Snape's iPod (was: Staff's Activities (was:Re: Snape's Speech patterns)

[nrenka]

No: HPFGUIDX 142511

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "horridporrid03" 
<horridporrid03 at y...> wrote:


> Betsy Hp:
>
> But I will say the idea of Hogwarts being totally without music is 
> rather horrifying, personally.  Especially when JKR appears to want 
> to paint the WW as home to all that is creative and individual, 
> while Muggles are more bland and generic. (Dumbledore vs. Dursley)

'All that is creative and individual' is a bit of an exaggeration, 
methinks.  The WW is definitely behind the Muggle world in any number 
of innovations.  I wouldn't say that being tradition-bound and 
creative are mutually exclusive, but at least I get the picture of 
wizards as decidedly behind Muggles and lacking in innovation in many 
areas.  Arthur is fascinated because of Muggle creativity, after 
all.  I've speculated other times about the potentially stultifying 
aspects of magic on artistic development, but that's a long shot.  
(When you can make paintings move, who needs Expressionism?  That's 
my read on the magical portraits and the whole 'wizarding photos are 
better, they move' issue.)

In addition, it's not a school system designed to create creative 
individuals--from all of the classes we've seen.  There's some 
theory, yes, but the orientation is far more "Can you do it?  Good!"  
There's no insitutional higher education.
 
There's no evidence given for music education whatsoever.  Now 
absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, but it's not 
encouraging to my perspective upon their musical culture, or any 
standard of musical literacy.  (Which is very low at present anyways 
in the real world.)

> Betsy Hp:
> I also wonder if JKR means for us to conclude that anything 
> creative was actually done by a wizard.  

I hope not.  Hoariest of bad fanfiction cliches and laughable on best 
days.

> Betsy Hp:
> I'm going with the, Snape goes back to his old neighborhood to 
> slither out of direct bloody action and do his behind the scenes 
> work (potions, I guess?) for Voldemort after graduation, theory.  
> And of course *Snape* isn't going to be hiding from the scary 
> Muggles.  So he kicks around the old stomping grounds (literally, 
> one wonders?), and ooh, hey!  What's that compelling music, like 
> all of his rage crystallized into sound?

Snape hanging out in Muggle bars?  Particularly at the time, without 
music quite as portable as it is in the present...I keep harping on 
this, but you absolutely have to have a point of dissemination for 
this stuff.  That's where the problem lies.

> Betsy Hp:
> So Dumbledore will only listen to live music? 

No, but Dumbledore has full memories then of the musical culture 
which predates the recording culture.  Most people who haven't 
studied this in detail don't appreciate how unbelievably radically 
different musical culture IS in the two eras.

> That seems awfully limiting for someone so musically enclined, IMO. 
> (JKR talks about him humming to himself all the time.)

Some people think of it as limiting, and some very influential 
theorists have thought of recording as profoundly damaging to 
classical Western musical culture.  It's, ummm, complex.  It's also 
so wildly OT that I'll just leave it at that.  I doubt anyone wants a 
lecture on the sociology of music. :)

> Dumbledore is described as enjoying chamber music on his Chocolate 
> Frog Card (in a particularly non-shocking blurb) so it's hard for 
> me to see Dumbledore's interest in music as an exception.

Chamber music has particular connotations (especially at the present) 
which I suspect JKR is alluding to.  It's the music of the 
connoiseur, music for the person who can play it (as this is how 
people would hear chamber music, you know?  Those Mozart quartets 
were written to be sold, not to be heard in concerts for the mass 
public), music for the person who is interested in the conversation 
of four friends.  It's certainly not mass popular music *anymore*, 
and it's always had a palpable aura of refinement.

> Surely the WW can figure out how to record and distribute music.  
> They distribute photographs and posters easily enough.  Heck, they 
> record and distribute *memories* easily enough.  (Wait -- pensieve 
> music recordings? hmmm.)

Recording is not a simple thing.  It changes the ontological status 
of a work of music, for one thing, but it also entails distribution 
methods and technology.  It's far, far more complex than printing.  
Given the small size of the population, live concerting is far more 
feasible--wizards don't have the transportation issues which kept 
music local and spurred the creation of national and city-based music 
cultures, both in European models of music and non-Western, as well.  
(I think of Hindusthani gharanas, here.)  Wireless, and an allusion 
but no showing of a phonograph...certainly nothing close to CD 
technology.

Again, it's all about transmission and the problems thereof.

-Nora is most skeptical of the cultural cross-pollination claims 
light-heartedly made in the original...