Emma's Music Appreciation

[emmaappreciatesmusic]

Connecting with Classical Music

I connect with music very well. I’m a sensing, feeling person, so I get more carried away by the rhythm and melody and feeling I get from a song’s music than I do by a song’s lyrics. Unless the lyrics are very direct or I notice them or they’re very clearly significant to me (like in Vienna by Billy Joel), I often won’t even completely know the lyrics of my favorite songs. I know the feeling they give me and I know the beat and mood of the song. I know how much they move me (like Hunger of the Pine by Alt-J when the beat builds up a bit.)

Many classical pieces, especially symphonies, are often either instrumental or instrument-focused or heavy. With instrumental-focused pieces, it’s easy for me to focus on the music (instead of the vocals and lyrics) and be easily carried away by the music. I can imagine that anything I feel while listening is similar to what the composer might have felt while writing the piece, and I can better understand it.

[emmaappreciatesmusic]

Sonata Form Analysis - Exposition (Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor) - 1/14

A Theme (0:07 - 0:36)

Closing/Transition (0:36 - 0:54)

B Theme (0:54 - 1:15)

Closing/Transition (1:15 - 1:57)

Development (3:51 - 5:02)

Recapitulation (5:02 - 7:35)

B Theme in Recapitulation (6:11 - 6:32)

A Theme & B Theme = Verse

They are very similar but still sound different and individual. Themes are repeated throughout the sonata much like a verse. They are often used right before a buildup in the music.

Closing/Transition = Verse Prime

The transitions come right after the A or B themes, and they pull directly from those themes to use those melodies in making a buildup, growing intensity, repeating strings of melodies, and leading to a climax in the music.

[emmaappreciatesmusic]

Emma! Here is your question. What is your favorite piece that we studied in the Baroque unit and why? Use academic language in your answer.

My favorite piece that we studied in the Baroque unit is Partita No.3 in E major by Johann Sebastian Bach. The violin in the prelude is played skilfully and is absolutely breathtaking. It is a fast-paced, dance-like melody (because it’s a partita) and is very pleasing to listen to. The melody isn’t excessively repetitive, but it’s still easy to follow. It’s a gorgeous piece.

[emmaappreciatesmusic]

Baroque Challenge Questions (Little Fugue) - 12/3

1. Why did the composer write this piece?

Bach most likely wrote this piece for himself.

2. What is the topic of this piece?

The piece has no topic.

3. What did they want the listener to understand or feel when they heard this piece?

Bach probably wanted to convey a solemn, determined feeling.

[emmaappreciatesmusic]

Opera Ariodante Analysis - 11/12

Recitative - (8:20 - 9:17)

Motor Rhythm: None

At the beginning, the melodies are laid-back and free, almost like a casual conversation. Then, once the new character enters, the characters become tense - it seems like an argument. They are snapping back and forth at each other with short, rapid, aggressive bits of music.

Elision at 8:43

Aria - (9:17 - 10:09)

Motor Rhythm: Eighth Notes

She seems distressed, and maybe snobbish. She’s definitely confident in whatever she’s saying, but she’s looking at the other characters with contempt and a supercilious, snobbish glance.

Superhuman melody throughout the entire aria, cadence at 9:59

[emmaappreciatesmusic]

Fugue Analysis (And With His Stripes We Are Healed) - 11/10

Exposition (0:00 - 0:28)

Episode (0:32 - 0:35)

Middle Entry 1 (0:42 - 0:50)

Middle Entry 2 (0:55 - 1:00)

Final Entry (1:34 - End)

[emmaappreciatesmusic]

Ranking Source Usability - 11/3

Inspiration - Wikipedia article about the band Direct - Band's Official Site Mixed (Extremely limited Direct - Depends on article) - Buzzfeed article about the artist Direct - Youtube video of artist being interviewed Mixed (But strongly towards Direct) - Rolling Stone review of latest album of band Direct - LA Times article on the history of the band Inspiration - Arizona Republic article about fashion statements artist has made Direct - Rolling Stone article that recounts a famous live performance the artist gave Direct - Site Edited by layman associate of band; contains many transcripts of interviews Direct - Recorded radio interview of the artist Direct - Televised BBC Documentary Direct - Academic book analyzing grooves within the genre that the artist is a part of.

[emmaappreciatesmusic]

Medieval music was an attempt to achieve transcendence, Renaissance was kind of about humanity and just getting down to earth, and now Baroque is trying to get back to the superhuman, divine, transcendent place, in a different way. They're trying to be sublime, but not trying to directly do it as placidly as Medieval.

Mr. Clay - 11/3

[emmaappreciatesmusic]

What are three questions that you want to ask about the music that will make you connect with it better? - 11/2

1. What drove the composer to write this piece?

2. What is the topic of this piece?

3. What did they want the listener to understand or feel when they heard this piece?