Soundcheck ®: Behold the Written Word

Soundcheck ®

Behold the Written Word

Thursday, April 15, 2010

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Read before the show at your own risk. (Cayusa/flickr)

Reading program notes can actually reduce your enjoyment of a piece of music, according to a new study. Today: we debate whether program notes make you an informed listener – or if "ignorance is bliss." Then, former 10,000 Maniacs singer Natalie Merchant shares her latest two-disc album of original music with lyrics adapted from poems by Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Graves, and others.

For Listening Pleasure, Skip the Program Notes?

To fully enjoy your next trip to the concert hall, you may want to listen to the music before you read the notes in your Playbill. Research results suggest that reading program notes before hearing music can significantly lessen a listener’s enjoyment, according to University of Arkansas music theorist Elizabeth ...

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Natalie Merchant

After a seven-year period of silence, singer and songwriter Natalie Merchant is back with "Leave Your Sleep," an ambitious two-disc set that features songs adapted from poems by British Victorians, early-and mid-20th century Americans and contemporary writers, as well as anonymous nursery rhymes. Some 130 musicians took part. The former ...

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Some Notes on Program Notes

By John Schaefer

Do you find program notes helpful before hearing a concert or a recording? Tell Soundcheck.

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Gig Alerts: Mary Halvorson Trio

By Alana Harper

This electric guitarist has a penchant for cerebral, improvised jazz. Download her trio's cryptic tune "Old Nine Two Six Four Two Dies (No. 10)," then see her tonight at the Jazz Gallery.

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Gig Alerts: Sam Yahel Trio

By Alana Harper

This nimble organ and piano player and his trio are currently in the middle of a six-night stint at Village Vanguard. Download his tight take on the Thelonious Monk original "Think of One."

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