WHEN YOU LISTEN to what is termed “Classical” music, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Violins? Beethoven? A man in tails waving a baton in front of an orchestra? Whatever your thought process may be about classical music, I’m hoping to give some insight about what this form of music is, and a little bit of it’s history.
What most people tend to think when considering this genre usually falls before about 1900. There are some exceptions, such as folk songs, but we will stick with what most people think of — big orchestras, loud singers, and violins. And usually a lady wearing armor with a horned helmet. That’s the Valkyrie, but we’ll get to that in a talk about opera.
The first definition of the word ‘classical’ usually refers to anything which does not fall into the category of Popular (or ‘Pop’) music. If we see someone playing a violin along to Justin Beiber’s latest hit we tend to say “Look, they’re doing it in a classical way”. The instrumentation has changed, certainly, but I would argue that because the structure of the music is the same it hasn’t changed forms with the addition or substitution of one instrument. A violin cover of “Call Me Maybe” would use the same chords, melodies and rhythms as the popular rendition. So this does not get us much closer to what people consider classical music.
We look next to the forms of music which have been left for us by previous generations. Many times when these composers wrote this music it was with an overarching structure in mind. It is difficult to make sense of any musical piece if it does not repeat in some way. When we listen to a popular song, we are often listening for something familiar, usually the chorus which is sung about three or four times throughout the piece. This works as an identifier for us, something which we hear and recognize. If the song-writer is skilled, they will find an interesting way to set their words to music, or find a melody catches your ear, just as a painting with bright colors might catch your eye.
As I talk about music, I may mention the word Motif. This is simply some small musical idea which comes up in a song or piece several times. Perhaps the most famous motif in the world is from Beethoven’s 5th sympony. All I have to type is:
“Da-Da-Da-Dunn!”
…and if you’ve heard the piece before, you can imagine hearing the string section churning out this tune with that four-note pattern which repeats many times throughout the piece.
Another definition of ‘classical’ is more strict — specifically referring to any music which came after 1750 and which generally follows the old traditions of composing. Why 1750? Because it was the date of the death of Mozart who was considered to be the last holdover of the old tradition, the Baroque tradition. That period usually falls between 1600–1750 A.D. I won’t say much about it here, besides mentioning that embellishments and ornamentations were the name of the game during that period.
If you haven’t listened to much classical music, I hope you’ll give it a shot. It has opened door into new subjects I didn’t know about before I began to study it. I’ve learned about popular music through classical music; some of the reasons our music sounds the way it does. And it’s always fun to discover something new — like how the Major-General’s spitting syllables to song in “The Pirates of Penzance” almost sounds like rap.
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Jackson Kerr is a writer from Michigan. He has a B.M. in Vocal Performance and has been writing stories for over 18 years.