One of the things we must understand about classical music is that it wasn't intended to be something people just listened to sitting silently in a concert hall. In an excellent article in the New York Times, the author wrote, "When Chopin played his Variations on “Là ci darem la mano” with orchestra, the audience … Continue reading Inside Music Appreciation, Part 2
music literacy
Inside Music Appreciation
For some years now, I have been interested in music appreciation. I have come to consider it something of an oddity. At the center of any text or class on music appreciation is the premise that in order to appreciate music, one must understand how music works; how it is put together. The listener, or so the … Continue reading Inside Music Appreciation
Going Beyond Liking or Not Liking a Song
I often find that my students have a very limited view of the musical landscape. Many of them listen to one kind of music and see no reason to spend their time exploring new genres or styles. Knowing this, I have always felt that it was part of my responsibility as a music educator to … Continue reading Going Beyond Liking or Not Liking a Song
Music Literacy is More Than Reading and Writing Music
Literacy is a word that is easily associated with reading and writing. It is a form of the words literature and literary. But not all literature is written down. Many cultures preserve their literature through oral traditions. In these cultures, a literate person is one who knows the literature from memory and can recall it, … Continue reading Music Literacy is More Than Reading and Writing Music
Invisible Tonality
When we think of something being invisible, surely things that cannot be seen come to mind. The air we breathe, for example, is invisible because we cannot see it (though we can see the effects of it moving an object on which it blows). We know air is all around us because we breathe it … Continue reading Invisible Tonality
Repeat, Vary, and Extend: Three Skills for Creating Artistic Work, Part 2
Note: This post is a continuation of another post from October 19, 2015. In part 1, I laid out a lesson for teaching students to extend rhythmic ideas, starting with language and then translating the sentence examples to rhythms. If you missed that post, you can click on the link above and get caught up. … Continue reading Repeat, Vary, and Extend: Three Skills for Creating Artistic Work, Part 2
Repeat, Vary, and Extend: Three Skills for Creating Artistic Work
I once had a music theory professor in college who wondered aloud why it was that so many composers wrote variations before writing in other forms. To him, writing variations was more difficult than developing themes in sonata form. I remember taking my cue from this comment and, though I wasn't at all experienced at … Continue reading Repeat, Vary, and Extend: Three Skills for Creating Artistic Work
More on Poetry and Music
In my last post, I discussed some ways in which poetry and music are alike. In the course of my discussion, I referenced Leonard Bernstein's Norton Lectures. Today I merely wish to follow up on that reference, by providing you with a video of one of those lectures. It is in all nearly 3 hours … Continue reading More on Poetry and Music
How Is Music Like Poetry?
We all know that music is comprised of sound; however, many have argued that all sound is not music. Stravinsky advanced this view convincingly when he explained that when we simply hear the rustle of leaves or the sound of a brook, we are not hearing music nor are we utilizing musical ability to hear … Continue reading How Is Music Like Poetry?
Arranging and Expressive Intent
When musicians prepare for a performance, there are countless decisions that are made and problems that are solved. Most often, a composer and an arranger have made many artistic decisions, and indicated them in the score. Dynamics, articulation, tempo and who sings or plays what are all mapped out. Though printed music certainly doesn't play … Continue reading Arranging and Expressive Intent
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