Music: An appreciation Session #3 Ram V1 October 22, 2018

Contents A quick recap of what we picked up so far A musical introduction An introduction to aesthetics in music Crossing the borders and going international More listening…… Questions & Answers Summarising Final listening for now…….

A quick recap of what we picked up so far Just listen; throwing yourself in to the strains of the music played. The key is knowledge about ‘what is going on ?’ and look for it consciously. Importance of informed listening for a wholesome experience—recognition, listening vs hearing, compare and contrast your listening experience, cultivation through listening to the same and the different Deep dive: don’t hesitate to peel the layers and look beneath. There is always something interesting going on.

A musical introduction The Four Seasons, Opening movements in each of the season: Antonio Vivaldi, London Philharmonic, David Nolan Pause Symphony No.5 in C minor: Ludwig von Beethoven, 1st movement, last movement, Dresden Philharmonic, Herbert Kegel A piece for Kathakali: Kottakkal Madhu, Bageshree

A musical introduction…… What did you listen ? Can you describe ? What are the key points you picked up from among the many ? I am not taking up guided listening for now since it will take a good half hour. For paucity of time…….

An introduction to aesthetics in music A number of elements emphasise artistic worth of music Voice, timbre, tone, time Sound (volume), emphasis, repetition, duration, elongation Articulation of tones, microtones, embellishments Melody, harmony, consonance, dissonance, assonance, counterpoint If it is lyrics oriented, pronunciation, enunciation, clarity of utterance, accent Tonic shift (I wish I had played the pieces) Smoothness, harshness, grating, Every system of music has its own definition of aesthetic sense through the appropriate interpretation of the above elements.

Crossing the borders and going international We already went…..but just to understand more. The notes are the same; the scales are the same made up of the same 12 notes. It varies from the simple, folk, traditional, classical, light, jazz, reggae, gamelan, pop, easy listening, and much more. Something from around the world

More listening Around the world (for a song) #3 From Latvia #6 From Egypt #8 From a Jewish wedding

More listening……. What did you listen ? Can you describe ? What are the key points you picked up from among the many ?

Questions and answers

Summarising: Why music ? Objective: Enhanced individual and collective effectiveness in addressing tactical and strategic matters through refined perspectives and outlooks. One of the highly developed aspects of human intelligence that caters to the subjective through an objective approach, perfected by human beings—through the faculty of hearing->listening->informed listening, to appreciate the sublime and the beautiful, often subjectively and occasionally objectively.

Summarising: Which music ? Essentially any music that moves, impacts, relieves, engages, and most importantly improvised and spontaneous. Indian music: “One of the great characteristics of the Music of India to my mind is its flexibility and freedom. While giving due consideration to traditions stemming from the past, Indian Music is free and improvised so that all powers of imagination in the musician are brought into play. In this way the Music of India is always creative, never a reproduction of what is written or played, as sometimes happens with the Music of Western countries. – Leopold Stakoswki, English conductor of Polish and Irish descent. Aspects of Indian music: unity in diversity, diversity in unity.

Final listening for now…… Call Of The Valley: Pandit Shiv Kumar Sarma, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra #6 Des: #9 Bhageshwari:

HAPPY LISTENING!!! Whatever you hear, make an effort to listen! Good chance, you will have a newer perspective.