tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7622853293821804434.post5221411752330882707..comments2023-06-12T08:43:25.270-04:00Comments on Recording the Recordings: Classical TrainingAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02858966776220305815noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7622853293821804434.post-70436997540809021042012-04-26T23:05:39.869-04:002012-04-26T23:05:39.869-04:00Mr. Milne, thank you for your comments. I really w...Mr. Milne, thank you for your comments. I really was blown away by the experiment featured on Radiolab and then by your performances I was able to find on Youtube. It's a shame when one's talents don't match his interests (I will never be a rock star is what I'm trying to say) but I think you're right that we often miss our own talents in not recognizing that they are, in fact, talents. So far I haven't discovered any that have gotten me into the Library of Congress or featured in a neurological experiment, but there's still time I suppose. Thanks for reading!<br /><br />MikeAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02858966776220305815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7622853293821804434.post-61910725488492094862012-04-26T11:13:13.320-04:002012-04-26T11:13:13.320-04:00Hello. Thank you for your nice comments. I don'...Hello. Thank you for your nice comments. I don't know how to explain what I do, it's just easy for me. I always thought everyone could do what I do; perhaps we all assume others see everything the ways we ourselves do. It interests me to see your intense desire to learn more about music, which makes me happy. I, too, have desires to learn much about what is unknown to me in other fields. Again, we are all explorers. For some reason I was born knowing things in music,resulting in me always wanting to do something else. I learned to follow what's easy for you; this is your talent. But when it's easy for you, you can't see it. Everyone else does, but never you. Or me. Again, than you for being kind. Bob MilneRobert Milnehttp://www.bobmilne.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7622853293821804434.post-91076293989171975162012-04-03T14:23:22.278-04:002012-04-03T14:23:22.278-04:00Nah, that's why I enjoy listening to you talk ...Nah, that's why I enjoy listening to you talk about classical on the podcast: it's sort of like the programs that explain what you are listening to. I listened to that youtube clip, and I think that kind of helped. I don't know why I like stuff really, just that I like it, so it's good to hear someone who has some music theory background to explain it to me. Maybe I should go back to school and take some music theory classes; maybe I won't hate that as much as I hated business.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02858966776220305815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7622853293821804434.post-26406570350909680542012-04-03T10:41:56.764-04:002012-04-03T10:41:56.764-04:00And I hope I don't come off as "Lecture-y...And I hope I don't come off as "Lecture-y" here - I'm just passionate about the music - maybe overly so :)Anthony Joseph Lanmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06824344268348980354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7622853293821804434.post-65702655985699459752012-03-28T19:29:36.310-04:002012-03-28T19:29:36.310-04:00Well, I haven't heard Huun-Huur Tu yet, so I c...Well, I haven't heard Huun-Huur Tu yet, so I can't speak to that, but the Dimi Mint Abba and Indian stuff, while based on different scales than we're used to, is still close enough in form and execution for us to pretty easily digest. And all this music has one thing definitely in common, which is repetition. Classical music (at least the old stuff) doesn't have a whole lot of repetition, which brings me to the second huge difference between classical and popular styles - development.<br /><br />In a typical pop song, we usually have the form of: one idea that makes up a verse, and a second idea (sometimes even a modified version of the verse idea) that makes up a chorus. Sometimes introductions, bridges, solos etc can be thrown in there, but that's the basic formula. This verse and chorus material is then alternated and repeated for the duration. There may be some variation thrown in, like changes in instrumentation, or layering of lines, but it's basically repeating.<br /><br />Before I continue, I'd like to clarify that I am not in any way implying that classical music is somehow "better". I think it's just as much an amazing feat to write a great and timeless pop song as it is to write a great and timeless symphony.<br /><br />So, back to development. This is one of the distinguishing features of classical music, and it does not exist in popular music. That's one reason why it's so difficult to grasp - this is a big part of that "foreign language" I was talking about earlier. The forms used are also radically different. <br /><br />One example of development I always use is the first movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony. It opens with that famous DUH DUH DUH DUUUHHHH..... And that's essentially all that movement is - just those four notes. It's about the journey that Beethoven takes that four note motive through - how he develops that small musical idea and creates an entire movement from it. As for the form of it, it's in "Sonata" form - a topic way too big to talk about here, but the form essentially exists to foster development - nothing like it exists in the popular music of any culture, let alone our own. If you'd like to hear a kind of humorous take on the form, check out: http://youtu.be/f0vHpeUO5mw<br /><br />I'm not sure if you're aware, but I also do a strictly classical music podcast called "All the Cool Parts" - if you're interested in learning more about classical music, I would recommend starting there. Another really good one is the Naxos podcast, although I don't think it's been active for a while.Anthony Joseph Lanmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06824344268348980354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7622853293821804434.post-48436690304149326392012-03-28T13:17:42.948-04:002012-03-28T13:17:42.948-04:00Tony, I enjoyed your post explaining the differenc...Tony, I enjoyed your post explaining the difference, and I also appreciate listening to the classical recordings via your podcast because it provides me with an insight into the pieces that I don't get on my own. In fact, that's probably at the top of the list for why I like the podcast. I was wholeheartedly about to agree with you on your assertion that I'll get it one day, but here's the thing: I was listening to my iPod last night (putting my son to sleep, of course) and Huun-Huur Tu, the Tuvan throat singing group, whose Tuvan folk music has clearly not been a part of my pop education. Yet, from the first moment I heard this strange, almost atonal style of music, I loved it. I feel the same about Dimi Mint Abba, with its North African/Middle Eastern influence and much of the Indian raga stuff I've heard (although to be fair, both of those have made small inroads to American pop music). How is it that classical music is actually tougher to understand than these recordings that go back long before any kind of formal music composing? Maybe because those styles play on our instinctual sense of melody, but I don't know the answer. I will continue to try to educate myself: as I mentioned, I don't mind classical, I just haven't found anything that blows me away (yet).Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02858966776220305815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7622853293821804434.post-84298651867580799222012-03-27T15:04:37.794-04:002012-03-27T15:04:37.794-04:00Great post Mike!
First off - the poster - I lau...Great post Mike! <br /><br />First off - the poster - I laughed my ass off - well done - lol! In case you didn't know, that's Gustavo Dudamel, conductor of the LA Phil - he's kind of the hot shit right now in classical music.<br /><br />So to your post - I'm really glad you made this post, because I know many, many people are in the same boat as you are when it comes to classical music. My short response is, don't give up on it.<br /><br />The issue with breaking into classical music really has nothing to do with being smart, or analytical, etc - it comes down to a familiarity issue. One of the biggest misconceptions about classical music is that it should be as easy to "get" as pop music. I mean, it's all music right?<br /><br />The reality is, music is not all the same. Some genres use radically different languages to communicate their messages. These musical languages are just like spoken languages. Our native tongue, as Americans in 2012 is popular music - that's our American English. Classical music is like a foreign language, because it musical language it is based on is very different than popular music languages.<br /><br />Another misconception is, that you have to me "classically trained", or have a freakish mind, or "technicolor ears" to understand it. Not true at all - all it takes is more familiarity. I'm not sure if you ever studied another language in school, but if you did you know what happens. When you first start, you hear the language being spoken, but it goes in one ear and out the other. You know, intellectually that is it a legitimate spoken language and that it is communicating something, but your brain lacks familiarity with the language, so it sounds like utter gibberish which you can't make any sense out of. <br /><br />However, when you start to learn about the language, and especially when you hear it more and more, your brain starts to be able to pick out individual words in what you're hearing, then phrases, then sentences, then entire paragraphs. With more familiarity, it slowly stars to become clear.<br /><br />Music is absolutely the same. I wrote a bold about the fundamental difference between classical and pop music - it might be a little heady, but if you're interested, here's the link: http://www.anthonyjosephlanman.com/?p=580<br /><br />My point - don't give up on classical music. I can tell you, even if you don't hear it yet, there are vast differences between Bach and Brahms for example - for me the difference is a big as looking at the difference between Public Enemy and John Denver. <br /><br />One thing I think everyone needs who is not familiar with classical music (and I was there believe me) is an "in". They need to hear that one piece of classical music that just makes you go HOOOOOLY shit - that.is.awesome. With about 1,200 years of classical music available, your piece is out there - I GUARANTEE your piece is out there. Whether you will find it or not - that's the question.Anthony Joseph Lanmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06824344268348980354noreply@blogger.com