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The title of my talk is “Innovation as Rebellion against Complexity.”
I’ll start with my experience studying and teaching music history, and demonstrate how every major musical stylistic shift over the past 1500 years or so can be seen as a revolt against excessive complexity developing in the previous style. One example would be the shift from thick, complex polyphony that had become the norm in late Renaissance music, to the relatively simple and much-easier-on-the-ears style of early homophonic music. But I’d actually touch on all periods of music history.
I’d then challenge my audience to ask themselves and each other if this trend can be seen in other fields as well. Do we see such innovative rebellions in, say, art? Or literature? Architecture? The sciences? And what about technology…
…and are we on the cusp of a new rebellion against the massively complex technology that’s thrust upon us today? What does that look like? What innovations await us at the conclusion of that revolution?
I mean I’d be winging the fuck out of it with only a few seconds to prep but wouldn’t that be great to talk about?
You can see I’ve done a lot of thinking about this lol.
So are Gregorian chants more musically complex than modern pop music? Or is it more of a pendulum?
A pendulum is a good way of looking at it. What you see in the Medieval period is, as an example, musicians writing more and more challenging lines to sing. Wider leaps, rapid-fire phrases…and this is how they show off their skills. You see this more in the secular music of the day, as the church is constantly pushing for sacred music that doesn’t call attention to itself. But, the backlash happens because while those complex, jagged lines might be lots of fun for the singer, not so much for the listener. And so begins a movement toward vocal lines that are easier on the ears - smoother, more melodic, easier to sing, which also lines up nicely with developments in counterpoint and polyphony that allow major forms like the motet to come into being.
And of course musicians, not being able to help themselves, start competing with each other to write more and more complex motets, which sparks another aesthetic backlash, and it all starts again.
This is a gross simplification of course but just to give you an idea how this all works.
Thanks for the follow-up!
That's very interesting
I would happily sit through this TED talk!
Finally a worthy opponent!
I never thought that music went through a similar rebellion. At least not in the matters of complexity. But it makes sense. I'm very familiar with the art & architecture one. Modernism is one of the most revolutionary movements in human history.
Well said and a great point. I do feel, personally, I have already begun a small technological revolt. You should actually make a ~~TED talk~~ video or blog post about this if you have more to say.
"A fool admires complexity. A genius admires simplicity."
-Terrence "Terry" Andrew Davis