And I agree if this comment is to serve clarification of my point. As you suggest many storytellers have an awareness of method for producing tension or impact, just not specifics, but I think have a general idea leads one to specifics. The general never really leaves its particulars behind. To use my Beethoven example, one can study the use of the Neapolitan relationship in the Appassionata as structural harmonically and motivically, but never produce the same tension with it as a model. Understood in the imitative practice is that the relationship is responsible for much of the tension of the first movement, and in general a composer would know that the greatest tension and effect is achieved through a critical use of neighboring tones. Were I to point out a hypothetical work merely imitating this method I would assume the composer understands the general idea and so attempts the practice of it, but I would still assert that the composer ultimately has that "deeper fault of not understanding" what is involved. With that understanding, the material becomes primary and the specifics are not as uncertain in relationship to the general method.
The other hypothetical situation I relate to this is if I am a composer and I decide I want to write a piece and it should build tension, then I admit I do not know how. This is the position I see the sort of books you mention to come into consideration, but were I in such a position, I cannot be sure I understand the general, the genus of what could increase the impact of a piece. I am only starting with a vague abstraction but not even a starting idea of what sort of tension is to build in the piece. Is it dynamic? harmonic? structurally dramatic? As generalities are addressed, the content of those generalities should accompany them. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 10:52 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: a suggestion In a message dated 3/18/08 9:43:55 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > Still, think of how many stories you have encountered that fall tragically > short of becoming anything worthwhile. Often times this is not exclusively > a fault of a writer's ability, linguistically, but instead is a deeper fault > of not understanding at all what writing such a story involves. > There have been literally scores of books written to spell out in concrete detail the virtue of such things in a gripping "story". Hell, even I wrote one. The problem for a sophisticated storyteller is not his not knowing the genus of what could increase the grip or the impact of his story, but coming up with the specifics to do it. ************** Create a Home Theater Like the Pros. Watch the video on AOL Home. (http://home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer?video=15?ncid=aolhom0 0 030000000001)
