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Become a Desert.
Become a desert is a song composed by John Luther Adams that finalizes a series that he was not set to write. He spent the summer walking through the Brooks Range rivers and mountains, where he did three works: Become River, Become Ocean and Become Desert. During this time, he realized that space is an essential compositional part in which music is heard (Adams). Therefore choosing a quiet and dark place to do the listening activity will be a perfect place. While reading the article, I could feel humans’ presence around and hear a different kind of voice, such as wing beats from insects. I was able to note five words, which include the following, desert, space, light, memory, and
According to (Adams), a desert is a place where they are few or no people. I wrote the word because I was alone in quite a place, which gave me a clear representation of the desert. I felt loneliness as I closed my eyes and listened to the music. But as I listened to the music deeply, I began to notice the change, and I could feel the presence of humans and animals. These days most of us try not to hear from others. But being alone made me realize that we should open our ears and listen to music around us.
Space is an area that is enough to accommodate a person or thing. According to (Adams), space is a central part of the music. I wrote this word because, in space, we can listen to many voices such as the singer, voices of the wind, and voices from animals. It helps us submit our thoughts to listening to music, and we can feel the music from the inside. Therefore, having space acts as therapy to relieve our worries and stress.
Light is a natural agent that stimulates sight and aids the visibility of things. According to (Adams), people don’t look at the light in the desert but swim in the light. Listening to the light is what made him feel that the music needs to include human voices. I wrote the word lightly because it gives us directions on how to handle issues. It helps us during decision making and problem-solving.
Memory is the process that involves the ability to preserve and recover information that is learned or experienced. It is difficult to forget the memory of things that happened in the past (Adams). Listening to desert music brought back memories of the lonely days in the past. It helped me lose myself in the fullness of the present moment and forget things that happened in the past for a while. I was able to focus on my future expectations.
The scale is a means of estimating extent. According to Adams, it isn’t easy to recognize the scale of different voices and their origins. I chose this word because I was unable to identify the specific source of a particular voice.
In conclusion, listening to desert music made me realize the importance of listening to other people. Sitting alone in a quiet place enabled me to remember different events in my life, making the work more enjoyable. Carrying out the listening activity made me understand desert music, which helped to tackle the assignment.
Work Cited
Adams, John. “John Luther Adams On How He Found New Music In The Desert.” Slate
Magazine, 2020, https://slate.com/culture/2018/03/john-luther-adams-on-his-new-piece-become-desert.html. Accessed 2018.