00a0 I suppose it\u2019s similar to the way I view Bach or Messiaen: I don\u2019t buy for a minute their views in the spiritual realm, but I love the music that grew out of their spirituality, and I recognize that music could not have happened in the same way if they weren\u2019t 100% committed to their religious beliefs.\u00a0 Since I don\u2019t share those beliefs, though, it would be foolish for me to try to write that kind of music, just as I can\u2019t fully commit to the idea of writing music that is somehow non-linear, as much as I may admire the works of those who can.<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<p>Unrelated note: anybody know of a good way to post musical examples (notes on staff, not sound files) on WordPress? \u00a0When I turn them into jpegs they are too fuzzy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many of the most interesting developments in musical form over the last few decades have featured explorations in non-linear progression.\u00a0 Influenced in part by the implications of Relativity theory, but equally by the ease with which filmed narrative can shift us back and forth in time, composers have sought ways to manipulate notions of linear [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-898","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry","8":"has-post-thumbnail"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=898"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":900,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898\/revisions\/900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/curves\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}