GROUP 2

AVANT GARDE MUSIC

CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH ELECTRONIC
MUSIC THE AVANT GARDE MOVEMENT
DEALT WITH THE PARAMETERS OR THE
DIMENSIONS OF SOUNDS IN SPACE. THE
AVANT GARDE STYLE EXHIBITED A NEW
ATTITUDE TOWARD MUSICAL MOBILITY,
WHEREBY THE ORDER OF NOTE GROUPS
COULD BE VARIED SO THAT MUSICAL
CONTINIUTY COULD BE ALTERED.
 \
AVANT-GARDE MUSIC IS MUSIC THAT IS CONSIDERED TO
BE AT THE FOREFRONT OF EXPERIMENTATION OR
INNOVATION IN ITS FIELD, WITH THE TERM "AVANT-
GARDE" IMPLYING A CRITIQUE OF EXISTING AESTHETIC
CONVENTIONS, REJECTION OF THE STATUS QUO IN
FAVOR OF UNIQUE OR ORIGINAL ELEMENTS, AND THE
IDEA OF DELIBERATELY CHALLENGING OR ALIENATING
AUDIENCES.
 AVANT-GARDE MUSIC MAY BE DISTINGUISHED FROM EXPERIMENTAL
MUSIC BY THE WAY IT ADOPTS AN EXTREME POSITION WITHIN A CERTAIN
TRADITION, WHEREAS "EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC" LIES OUTSIDE TRADITION.
IN A HISTORICAL SENSE, SOME MUSICOLOGISTS USE THE TERM "AVANT-
GARDE MUSIC" FOR THE RADICAL COMPOSITIONS THAT SUCCEEDED THE
DEATH OF ANTON WEBERN IN 1945. DON MICHAEL RANDEL WRITES THAT
THIS PERIOD BEGAN WITH THE WORK OF RICHARD WAGNER,WHEREAS
EDWARD LOWINSKY CITES JOSQUIN DES PREZ. THE TERM MAY ALSO BE
USED TO REFER TO ANY OTHER POST-1945 TENDENCY OF MODERNIST
MUSIC NOT DEFINABLE AS EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC, THOUGH SOMETIMES
INCLUDING A TYPE OF EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC CHARACTERIZED BY THE
REJECTION OF TONALITY.
 ALTHOUGH SOME MODERNIST MUSIC IS ALSO AVANT-GARDE,
A DISTINCTION CAN BE MADE BETWEEN THE TWO
CATEGORIES. ACCORDING TO SCHOLAR LARRY SITSKY,
BECAUSE THE PURPOSE OF AVANT-GARDE MUSIC IS
NECESSARILY POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND CULTURAL CRITIQUE,
SO THAT IT CHALLENGES SOCIAL AND ARTISTIC VALUES BY
PROVOKING OR GOADING AUDIENCES, COMPOSERS SUCH AS
IGOR STRAVINSKY, RICHARD STRAUSS, ARNOLD SCHOENBERG,
ANTON WEBERN, GEORGE ANTHEIL AND CLAUDE DEBUSSY
MAY REASONABLY BE CONSIDERED TO HAVE BEEN AVANT-
GARDISTS IN THEIR EARLY WORKS (WHICH WERE
UNDERSTOOD AS PROVOCATIVE, WHETHER OR NOT THE
COMPOSERS INTENDED THEM THAT WAY), BUT THE LABEL IS
NOT REALLY APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR LATER MUSIC.
FOR EXAMPLE, MODERNISTS OF THE POSTWORLD WAR II PERIOD, SUCH
AS ELLIOTT CARTER, MILTON BABBITT, GYRGY LIGETI, WITOLD
LUTOSAWSKI, AND LUCIANO BERIO, NEVER CONCEIVED THEIR MUSIC
FOR THE PURPOSE OF GOADING AN AUDIENCE, AND SO CANNOT BE
CLASSIFIED AS AVANT-GARDE. COMPOSERS SUCH AS JOHN CAGE AND
HARRY PARTCH, ON THE CONTRARY, REMAINED AVANT-GARDISTS
THROUGHOUT THEIR CREATIVE CAREERS.

THE MOST COMMONLY CITED EXAMPLE OF AVANT-GARDE MUSIC IS

JOHN CAGE'S 4'33" (1952),[1] WHICH INSTRUCTS THE PERFORMER(S) NOT
TO PLAY THEIR INSTRUMENT(S) DURING THE ENTIRE DURATION OF THE
PIECE.
 POPULAR MUSIC
AVANT-POP

THE 1960S SAW A WAVE OF AVANT-GARDE EXPERIMENTATION IN POPULAR JAZZ,

REPRESENTED BY ARTISTS SUCH AS ORNETTE COLEMAN, SUN RA, ALBERT AYLER,
ARCHIE SHEPP, JOHN COLTRANE AND MILES DAVIS.[8][9] IN THE ROCK MUSIC OF THE
1970S, THE "ART" DESCRIPTOR WAS GENERALLY UNDERSTOOD TO MEAN
"AGGRESSIVELY AVANT-GARDE" OR "PRETENTIOUSLY PROGRESSIVE".[10] POST-PUNK
ARTISTS FROM THE LATE 1970S REJECTED TRADITIONAL ROCK SENSIBILITIES IN
FAVOR OF AN AVANT-GARDE AESTHETIC.[11] IN 1988 THE WRITER GREG TATE
DESCRIBED HIP-HOP MUSIC AS "THE ONLY AVANT-GARDE AROUND, STILL
DELIVERING THE SHOCK OF THE NEW.
CONTEMPORARY/CLASSICAL MUSIC

ALEATORIC MUSIC
EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC
FREE IMPROVISATION
GLITCH
INDETERMINACY IN MUSIC
NOISE MUSIC
SURREALIST MUSIC

POPULAR/TRADITIONAL MUSIC

ART POP
ART PUNK
ART ROCK
AVANT-GARDE JAZZ
AVANT-GARDE METAL
AVANT-PROG
AVANT-PUNK
EXPERIMENTAL POP
EXPERIMENTAL ROCK
FREE JAZZ
HIP-HOP MUSIC
INDUSTRIAL MUSIC