Adams and Pop Music

Today in class we got to see an innovator of a different type. Most of the innovators we have dealt with we what could be labeled as working within the classical heritage. While Zappa did work within that specific tradition, it was his pop music that he was most innovative in.

Adams integrated some aspects of the pop music tradition into his compositional style, but remains firmly within the classical heritage. Yet, it is actually the incorporation of these pop elements within the classical tradition that makes Adams approach to pop music and its different elements so innovative.

In his opera The Death of Klinghoffer, Adams writes mostly within the classical tradition, with the exception of the Aria immediately preceding the death of Klinghoffer at the hands of the Palestinian Hijackers. This is sung by a girl on board, and in more ways than one, serves as a means of alleviating the tension that has been building up. The driving, motoric rhythms that Adams has used throughout have helped to generate significant tension, which this aria serves a a brief respite from. This Aria is written with the accompaniment of synthesizers in the background, which almost gives the feel of a rock concert.

Another innovation that Adams has used in some of his works is the nontraditional usage of the trap set. While the traps set has not had a very long history, there are certain techniques that have become somewhat standard. In his orchestra works, Adams takes the trap set and writes coloristically and instead of rhythmically. This is highly innovative, since the trap set is always associated with the rhythm section of rock or jazz bands, not an instrument used to provide different colors for the ensemble.

In addition, Adams homage to pop music is even greater than meets the eye. As a composer, he has written music that appeals to audience, hence it is "pop" music. Nothing could be more important to any type of music than popular audience appeal. While there are different distinctions between styles that do need to be drawn, Adams has realized this need for audience appreciation of the music. So while Adams remains highly innovative and creative in his approach to composition, his works have audience appeal which ensures their popularity for years to come.

In coming back to Zappa, that is where Adams and Zappa are similar. They both were innovative and in some cases, quite daring (Zappa's progressive music that he knew would never get aired on public radio, and Adams use of electronic music and quarter tones in a piece commemorating the terror attacks on the World Trade Center). Yet despite this progressive thinking and search for expression and greater musical vocabulary, they never lost sight of the most important thing, which not only classical, but pop require in order to survive: popular appeal.

In many ways, as we have seen throughout the course of the semester, that is the greatest challenge that an innovator of any nationality faces. Obviously a progressive mentality is of the utmost importance, or else the music will become static and banal. It is the ability to take these innovations and not necessarily make them relevant to the general public, but to make them accessible. Innovation without an audience is just as bad as sterile music making with one. They both fail to achieve anything of substance. One fails because it has nothing to say, while the other fails because the audience cannot relate to it in any way.

Instead, a balance needs to be achieved. The audience does need to sense some type of rapport with the music, while there does need to be a depth to the musical statements. Adams has achieved this without sacrificing quality; instead, he has enhanced it.