Alice Parker — Singing Is the Most Companionable of Arts

Melody's Role

Alice Parker emphasizes the fundamental role of melody in music, arguing that it precedes harmony and rhythm. She explains that harmony is merely a subset of melody, a concept that often surprises people who are accustomed to viewing music as a combination of melody, harmony, and rhythm. Parker highlights the limitations of musical notation, which can only capture a fraction of the emotional and auditory experience of music.

You're just condensing, just leaving off all of this other stuff. You can't notate the emotion, you can notate the words.

--- Alice Parker

This reduction, she notes, is akin to the challenges faced when language was first notated, as much of the tone and emotion is lost in the process 1.

   

Sound's Power

Sound, according to Parker, is a fundamental element of life, akin to vibration at the core of existence. She draws parallels between sound and the creation stories, suggesting that vibration is central to both life and music. Parker believes that music, through its vibrational energy, has the power to create a sense of community and emotional connection among people.

Every time we start a song, we're setting something in motion and it keeps going once we get it started.

--- Alice Parker

This energy, she argues, is what transforms a technically correct performance into a moving experience, as it taps into the emotional and communal aspects of sound 2 3.