What to Listen for in Music

Rating:
Summary: Elementary Conscepts
Review: This book is a very easy book to read, however there are a few problems. As another review mentions, this book is clearly not for any one who has knowledge of music prior to reading this book. It spends much time explaining very elementary conscepts. For those who don't know what a violin looks like this is a very good book. For the beginner musician I highly recommend Aaron Copland's book, since it is very easy to read and understand. However for someone with a little more experience in music, this book is clearly not a good choice.

Rating:
Summary: the inverted sonata: slow-fast-slow
Review: This book is not really about the art of listening as much as a guide to classical music structure. It's hard to say who the target audience for this is as neither beginners nor advanced listeners will be completely satisfied.

I got this book from a friend - an absolute beginner in music - who abandoned it as too complex. It does ramble on with a few chapters of basic music theory but without warning there is a huge jump (along the lines of "this is a treble clef... now here's the complete score to...") at which point the beginner is lost. It's as if Copland suddenly decided he was fed up with the pre-amble and wanted to get on with his original purpose.

The seasoned listener who is still reading will get value at this point, particularly from the discussion on the "planes of music" (the reviewer below elaborates). Unfortunately the book ends on a low note with some dry discussions of form (sonatas, fugue) which any Grade 6 music student will be familiar with.

If you are looking for a book on the art of listening, there are certainly other titles to explore first.

Rating:
Summary: A Fine Introduction to Critical Musical Understanding
Review: This book was recommended to my music theory class and I happened to check it out and so far I find it to contain very wise and important statements about music and the way we listen to it. I would also recommended the book "The Joy of Music" by Leonard Bernstein, it is another book by a great musician that elucidates music.

Rating:
Summary: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
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.

Rating:
Summary: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
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.