Students: describe the performance (for almost all of you that means the 7pm concert in the chapel; a few of you will see him elsewhere on Weds, like at noon in Steigerwald).
Then, collectively, like a team, building on what others have said:
Argue for or against the claim that experiencing an artistic performance is relevantly similar to an athletic performance. Explain the similarities (or dissimilarities if that's what you're arguing). For example, Jesse argued in her paper that arts & sports are each forms of expression and that each allows the release of emotions, which is important in a healthy, balanced life.
Finally, as individuals, argue for or against the claim that artistic performances should be valued to the same degree as athletic competitions.
The performance tonight was very relaxing. The music seemed to take on a mind of its own and was different from most musical performances I have been too. As the Falzone stated before he played the music at time may seem like it is not music at all but in fact in some parts of the world it possibly is music, and in a given sense, religious music. I can see the aspects of which he was talking about, banging the pan, at least I think it was a pan, and adding other devices into to make a different sound.
ReplyDeleteIt was a different experience but still enjoyable.
I do believe that artistic performaces are in some shape or form like athletic performances, in the fact that the performer has to spend hours upon hours to perfect their techniques and their craft. As Falzone said he did not just throw it together, though sometimes it may have appeared to be. It takes time and effort to put together the type of work that was on display tonight. Now they are definitely different in the fact that athletic performances get way more attention and no athletic skill is needed to be an artistic performer, notice I said athletic skill not skill,because It does take skill to do what he does. So over all I believe that artistic and athletic performances are basically the same.
I believe that I cannot answer the last question without bias. I was born an raised as an athlete playing football, basketball, and baseball; heck I still compete in track and field so my answer would tend to lean towards a higher value on athletics, but considering I have little experience with the fine arts it would seem the likely answer. However, I believe that, from an unbiased view, they should be treated equally, if not having artistic performances. The view on this is most of us will never make it to the professional levels let alone collegiate and the skills learned from the artistic side could end up benefiting us more than the athletic sides of things.
I must say I loved the performance last night. It was very relaxing and peaceful. The music really calmed me and allowed me to relate the sounds to my life. Personally, I took the performance as a religious meditation. I've been on several retreats where we listened to different collages of music--kind of how things were last night. So my natural reaction was to close my eyes and pray (especially since we were in the church). I was praying to God and it was like a flashback of images and memories came to mind as Falzone played different instruments in many different tones. The slower the performance, the more peaceful my thoughts and prayers. The more corrupt and loud performance, bad memories and times came to mind. I realize I'm probably the only person who did this, but coming from my religious background, it was the only way I found I was able to relate.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nick. I believe that music or artistic performances are just like athletic performances. The person who is performing must practice and work just as hard as any athlete. It is just in different terms. Athletes work their body, whereas I feel like artist work their mind and creativity more. We are both training, just in different areas. They also have to know how to perform and when to change things--just like an athlete. Both also need skill, just like Nick said.
I firmly agreed artistic performances should be valued just as much as athletics. I can say this because I can come from both sides. I am both an athlete and an artistic performer. That is, if you consider English and writing 'artistic'. My junior year through end of freshman year I ran a blog that was very popular and had over 300,000,000 views before I deleted it. I must say, I spent hours and sometimes even days writing post and figuring out what I was going write. I think I spent more time on my blog back then than I ever did on volleyball right now. It took a lot of time, effort, and skill. Writing poems (a few which have been published) took a lot of time as well. And to think that after all the time and effort, it shouldn't be as valued as sports, really upsets me. What's the difference? I think they should both be equally viewed. They are both needed, that is for sure. I also agree with Jesse, both are forms of expression. Each allows the release of emotions, which is necessary and an important part of a healthy, balanced life.
The performance was different and unlike many musical performances I've experienced. It seemed like there wasn't much preparation but after Falzone talked about his performance everyone knew that there was preparation much like an athletic competition. Improvisation is something you don't prepare for so I feel like he was unjust in saying that his performance was a musical improvisation since he said that preparation was put into his performance. He could of been using improv at certain points in his performance and some artist use improv if something goes wrong. For example, if an instrument is out of whack he may have to play it a certain way in order to overcome that mishap. Much like an athletic competition, preparation only goes so far. Many times in competition you will have to make in game adjustments to counter what an opponent is doing. This is what I call improvisation. It may take place during a play in which you make a snap decision. This can parallel to artistic performance. I wasn't really sure at times what was going on in his performance and I think many people compared his style of music to a professionally noted style of music in which there is a set way of playing in the musical notes. However, his style of music was interesting and somewhat relaxing at times. At other times he seemed to express more emotion with the change in the loudness and rhythm of the instrument he was playing. Artistic performances are like athletic performances in which you prepare and you are on a quest for excellence. There are dissimilarities from the aspects of what each performance can teach you. An athletic performance may reinforce competing on another level with an opponent while in an artistic performance you may be competing more or less against your own abilities. Also, athletic performance can allow you to make very quick decisions on the run while an artistic performance may allow more time to make crucial adjustments. I am biased since I don't have, in my opinion, a strong artistic background regarding music and have played sports my whole life. However, both are equally helpful in the development of a person because they reinforce key aspects in different ways and to different extents. So in my opinion I do think artistic and athletic performances should be valued the same way. I agree with Kohrs that essential skills can be learned in one performance and not the other so both are mutually reinforcing and helpful to the individual.
ReplyDeleteThe performance last night by James Falzone was relaxing and very interesting to say the least. The thing that I liked the most about his performance was it was all improvisation. It was not practiced and rehearsed. All of the instruments that Falzone used to produce all kinds of different sounds was truly amazing. Throughout the performance, it sometimes sounded like Falzone was just playing these instruments without having any direction to it but to him there was a direction and as I listened closely I could tell that there was a strong message that he was trying to give. In my opinion, Falzone is a very talented musician and his pieces that he creates are an inspiration.
ReplyDeleteLike Kohrs said, I also believe that artistic performances are just like athletic performances. I say this because just like an athlete, artists and musicians need to practice and master their techniques in order to deliver their best performances each time. Before Falzone started his performance, he told us that he had no idea what type of performance he was going to give because it was all based on improvisation. I think this is very similar to an athletes performance on the playing field because when an athlete is playing their sport, they do not know what is going to happen next. They just follow their techniques and craft and trust their abilities to go and make the play. This is very similar to what Falzone delivered last night. He had no idea what he was going to do next but with his craft and mastered techniques he was able to continue to create a wonderful 35 minute piece without stopping one time.
I also agree with what Kohrs said here. Growing up as an athlete my whole life I would tend to value athletic performances more than an artistic performances. However, I am not taking away anything from an artistic performer. I believe that in anything you do, you need to be willing to put in the time and effort to become the best that you can be. I am sure Falzone has put in hours and hours of practice to become the best performer that he can be and it definitely showed last night. Overall, I was very impressed with Mr. James Falzone and it takes a special musician/performer to do what he did last night.
I do believe artistic performances are very similar to athletic performances as well. A sport is a fine art just like music or art or acting. The athlete or artist must practice everyday and make sure they are very well prepared to perform. Like Tyler said, improvisation and sports come hand in hand. We have plays to run, but you ave no idea what the opponent is going to do next. It is all based on how you react to the situation. One plays a sport because they love the game, just as musicians and artist love their trade. All of the qualities an artist needs, an athlete needs the same attributes.
ReplyDeleteIn a sense, i do believe that artistic performances should be valued as highly as a sporting performance. Like Nick and Tyler said, one is more drawn to sports if they have been around them their whole life. Its all a matter of personal preference. I believe that someone watching an artistic performance has the same appreciation for the performance and the work behind it is exactly like someone watching a sport and appreciating the athletic abilities.
I thought the performance was really great and it was very interesting. I thought that it was really cool how he used many instruments for different reason and created new sounds. Listening to his performance was very inspiring and inspirational because it sent me on a spiritual journey. I started to look at my life and question what I was going to do with my life. It helped me have some personal time to sit down an think to myself. It also was very calming and helped me relax and just be in the moment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nick on the fact that and artistic performance is the same as an athletic performance. They both take a lot of preparation to perfect it and skills to master the specific act. Also I agree with Tyler said about improvisation and athletics coincide with each other. In reality they are the same concept of hard work and dedication. They are both very similar in many ways because they have an equal love for what they do and the preparation that goes into it.
I believe that they should be be valued to the same degree because they both use the same work ethic. For example, marching band you need a lot of stamina, enquirers the same amount of discipline, dedication, and hard work as football because they both require memorization, practice, and team work to accomplish their goals.
The performance by James Falzone was very soothing and interesting. I could see all of the practice and preparation that he had to do while he was performing because nobody could be that talented and just go out there and wing it and have performance as good as his. All of the different sounds that he created with all the different instruments was truly amazing. I could really see the passion and love that he displayed through his music and that's what I would think would be the hardest part, relaying the message through his mdic to his audience. I think that his performance is really similar to an athletic performance because just like a sporting event he had to practice and practice to perfect his skill. Also he is doing something that he loves and that is why an athlete plays their specific sport. Even though his style of music might not have as big as fan base as an athletic event, he still has a fan group just like an athlete has. Another way that this his performance is similar to an athletic performance is that not everybody is talented enough to do his skill. Not everybody has athletic ability and the same is to say about musical ability. How many people do you know could hold there breath for that long and have a perfect performance like he had. His lung capacity is what I thought was truly amazing, I know i could not do it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Phil when he says that a sport is a fine art just like music is a fine art. Because in order to perfect your art you must practice. Also i agree with Goose when he says improvisation and athletic performance are very similar because it is true, Both things have to practice and put all that they have into their craft in order to have a positive outcome.
My perspective on the performance of James Falzone could be summarized with three phrases: It was certainly unexpected, somewhat emotional, and at times slightly jarring.
ReplyDeleteI was aware that much of the performance was going to be improvisational and so had anticipated there would be a degree of unexpectedness. However, I was surprised by how he was able to integrate the movements throughout the thirty-five minutes into one coherent work. I appreciated Falzone’s explanation of how the development of his piece compared to the Japanese forms of martial arts he was studying: There are certain planned elements, but the nuances and intricacies are created at the time of the performance. This to me seemed very reminiscent to a game of chess, wherein players have an understanding of the movements of pieces, certain openings, and important strategies, but I would argue that no two people have ever played the same chess game twice. In short, I found this improvisation impressive, as one must be exceptionally talented to be able to develop such a moving piece so extemporaneously.
Furthermore, I found parts of this piece stirring and expressive of considerable emotion. I appreciated the incorporation of the poetry of Thomas Merton into the performance and utilized these readings in my interpretation of the sound. This line—the very first that was read—represented how easily one becomes lost in his or her day-by-day tasks and to me functions as a reminder to see a larger purpose in life every so often.
Be still. / Listen to the stones of the wall. / Be silent, they try / to speak your / name. / Listen / to the living walls.
The Falzone’s work likewise prompted me to recognize exactly that—to put it colloquially, to see the forest for the trees. I paused, caught my breath, sighed—so deeply that I cannot express through these words. In this regard, I found the piece then remarkably powerful and exceptionally moving.
To add a bit of criticism, I felt that aspects of the performance detracted from my experience overall, specifically with respect to the parts that utilized a Dadaist kind of “noise music”. I struggled to reconcile the loud and discordant sounds with the intentions of the artist—though they were undoubtedly purposeful—and, though I recognize that Falzone was developing the piece as he performed, was consequently unimpressed by some parts of the experience. While some may contend that these aspects contributed to the expression of the piece, I personally did not derive any kind of emotional connection through the noise. While as a whole the performance was smoothly integrated, these interludes were unnecessary, unaesthetic—though this was indubitably intentional—and a bit off-putting.
Therefore, the piece was for me rightfully unexpected—but impressively so in how Falzone was able to put it together at that moment—and moving, but at times a degree unpleasant.
I thought the performance was a lot like the one I went to last year. Kind of strange yet it kept you interested and it relaxed you. I liked how he used his instruments to make different sounds. To be that artistic takes a lot of time and practice. So I also argue that artistic performances are similar. Both have to practice for years to perfect their craft, both have to use their brains whether making music or making lays. I believe both take a lot of dedication from the person that does either. I personally like playing and watching sports better, but both take the same time and energy as the other whether physically or mentally.
ReplyDeleteJust as everyone said the performance was very unique and different. As a musician myself, I really enjoyed listening to Falzone's performance. I grew up playing the flute, starting in 5th grade and I played all the way through High School, and still play now. I had a lot of respect for him. It takes a lot of time and effort to do what he did. Even now playing the flute I am no where close to perfect at playing it. I know that what he did was improv but it is not like he picked up the instruments that he was playing that day and started playing. He had to practice. He had to know what notes sound good together, what octaves he could reach, the different fingerings for each note to make the sound that he wanted to make, the different breathing techniques to form different pitches. Yes, he didn't know what he was going to play when he picked up the instrument that night, but the work that he put into it beforehand, the behind the scenes type of stuff, is what makes it like an athletics performance.
ReplyDeleteTo me it was really neat getting to listen to not only one instrument but also him combining other sounds like the piano, etc. and incorporating them into his performance. I also like how he had instruments that I had never heard of before. I think that that adds to not only the performance but also to himself, because it shows what kind of person he is to not use the generic everyday type of instruments.
I do think though that it is a stereotype that we from by the way we grew up whether we respect and understand the fine arts. I was fortunate enough to be involved in both the fine arts and athletics and have mass respect for both sides. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to devote oneself to being good at something. However, I can also see growing up only on side or the other, one can really create that stereotype and feel that the other is not similar in any way.