64 lines
3.7 KiB
HTML
64 lines
3.7 KiB
HTML
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<a href='..'>back to gomepage</a>—<a href='.'>journal</a>
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<h1 id='title'>Extensive vs. intensive expression</h1>
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<time datetime='Mon, 5 Dec 2022 21:30:00 CST'>5 Dec. 2022, 9:30 PM</time>
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<p>
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The study of phsyics contrasts physical properties as either <i>extensive</i> or <i>intensive</i>. An extensive property is dependent on magnitude (of either a material or a system), whereas an intensive property is not. An example would be a sample of water: the volume (say, 1 gallon) is extensive, and its density (about 1 g/mL) is intensive. If you add another gallon, the volume of the sample would change, but its density would not.
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</p><p>
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I like the terms extensive and intensive.
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I find them useful for describing situations where you have two related concepts, but one faces outward and the other inward.
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A good example of this would be two contrasting types of expression that occur in the process of writing music.
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<figure>
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<img src='img/ice_bird.webp' width='640' height='432' />
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<figcaption>Photo credit: <a href='https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IceBirdWithFledgling.jpg'>Andreas Tille</a></figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>
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The first type is how the music makes use of the space of possibilities available.
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This includes:
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</p><ul>
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<li>the approach to rhythm & pitch</li>
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<li>the style or genre</li>
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<li>the choice of instrumentation</li>
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<li>the specific ways in which instruments could be used (their ranges, extended techniques)</li>
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<li>recording & production techniques</li>
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<li>&c., many other things</li>
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</ul><p>
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From this point of view, expression is reaching into this possibility space to discover novelty and project it onto a blank canvas.
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This is what I would call <i>extensive expression</i>.
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I think of it as being more aligned with the early stages of writing music: brainstorming and digging around for good ideas to grow.
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</p><p>
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<i>Intensive expression</i>, on the other hand, is focused on understanding the nature of the music which is taking shape.
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You zero in on the specific musical statement you are making, and help the music to become more itself, more of “what it is”, so to speak.
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The wider space of possibilities gets progressively pruned off as your gut leads you to a distilled form.
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If extensive expression is about exploration, intensive expression is about receptivity.
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</p><p>
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Do you notice a parallel to these types of expression in your creative process?
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Do you think this interpretation of these terms is a stretch, given their meaning in physics?
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Do you have an alternative way of looking at musical expression that I don’t touch on here?
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Let me know your thoughts at my Ctrl-C email: <code>gome<span style='user-select: none;'> ​</span>@<span style='user-select: none;'> ​</span>ctrl-c.club</code>.
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