What to Listen for in Music

Posted on 12 May 2018 by Aaron Copland

In this fascinating analysis of how to listen to music intelligently, Aaron Copland raises two basic questions Are you hearing everything that is going on Are you really being sensitive to it If you cannot answer yes to both questions, you owe it to yourself to read this book Whether you listen to Mozart or Duke Ellington, Aaron Copland s provocative suggestions for listening to music from his point of view will bring you a deeper appreciation of the most rewarding of all art forms. Best Read [ What to Listen for in Music ] author [ Aaron Copland ] – kino-fada.fr This is a fantastic book for the layperson who wants to become aintelligent listener and who wants to understandof what is going on in classical music note all classical music, not just the Classical period Copland begins with an explanation of what music is and how it functions, moves to instruments, then to forms, adds an apologist chapter for contemporary music, and finishes with a chapter of what it means to be a good listener and the very significant role listeners play in t This is a fantastic book for the layperson who wants to become aintelligent listener and who wants to understandof what is going on in classical music note all classical music, not just the Classical period Copland begins with an explanation of what music is and how it functions, moves to instruments, then to forms, adds an apologist chapter for contemporary music, and finishes with a chapter of what it means to be a good listener and the very significant role listeners play in the participation of the music creation As a book for the layperson, I think it s wonderful It s smart, detailed, comprehensive, and Copland punctuates his objective analyses with stirring descriptions of the emotional impact of music that remind readers how evanescent and mysterious goo...A basic and helpful introduction to music for someone like me, i.e., no music training beyond playing the pianica in primary school, and strumming the guitar round campfires in high school In this book first written in the 1930s, Copland distinguishes between listening on a sensuous plane mere enjoyment of the quality of sound and on expressive and sheerly musical planes While not slighting the first, he contends that a better understanding of music increases our pleasure in it Knowledge en A basic and helpful introduction to music for someone like me, i.e., no music training beyond playing the pianica in primary school, and strumming the guitar round campfires in high school In this book first written in the 1930s, Copland distinguishes between listening on a sensuous plane mere enjoyment of the quality of sound and on expressive and sheerly musical planes While not slighting the first, he contends that a better understanding of music increases our pleasure in it Knowledge enhances passion, as I try rather vainly to persuade my students about poetry A chapt...Aaron Copland 1900 1990 stands as one of the giants of American composers Charged by his French music teacher to produce an authentic American style of music, he would compose classics such as Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, and Rodeo Copland also would conduct, teach, and write over the course of his prodigious career.Based on a series of lectures and first published in 1939, What to Listen for in Music remains in print Along with his compositions which are still being performed, this b Aaron Copland 1900 1990 stands as one of the giants of American composers Charged by his French music teacher to produce an authentic American style of music, he would compose classics such as Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, and Rodeo Copland also would conduct, teach, and write over the course of his prodigious career.Based on a series of lectures and first published in 1939, What to Listen for in Music remains in print Along with his compositions which are still being performed, this book stands as a testament of Copland s lasting influence on American music.It is Copland s prime consideration that makes What to Listen for in Music as accessible today as when it was first published Moving quickly to allay the fears of those who don t consider themselves musical, he strongly asserts that the ability to read music or...WHAT TO LISTEN FOR IN MUSIC 1939, rev 1957 Aaron Copland 1 2.What better educator on classical music than Aaron Copland He managed to take me a reader untrained in formal music practice or theory by the hand and help me understand the underlying principles of its structure He did this by providing an outline of the most common musical forms and variations, and what their purposes were In addition, he also provided ways for today s listener to better understand modern music I w WHAT TO LISTEN FOR IN MUSIC 1939, rev 1957 Aaron Copland 1 2.What better educator on classical music than Aaron Copland He managed to take me a reader untrained in formal music practice or theory by the hand and help me understand the underlying principles of its structure He did this by providing an outline of the most common musical forms and variations, and what their purposes were In addition, he also provided ways for today s listener to better understand modern music I was surprised that I was able to follow all of his teachings with the exception of some sections dealing with forms In those sections, it would have been helpful to have him sitting next to me at a piano to illustrate the forms he was describing I particularly liked his chapter on opera He managed to clearly ...I found this book very interesting, and thought it saidabout its author than its subject, at least for me Copland provides explanations of and thoughts on all the main elements of and aspects of music melody, rhythm, harmony, and formal structure, plus some additional special topics like opera, film music, and contemporary music Copland s aim is to help the non musician become a better,sophisticated listener, so none of the information was news to me However, I often found his ta I found this book very interesting, and thought it saidabout its author than its subject, at least for me Copland provides explanations of and thoughts on all the main elements of and aspects of music melody, rhythm, harmony, and formal structure, plus some additional special topics like opera, film music, and contemporary music Copland s aim is to help the non musician become a better,sophisticated listener, so none of the information was news to me However, I often found his take on it interesting and occasionally illuminating The only downside was that Copland is very much a man of the mid twentieth century he adheres strongly to a very evolutionary view of music, is often a little ethnocentric, and uses language such that you would think the only time women are professionally involved with music is when someone needs a soprano.Nonetheless, What to Listen for in Music ...Copland logr escribir un libro muy ilustrador y accesible, apto tanto para personas con formaci n musical como para nosotros los legos Es corto, ameno y lleno de informaci n muy educativa para los que queremos aprender m s sobre m sica acad mica o culta el t rmino es bastante problem tico pero En realidad siento que la lectura de este libro me ha dado herramientas para escuchar la m sica de manera m s inteligente y poder disfrutarla mejor por lo que no dudar a en recomendarlo El ni Copland logr escribir un libro muy ilustrador y accesible, apto tanto para personas con formaci n musical como para nosotros los legos Es corto, ameno y lleno de informaci n muy educativa para los que queremos aprender m s sobre m sica acad mica o culta el t rmino es bastante problem tico pero En realidad siento que la lectura de este libro me ha dado herramientas para escuchar la m sica de manera m s inteligente y poder disfrutarla mejor por lo que no dudar a en recomendarlo El nico problema que encuentro con este libro es su inevitable envejecimiento con el paso del tiempo ya que habla de compositores tales como Stravinsky como contempor neos , siendo que, en este d a en que he terminado de leer este libro Stravinsky se encuentra tan alejado de m como podr an estarlo Schubert, Brahms o Mozart Desde que se public este libro la m sica ha cambiad...I enjoyed reading it I felt that it improved my understanding of classical form considerably although my lack of musical knowledge made some chapters difficult I have been reading it in conjunction with Bernstein and a variety of Youtube clips I think it s a book I shall return to on occasion to deepen my understanding I ve already gained immensely in the area of early 20th century works and am looking forward to extending my listening range.It has also ...This book is cut up by a damaging assumption classical music is difficult Popular music is easy Therefore elitism reduces the usefulness of this book.The best components of the book probe the four essential elements to music rhythm, me...While this book may clarify musical forms in the way an Introduction to Music Appreciation lecture might, its chapters on Contemporary Music c 1939 and Film Music are so short as to be meaningless, and even if they wereexpansive, they have not aged well.2.5 5 stars Full disclosure I am a professionally trained musician bachelor and master s degrees in composition, double bassist forthan fifteen years , so I realize this book isn t really intended for a person like me But from a historical standpoint, I do appreciate this set of lessons Through most of it, it was a nice little...

English
12 May 2018

Aaron Copland