The Way I Listen To Music Chapter 1-3 Summary

The word form can bring out lots of meanings such as shapes, structure, organisation or even coherence. Well in music, the term form represents the organisation of musical elements in time. Form can be made out from the mixtures of different pitches, tone colour of instruments, dynamics, rhythm, melody and texture that interact to one another to produce a sense of shape and structure in a composition. This is caused by the importance of every role that are played in making a spiritual connection with music to our soul to make us feel the different emotions that are felt by us humankind.

20. Discuss the classical concerto. What is a cadenza? A classical concerto usually has three movements occurring in the same order of tempos as the Italian sinfonia: fast-slow-fast. Cadenza is an extended virtuosic passage for a solo instrument.

Writer and composer, Aaron Copland, in his book, “How We Listen,” divides listening into three planes: the sensuous, the expressive and the sheerly musical. Copland argues throughout the work that “[listeners] can deepen [their] understanding of music only by being a more conscious and aware listener.” (Copland, 15) Copland’s strategy of breaking the text up with the three planes of listening helps the reader understand his message in a more complete way.

Music is sound organized by humans; audible statement that mirrors a way of life or a way of thinking; a language spoken directly, without translation, between people who understand. In this class we studied liberal arts, and how it uses general intellectual development rather than opposed training, to develop a musical analysis of music such as “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez”. To develop an analysis, we group the organization of music into five musical elements rhythm, melody, harmony, texture, and form, and we find some type of organization or order in these pieces like pulse and background instruments to help identify these elements.

2. The sounds (and silences) that comprise a musical work organized in some way * Music is a form of organized sound

“ I think it 's funny, we live in an era and time where peace, love and positivity is considered corny or whack.. and that 's some evil thoughts.” (Logic) This is one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite rappers of this generation. He makes music to talking about his struggles being a biracial kid grow up in a dysfunctional home in Maryland and his parents being drug addicts. He also talks about his love of music and happy, good stuff about life. In a way he wants to put the world together and unite it through music. He uses this as a method to bring people together through his music and wants to people under his music of loving one another for making a better world. In Aaron Copland “How We Listen” describes the process of

The great and respected Aaron Copland was an American composer known for his ballad scores. In his essay, “How We Listen To Music” Copland wanted avid music listeners to realize that you can not just be dazed. His mind had sorted out three planes of listening for us: the sensuous plane, the expressive plane, and the sheerly musical plane. He simply defined each plane, illustrating it, and then contrasts between the three. With this people will be a cautious of their music surroundings.

Often music is consisted not only by sounds made from musical instruments, but also by voice and verbal messages. The structure of the voice, or as Roland Barthes describes it ‘the grain of voice’ is the element in a certain piece of music which is responsible for creating the emotions when listening. The grain and the lyrics make the signified and carry out the message. The vocal part of music is formed of words, text, which communicate and make the representation and expression of what it is sung - talked about. According to Barthes the emotive modes of the voice and the changes of the tones from low to high is what delivers the final message and makes us feel the music. (Barthes, R. 1977 [1972]).

To understand why music is a product of human intention and perception, we start by defining or understanding the nature of music. Music is defined as the sounds or combination of vocals and instruments in a way that it produces a form of beauty, expression, or harmony of emotions. Arguably, people compose or make music through many ways (Resnicow, Joel E., 20-29). While some people might compose music without incorporating instruments, others use instruments to produce beats that match with their sounds. However, to argue that the

Before the main melody begins with Clifford Brown and Jimmy Heath, there is a short four second long introduction in the very beginning of the song, which is played entirely by the piano player John Lewis.

As children, many people would say their favorite way to spend time were play with toys, baby dolls, or even video games. Well, as a kid, I enjoyed these activities, but my absolute favorite thing to do was listen to music. When I was young, I had little variety in my music taste. As I grew older, I started to like almost every song I heard. I noticed over time my love for Disney music had turned into a passion for all music.

Why do we like music so much? Have you ever wondered why we listen to music almost every day?

The music class, called Art of Active Listening, caught me by surprise. During the beginning weeks of the first semester, I was nervous about where this course would take me. I entered college with no background knowledge of music but was excited to take on a new challenge. This course never involved music notation or theory which was very beneficial for me, but it did provide skills and techniques that I can use throughout my everyday life. Some critical points we covered during the semester were focusing on the meter, interpreting the meaning of the lyrics, and using the background music to guide us in the direction the composer/artist wants us to go. One artist that touches on a variety of main points covered in this course is Jack Johnson. Multiple Jack Johnson songs revolve around his incredibly moving lyrics and his use of background instruments to set a tone for the listener. Some songs I will be analyzing are “Tape Deck”, “Upside Down,” “Never Know,” and “Staple it Together.” Music is not all about the lyrics and message the artist is conveying. The use of active listening provides a sense of appreciation because the listener is capable of hearing things many others cannot.

The book I decided to review is “ Deep Listeners: Music, Emotion, and Trancing” by Judith Becker. I picked this book because I believe that I can relate music induced trancing with my major, which is music therapy. In the introduction Becker begins to discuss how trancing has become more prominent in Northwestern Europe and the United States. Becker describes trancing as, “empowering, for all concerned, attesting to the divine presence in one’s midst, legitimizing the religious beliefs and practices of the community, and often bestowing deep satisfaction on the individual trancer” (Becker, pg. 1). The book covers the techniques of trancing, the self-expression related to trancing, trancing within different cultures, and the affect of trancing on the conscious mind.

Music Theory can be understood as chiefly the study of the structure of music. With the idea of both written and oral notation, it may be understood through recognized systems of indication, and used as systems of memorizing and transmitting the theories themselves. Western music theory is significant for its quantity and range whilst those of non-Western traditions are also notable in possessing major works of theoretical oration and literature.