The four formats for the making of music are each as vital as they are different. Each as their virtues and short comings. In this blog, I will go into detail to explain each format.

The first music format I will present to you is called Participatory. This format’s value is found in that it is not elitist, so therefore anyone can participate, and are, in fact, expected to. There is no distinction between participants and performers. In this way musical capability is not necessary, this format exists sole for the pleasure of the participants. This allows for communitas and flow because that is the idea behind many of the participatory activities. The negatives to this form of music is that often, musicians who are proficient at that activity, like drumming, a community drum circle would not provide sufficient challenge for them. The lack of competition is good for the mass participation level, however it fails to push people to their best.

The Presentational format is the second format I will discuss. Presentational, as the name implies, is a format in which there is a distinct difference between performer and listener. For example, at a concert, it is very clear who is a performer and who is an attendee. This gives the performer an elite status, therefore the audience has expectations for them which were not necessary in the Participatory format. The potential of this format comes from the fact that the success of the event depends not on the participants but rather on the performer. The drawback of this type of music making is that the listener may think they are experiencing flow and communitas, when in fact that isn’t the case. It is necessary for one to be a participant to truly feel the flow and sense of flow.

Even farther on the spectrum of formats presented here is the concept of High Fidelity Music. This refers to any and all music that could be played live however has been recorded. This type is definitely not near what Participatory can do in the sense of communitas and flow. However, this is often what is considered to be the “capitalist” format. The creation of these records is almost always to end of selling them to make money. The potential of this form comes with the mentality that the record is simply an impersonation not a really performance, and they can’t be compared because they are two separate entities. The limitations come when people do start treating the track as an actual musical performance.

 

Finally, the last format is that of Studio Audio Art. These are tracks that have no potential to be performed live because they are entirely computer generated with no musician involvement. This is another form that is on a track. The limitation of this form of music is that it can’t be performed live. However, it’s potential is the amount of variation that very few computer generated lines can be manipulated into many different songs that sound completely different. There is very limited human interaction in this type of music.