Listening(Strategy(Guide((MUSI(316(

!
Instrumental!vs.!Vocal!
!
Theres!either!singing,!or!not,!right?!
!
Piano!vs.!Orchestra!(or!orchestral!instruments!)!
!
Within!Instrumental,!you!can!easily!divide!solo!piano!music!from!the!!
chamber!and!orchestral!music.!
!
Within!Vocal,!you!can!divide!Opera/Oratorio!from!Lieder!
!
Language!of!Singing!
!
You!may!be!able!to!recognize!the!language!as!German,!English,!Italian!!
Russian,!etc.!!(Russian,!for!example,!is!very!rare!on!this!listening!list.)!
!
Size!of!Ensemble!
!
Learn!to!differentiate!between!string!quartet!and!orchestra!(for!example).!!!
String!quartet!will!be!cleaner!sounding!as!there!is!only!one!person!
per!part.!
Learn!to!differentiate!the!scope!from!small!orchestration!(e.g.!String!Quartet)!!
to!a!very!large!orchestration!(e.g.!a!Bruckner!Symphony)!
!
Complexity!
!
In!general,!as!time!goes!by,!from!the!18th!Century!to!the!midV20th!century,!!
harmony!changes!and!becomes!more!complex.!The!music!becomes!
less!and!less!tuneful!during!much!of!that!as!well.!
!
Example!1:!
!
!
Listen!to:!!Mozart!Piano!Sonata!(K457),!3rd!movement!
!
!
!this!is!instrumental;!this!is!solo!piano!
!
!
!this!is!somewhat!simple!harmonically!and!therefore!early!!
(historically)!in!our!listening!list.!!Perhaps!Mozart!or!
Beethoven,!less!likely!Mendelssohn!or!Schumann.!!WAY!too!
simplistic!for!Chopin!or!Liszt.!
!
Compare:!!Beethoven!Piano!Sonata!Op!27!No!2!Moonlight,!3rd!movement!
!
!
!this!still!has!the!chugging!rhythms!common!in!the!Classical!period,!!
but!is!more!aggressive!and!dark,!more!harmonically!complex.!!
Simply,!there!is!more!action!here.!
!
Compare:!Liszt!3!Etudes!de!Concert!No!3!Un!Sospiro!
!
!
!there!is!no!sense!of!steady!rhythm!here,!a!hallmark!of!the!piano!!
music!of!both!Chopin!and!Listz!
!
!
!
!
!

Example!2:!
!
!
Listen!to:!Haydns!Creation,!Aria!Nun!beut!die!Flir!
!
!
!this!is!vocal,!accompanied!by!an!orchestra,!therefore!its!either!!
Opera!or!Oratorio!
!
!
!if!youre!able!to,!youll!recognize!this!as!German!and!therefore!!
eliminate!any!Italian,!Russian,!etc.!works!
!
!
!based!on!the!orchestral!textures,!youll!probably!decide!that!this!is!!
early!on!the!list!too.!!So,!MUCH!to!thin!to!be!Wagner.!!Perhaps!
this!is!Don!Giovanni!though!!
!
Compare:!Mozarts!Don!Giovanni,!Act!I!scn!13,!Aria!Or!sai!chi!lonore!
!
!
!still!fairly!simple!accompaniment!and!harmony,!but!this!is!much!!
more!intense.!!Remember!my!simple!opinion!that!Mozart!is!
generally!a!bit!heavier!than!Haydn!and!youll!probably!decide!
that!this!is!Mozart!rather!than!Haydn.!!
!
Compare:!Puccinis!Turandot!Act!II!Aria!I!questa!reggia!
!
!
!much!darker,!more!winds!in!the!accompaniment!(less!strings),!much!!
more!dramatic.!!This!is!clearly!from!a!later!period!in!musical!!
history!and!not!Haydn!or!Mozart!(for!example)!
!
!
!
!
!
I!recommend!that!you!go!through!some!of!the!initial!categories!(e.g.!I!didnt!talk!
about!symphonies!here)!and!draw!your!own!conclusions.!!Perhaps!start!with!
comparing!a!Beethoven!Symphony!#5,!Brahms!Symphony!#1,!and!Bruckner!
Symphony!#4!!
!
!
!
!