What I Listen For The Music

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.

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

For as long as mankind has walked on this earth, music has been an important part of our culture and lifestyles. Each walk of life beats to a different drum. Different cultures use music for many aspects of their lives; for religious purposes, for celebrations, for comfort, for sorrow, for relaxation, for sports, for dances, for energy, for learning, for sleeping, and for sexual experiences. Everyone uses music for something. Music connects with people and reaches them in ways that words simply cannot. Music is a representation of what feelings sound like. It expresses emotion and brings that characteristic out from within us; it tells us a story. Every generation has its’ own sound and different music styles have emerged and become

This article discusses the world’s need for classical music and why it will always be relevant. The author explores what makes certain things “art” and why certain other things are simply entertainment. He claims that classical music can never die because it is fundamentally different from many other types of popular music. It defines what makes art different from entertainment and answers the age old question of who gets to judge between them. In an age that dooms classical music to inevitable failure, this article offers a refreshing different perspective in a much more hopeful light.

What is the Subject? The subject of this text are methods proposed by Copland to help improve people’s music-listening skills. The author reveals this subject by going in-depth about different methods of listening to music and common listening behaviors of people.

In his essay “How we listen “, Aaron Copland discuss the three ways (plane) people listen to music. Those four ways are sensuous plane, expressive plane and the sheerly musical plane. The sensuous Plane is when we listen to music for our own pleasure of the sound. For example, when one turns on the radio while doing something, or while reading a book in a room, one note is enough to change the atmosphere of the room. In this plane people use music as an escape and to take them into a dream world.

The concert, “Masterpieces by American Women Composers!,” was held in the Horace C. Cabe Great Hall Regional Arts Center. The concert was a semiformal event with about 30 people in attendance. The pianist who performed that night was Dr. Linda Holzer, who is a professor of music at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and she performed on a baby grand piano. She is from Chicago and has many degrees in piano performance from three different University’s, the Northwestern University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Florida State University. Dr. Holzer has performed in many different countries including China, Slovakia, Australia, and New York. The pieces that Dr. Holzer performed that night

The reasons people choose to identify with certain genres of music are variable, but many are rooted in exposure through family. The age at which children are introduced to music is also variable in relation to one’s ‘family cultural formation.’ Turino writes about music as an identity marker multiple times throughout Music as a Social Life, and in both of these quotes explores why people are called to certain genres and how they behave within them. He states that early and extensive exposure to, and participation in a style will give individuals “the habits needed to perform [] in culturally appropriate ways,” ergo making them feel more comfortable within a musical style. But the comfortability isn’t all that matters; people are judged according

This essay is separated into four parts by the approach used to analyze the music preformed by Paul Brandt on April 5th, 2017 as part of a religious studies course focusing on religion and music at the University of Calgary, RELS373. Scott provides a standard of music’s role in cultures, explained in lecture, culture is seen as a product of religion, geographic location, and language. The phenomenon of a spiritual experience due to music is explained through the perception of William James. The metaphysical nature of music is analyzed philosophically, from the point of view of Rudolph Otto. The experience of praise (to God) is analyzed with a doxological approach through the lenses of James Frazer and Dietterich.

While many people would easily agree that music is an art form that comes from the emotional complexity and passions of human beings, Aristotle’s truth that “music that rouses ignoble passions distorts a person's character” is debatable. The claim that “the wrong kind of music makes the wrong kind of person, and the right kind tends to make the right kind of person” is a paradoxical statement that changes meaning and credibility depending on the reader’s perspective. While morality has been an integral part of religious music throughout history, there is no direct correlation that a person’s listening choices reflect their personal belief structures or that the mental health or character of the listener is defined by their choice of music

“Art, all art, not just painting, is a foreign city, and we deceive ourselves when we think it familiar,” (4) is a quote from Jeanette Winterson “Art Objects”, where she first experience a different perception of art. This essay encompasses a first encounter in appreciating all art in different ways, leading to a basic understanding of three different planes mentioned in Aaron Copland’s “How We Listen.” Copland narrows down how to perceive art, specifically music, through three different planes: sensuous, expressive, and sheerly musical. He explains the sensuous plane as the first level of perceiving music, through the basic senses (seeing, hearing, touching, etc.) and develops into the expressive plane, which is the emotional content of the

July in the city of Toronto is a scorchingly hot month and the need to escape to a lake or forest is at the forefront of most individuals’ agendas. Only then are they content amidst thoughts of campfires and mosquitos. It is music to their ears. For permanent cottage country residents like myself summer brings months of ruined rhythms. My village hums as thousands of tourists ascend with the same need to escape. However, where does one go to find musical inspiration in chaos? And if one finds it, is it learned or innate? This essay will examine how we are conditioned to believe our ability to listen and perform music can only exist within certain parameteres; how Blacking’s hypothesis “music is innate”( ) applies to those untutored; and how both lured an entire village to love Indian Taco’s.

Why Music Matters by David Hesmondhalgh  Why Music Matters, book writing by David Hesmondhalgh, published by Wiley Blackwell. Hesmondhalgh is a professor of media and culture. In this particular book, Hesmondhalgh reflects on the fundamental argument of ‘why music matters’ by studying music through various concepts and approaches to make a better understanding of why music is important in society and how it enhances people’s lives as well as investigating the social and political meaning of music in the modern society. David Hesmondhalgh conveys a historical and sociological process in understanding music in relation to social power difference. He investigates the importance of art and culture in the modern world, aspects of wider problems

Thesis: Music is a unique form of sound powerful enough to manipulate mood, feelings, and cognition.