Classical Music Appreciation: Basics - Part 2

1. Introduction: It is now time to talk a little bit about music itself. Music is made of three main elements. These three elements, which will be our focus in the next lectures, our rhythm, melody, and harmony. So these are probably not new words for you. We are going to see them separately. I would say that this is not something which is crucially important to know for a listener for music appreciation. But still, I feel especially harmony. It is something which we not think about often. And they, they might be important for our personal reflection or music and to understand music in general, music is an art. So I think it's worth spending some time, not too much time on them. I hope not too much time. You have seen that. Not very concise. Still. Harmony will be our main focus. Harmony is something which is not so we don't touch it. Commonly. You will see that every side of music relates to one side of human nature. This is very interesting. This is the reason why music takes us and makes us lose our mind, touches our, our, our being in every side. V2 because it's self is made of every side of our, our being and our nature. As we invented music. Music is a reflection on our, our big. So let us start now talking about the most primordial, immediate and for sure, unavoidable part of music, which is rhythm. 2. The might of rhythm: Wraith is an element of music which doesn't really need any kind of introduction. Everyone knows what reason is, because it is impossible not to feel rhythm within Neo secret when listening to music. Why? Why it is so impossible to avoid the contact with the technical side of any, actually a musical piece. It is because rhythmic hits the physical part of us. It is the bodily nature of music, the most primordial and overwhelming part or it written, is not something we find. Only music, on the other hand, is basically everywhere. It is in our organic nature. Like in the heartbeats, in the breath. In our steps. Our life functions are basically all rhythmical. They follow rhythmical patterns. And also in the inorganic word written is all over the cycle of the season and also of the day and night is rhythmical. The orbits of the cost by gravitation is rhythmical. Some met so many things have a within themselves. Rhythmic pulsation. In music, erythema is a vertical element you can definitely experienced by yourself, but we will in a moment, how the movement your body will start doing. Following the retina is something like this, right? We all know the sensation. It is a vertical movement. That is, that is significant. You want find yourself doing something like this. Automatically. Know it is, it is something which really has deep roots and is alive inner. That very moment, every rhythmical beat is there. This is why it's vertical. It doesn't go through time. Groups of rhythmical pulsation go through time and they make patterns. We will talk about rhythmical patterns. They are, I mean, again, not technicalities, but they are cells of the whole flow of music. And cells and the very heartbeat. It is no wonder that rhythm, music is the most ancient form of music making in the pre-history. Beating trunks rhythmical. At arithmetical. Yes. I missed I missed one word at a rhythmic pace. At rhythmical pace was a way to create a community, to feel united within a community because the reason is universal. If, if I, if I do something like this, which is rhythmical, musical, pure written, I am sure that it hits you. It is not possible, not so the most the wreath is present then the strongest is the overwhelming it is the most unites the bodies. And this was felt throughout history, especially in ancient history where society was simple and there were a few differences in classes and so on. That this was a very good way to connect a community. Now, there is not, that much has to say. Of course there would be many things but they don't, they don't regard the listeners there, regarding only the musicians. So it's not for us. I would like to listen with you to again, short expert excerpt of an example piece, which is of course not handled per cent written. This is a 100% written. This piece is the second movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. It is incredibly complex. It is rich in every aspect, but as it happens quite often in Beethoven. Rhythmical one is the prominent, easily is the most present is what? Heats the most. Just listen. Nothing has UVs. You will see how, sorry. You will see how, how the vertical nature of written something you cannot escape from. Let's go. Now. Something which is pretty useful to notice. This piece is a perfect example of how it works. Doesn't lay in every single note, you've seen how fast paced this species. Total, total. When does your body react Not to each of them? Like a Gatling gun, it is, it is to match. And a large part of these notes era in the air, they bounce back. You don't have to give you the answer because you have it already. Tantrums. Pum, pum, pum. This is the written record pace you feel it. It's nothing. You have to demonstrate. Now, erythema is something which is grouped. These pace every three nodes means that the first one is the important one, the one which we lean upon and the other ones are bouncing back and they are not important. This creates a hierarchy. This creates something which divides the strong note in. If you are interested in terminology in music, we call it a downbeat because yeah, Got it goes down. And then we had the app per beat ones. But data, you see vertical, it has to be down, up, down, up, it has to be. So also, there is something more in certain, in certain pieces of music. There is a year key also in-between the downbeats, the leaning points. For example, dun dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun patent. And you've seen it. It is not dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun data. It's not that everyone is as much as heavy as all the other ones. I mean, if the conductor is very bad, yes, this will be the result, but it is boring. Dental don't, don't, don't don't don't don't don't don't, don't don't don't, don't. Delta theta. This piece against ten minutes long and half of it is with this pace. If this happens, you get bored, even though the music is terrific. Dun dun dun dun dun, dun, dun dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun Panther. This data, but often puts as a surprise that in the pattern of 123123123123123123123123. There is three sudden important notes in a row. Now we will see on each piece when there are rhythmical important things to notice and the features, we will see them what I want to just to give you an introduction to it. Now, we go on and talk about the next element after the physical nature of music. And we will see another side of music striper nature in melody. 3. The magic of melody: As much as it was for rhythm and also for melody. We already know what we're talking about. There cannot be music without melody. This is something which is, I have heard this being said many times, too many times because it's not true, we will see it afterwards. Still melody is a primary elements of music, is as ancient as written, is in the form of singing, producing sounds with the voice and even handful of random sounds sung or plate. Of course, when instruments can produce a little melody. Even though our ear not maybe you recognize really at what we say, a real malady. Why? The answer to this question is pretty important. First, let me say that melody contrast. In many ways. Rate miss physical. Malady is emotional. It touches the emotional sphere of human being. And if erythema is vertical, melody is horizontal. It's something which lets music flow through time. A melody is something which is military, so to say, like is always embodied by a line. Why do I say that? Even what doesn't seem as a melody is because our concept of melody is a little bit biased. It is influenced, influenced by what? By our musical tradition. There is a reason, a very good reason why music before the beginning of Barak is not played, not like, not considered major, even though it is major for many sides. But the main thing which makes it out dated to ask is that the third element we are going to talk about in depth in a moment, which is harmony. Add, didn't steal, developed to its final form in Europe. Melodies in our ears, in our imagination from force for centuries already, always follow the harmonic logic. This is why when there is a sequence of sounds with this obeys is out of our unconscious harmonic logic. We, we really cannot appreciate the match. We cannot recognize it as a melody. We will talk about hormone. Linear momentum is very important. Now, how to reorganize the melody? Very simple. Melody is something you can sync. That's just it. It is very important to tell, to say this, even though it might seem low, of course. Yeah. No need to say it is really very obvious. Steel. It is not because when talking about harmony distinguishes harmonic and melodic feature is not so easy as one can think. Now, let us listen to something and is an example of very melodic music. There is a huge pool of music like this. The most iconic I think, is Italian opera. Italian opera is the realm of melody, at least the most part of the large part of it, up to the late Verdi, the end of Romanticism. It is where melody is crowned as the queen of music. The rhythmical and harmonic side basically serve the main pleasures. We listen to an excerpt when the singer enters and starts singing of one of the most iconic, famous and representative areas of Italian opera. Aria means basically song. In the context of opera. Of Italian opera for sure. Casta diva is the title. Casta diva means chased the goddess. In English, it is a prayer, prayer to the moon. And you will be carried over bytes melody. It is such a wonderful molarity. So you will see it flows horizontally, is very curvy, is really can be, it can be represented by a drawn line. Let us listen. This is orchestral confinements. Good. Now you've seen that the music is very bad. There is not that much into it. There is a simple string or confinement, which aren't alone. Absolves the rhythmical and the harmonica. Tasks. To row sets the piece, the step of the music does the harmonies with these, with these notes, which makes cords and leave the room for the voice to create and produce the magical moment of malloc. Memory doesn't really require again, that much of a discussion. We now go, move forward. Go ahead. Into the most interesting and less no known element of music which closes the triangle of music striper nature, which is harmony. 4. The power of harmony: It is time now to talk about harmony, which is the most interesting and the least obvious element of music. What is harmony? Harmony is it's science. This already tells you, which is the side of human nature, which relates to how memory is a reason, harmless, purely rational. It is the science which regulates the relationship between contemporary sounds. It means that when more than two sounds are played in the same moment, which is, and which will be. The final effect of the combination of them is determined by harming three or more nodes together make a court. A chord is a unity in harmony. Music is music after, of course, there's certain degree of development is a sequence of chords. Now, we don't have, Thank God to know how our money works. Not at all. It is very complex. At least of course, the Western European system, which is used in classical music. 5. Combination fo the three: Bruckner's 6th symphony: As a piece to listen. In order to see how the three sides of music combine. I chose a piece which is more on the harmonic side. I mean, of course, Redman melody are important, but harmony as the major role, then leading role in this music. Because it is important for me that we start to get acquaintance too. Pay attention to harmony and how this affects the color of the music. This is the species you're real painting with the harmony. Now, usually we have, we have done already a couple of times the beginning of the piece. Now we do an ending. We cover in ending. This is the final part of the first movement of a symphony, great symphony, by a composer who is not, unfortunately as famous, not nearly as famous as he deserves, is still a great composer played and so on. So you will find him. His name is Anton Bruckner. Bruckner is a late romantic composer, so we are in the second half of the 19th century and is a Wagner lover. He follows the innovations of Wagner, and he translates Wagner's operatic language. He developed on Oprah to the symphony, instrumental, orchestral music. This is the final huge climax of the first movement. So the first part of his sixth symphony. Let us listen a little bit of it because it is longer than usual, is longer than the Schumann. Let we get a picture of our TAs and then we talk about the TTC. Very important because this music is pretty hard. I have to say, so I need to explain it. Let us listen some of it, and then we'll talk. For our first picture. This is enough to start getting acquaintance and breaking down this music. Let us start with the three sides. The most basic and the least present, least important one is melody. We have a melody. The matter displayed by the horn for the first time and is repeated over and over and over. It is a very short melody. It is not even almost worthy, calling it a Mallory's, it's too short, but still it is, it is this. And so on. This is repeated over and over so much I think I played for you. So it's much better than me saying it. I am a terrible singer. Sometimes I master, it isn't. And so on, over and over and over. So this melody, this melody is divided into two parts, S, two main elements which are written. We have the first one, which is the second one, which is that you don't. These two elements are contrasting both melodically and rhythmically. Melodically. Why? Because the first one is a jump to distant nodes. The second one is made of a cluster of mere connected nodes. They make a little arc on the rhythmical side. And here we start talking about rhythm. We have, this is the so-called Brooke nearly unwritten because he uses this so much. This contrast between a huge square element and the huge circular. The first two notes, 1212. They make a square. They are edgy. They are in 1212 bar. Why, what comes afterwards? Daddy, daddy era is 12312312312123123 instead of two. You see what I mean? This contrast. This going also with the pretty music which is low. It is as low pays the melody, creates this sense of velocity. This arrhythmia is loved by him because he loves to create this huge, huge lines. And this written helps so much. This is why listening to this melody seems like being in a galactic velocity. Now, as other rhythmical elements, we have secondary lines. Of course, there is so much going on here. The orchestra here is huge. In late romanticism, we hedge, we have very big orchestras. We have the violins which play for the major sections of this very faster and the S steep line of 123123 gradually. This helps. This is like a flyer butterfly flying around a big body. This is the, this violins contribute to this sense of velocity because they play the circle arithmetic 123123123123. And because they go up very far up and then very far down, up and down. And they contribute to give this incision of something huge. And another one which is, I think more important and more simple, which is the buses playing from the very beginning of this pum, pum, pum, pum. They are the heartbeat of this huge ending on efficiently when it starts. There is this impulse coming from the low region of the orchestra, which gives a lot of untold energy and all this sense, again, this sense of something great. Pay attention to them. They are there and they give so much to this music. Now, we now talk about the harmony, because harmony is the most important thing. The logic of this ending is the repetition of this short melody. And from halfway on, Bruckner events even shortens. It plays only the circular part and not the square root one. Daddy, daddy, daddy, rod or OT or PT, OT or PT, or it's all this. The logic is to repeat this cellular h time in a different harmony. This is why fees that every time this is repeated. Even though it's the same, it sounds different. It sounds with a different shade. It's like the same object. Enlightened by, by light of different colors each time. Now we listen to the whole thing, starting even before it. So we get the moment 20 starts, which is great. I will say change every time the harmonic changes. And you will see that it is, it is, I will say change, I think 2030 times because it changes continuously. And this creates this, this magnificence. With this, this ending is so great. Now we go through it. Last remark. Starting before. We'll, we'll, we'll make us see experienced that this ending is separate from what comes earlier. I know it should not be done to pick up only the ending. We don't know what comes before. It's a huge piece of music. Forgive me. But to show this, it is all, it's definitely too long. Still. This ending is, is marked by him. He writes on the score in German, there a row week wound phi early. It means very calm and solemn. When it starts, it is a very clear way from more common and concrete music. We get this winder. The last thing I would like to point out, and I will do also while we listen, that the rhythmical pattern of the square and round starts before the real melody comes in. Bruckner wants to first show us the retina and then put the melody into this shadow of this wreath that we have a picture of it. The proportions are not a problem. If this delay is, everything is fine with. You see that time is like suspended. This is typical Wagnerian kind of atmosphere. But I don't want to say too much. We listen through the hole, I will mark the change of our money. We're saying change and see how the same thing throughout all the different harmonies. It, it tastes different, it sounds different. It is a different color. Let's go from the very, very, very beginning. So a little bit before we have another climax. Here, gets his mom gets home, like to leave room for a day. Here is swollen and retina. Again. This is what the bass. Now the melody. Change, change, change. Dance. Okay. I'm sorry, I disturb you so much with these changing chain. I'm very sorry. I would like I would like you to go back and listen again to this because this is that everything we see gets better the more you're listening to it. But this is something which really needs digesting and getting the taste of all the different environments we pass in with this same element. This is, this is such a great, such a terrific, terrific piece. One really great symphony. Bruckner is a great composer. Now we are, we are done with this part two. We have seen the three natures of music. Now, we move on with another bunch of historical information, which again will explain all these words. What is the symphony, what is a concerto, sonata and so on. They are also important because you find, you find them all over in concert programs and in recordings looking for music by herself. Let us go. Let us go and now talk about it.