First and foremost, I would like to address the misconception that classical music is only for old snobs. I mean honestly, who’s truly interested in listening to music composed by a bunch of long-dead white guys? Probably not a lot of you, but the purpose of my blog is to provide (hopefully) interesting information about the genre of music that most young people don’t listen to; and who knows, maybe even bring some people to the dark side.
Personally, I was exposed to classical music by my parents when I was very young, but I stopped appreciating it when I was about eleven. At that age, all I wanted to listen to was all the popular songs on the radio: “Replay” by Iyaz, “Whatcha Say” by Jason Derulo, etc. Fortunately, when I started high school, I gained a newfound admiration for the classical genre. As a more mature person, the music began to take on new dimensions, and it stopped being a simple sound. I began to actively listen to new pieces and learn more about the subject; and eventually developed true passion and respect. Classical music is for everyone—even those who listen to Iyaz. However, it goes without saying that there are definite differences between the music that’s on the radio and the classical genre.
Although it may seem obvious, the classical genre of music was not referred to as such when it was originally written. The use of the word classical to describe this broad genre came about as an increasing number of people began to listen to and like popular music. Over the following centuries, the epic music composed by ancient masterminds was delegated as “classical”.
The word classical can be easily defined as traditional and long-established. Presently, the music written by those old white guys has been in existence for an extended period of time, and is also, by most people, considered orthodox and unadventurous. Notwithstanding, those people could not be more wrong. In their time, many of the concertos and pieces written by some of the world’s greatest composers were in fact revolutionary and avant-garde—stepping away from the established schools of thought, and pushing the limits of music. Not to mention the genre encapsulates more than its fair share of exciting, bold, and stirring pieces.
VS.
Nowadays, people most commonly relate emotions in songs they may listen to by way of lyrics; hence, a majority of the population has trouble relating sentiments and ideas to music written and played without the use of spoken language. For that reason, popular music is short and, for the most part, maintains a single clear mood. Classical music is not bound by the limits of the written word, and therefore, has the singular ability to create variety and contrast within a single piece—taking its listeners on a journey, as opposed to transporting them to one place.
The concept of storytelling through music without the use of words is fairly unexplored by most teenagers and even adults. Nonetheless, while the methods through which classical music conveys its message and mood may be more complex than the employment of words, the core idea remains the same. In order to successfully provoke emotions that are difficult to articulate in simple lyrics, classical composers manipulated rhythm, meter, harmony, dynamics, melodies, and key. By manipulating those elements of music in countless structural and expressive ways, composers were able to achieve different tonalities, moods, themes, and textures. Now, I realize that that may sound like complete nonsense, but when put into simpler terms, it basically translates to changing relative speed, beat, and loudness and deciding what key and combination of notes they wish to string together to achieve a desired reaction.
Without having to listen to it the entire way through, it’s easy to tell that this piece, “Waltz No. 1 in E-flat, Op.18”, is very vibrant. Because of its fast tempo and its bright melody and harmony, the mood of the piece is molded to be happy.
Now with this one, “Études-tablueaux, Op. 39: No. 2 in A Minor”, even if you don’t listen to it completely, it’s brooding mood comes through right away. Rachmaninov (the composer) chose to write this piece in a minor key, which would automatically give the song a darker tone. In this song you can see the effects of dynamics (loudness) pretty clearly as well.
Tackling all of the differences between the two genres would take way too long, and quite honestly, a lot of the differences become pretty technical. Plus, it is important to know that there are plenty of elements found in popular music that can be traced back to the music written by those old white dudes aforementioned. In fact, a lot of musicians take sections of a classical piece and work them into their music. For just a few examples, next time you listen to Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro”, Mika’s “Grace Kelly”, or Radiohead’s “Exit Music For A Film”, you can safely say that these got their inspiration from famous classical pieces. Even when you don’t realize it, you listen to pieces of classical music all the time.
dfd5159 says
I’m not a fan of classical music, but I still enjoyed this post. I think you’re funny and your sense of humor definitely added a nice touch to this.
mbs5638 says
I also forgot to mention that I very much appreciate your sense of humor coming out in a blog that most would typically consider boring. It keeps your readers’ attention.
mbs5638 says
AHHHH YOU PICKED RACHMANINOFF!!!! I love Rachmaninoff. My best friend is a pianist and plays me Rachmaninoff when he’s bored. I also enjoy classical music, especially when I’m doing homework or just want to relax; so I’m really excited to keep reading! The embedded music was a great touch too!
ama6560 says
Ana – I LOVE this blog post! I actually very much enjoy listening to classical music. It is the type of music my grandparents prefer, so I guess I picked it up from them. My absolute favorite piece is “Firebird Suite” by Stravinsky. Have you listened to it before? It transitions from a piece of mystery, to one one of jarring destruction, finally ending with a feel of stately triumph that never fails to leave me mesmerized. It is in essence an illustration of the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. But I’m off on a tangent. You did a fantastic job speaking in an informal voice, yet also getting across all the necessary information to the audience. Embedding pieces of music within the blog piece was a great idea, although I would also suggest inserting a few more pictures to break up some of your longer blocks of text. Very excited to read what else you have to say about classical music.