Pulse by Andrew Smith

By Andrew Smith

Nonlinear narratives have become very popular in literature and film, but how does this concept translate to something as abstract as instrumental music? Both art forms deal with time, but in very different ways. Stories have characters and events for which readers or viewers instinctively find a chronology, even when that chronology is fragmented. Music however, does not have many elements that can easily be separated in the same manner.

Form may be the exception.

Structures like Sonata Allegro and Theme with Variations present material in a clear manner and then follow with alterations to said material. Perhaps a nonlinear form in music would be the reverse of this order. Rather than a piece of music opening with clear and memorable material, it could end that way, beginning instead with alterations and variations that hint at and foreshadow what is to come.

Duration: 5 minutes
Grade Level: 4