Aaron Copland's book, What to Listen for in Music, seemed helpful to me because it explained music, and where music comes from through the eyes of the composer. The book creates the foundation for an intelligent musical appreciation, beginning with such basics as harmony, melody, and rhythm. It also has implicitly caused me to start asking some questions when I'm listening to a piece of music.
When I previously listened to a piece of music, I used to think about the composer's feelings and wonder how the composer got his or hers inspiration. I found it interesting to know that a composer starts with a musical idea, without questioning whether or not he or she is inspired. I had believed that composers had to get inspiration to be able to write a piece of music.
The book also describes three different types of composers. The first type of com
In essence Chapter 3 suggests that a piece of music should flow continually. Without this sense of flow and continuity, music can be choppy and staggering. Copland suggests multiple ways that ideas can be elongated, to reach the full development of a piece.
We as listeners have the responsibility to take seriously our part, that we play as listeners. The composer is giving us a piece of his personality and expression of himself or herself on each of his pieces. We also as listeners need to understand the musical style of the composer's work, this would enable us to comprehend the work that we are listening. The interpreter being the middle man, between the composer and the listener, might add some of his style to the composer's work. The listener has to know the composer's style to be able to recog
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