Apr 01 2009
Your Music Appreciation Primer
We all know knowledge is sexy. Geek is hot in our current times, and a person who is confident and speaks intelligently is just as likely to get laid as the hot body with no brain.
To that end, as we journey together to learn to appreciate music at a more refined level, there are some basics you should be familiar with.
First of all, classical music is a very broad and misnamed genre. Most people define classical music as orchestral or choral pieces, typically written by some dead white guy with crazy hair. This is partly true, but thinking like that is what’s keeping you from getting laid to begin with.
Classical music is generally broken out into several different periods. We have:
- The Medieval Period (500-1400)
- The Renaissance Period (1400-1600)
- The Baroque Period (1600-1760)
- The Classical Period (1730-1820)
- The Romantic Period (1815-1910)
- The Contemporary Period (1900-present)
And yes, people are still writing classical music. How else would you define a movie score?
We will be exploring all of these genres. Feel free to pipe in at your next dinner party and throw out this list. The gals/guys will make lovey eyes at you.
Other terms I may throw out at random are:
- Tempo: The speed of a piece
- Secular: Anything that was written that wasn’t for the church
- Liturgical: The opposite of the above
- Motif: That which constructs the melody
- Treble: The high notes
- Bass: The low notes
- Harmony: Putting a bunch of notes together and having it sound good
- Improvisation: Makin’ it up as you go
- Timbre: The sound and tone of a note when played by a particular instrument
- Octave: The interval between the same notes of half or double frequency
- Libretto: The lyrics of an opera
- Program music: Music written to tell a specific story
- Chamber music: Music written for a smaller group of performers
There will be more, but these will be frequent.
This list is dynamic, so check back for changes. If I find myself using a term repeatedly, I will list it here.
