Every once in a while we will wonder and think how could we ever come up with some new innovation that could possible be equal or greater to the advances we have now. We will build these great machines that do these fantastic things and wonder how life could get better. We will attend concerts and movies and shows and wonder how those ancient peoples could possible live not having this kind of fulfillment, not having this kind of emotional satisfaction. And we’ll wonder what changes are even possible in the future.

In the past 100 years we saw such advances in music that what was once considered blasphemous is now enjoyed by the majority. What once followed such strict traditions has now generated its own rules and demolished all else. Music has always been used for entertainment, but previously it has only been used in churches, to entertain the wealthy class, at ceremonies, dances, special events. Now, we use music in our everyday life on our way to work, to accompany movies, as a part of business presentations, as a part of business logos, in our workplaces to make background noise, in elevators, in lobbies, and through just about every place and ever medium we can. We wonder what else can be done with music.

I have a suggestion. I have seen music paired with just about every type of art: moving picture, paintings, performance art, theater, etc. But, there is one pairing that I haven’t seen yet. Pairing music with literature. We’ve already done it some with songs which is poetry set to music, but I would like to see music set to words. Specifically, I would like to see someone sit down with a book and as part of reading that book they must listen to a CD in order to get the full effect. Is it possible? Practical? There are a few obstacles: getting around the logistics of how people read versus how the music accompanies, how to make the music and literature pair in such a way that reading without the music is similar to watching a movie without the soundtrack, is it live or not.

We’ve paired music with other art forms in such a way that if you take out the music you’ve detracted from the entire experience. It would be an interesting experiment. Literature (specifically, reading books) is already such a personal experience (perhaps more personal than any other form) that it would only seem that music would be another tool in the authors box to bring the reader even more into the story. I’ll admit that I have no idea how this could be accomplished, but if someone finds a way to make it work and work successfully, I’ll certainly be interested.


blog comments powered by Disqus