Re: What do you think is necessary in order to have an excellentcomposition?

["Krispen Hartung" <khartung@cableone.net>]

By the way, before I give my two cents to this question, Margaret Noble 
and 
her video partner in crime, Edyta Stepien, will be flying all the way from 
Chicago to perform at the 2nd Annual Boise Experimental Music Festival 
(http://www.boisemusicians.com/BEMF-2/). I am very excited to have her 
there.

Now to the question and my answer, which no doubt will ruffle some 
feathers 
and may even agitate someone,  as it is not one of those "status quo" 
philosophies that makes everyon feel warm and fuzzy inside...but I have to 
speak my mind. For at least 15 years I have considered myself an 
"aesthetic 
non-cognitivist," meaning I reject the possibility that there is such a 
thing as an aesthetic fact, evaluative fact, factual value statement, or 
whatever one would like to call these ontological chimeras  I consider 
them 
meaningless. So when I see the question, "What do you think is necessary 
in 
order to have an excellent composition?", I consider that a question that 
warrants not a statement of fact about the inherent properties of any 
piece 
of music or performer, but a statement that is a reflection of one's 
emotive 
response to a piece of music, performer, or the idea of composition, etc. 
In 
short, I believe that statements of the sort, "X is Excellent", "X is 
good", 
"X is bad", "X is better than Y", and so on , in light of music and art 
aesthetics are devoid of literal, i.e., factual meaning, and must be 
re-translated into "X makes me feel good", "X makes me feel bad", "X makes 
me feel better than Y", and so on. These are entirely subjective 
statements, 
denoting private and introspective emotive states.  So the answer to the 
question is not an objective one, in my opinion here, and based on my 
reflections on the topic over the years; rather the answer to the question 
is either meaningless (if stated in the "X is Excellent because...", or 
the 
answers are as numerous as there are people on the planet (if stated as "X 
makes me feel good", etc).

I would argue, however, there is some factor of delight and/or emotional 
resonance among those who respond to questions of the above nature, even 
if 
those responses are translated into subjective/emotive statements, in the 
same way the human beings feel better when they tell each other how they 
feel, and they share common feelings. It generates a sense of unity and 
harmony among individuals; though I would argue does not generate any 
so-called objective truth or even the slightest and most remote 
probability 
about the inherent or actual properties of music or a performer, as I 
believe statements of this nature have no cognitive import. We may as well 
be asking questions like "What is the ultimate Good?", or "What is 
Perfection?", which are "in principle" similar questions as "What 
constitutes Excellence?", and which may have been interesting over two 
thousands years ago when Plato was positing the existence of non-physical 
and ideal "forms", as components of the real world, vs. the mere shadows 
of 
reality we experience via our senses....but today, there are many other 
analytical philosophies invited to the party, which dispense with those 
sort 
of questions.

No disrespect to your original question and intent, Margaret...just my 
honest and sincere response.

Cheers!  :)

Kris