What to Listen For in Music [Paperback] Review

THIS IS A BOOK FOR PEOPLE AT ALL LEVELS - LAYMAN, COMPOSER, OR ADVANCED MUSIC LOVER."Why should one have to learn or need guidance on how to listen to what one is hearing?" is the question that William Schuman asks in his Preface."The answer is simple.Listening to music is a skill that is acquired through experience and learning.Knowledge enhances enjoyment."
What makes What to Listen for in Music so invaluable is that it is the ONLY book on musical appreciation written by a GREAT COMPOSER."This is a composer's book," Aaron Copland states."Given the chance, every composer would like to know two very important things about anyone who takes himself seriously as a music lover...1. Are you hearing everything that is going on? [and] 2. Are you really being sensitive to it?"
The only shortcoming of this book is that it should be taken as part of a class to make sure that one gets everything out of it.It would be great if it came with a CD of all the examples to which Copland makes reference.However, each chapter does end with a list of "recommended listening."To make specific points, Copland does include sheet music (but I didn't read this book sitting next to my piano).However, these problems are minimal, considering we live in an age of the cheap CDs and music downloads.
Copland covers EVERY aspect of music, starting with "how we listen," - on the sensuous plane, the expressive plane, and the sheerly musical plane.He then goes on to explain to us the Four Elements of Music - Melody, Rhythm, Harmony, and Tone Color.We find out about all the musical instruments, their history and classifications.We find out about all the genres in music - Sectional Form, Variation Form, Fugal Form, Sonata Form, Free Form.Did you know that Sonata Form includes symphonies as well?And that symphonies grew out of operatic overtures?
This is a book that bears re-reading.A lot of technical jargon gets bandied about and, although Copland does his best to explain it all, it still gets a tad confusing.I advise reading this book, listening to a LOT of music, and then reading it again.I know my own knowledge and appreciation of music has grown from reading it.Now I DO have an idea of the nuances I should be listening for in a Mozart piano concerto.

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