# Music you can recognize from one note



## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

The Egmont Overture. You know what it is from hearing just the first note, literally. I know there are several other pieces like that.

Which ones do you recognize from hearing the first note?


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## samurai (Apr 22, 2011)

Carl Nielsen's *Symphony No.1*. It is unmistakeable from its very first note. Great idea for a post, btw.


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

Turangalîla-Symphonie. But then I could probably recognise any random excerpt from that one, certainly is a memorable opening though.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

You mean one chord? I can recognize dozens of pieces by their first chord. A single note is a lot harder, unless the instrumentation or attack are very distinctive.

Hearing a unison orchestral G probably invariably makes me think of Beethoven's 5th, though.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Brahm's 1st piano concerto is one, and so is Tchaikovsky's.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Yes, I mean first chord sure enough. Although the first note of the Egmont is not a chord, I think.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

KenOC said:


> Yes, I mean first chord sure enough. Although the first note of the Egmont is not a chord, I think.


Yeah, it's an F spread over several octaves. I think technical definitions require at least 3 notes for a chord (although electric guitar players with their "power chords" might have something to say about that...).

It's not a first note, but I'd be hard-pressed not to recognize that unison B that follows Wozzeck's murder scene.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Here's an odd one. Listen to the first note/chord of Haydn's 99th Symphony. Just the first note. If it stopped right there, what would you think you were hearing?


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Le Sacre du Printemps.


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## waldvogel (Jul 10, 2011)

_Rhapsody in Blue_

The Coronation Scene from_ Boris Godunov_. It's unmistakeable either in Mussorgsky's or Rimsky-Korsakov's orchestration.

Charles Ives' _The Unanswered Question_

Mozart's _Serenade for 13 Wind Instruments_, K. 361

Beethoven's String Quartet in E-flat, op. 127


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## GGluek (Dec 11, 2011)

Alomost anything by Beethoven. The Tallis Fantasia. Brahms' Third. Mozart's c-minor Serenade. Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream Overture. Le Sacre. Mahler's First and Sixth. Probably lots more, but they come to mind.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Symphony of Psalms.


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## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

Dvorak's New World (any movement)

Copland's Appalachian Spring


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

I think I could recognize any piece that I knew well enough from the very first note.


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## Norse (May 10, 2010)

Nielsen's 3rd symphony. A loud, short unison A in strings, brass and timpani.


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## appoggiatura (Feb 6, 2012)

Rachmaninoff's 1st, 2nd piano concerto.
Rachmaninoff's symphonies (well almost everything Rach basically)
Rhapsody in blue
Tchaikovsky's 6th symphony, Romeo & Juliet etc...

But as others said, I think I can recognize a lot of pieces hearing the first notes only...


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## Renaissance (Jul 10, 2012)

Bach's Mass in B minor, Missa Brevis in F major, and almost everything Beethoven.


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## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

Tchaikovsky's 4th symphony
Overture to Tristan und Isolde
Beethoven's Op. 13 sonata


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## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

Lots of Beethoven.


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## bmbeach (Dec 28, 2012)

Mozart, Symphony No. 40 In G Minor, K. 550: I. Allegro Molto. Its unmistakable.


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## Cnote11 (Jul 17, 2010)

Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire
Much of Scarlatti, Satie, Ravel, and Debussy's piano work
Bach's French Suites
Beethoven Symphonies 
Crumb's Black Angels
Stockhausen's Stimmung

Much more...


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

KenOC said:


> The Egmont Overture. You know what it is from hearing just the first note, literally. I know there are several other pieces like that.
> 
> Which ones do you recognize from hearing the first note?


it cannot be 'just one note,' but at least two  or a particular harmony and its voicing / registration.

Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms - first chord.


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## Ravndal (Jun 8, 2012)

almost all music from Grieg. Especially the PC.


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## jani (Jun 15, 2012)

PetrB said:


> it cannot be 'just one note,' but at least two  or a particular harmony and its voicing / registration.
> 
> Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms - first chord.


I think that every Classical music fan recognizes Eroica from the first chord, if not then that person is a classical music noob.


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## dionisio (Jul 30, 2012)

Don Giovanni


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

John Cage's _The City Wears A Slouch Hat_

Perhaps "note" doesn't qualify since it's a non-pitched percussion ensemble, but the opening is incredibly distinctive.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

A number of these cannot, of course, be literally discerned from their first note, as they begin with unharmonized upbeats (Pierrot Lunaire, Tristan, Mozart #40). On the other hand, they are all certainly recognizable from the beginning of their first phrases.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Mahlerian said:


> A number of these cannot, of course, be literally discerned from their first note, as they begin with unharmonized upbeats (Pierrot Lunaire, Tristan, Mozart #40). On the other hand, they are all certainly recognizable from the beginning of their first phrases.


instrumental registration gives things away  Without some added twist of color of the registration 'one note' in isolation could be the beginning of anything


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

It's impossible not to recognize Ligeti's Atmospheres after hearing the first chord.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

The opening of Grieg's Piano Concerto definitely comes to mind.

Others:
- Brahms Symphony No. 2 II
- Brahms Symphony No. 3 I
- Brahms Symphony No. 4 IV
- Debussy Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
- Dvorak 9 II


I'm better with maybe a split second of sound than just a single note. A single beat might be enough, and get to hear a few notes. I have something like perfect pitch where every piece has its characteristic key, and without being in the right key I would never get it unless I heard more than 1 note (then I would use relative pitch).


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## Novelette (Dec 12, 2012)

The first note of Bach's "Overture in the French Style".

Likewise with the second movement of Schumann's Fantasie in C, Op. 27


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## Arsakes (Feb 20, 2012)

Ain't possible ... but I would say: R.V.Williams Violin Sonata in A minor - I. Fantasia


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## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

While it may not be literally possible to distinguish a piece of music by the first note (first chord or first measure, perhaps), are there certain recordings you can identify from the first note?


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Kopachris said:


> While it may not be literally possible to distinguish a piece of music by the first note (first chord or first measure, perhaps), are there certain recordings you can identify from the first note?


Well, there are certainly quite a few pieces that can be identified by only the first note, or chord, regardless of recording. Registration, instrumentation, the "shape" of the first note all enter into this, as mentioned. Some good examples have been mentioned in this thread. Others may be a bit optimistic...


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## Hayze (Jul 4, 2012)

John Cage 4'33''.

More seriously though:
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 23
Scriabin - Piano Sonata No. 5
Grieg - Piano Concerto
Bach - Double Violin Concerto
Bach - Keyboard Partita No. 2 - Sinfonia
And many, many more.


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## giamo (Dec 29, 2012)

Can you help me recognize the piece of background music in this video 



 ?
It plays from the beginning till 2:17.

Thank you!


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## Renaissance (Jul 10, 2012)

Hayze said:


> John Cage 4'33''.
> 
> *More seriously though:*
> .


Are you implying that Cage's 4'33'' is not serious ??  Heresy !!


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## Cygnenoir (Dec 21, 2011)

aleazk said:


> It's impossible not to recognize Ligeti's Atmospheres after hearing the first chord.


Nor _Volumina_ or _Poeme Symphonique_ (not really notes, but timbres).


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## Cnote11 (Jul 17, 2010)

Mahlerian said:


> A number of these cannot, of course, be literally discerned from their first note, as they begin with unharmonized upbeats (Pierrot Lunaire, Tristan, Mozart #40). On the other hand, they are all certainly recognizable from the beginning of their first phrases.


I will disagree with you on the Pierrot Lunaire. If I know it is not a note from the middle of something, I would be able to, with good success, tell you that it is Pierrot Lunaire. It is quite a unique note, if you ask me. If I were to hear the first phrase, then there is no doubt.


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

Vaughan Williams - Tallis Fantasia
Stravinsky - Rite of Spring
Mahler - Symphony No.2
Tchaikovsky - 1812
Shostakovich - Symphony No.15
Orff - Carmina Burana
Copland - Fanfare for the Common Man
Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra
Ravel - Piano Concerto in G
Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade

I reckon I could do all these...


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## Cygnenoir (Dec 21, 2011)

Every symphony by Beethoven and Mahler.
Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue
Stravinsky's Rite of Spring
Debussy's Prelude to the afternoon of a faun
Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer, Tristan und Isolde and Das Rheingold
A lot of Grieg
All of Prokofiev's symphonies, I think

It has to be love at first hearing!


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## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

Hmmm.... How about we try this? Here's the first note of something: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/90384230/first_note_test.mp3

If you know it, post your answer with white text.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Kopachris said:


> If you know it, post your answer with white text.


Sounds like the opening of Das Rheingold, but I'm not convinced!


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## aleazk (Sep 30, 2011)

berghansson said:


> Nor *Volumina* or _Poeme Symphonique_ (not really notes, but timbres).


lol, indeed:


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## TitanisWalleri (Dec 30, 2012)

Guilimant's Morceau Symphonique
Orff's Carmina Burana: O Fortuna
Lauridsen's O Magnum Mysterium
John William's Summon the Heroes


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

> Hmmm.... How about we try this? Here's the first note of something: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/90384230/first_note_test.mp3
> 
> If you know it, post your answer with white text.


KenOC, it's not what you said cos it's in the wrong key. I think it's Also Sprach Zarathustra?


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Cursed am I with imperfect pitch! But I think you're right.


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## Kopachris (May 31, 2010)

techniquest said:


> KenOC, it's not what you said cos it's in the wrong key. I think it's Also Sprach Zarathustra?


We have a winner! Any other guesses?


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## eorrific (May 14, 2011)

KenOC said:


> Here's an odd one. Listen to the first note/chord of Haydn's 99th Symphony. Just the first note. If it stopped right there, what would you think you were hearing?


Beethoven's 5th piano concerto?


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

eorrific said:


> Beethoven's 5th piano concerto?


You got it!


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## teej (Aug 17, 2011)

here are a couple of easy ones:
- Grieg String Quartet #1
- Shostakovich 5th symphony - 4th movement

...both instantly recognizable by the first note!


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## Flamme (Dec 30, 2012)

Mussorgsky Vivaldi Mozart...Some pieces...


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

La Forza del Destino, instantly recognisable from the first note (and it's the only note you're ever gonna need from that opera )


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## Ondine (Aug 24, 2012)

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik or/and La nozze di Figaro overture?


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## WavesOfParadox (Aug 5, 2012)

The first note of Symphony of Psalms is so unique. I couldn't believe an orchestra produced that timbre.


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## SottoVoce (Jul 29, 2011)

KenOC said:


> You got it!


I thought of Mozart's 39th. Considering they are all in E-Flat Major, I guess we're all right!


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