Innovative ways of notation confuse me!

Blog #3

After reading the Braxton article I was a little frustrated and confused. I have known music only in standard notation and nothing else and looking at some of these notation style makes me a little frustrated. I am asking myself how someone can see/play music from these notation styles. At the beginning of the article Braxton shows us some of the new ways he writes notes or sounds on a page. Why not stick to the way it has always been done? I understand that this is for an improvisation style of music, but I still dont really like it. What this is showing is that I could potentially write random designs out make it into a improvisation notation and for some reason that takes the fun out of it for me. I suppose that since I listen to very structured and tight sounding music I like a notation system that is easy to understand and is known by all.

Also a point Braxton made was that a lot of notation inspires improvisation. I agree with this, but I also feel that most people start out improving when writing music. I feel like this whole discussion about notations is very individualized to the person talking about it. I would say that I am the complete opposite of Braxton. I like standard notation because it is understood and I feel like standard notation give enough to allow for great improvisation. I dont need to draw a picture, or complete a new notation to be able to improv. Who knows!

I am truly confused and frustrated with the article so I will leave it with the idea that innovative notation styles are very individualized and not for everyone. However, I accept that some people are searching for more and that standard notation is not for everyone either. PHEW!