by Metal Child Media
The first time we heard about Art and Science was probably when we were still in the schools. Schools divide students into two categories - Art and Science. If you asked the reason why, your principle would give you a typical bad answer: “Based on the system !”.
In some ways, your principle was right because he did nothing wrong to follow the traditional system “ if ” the system mentioned has been proven practical and effective over the years. If you are not satisfied with his typical answer then you have to analyse it in a psychological way.
A) ART & SCIENCE
Art is based on the perception and science is based on the logic in human mind. They work in a totally different direction in our thinking system. Perception and logic are in total opposite positions and they are considered absolutely independent identities.
The logic derived from science did not allow the vagueness, subjectivity and variability. The main purpose to study science is to seek the solid absolutes of truth by using the traditional reason and language which is based on the past scientific experiments.
On the contrary, art is based on the human behaviour of self-organizing patterning systems. A strong contrast is always desperately needed, but the dividing line in between the contrast is always thin such as right or wrong, good or bad, beautiful or ugly, kind or evil, etc. There is no strong scientific logic involved at all but engaged with more psychological aspects. Art does not need any proof based on any truth or experiments in the past. Any artpiece created by an artist or musician is based on his/ her current creative state of mind or simply his/ her own organizing system - the gift.
B) PROVOCATION
Good art (of course inclusive of music) is always provocative as it is always diviate from the traditional logic or norms. The reason is very simple- What is there to talk about if everyone is following the old traditional thinking system at all times ? What is there to create if option is not impressive and exciting anymore ?
People who are having strong traditional logic always like to sharpen a feeling or situation as different as possible in an opposite ways. For example, extremes of love and hate, extremes of good and evil, etc. Whereas art likes to make the dividing line as thin as possible, even better if there is no divider at all. People with traditional and conservative thinking don’t like things to be presented in this way as they consider it as provocative.
Provocation is the most influencial elemens in art. Good art is meant in a provocative expression to show what happens when we challenge a traditional logic system. The result of provocation invites arguments, arguements help you to look things in different angles. The kindest thing that can be said about argument is that it is a motivated exploration of a subject.
In another words, good Perceptual Musicians are always provocative. When a musical work is considered creative but less provocative then that piece of art must be less profound and excitement. The value will become lower and lower over the years. In opposite, Logical Musicians always adorned by the public as they always made music according to the demands and requirements of the listeners. Those “custom-made” music was always easy to play, easy to sing and easy to understand, creating a more friendly enviroment among listeners.
C) MUSIC IS NOT LOGICAL
Some people might argue that they have studied music theory and also taken music exams. To them the music theory and exams were considered a logic as answers are considered correct only if they are identical in the text book.
Unfortuntely, the theory in the text book of art is just a basic structure for generating “effective emotional expression”. No doubt, text books have to be followed by students exactly during an exam. Whereas, when come to implementation you have to be in some-thing which is totally in different expression. When come to science, they are in a wide divergence of direction. In science, text book is written based on constructed truth according to the successful experiments proven in the past. In another words, when one experiment is successfully done, then it will become a theory and written down in a book. But, music is based on the emotional approaches, there is no proven successful experiments needed as a support. It is more like a guild to make you understand how to master an instrument faster. For example, if you remembered chemistry formula wrongly, you couldn’t get the result correctly. If you were mistaken the sequence of music (do-re-mi as do-mi-re), you still can make a great song, your feelings and sense of hearing would adjust by itselves automatically even though you didn’t somehow perform it correctly.
A scientist has to follow the logic that has been proven correctly by other scientists in the past and continue exploring something new on his own, this is called invention. In every new invention, there is always 30-40% of parts contributed by other scientists in the past. It is absolutly necessary to copy something correctly in the past in order to invent something new in the future.
As a musician, you can only choose a genre (that I considered a very basic general guildeline) and start writing something totally new on your own without copying any other musician work. If you like trying to copy even 10% of other musician musical work, your music career is not possible to go far, you either being a cover band or being eliminated very soon. Listeners can easily spot the similarities very quickly as human hearing sense is always beyond your expectation.
D) PRESENTATION
The worst part of being an artist (regardless a musician, painter or a dancer) is your (perceptual) artwork finally has to be presented to someone who pay you. They could be your employer or your customers. Most of them would use their (traditional) logic to interprete your (perceptual) artwork. Futhermore, they would ask you to change your style or redo until something can really be matched or fulfilled in their traditional logic. If you ask to be given a clearerdirection (what actually they want), they would tell you they don’t know, it is your job (to speculate what is on their mind, the place where is running a very special old version of traditional logic).
E) BE PERCEPTUAL OR LOGICAL ?
Don’t be upset when you are striving hard to become more and more perceptual, whereas your listeners are trying hard to ask you going back to your starting point. Your listeners are trying to make your perception become more traditional or trying to transform you from a perceptual musician to a logical musician.
If oneday they start knowing how to use their perception to interprete your artwork... If their perception is sensitive enough to judge your artwork in a correct way..., then probably it is time that you yourself have to degrade your own art work. A masterpiece is valuable as there are very few people really understand its artistic perception. There is no such thing as perceptual logic. Perceptual and Logic are two different things. Now you should understand why Vincent Van Gogh had never sold a single artpiece in his lifetime but a street artist could be richer than him then.
The degree of your tolerance to typical musical trend and the willingness to compromise with the general market’s expectation decides your direction is more tend to be a Perceptual or Logical Musician. Some musicians had decided to change their fate; to become a “Logical Musician” or so called contemporary artists/ musicians. They write the type of music which can be interpreted by human traditional logic easily. In short, that forms of music have already in people’s mind as most of the listeners like to listen to music by their traditionl logic. If you really want to enjoy listening other music which are more perceptual such as orchestras, black metal, death meta, etc, then you have to spend some times to learn as there are not in your traditional logic system.
