Tom Johnson: Music & Logic

The Rational Melodies may be played by any instrument, in any octave or transposition. It is not necessary to play the whole set, and performers are welcome to group selected melodies into suites however they like.


The pieces are intended primarily for soloists, though they may also be performed by groups of instruments, playing in unison or alternating in antiphonal patterns. Rationality, or more precisely, deductive logic, has seldom been the controlling factor in musical composition. Composers are usually more interested in inspiration, intuition, feelings, self-expression. Lately, however, there has been a tendency for composers to give up individual control over every note, and rely on factors outside themselves. Pieces have been controlled by the wind, by chance, by the idiosyncrasies of tape recorders, or by unpredictable variations in electronic circuity, for example, and it seems to me that composing by rigorous adherence to logical premises involves a similar way of thinking.

Rational Melody # 14

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Rational Melodies (1981/82)
Twenty-one pieces for any instrument

Eberhard Blum - piccolo, flute, alto flute and bass flute

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