# music appreciation



## Jaime77 (Jun 29, 2009)

would it be ok for a long-time member as myself to plug my music school?  it's just that I teach 2 music appreciation courses - one a short overview and the other a detailed look at some key works. No prior knowledge of musical analysis needed.

Have a look at the blog page of the school for details. These course are ONLINE remember so don't worry about that. Try it from your living room 

thanks folks 

http://nunotes.wordpress.com/


----------



## KaerbEmEvig (Dec 15, 2009)

Bookmarked. Will look into it when the time comes (busy).


----------



## Jaime77 (Jun 29, 2009)

Thank you!


----------



## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

I love this quote by Strvinsky ,but I may be paraphrasing a little.

" You shouldn't teach any one to appreciate music, but to love it."


----------



## Johnny (Mar 7, 2010)

According to wiki, Stravinsky also said, "music is, by its very nature, essentially powerless to express anything at all."


----------



## Jaime77 (Jun 29, 2009)

very true about music needs to be loved - i only call it appreciation cos it is a known expression. 

yes johnny stravinsky said that - not sure the context but he did prefer abstract music rather than music that 'described' stuff, which he thought it couldn't do since it is only sound


----------



## Johnny (Mar 7, 2010)

What do you mean by music that "describes" stuff?


----------



## MessiaenIsGod (Mar 25, 2010)

Jaime77 said:


> yes johnny stravinsky said that - not sure the context but he did prefer abstract music rather than music that 'described' stuff, which he thought it couldn't do since it is only sound


 Well, it's not that he preferred one over the other, he argued that the latter, "music that describes stuff", doesn't actually even exist. From a psycho-acoustic standpoint, this is entirely true. When we listen to music and ascribe emotions to it or visual representations, we are doing exactly that, we, the listener, are ascribing these things to what is essentially just vibrational frequencies hitting the tympanic membrane of our ear.

Instrumental music, without some evocative title, is incapable of expressing any concrete thought or emotion, it is ascribed to it by the listener, and significantly, different listeners can and do ascribe completely different emotions and connotations to the very same piece of music.


----------



## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

MessiaenIsGod said:


> Well, it's not that he preferred one over the other, he argued that the latter, "music that describes stuff", doesn't actually even exist. From a psycho-acoustic standpoint, this is entirely true. When we listen to music and ascribe emotions to it or visual representations, we are doing exactly that, we, the listener, are ascribing these things to what is essentially just vibrational frequencies hitting the tympanic membrane of our ear.
> 
> Instrumental music, without some evocative title, is incapable of expressing any concrete thought or emotion, it is ascribed to it by the listener, and significantly, different listeners can and do ascribe completely different emotions and connotations to the very same piece of music.


Well said.


----------



## Andy Loochazee (Aug 2, 2007)

Assuming one is only a listener and not a practitioner, the best way to enhance one's appreciation of classical music is to get some minimal music theory under your belt, read up on the composer's achievements, and listen to various examples until you can identify all the usual elements of musical composition, e.g. sonata form. There's no need to have lessons unless you are very dim or want to take it to lengths that most people can't be bothered with. Even then, it should be possible to engage in further self-teaching to achieve a fairly high level of musical appreciation ability.


----------



## Jaime77 (Jun 29, 2009)

yes Andy and thanks for the info on Stavinsky, Messiaen


----------



## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

It's not true that music is incapable of portraying the extra-musical. In fact, some of Stravisnky's own music contradicts what he said. His early ballets The Firebird, Petrushka and The Rite of Spring are highly descriptive and illustrate the stories vividly.
For example, in Petrushka, a tuba,or baritone horn , portrays a dancing bear. And it sounds just like a dancing bear ! 
The Richard Strauss tone poems are full of highly descriptive music. The fact that some one would not guess what is being described if he heard it without knowing the title of the work doesn't mean that music cannot graphically describe things. You can't completely divorce music from the extra-musical , because music does not exist in a vacuum.


----------

