Music to the Ear, Affront to the Eye
Classical Music Sites on the Web
by Mic Holwin
originally appeared in "50 Best Music Websites," Chamber Music Vol. 17 No. 1 (Feb. 2000)
You would think that a discriminating eye would go hand in hand with a musical ear.
But as far as music websites go, many in the classical genre are confused jumbles of words and images with eye-abusing colors, interminable downloads, links that go nowhere, and a plethora of musical staves, G-clefs and eighth notes that signal "classical music site." A viewer who is not already a fan of classical music would be hard-pressed to enter such a site in much the same way a window shopper wouldn't be enticed to enter a store with a tacky display.
Admittedly budget plays a large part in what a music organization (or anyone for that matter: in all fairness, poor design, bad programming and lack of organization plague sites of all genres) can allocate to marketing. A site enhanced by animations utilizing Macromedia Flash or Shockwave costs significantly more in design and programming since it must be mapped out not only in space but through time. And there lies the rub: composers and musicians are usually more worried about where their next rent is coming from, let alone the budget for a dazzling webpage. Orchestras, ensembles and other music organizations might like to put their (seemingly ever-shrinking) grant money towards a well built website, but paying for rehearsal space, musicians, commissions and staff comes first.
Classical Net (www.classical.net) is an excellent source of information on Western classical music from medieval times to today, with well-written composer biographies, CD buying guides, recommended books and more. Its presentation, however, is about as exciting as a plate of steamed kale and brown rice. Just as how dinners like that give vegetarians a bad name, sites like this perpetuate the geeky image of classical music.
A noble attempt at a more up-to-date website, the American Symphony Orchestra League's millennium project of recommended contemporary works for programming by orchestras and ensembles (www.newmusicnow.org) proffers intriguing material but audio samples that take their own millennium to download.
Even the sites of more contemporary music groups don't necessarily sport more cutting-edge websites. New York music festival Bang on a Can may have an avant-garde agenda, but its website (www.bangonacan.org) is merely adequate. Chamber popstars the Kronos Quartet (www.kronosquartet.org) has a site that is functional but lacks dimension. Even multimedia composer/performer Laurie Anderson's site (www.laurieanderson.com) disappoints with a relatively simple animation that takes relatively long minutes to download.
A good model for classical music web designers is comprehensive on-line music guide Sonicnet (www.sonicnet.com), which covers a multitude of popular music genres from alternative rock to hip-hop. A streamlined look, concise animation, live cybercast concerts and chats with bands, streaming audio, music videos, bios, discographies, reviews, news: Sonicnet's site is all-encompassing, easy to get around in, and cool-looking besides.
Sure, a few cups of Java and a nifty Flash animation would make a site a destination, but much can be achieved without the expensive bells and whistles by observing a few guidelines. First, as my mom says, you can be poor but clean. To expand on Strunk and White's prime dictum in The Elements of Style, omit needless words, graphics and colors. Pare it down to the essential information. Spend some time answering the question "What is the purpose of this site?"
Once a site's architecture is mapped out and a design style decided on, make every element in the site pass a reason-for-existence test. What does that background wallpaper of repeated G-clefs really contribute besides disk space and download time? One click and your audience has left a long-loading image behind and moved on to a more entertaining site.
The point of a website is to get the information across, whether that's an performer's repertoire list, a snippet of sound from new work, or a photo that can be downloaded for reproduction. Pleasing the eye while doing so can only help to ensure delivery of that information and it certainly can't hurt.
Mic Holwin's website picks (Oct. 1999)
originally appeared in "50 Best Music Websites," Chamber Music Vol. 17 No. 1 (Feb. 2000)
> NewMusicBox
> Paris Transatlantic Magazine
> Motion
> Glenn Branca
> CDNow
> Relêche, The Ensemble for New Music
> Ensemble 21
> Brooklyn Academy of Music
> 20/21
> Prism Quartet
> The EMF Guide to the World
|
