Music Appreciation
Types of Listeners
Casual Listeners
• Most common
• Likes having music playing, filling the environment with sounds
• Views music primarily as a mood enhancer or as pleasant part of the environment
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Air from Suite No.3 in D major o Slow and relaxing pace – often used for meditation
Referential Listeners
• Relate music almost exclusively to outside experiences
• These external references are so strong that the music is not really heard anymore; instead, the listener is caught up in the memories of the person, event, or feeling
• Program music – follows an explicit story
• Absolute music – does not associate with a particular story, event, or image
• Hector Berlioz – Episode of an Artist Life o idée fixe—an idea that continually haunts the artist
Critical Listeners
• Primary motivation is to identify what is wrong with a performance
• Even want live performances to be perfect
Perceptive Listeners
• Combines all three previous but is not limited by them
• Like the casual listener, enjoys sound for sound's sake, but asks: o What is it in the music that makes me feel this way? o Is it the way the performer is interpreting the music? o Is it because of the volume or speed at which it is played? o Is it because it is sung, played by instruments, or because it has a good balance of unity and variety? o Is it a combination of all these elements? o If so, which combination is at work?
• Like the referential listener, may have associations with the music being heard, but also tries to remember: o When and where the music was heard most recently. o What other works from that composer or performer she knows.
• Like the critical listener, is aware of the quality of a performance but goes beyond the technical aspects to seek understanding and appreciation of the human and cultural values embodied in the music
• Antonio Vivaldi – The Four Seasons
Casual Listeners
• Most common
• Likes having music playing, filling the environment with sounds
• Views music primarily as a mood enhancer or as pleasant part of the environment
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Air from Suite No.3 in D major o Slow and relaxing pace – often used for meditation
Referential Listeners
• Relate music almost exclusively to outside experiences
• These external references are so strong that the music is not really heard anymore; instead, the listener is caught up in the memories of the person, event, or feeling
• Program music – follows an explicit story
• Absolute music – does not associate with a particular story, event, or image
• Hector Berlioz – Episode of an Artist Life o idée fixe—an idea that continually haunts the artist
Critical Listeners
• Primary motivation is to identify what is wrong with a performance
• Even want live performances to be perfect
Perceptive Listeners
• Combines all three previous but is not limited by them
• Like the casual listener, enjoys sound for sound's sake, but asks: o What is it in the music that makes me feel this way? o Is it the way the performer is interpreting the music? o Is it because of the volume or speed at which it is played? o Is it because it is sung, played by instruments, or because it has a good balance of unity and variety? o Is it a combination of all these elements? o If so, which combination is at work?
• Like the referential listener, may have associations with the music being heard, but also tries to remember: o When and where the music was heard most recently. o What other works from that composer or performer she knows.
• Like the critical listener, is aware of the quality of a performance but goes beyond the technical aspects to seek understanding and appreciation of the human and cultural values embodied in the music
• Antonio Vivaldi – The Four Seasons