Comments on: Initial Steps In Understanding A New Piece http://classicalconvert.com/2008/02/initial-steps-in-understanding-a-new-piece/ A beginners guide to classical music, by someone who switched at 23 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:31:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Ben http://classicalconvert.com/2008/02/initial-steps-in-understanding-a-new-piece/#comment-2607 Ben Mon, 18 Feb 2008 03:46:16 +0000 http://classicalconvert.com/2008/02/initial-steps-in-understanding-a-new-piece/#comment-2607 Hey Jon, Yes, good point. Just knowing vaguely where you expect the same melodies to occur (i.e., minimally realizing that you are likely to hear very similar material at the beginning and the end of the piece, with variations on it in the middle) gives one an initial roadmap for earlier classical pieces, conversely, you know not to necessarily expect anything too predictable from the more recent stuff. Right when I started it was definitely a complete shock when I discovered that all this noise had a structure to it. I suppose now I've come to automatically listen for it, but things might have become clearer a lot quicker had I been more aware then! Hey Jon,

Yes, good point. Just knowing vaguely where you expect the same melodies to occur (i.e., minimally realizing that you are likely to hear very similar material at the beginning and the end of the piece, with variations on it in the middle) gives one an initial roadmap for earlier classical pieces, conversely, you know not to necessarily expect anything too predictable from the more recent stuff.

Right when I started it was definitely a complete shock when I discovered that all this noise had a structure to it. I suppose now I’ve come to automatically listen for it, but things might have become clearer a lot quicker had I been more aware then!

]]> By: JonJ http://classicalconvert.com/2008/02/initial-steps-in-understanding-a-new-piece/#comment-2603 JonJ Sun, 17 Feb 2008 21:55:17 +0000 http://classicalconvert.com/2008/02/initial-steps-in-understanding-a-new-piece/#comment-2603 It's also not a bad idea, I think, to learn a little about how classical music pieces are organized, and about the history of the subject--how these organizing principles developed. This is an aspect of classical music that has little similarity with popular music. What is "sonata form" (or actually, what are "sonata forms")? What is really going on with what the composer does with her/his themes? How and when did a genre like the symphony get started, and how did it develop through Haydn and Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, and so on? Why exactly did 20th-century composers go all crazy? Did they perhaps have some good reasons for doing so, and might that be something worth looking into? I don't mean that one has to get very dry-as-dust theoretical about such questions, but in this case a little knowledge is not a dangerous thing. It can actually help clarify matters. It’s also not a bad idea, I think, to learn a little about how classical music pieces are organized, and about the history of the subject–how these organizing principles developed. This is an aspect of classical music that has little similarity with popular music.

What is “sonata form” (or actually, what are “sonata forms”)? What is really going on with what the composer does with her/his themes? How and when did a genre like the symphony get started, and how did it develop through Haydn and Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, and so on? Why exactly did 20th-century composers go all crazy? Did they perhaps have some good reasons for doing so, and might that be something worth looking into?

I don’t mean that one has to get very dry-as-dust theoretical about such questions, but in this case a little knowledge is not a dangerous thing. It can actually help clarify matters.

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