Nurturing Students' Creativity and Critical Thinking through Creating and Performances

- Live Performance, Why?- Inspirations for Music Creativity- Some Experience (as composer, audience, adjudicator)

Joshua Chan, HKU Music Department

既然有完美的錄音，為什麼還要去現場聽音樂會？Why do we still attend live concerts?

1. No matter how advanced the technology is, no recording and high fidelity playback system can 100% reproduce the same sounds performed on acoustic instruments or voices; listening to live performance directly with one's own ears is always the best way to capture the sounds.

Why do we still attend live concerts?

It is especially necessary for orchestral performances where the dynamic levels varies greatly, because the overall sound intensity spectrum must be compressed somehow in a recording due to the limitations/nature of sound engineering technology.

Why do we still attend live concerts?

2. Live performance provides an opportunity for audience to interact with the performers in multiple ways. It means a lot to one party when acknowledging the presence of the other party: the musician is performing for you, or the audience is listening to your performance.

Why do we still attend live concerts?

That's why the musical result will usually be quite different from that of a dress rehearsal when there is no audience. In other words, being a member of the audience will help the performing musician to achieve a better musical result which will benefit the audience in return.

Why do we still attend live concerts?

3. Seeing clearly the actual actions and facial expressions of the performing musicians will help you perceive the music better. That's why some radio programmers will usually avoid selecting musical pieces that come with unexpectedly long silences or sudden sound burst, as the listeners are unprepared without seeing the performing actions.

Why do we still attend live concerts?

In other words, the music we hear on radio will therefore be limited to certain types. Most DVD recordings of live performances are also post-edited: the sounds you hear are not necessarily generated during the same take of the video recording.

Why do we still attend live concerts?

4. Live performances may be viewed and understood as a form of social ritual; the physical aspects of the venue, the location of audience members, the manner of their engagement before, during, and after performance, the dress codes, etc.

Why do we still attend live concerts?

Some innovative contemporary musical works and multimedia productions can only be performed live in specific venues where the listeners must be physically present to experience the special effects (e.g., musicians performing in multiple locations with or without mobility, special stage setting, etc.).

Why do we still attend live concerts?

5. There is nothing wrong with recorded music; it is a great thing. But a CD recording is like an error-free, polished performance which offers no varieties. Musicians never perform the same piece exactly the same way each time; there are always subtle varieties and surprises in each live performance, no matter they are bad or beyond belief.

Why do we still attend live concerts?

We probably do not want the musicians to reproduce what they recorded in a perfect manner in each live concert. In other words, it is about danger and risk. The best performers are willing to take risk in live concerts, and therefore the audience will never be sure whether it will be a successful risk taking before the concert begins.

從哪裡找靈感來作曲？What inspire us to compose?

Visual (Inanimate): Photo, Image, Graphic, Colours, Light/Shade, Painting, Calligraphy, Drawing,

2D/3D Advertisement, Natural Scenery, Natural or Man-made Objects, Body, etc.

What inspire us to compose?Visual (Animate): Choreography,

Movie, Cartoon, Computer Animation, Drama, TV Broadcast, Animal/Insect/Human Activities, Mechanic, Happening, Street Scenes, etc.

What inspire us to compose?Aural: Natural Sounds,

Animal/Insect Sounds, Mechanical/Man-made Sounds, Noise, Conversation, Radio Broadcast, Music, etc.

What inspire us to compose?Emotions (Part 1): Affection,

Anger, Annoyance, Anxiety, Apathy, Awe, Boredom, Bravery, Calmness, Contempt, Compassion, Compression, Confusion, Curiosity, Depression,

What inspire us to compose?Emotions (Part 2): Desire,

Despair, Disappointment, Disgust, Doubt, Ecstasy, Empathy, Embarrassment, Envy, Euphoria, Fear, Frustration, Gratitude, Grief, Guilt,

What inspire us to compose?

Emotions (Part 3): Happiness, Hatred, Homesickness, Hope, Hostility, Humiliation, Hysteria, (righteous) Indignation, Interest, Jealousy, Kindness, Loneliness, Love, Lust,

What inspire us to compose?

Emotions (Part 4): Melancholia, Nostalgia, Panic, Patience, Pity, Pride, Rage, Regret, Resentment, Sadness, Self-pity, Shame, Shyness, Suffering, Surprise, Suspicion, Sympathy, Wonder, Worry, etc.

What inspire us to compose?Philosophy: Knowledge, Truth,

Beauty, Law, Justice, Validity, Mind, Language, Science, Politic, Economy, Religious (Existence), Morals, etc.

What inspire us to compose?Others: Writing, Letter, Poem,

Lyrics, Script, Statement, People, Earlier Compositions, Risk-taking, etc.

音樂結合其他媒體Music with Other Media

Instrumental Music Vocal Music with Lyrics Singing with Facial Expression Singing with Acting Music with Choreography (synchronization) Adding Props and Costume Adding Lighting & Sound Effects Adding Projection/Video

Incorporate a variety of instructional materials into projects. Try to use inexpensive, found, or recycled materials for projects such as making instruments. Try to use our bodies (various vocal effects, gestures, choreophy, etc.)

我們經常要用昂貴的工具來製造音樂嗎？Do people always use expensive tools to make music?

A wide spectrum of technological application

Do people always use expensive tools to make music?

Nobody Knows Me (Madonna)

Hung Up (Madonna)

Rapture (iiO)

What does the audience expect in attending a live performance?

Beauty? Entertainment/Enjoyment? Expression? Interaction? Stimulation/Inspiration? Risk-taking? Something worthwhile?

What does the judge panel expect in a performance of Creative Music Showcase?

Music is the main element? All art forms work together as a whole? Idiomatic/Cost effective? Interesting? Creative ideas in any area? Competence? Satisfactory standard of overall

performance? Wasting time?