Anthony inglis conducting melbourne symphony orchestra02

Music appreciation is a division of

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

that is designed to teach students how to understand and describe the contexts and creative processes involved in

music composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called c ...

. The concept of music appreciation is often taught as a subset of music

theory A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be s ...

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...

and focuses predominantly on

Western art music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

, commonly called "

Classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

". This study of

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

is classified in a number of ways, including (but not limited to) examining music literacy and core musical elements such as pitch, duration, structure, texture and expressive techniques. It explores the aesthetic theories associated with the listening experience in addition to an explorative

history of music Although definitions of music vary wildly throughout the world, every known culture partakes in it, and it is thus considered a cultural universal. The origins of music remain highly contentious; commentators often relate it to the origin of ...

. Music appreciation classes also typically include information about the

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

s, the instruments and ensembles, and the different styles of music from an era. Courses revolving around this material are often designed for non-music tertiary students. Students learn how to listen and respond to recordings or live performances of musical pieces or excerpts from pieces such as symphonies, opera arias and

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

s. "Appreciation," in this context, means the understanding of the value and merit of different styles of music. The term “appreciation” has roots in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

, where it is described in a musical sense as a “kind of formal analogue of emotional experience”. It can be associated with musical criticism, and is used to describe the positive and negative responses of a given musical work from a scholarly perspective.

Music Literacy

Music Literacy analyses the defining concepts of a given musical work. Students learn to critically analyse and articulate a series of music systems and their rudimentary elements, as well as to better understand

musical notation Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols, including notation fo ...

and the tuning systems followed by composers in order to create music.

Fundamentals of Music

The Fundamentals of Music are used as a scope term to describe a number of phenomena applied to the study of music theory, including divisions of melody and harmony, form and tonal structure, rhythm and

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...

and performative techniques. Students should be able to assess a given work of music and make a critical report on the fundamentals of music involved.

Pitch
Indicated melodies, modes, harmonies, chords, register and range. Pitch governs
melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...
and
harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
, and is established by observing the order of notes in a work relative to a given
musical scale In music theory, a scale is any set of musical notes ordered by fundamental frequency or pitch. A scale ordered by increasing pitch is an ascending scale, and a scale ordered by decreasing pitch is a descending scale. Often, especially in the ...
. Students learn how to distinguish and notate relevant keys, scales, chord,
register Register or registration may refer to: Arts entertainment, and media Music * Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc. * ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller * Registration (organ), th ...
and relevant
modes Mode ( la, modus meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' MO''D''E (magazine)'', a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine * ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is ...
.

Duration
Rhythm, pulse, tempo, metre and note values and rests. Duration, also referred to as
rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...
, assesses the meter (or
time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
), and the values of notes and rests and their accents or stresses.

Dynamics & Expressive Techniques
Loud/soft, mood of music, directorial details to enhance or add variety. Dynamics refers to the louds and softs of a sound, often described in Italian abbreviations. This category also analyses means of articulation or prescribed musical expression to guide a performer in replicating the composer's musical intent. Some instruments, predominantly
strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
, have unique or non-traditional methods of producing these differing sounds, (also referred to as expressive or
extended technique In music, extended technique is unconventional, unorthodox, or non-traditional methods of singing or of playing musical instruments employed to obtain unusual sounds or timbres.Burtner, Matthew (2005).Making Noise: Extended Techniques after Exper ...
s).

Structure
Designated form or order of a musical work. Part organization. Structure, also called
musical form In music, ''form'' refers to the structure of a musical composition or musical improvisation, performance. In his book, ''Worlds of Music'', Jeff Todd Titon suggests that a number of organizational elements may determine the formal structure of a ...
, distinguishes the shape of a piece of music in regard to its length, sections and any similarities or identified repetition. There are a number of labelling procedures and identifies for musical genres with fixed ordinances and rules.

Texture
How “thin” or “thick” the individual layers of tempo, melody and harmony are in an overall piece of music, ''e.g.'' homophony versus polyphony.
Texture Texture may refer to: Science and technology * Surface texture, the texture means smoothness, roughness, or bumpiness of the surface of an object * Texture (roads), road surface characteristics with waves shorter than road roughness * Texture ...
refers to the overall layering (or separation) of multiple sounds and the resulting quality of sound. It is most commonly referred to as being “thick” or “thin” based on the density and range of pitches and diversity of instruments present in a work. Common textural types include
monophonic Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...
and homophonic.

Timbre
Identifying instrumentation, using adjectives to describe the nature of an instrument or its sound production.
Timbre In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or musical tone, tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voice ...
, also referred to as tone colour defines the use of adjectives to describe distinctive sounds or voicing of various musical instruments or voices based on the way they are played or the sound of their material. It is important to observe changes in sounding technique and analyse emotions and moods incited by a given musical work.

Whilst not all students undertaking a course in Music Appreciation will be fluent in reading music, there is a basic understanding of

required in order to correctly analyse a given musical work.

Music Appreciation in Media

Music can be appreciated in diverse mediums such as

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

. For the post-millennial generation, music is now a commonplace integration with our lifestyles, and students studying appreciation should seek to establish the underlying messages of artistic intent within their indirect consumption of musicology. Music is wholistically variable and evolves to accommodate its medium. By introducing the medium of film, students learn to understand how the concept of music accompanying visual media can be applied to skills of composition and develop a more wholistic understanding of the influences of musical techniques by analysing film music. In associating different genres of film media to musical media we can ascertain similarities in musical conventions and various influences of more classical music at a narrative level. For those undertaking further education in the music theory field, exposure to live performances and musical media is beneficial in providing a real-world understanding of the applications of music appreciation. Students should consider what makes music memorable and establish links between compositional techniques in a film score and the intended accompanying narrative. They delve into the compositional process by observing musical relevance within the context of a larger work and learn to examine how musicians develop unique style or meaning. Students learn to consider the significance and interpretation of lyrics or musical similarities as a greater whole and discuss meaning for the intended audience.

References and notes

External links

Music appreciation at BBC.co.uk

{{DEFAULTSORT:Music Appreciation Appreciation Performing arts education

Music Literacy

Fundamentals of Music

Pitch

Duration

Dynamics & Expressive Techniques

Structure

Texture

Timbre

Music Appreciation in Media

References and notes

Further reading

External links