Have you ever tried to talk to someone about a song? What do you do? Do you talk about the words or story of what you heard? Do you sing the parts out loud with your best karaoke technique? How do you express to others what you hear, and how that makes you feel?
This is a hard question to answer! As musician and actor Martin Mull once said, “writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” There are elements about music that are inexpressible, that’s true. But there are fundamental aspects that we can discuss. If we can name these aspects and understand their unique contributions, we can talk about music more fully and express with more depth how we respond to it.
There are a few things to keep in mind as we begin to listen to music.
Music is abstract.
There are no literal meanings to musical sounds. The feelings that music evokes cannot be literally defined with a dictionary with fixed definitions. We tend to assign certain meanings to some instruments: trumpets are militaristic, saxophones are sexy, an electric guitar is cool, and so on. But there are no concrete answers.
Music takes time.
It needs time to reveal itself in its entirety. You can look at a photograph or a painting and get an instant impression of it. Music isn’t like that. You have to take the time to listen to the entirety of the work. There are no shortcuts with this art form.
Music is unstoppable.
Once the music begins, there is no pausing or interruption. Its pace and progression is completely out of the listener’s hands. There is no scanning ahead or skipping to the end. Music proceeds at its own pace.
Music is ephemeral
Nothing anchors music in space; it is pure vibration. It’s not like visual art like sculpture or paintings. Turning off the lights at a museum doesn’t cause the art to disappear. When the instruments stop playing, however, the music vanishes. Each musical moment is washed away by the next, like waves on the shore. Trying to grasp the music is like trying to catch a cloud as you glide by. It is a unique art, borne on the air.
So, we’re going to try to discuss a time-sensitive, ephemeral, unstoppable phenomenon. Great. How on earth do we do that?!
It may seem impossible. We are asked to evaluate an invisible, nonverbal argument as it flies by. But we won’t have to make these decisions alone. Let’s get to know our musical travel guide, Mr. Higs:
Gabs Wilson
As you may guess, MR HIGS isn’t just a snazzy name. It’s a mnemonic device to help us remember core musical elements.
MR HIGS will be our musical companion throughout our course of study, and will guide our understanding of the music we encounter. He will help us as we strive to listen, not just hear. He may look a little different from era to era and song to song, but his character remains constant!
Unit 1
1.0 Preface
1.1 MR HIGS and You
1.2 Melody
1.3 Rhythm
1.4 Harmony
1.5 Musical Instruments
1.6 Growth
1.7 Style
Unit 2
2.1 The Middle Ages
2.2 Medieval Sacred Chant
2.3 Medieval Sacred Organum
2.4 Medieval Secular Music
2.5 Checklist Of Musical Style: Middle Ages: 476–1450
Unit 3
3.1 The Renaissance
3.2 The Sacred Music of the Renaissance
3.3 The Secular Music of the Renaissance
3.4 The Renaissance Instrumental Music
3.5 Checklist of Musical Style: The Renaissance (c. 1450–1600)
Unit 4
4.1 Baroque Introduction
4.2 Baroque Opera
4.3 Baroque Oratorio
4.4 The Baroque Cantata
4.5 Baroque Instrumental Music
4.6 Baroque Knowledge Checkpoint
Unit 5
5.0 Neo-Classicism in Music (Classical or Classic)
5.1 Multi-movement Cycle
5.2 The String Quartet
5.3 The Classical Concerto
5.4 The Symphony
5.5 The Classical Piano
5.6 Classical Opera
5.7 The Classical Requiem
5.8 Beethoven and the Symphony in Transition
Unit 6
6.0 Romanticism
6.1 Lieder
6.2 The Short Lyric Piano Piece
6.3 Romantic Program Music
6.4 Program Symphony
6.5 The Romantic Virtuoso—Franz Liszt and Nicolo Paganini
6.6 The Romantic Concerto
6.7 The Romantic Symphony
6.8 Romantic Opera: Rossini, Verdi, Wagner, and Puccini
6.9 The Romantic Ballet
6.10 Romantic Style Elements