1
00:00:00,590 --> 00:00:04,790
Hello, this week's lecture is given by
Zack Moir and Richard Worth.

2
00:00:04,790 --> 00:00:06,350
Zach is a teaching fellow in the Reid

3
00:00:06,350 --> 00:00:08,460
School of Music at the University of
Edinburgh.

4
00:00:08,460 --> 00:00:12,800
He has a strong research interest in music
pedagogy, in higher education.

5
00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:15,700
He also has interest in musical
improvisation, popular

6
00:00:15,700 --> 00:00:19,180
music and the musical experience of
cochlear implant users.

7
00:00:19,180 --> 00:00:21,260
He's also an active musician and composer.

8
00:00:22,380 --> 00:00:24,800
Richard has a PhD in composition from the
University

9
00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:27,248
of Edinburgh, and is also a teaching
fellow here.

10
00:00:27,248 --> 00:00:29,190
Throughout the 90s, he lived in New York,

11
00:00:29,190 --> 00:00:32,220
performing and recording with his band,
Groove Collective.

12
00:00:32,220 --> 00:00:34,580
Since then, he's lived in Scotland,
studying and teaching.

13
00:00:36,090 --> 00:00:37,750
In this first lecture, we're going to
start

14
00:00:37,750 --> 00:00:41,050
with music at it's most basic level,
sound.

15
00:00:41,050 --> 00:00:42,270
We will look at how music can

16
00:00:42,270 --> 00:00:45,700
be created by exploiting the relationships
between sounds.

17
00:00:45,700 --> 00:00:48,770
As we're interested here in music literacy
as well as theory, we

18
00:00:48,770 --> 00:00:49,990
will be looking at how written

19
00:00:49,990 --> 00:00:52,650
notation can graphically represent these
musical sounds.

20
00:00:54,230 --> 00:00:56,400
Now, as is this is the first lecture,
there's just

21
00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:58,590
one thing I want to underline here before
we start.

22
00:00:59,860 --> 00:01:05,240
All kinds of superb musicians get by just
fine without reading or writing music.

23
00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:09,220
Being able to read and write musical
notation does not make you a composer or a

24
00:01:09,220 --> 00:01:11,690
musician any more than not being able to

25
00:01:11,690 --> 00:01:14,010
read and write means you can't compose or
play.

26
00:01:15,110 --> 00:01:17,650
Understanding musical notation doesn't
necessarily

27
00:01:17,650 --> 00:01:19,240
even make you a better musician.

28
00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:22,830
In fact you could argue that placing
emphasis on reading and writing can

29
00:01:22,830 --> 00:01:26,130
come at the expense of listening, which is
what music is really all about.

30
00:01:27,180 --> 00:01:31,650
At best then, understanding music notation
makes you a more rounded musician.

31
00:01:31,650 --> 00:01:34,950
It certainly does give you access to the
amazing riches of centuries of

32
00:01:34,950 --> 00:01:37,940
notated music, and allows you to express,

33
00:01:37,940 --> 00:01:42,530
analyze, record, and symbolically develop
musical ideas.

34
00:01:42,530 --> 00:01:44,870
Music notation is an amazing development
that's had

35
00:01:44,870 --> 00:01:47,740
an astounding impact on Western musical
culture and thought.

36
00:01:47,740 --> 00:01:52,160
But there's nothing particularly
challenging or difficult about notation.

37
00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:56,030
Mastering it is just a matter of
familiarization and practice.

38
00:01:56,030 --> 00:01:58,270
It's generally a tool, not an end in
itself.