Aaron Copland: How We Listen To Music
Aaron Copland How We Listen
This essay How We Listen by Aaron Copland deals with the three ways in which we listen to music. The three planes he talks about are sensory, expressive, and musical. Copland begins the essay with the simplest way of listening to music, or the sensuous plane. This is when we listen to music simply just for pleasure. It does not require any thought process. It's a way of listening to music subconsciously. Copland says most of us listen to music in this particular way. Although others may feel more sensitive to the music and begin to like different composers. When this occurs he calls it the expressive plane. This is the part of music that becomes controversial. Every …show more content…
I think a lot of times we don't really listen to the music and don't appreciate the true or full meaning behind a piece. I know I am guilty of not really listening to the music's meaning. Many times I use music to change my mood. I can be bummed out about cleaning my room so I throw on some "happy" music to change my mood. I use music as a crutch instead of a learning experience. I often also find myself listening to the words in the song, but it is not always the lyrics that give the meaning to a song. There can be a song with no words and still give a sense of emotion and meaning through the notes or pace. After reading this essay I put on a couple of the songs by the composers Aaron Copland mentions in this essay. I tried to really listen to all three planes instead of listening to the music instinctively. This is something I have done before back in music class or when I took music lessons, but I forgot how beautiful music really is. Today many young adults, like us in highschool, no longer listen to music that has no lyrics. It is really a different feeling to listen to the melody or rhythm of the song then the crazy lyrics of the songs we listen to today. I think we still like music for the same reasons Copland discusses in his essay, but now the words in the songs play a bigger role in whether or not we listen to it. I think after reading this essay we can all learn to appreciate the meaning to
This essay How We Listen by Aaron Copland deals with the three ways in which we listen to music. The three planes he talks about are sensory, expressive, and musical. Copland begins the essay with the simplest way of listening to music, or the sensuous plane. This is when we listen to music simply just for pleasure. It does not require any thought process. It's a way of listening to music subconsciously. Copland says most of us listen to music in this particular way. Although others may feel more sensitive to the music and begin to like different composers. When this occurs he calls it the expressive plane. This is the part of music that becomes controversial. Every …show more content…
I think a lot of times we don't really listen to the music and don't appreciate the true or full meaning behind a piece. I know I am guilty of not really listening to the music's meaning. Many times I use music to change my mood. I can be bummed out about cleaning my room so I throw on some "happy" music to change my mood. I use music as a crutch instead of a learning experience. I often also find myself listening to the words in the song, but it is not always the lyrics that give the meaning to a song. There can be a song with no words and still give a sense of emotion and meaning through the notes or pace. After reading this essay I put on a couple of the songs by the composers Aaron Copland mentions in this essay. I tried to really listen to all three planes instead of listening to the music instinctively. This is something I have done before back in music class or when I took music lessons, but I forgot how beautiful music really is. Today many young adults, like us in highschool, no longer listen to music that has no lyrics. It is really a different feeling to listen to the melody or rhythm of the song then the crazy lyrics of the songs we listen to today. I think we still like music for the same reasons Copland discusses in his essay, but now the words in the songs play a bigger role in whether or not we listen to it. I think after reading this essay we can all learn to appreciate the meaning to