I've looked a bit at how music inspires awe earlier in the semester and created an awe playlist on ?Youtube of just songs. I'd like to look at sound in more than just songs though. What is it about the auditory that inspires awe? What happens when we combine listening with other senses? Let's see.
Welcome to Night Vale Official Logo
by Rob Wilson
1.Reading vs Hearing From 2:04-3:07, the following quote is spoken in this Welcome to Night Vale episode: "In response to our town's steadily-declining tourism industry, the Night Vale Tourism Board addressed our town's complete lack of appealing destinations - like uncensored art museums, hotels with door locks, and snake-free restaurants. NVTB Executive Director Madeline LeFleur said some travelers think they need to 'see things, like monuments, or the majesty of nature, or spectacular musicals, or eat regional/cultural foods in order to have a good time on vacation. But they don't!' 'You don't need attractions to have a good time!' she added. 'Just use your imagination! In fact, come to Night Vale, where 'we will show you fun in a handful of dust,' as the new NVTB slogan says."
Reading the quote alone can inspire awe. The words itself could be a definition of awe ("you don't need attractions to have [an awe-inspiring experience]"). What happens, though, when you listen to the soft voice of Cecil? Welcome to Night Vale often has dangerous things happen to the city, but the soft voice of the radio host seems undisturbed by what we may find disturbing. It's almost ironic. Or perhaps it's a juxtaposition emphasizing the dangerous/serious with calm. What does the soft hearing do to the serious reading? Does it add to the awe? Can you have irony in awe?
We can have awe looking at a painting, reading a book, listening to music, watching a movie, etc. Is it awe because of the completed project or image itself, or is it a combination of elements that creates an entire experience of awe?
I've got a basic idea of this question (perhaps a rough thesis for my final paper) or what the combination of elements are that function in creating awe. Here's a rough draft of the three elements of creating awe I wrote in my writing journal last Friday:
1. The Idea
Wikipedia Images Creative Commons
This is the starting point before anything can be created. After +Paul Bills presentation on the video games, I had to tell my roommate about the game Brothers. I commented on his blog post about how just the idea of the mechanics and lessons taught in Brothers was enough to awe my roommate when I told her about it. She didn't witness what happened, but it captured awe nonetheless. Paul replied saying it was like "the moment in 2001 when the ape-man first realizes he can swing the bone as a club." The idea sparks awe. It ignites the potential to create an awe inspiring work.
2. The Senses
Infinite Dreams by artist Rhads
To experience awe we have to at least see it, smell it, taste it, touch it, hear it, or think it. A picture is visually-intensive. I posted a link to some incredible pictures on Google+ here. Paul, +Andrew Perazzo, and +Erin McMullin seemed to find a sense of awe in them too. Erin said "he takes the simple and mundane and makes it great." I've discussed the hearing sense in some more detail here, where I had a lot of input on what songs inspired awe from Paul, Andrew, and +Jane Packard. So it's clear elements of awe can individually create awe. But what about in a movie that combines visual, script, and sound?
3. Combination
I'm still developing this idea so bear with me. I think many people (especially English majors and book-lovers) too often discredit movies by saying "it isn't as good as the book." Movies are not intended to "be the book." It's a movie. It is meant to recreate awe from a book with a new perspective for the book-reader, and to express awe to those unexposed to said book. I've done some research on how movie makers are recreating awe. Check out here and here (embedded video), and comment with your ideas!
Talking about the movie Apollo 13, special effects supervisor Rob Legato took people's memories of the actual spaceship's launch to emulate it in the movie. He combined the awe felt by different people to create his own scene. This new scene, scientifically inaccurate to what an actual launch would entail, created a new sense of awe because of the combined memories of people. The nostalgia was there; the graphics were there; the cinematography was there. These efforts recreated awe in a new light.
I think if you take single elements you can have feelings of awe. If combined, though, imagine the potential for these elements to create or recreate something even bigger. What do you think?
In my wonder journal I wrote about "the endless possibilities of music." There are loads of different instruments, entire scales that lead to endless combinations and chords and progressions. I wrote down "there are millions of songs, millions of different ways notes can come together." There are millions of possibilities. So what do I find the most awe inspiring other than the endless possibilities of music? When composers successfully use motifs in their songs.
When there is so much to think about in composing a song, I always love when there is a motif or salient recurring figure in a song. The fact that they are able to slip in a motif for just a few seconds before going right back into the main theme is so incredible to me. An example would be the music from the Mary Poppins soundtrack where there are moments you hear "A Spoonful of Sugar" between progressions of other songs (6:33 has this motif in "Step in Time"). It only lasts three seconds but I love it because then my mind instantly jumps to thinking about the role of that song, what it represents, then back to the regular rhythm. But what else is there in music that creates awe other than its composure?
I curated some songs in a playlist on YouTube called "Awe Inspiring Music" and put a description explaining why I selected the songs I did and what gave me feelings of awe or transcendence. On this google+ update I had +Paul Bills suggest some video game themes and +Jane Packard suggested a video of a girl with a striking singing talent parallel to Beyonce. Both agree that music provides awe. Now add in video.
One of the youtube videos in my playlist (embedded on the right) I picked for the song, but realized the song is there to help the viewers feelings while watching this video on Christ's birth. I know a few times in class and at Dr Burton's house while viewing 2001: A Space Odyssey we've discussed how music is there to "guide the viewers feelings" and in a way kind of cheats us into feeling awe by manipulating our auditory sense. Maybe in this video it does. But. I think that the combination of "viewing" and "hearing" work to create awe. Imagine if you had watched this scene muted. What if there was only dialogue? What if the dialogue was a different language? What happens with a different song? All of these factors can change how the end result of a movie is, and what awe (if any) a person feels. Even if the music is a guiding factor, it can also be a stimulate to feeling awe or transcendence, fear or pain, or any kind of emotion based on how it goes with a scene. If you still think music in film manipulates feelings when watching a movie, try listening to the soundtracks of films without watching the movie. Pick a soundtrack where the music isn't as iconic as Lord of the Rings or Star Wars. I suggest the soundtrack for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Book Thief, or 12 Years a Slave. Just listening to those songs on their own without any visual help still let me feel a sense of wonder, curiosity, awe, and transcendence.
What about you? Can you experience awe without music aid in movies? What about the power of silence? What else can music do to inspire awe? Or if you have any more suggestions on awe-inspiring music, let me know. I'd love to add to my playlist.
