Questionnaire for Chinese Experimental Musicians

Name:
Year of birth:

Gender: M/F (to determine whether the gender balance in China is better than in other countries)

Where in China were you brought up?

Where are you based currently?

When you were young what kinds of music did you listen to?

Did you play any music when you were young? If yes, when did you start? What kinds of music did you play and did you play an instrument or sing? Which instrument(s)?

Did you train in music, performance or any of the arts? If so, what did you study, where and for how long?

*Talk about the music/sound art you make now.

How would you describe it? Does your music fit into one or more genres? If so, which one(s)?

Can you identify any Chinese or foreign influences to the music/sound art you are making? Please be as specific and detailed as you can.

If you find it difficult to find influences, please explain how you came to discover the type of music/sound art you are making currently.

Is there any others making music/sound art that is similar to what you are doing currently? Do you collaborate/perform with these people?

If you collaborate with other musicians/artists, how does this influence your own approach?

In what types of venues do you perform/present your work? Do you perform mainly near where you live or do you go on tours? If so, where?

Do you make recordings of your music? On which media (e.g., CDs, downloads, etc.) can they be found? Are they available and, if yes, where?

Are there videos of your performances? Where can they be found?

Do you have a website about your work in music (in Chinese, English or another language)? Can you provide its url?

If your work is not available online, can you provide examples of important works?

This book will include a list of links for its media examples and supplementary materials. Are there works that you would permit us to use as part of this chapter’s website contents? (In that case, they will also be discussed in the chapter.) If not, are there works that you would allow us to listen to and discuss in the chapter?

《术语可名，非常研究》

The title of my thesis or book: "The terminology (name) that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging research (name)." - Mungo (Tzu)

我理解你所指出的“对立”关系。此外，除了两者“相克”的关系，我还想强调其“相生”的一面。

“独立艺人或先锋艺人”不能仅仅理解为标签，而且，它还是分类法中用来描述某一类事物或群体的名称。中国作曲家案例研究（CCCS）的主要目的是为了在共享这种意识的基础之上，使作曲家的创造力得到施展，从而这种命名或标签的方式也就完成了它的使命。正如老子在道德经中所云：“名可名，非常名”（名，可以假借之名，不是恒久之名）。

Indeed, the "independent or avant-garde artists" is not only a label, but also a Name, a Tag, as well as the way of Classification etc. Actually, the goal of this list of China Composer Case Studies (CCCS) is sharing the awareness and to be more creative based on them (NOT to be constrained by them), whatever they are named as tagging, labeling or any other systems. Just as Lao Tzu in Tao Te Ching says: "The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name."

Hitlike在CCCS邮件列表中提出：“‘独立艺人、或者先锋艺人’，这本身不就是个标签？”

我认为，独立是相对于商业而言，而先锋则是相对于当下的流行艺术而言。这里所说的独立和先锋，是从类别的维度和时间的维度来看的，是一个大的范围，而不是具体的标签。

I once talked about genres with a Chinese artist. She said that she does not know about her genre and she might not belong to any one. She thinks that a genre of an artistic work is just like a label. On one hand, it is summarized and inducted by the later generations; on the other hand, in order to get a piece well-known, some artists put their works into a style or genre as a lable. At the same time, she also thinks that as independent or avant-garde artists do not have to think about too much on the genre they are belonging to; and they also do not need to follow any of the genres to create their own music.

我曾与一位中国艺术家谈起流派的问题。她说：“她不知道她的流派，可能也不属于任何一个流派”。她认为，艺术作品的流派就像一个标签，一种情况是后人的总结与归纳；另一种情况是作者为了更好地宣传自己的作品，所以给自己贴一个风格与流派的记号。同时，她还认为，作为独立艺人、或者先锋艺人，不必太在意自己是什么流派，更不需要去跟着哪个流派去创作自己的作品。

1.你如何描述你所创作的音乐类型？

2.如果你要使用风格与流派来描述你的音乐，那么它会是哪一种呢？

3.你作曲的时候喜欢使用什么类型的声音？

4.为什么你最喜欢这些声音？

5.你经常使用哪些声音处理的方法？

6.为什么你最喜欢这些处理方法？

7.你如何开始构思一首曲子？你每次都会使用类似的方法么？或者总是不同？

8.哪位作曲家/音乐家给你带来了灵感?

9.在他们的音乐中，有哪些因素深深的吸引了你？

10.从你自己的作品中选择一个片段，能叙述一下你的创建过程么？

11.通过这个片段，你试图传达给听众什么样的信息？

12.如果让你给一位初学者一些一般性的建议，那会是什么呢?在创作的过程中，最该牢记的是什么?

Composer Case Studies (project in China)

1. How would you describe the type of music that you make?

2. If you had to use the genre categories to describe your music, which would it be?

3. What types of sounds do you like to use when you compose?

4. What makes these sounds your favourite?

5. Are there any sound manipulations that you frequently use?

6. What makes these manipulations your favourite?

7. How do you go about starting or coming up with an idea for a composition? Do you personally use a similar approach each time? Or is it always different?

8. Which composers /musicians are an inspiration to you?

9. What is it about this music that engages you so much?

10. Could you pick a short section from one of your own pieces and describe how you created it?

11. What were you trying to convey to the listener in this excerpt?

12. If you were giving some general advice to someone who was beginning to compose a piece what would it be? What is the most important thing to remember when composing?