Hi all, a little off topic but... I am an adult woman really digging into learning music for the first time. I am learning theory and I love it. However, as I study Harmonic Function, I keep hearing the same bland words for how chords function. I know this is useful and I need to understand it, I am just wondering as I go will I find analysis that maybe uses richer emotional words that "this chord wants to resolve to..." I am such a beginner I don't know how to articulate my question well. It all seems to dry.
Hi, thanks for the comment! Great to hear that you're getting stuck into music theory! My advice would be that it's all various levels of metaphor, and some of those metaphors will 'click' more than others. While lots of theory uses quite dry emotional terms, when it comes to the application of those, you might find some much richer words used (I think about the advanced stages of harmony, where 'desire' and 'tension' become really important concepts). Best of luck with it!
If a chord progression resolves to the tonic/root note, especially if it resolves using a perfect cadence, I feel like it's coming "home". I've learnt a lot about the emotional effects of music from watching Jacob Collier's videos with WIRED, so I would suggest those.
I wholeheartedly agree. Music is arguably one of humanity's greatest achievements. Its one of the few things we can actually be proud of as humans. Good music (whatever your version of that is) has the power to take people away from their everyday worries and concerns and give their minds a break from our endless dramas and games of comparisons. Im an RN, and Ive always argued that music should be a medical speciality. It has healing power, and I have witnessed this many times over. Its then a frightful paradox that we must superimpose our ideas of comparison (what the expression "genius" is) and classify some as art and others not art. Kinda defeats the purpose, wouldn't you say? I cant help but think that the very composers described as such would be rolling in their graves.
By saying that certain people were "ahead of their time" we can also mean something different. It seems as if over the centuries music developed along certain logically necessary ways - monody was followed by polyphony, tonal harmony was followed by atonal music, and so on. Monody is simpler than polyphony, so it came first. Therefore people who were able to "look into the future" were simply able to see slightly earlier than others where things could go next. I'm not denying that - as you said - the way certain composers pushed things forward influenced later generations, but their contributions were at the same time based on the possibilities "latent" in the music of their own time, and really just waiting to be explored by someone or other. And very talented people were able to notice those possibilities earlier than others. We don't of course mean that they were able to see future events, in the same way that certain Saints were able to (Jesus himself saw Jerusalem as the city strictly associated with military events of the end days, and it seems likely this will come to pass in one form or another - it's hard to call it a self-fulfilling prophecy, since Christian presence in the Holy City is unfortunately negligible). All be that as it may, composers like Beethoven, or Chopin, or Schoenberg were able to see "latent" possibilities in music before others, they saw were things could go next. And in that sense only they were "ahead of their time".
Very interesting. I will say genius is a very western concept...there are no genius in folk/ethnic music till...the seventies?...Genius is related with the idea of capitalism. Why would you lose time writing new music if we have Beethoven and you can play it from sheets we sell? But...why that have changed?...capitalism is tricky....always going forward and changing...like you said...pianomania in the UK during the sixties (maybe this phenomenom -middle classes playing instruments- existed before, as you said) definetly has something to do with The Beatles, The Kinks and the whole British Invasion.
One of historic music battles in the popular music field in Chile is between Los Jaivas and Los Prisioneros. The first ones are like Pink Floyd (ethno influences with psychedelic prog-rock) and the others are Punks with great social commentary. Many people in Chile says Los Jaivas were genius (because they were more complex and experimental), while Los Prisioneros are just fun. However, Los Prisioneros weren't cheap punk...they crafted pop structure to the best. So...there is this classical debate from chilean identity...in one hand...the indigenous/hippie/60's music from Los Jaivas vs the political and satirical message from Los Prisioneros. It would be simple just to say that they were born in different contexts...that's obvious...Los Jaivas are from the 60's 70's and Los Prisioneros from the 80's...and they don't play the same music...but the fact is that discussion haven't been solved....people can't say Los Prisioneros were great...they love them...but canno't say they are "good". That's pathological or at least paradoxical. One could say that's just because people tend to disguise ignorance with snobbism (Los Jaivas =genius vs Prisioneros=punks)....But the most interesting thing is not that both bands are great...the interesting thing is that problem obviously come from dictatorship regime, which erased most of chilean music...so...that void caused a problem with representation in chilean culture...making people see Los Prisioneros and Los Jaivas as opposed. Problemas like theses seem to be solved in others countries, like brazil, where you have a strong relation between contemporary and traditional. It was blended forever in the 60's-70's...even if they had a dictatorship too...but the 60's - 70s still seem to be crucial to understand the place of music in the 21 century.
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
Awesome video, thank you! Would love to see a video where you expand your thoughts on the misogyny and eurocentrism of the canon!
Hi, thanks! My video on the Canon of classical music touches a bit on both misogyny and eurocentrism - ruclips.net/video/0OGfUPDXHUQ/видео.html
Hi all, a little off topic but... I am an adult woman really digging into learning music for the first time. I am learning theory and I love it. However, as I study Harmonic Function, I keep hearing the same bland words for how chords function. I know this is useful and I need to understand it, I am just wondering as I go will I find analysis that maybe uses richer emotional words that "this chord wants to resolve to..." I am such a beginner I don't know how to articulate my question well. It all seems to dry.
Hi, thanks for the comment! Great to hear that you're getting stuck into music theory! My advice would be that it's all various levels of metaphor, and some of those metaphors will 'click' more than others. While lots of theory uses quite dry emotional terms, when it comes to the application of those, you might find some much richer words used (I think about the advanced stages of harmony, where 'desire' and 'tension' become really important concepts). Best of luck with it!
If a chord progression resolves to the tonic/root note, especially if it resolves using a perfect cadence, I feel like it's coming "home". I've learnt a lot about the emotional effects of music from watching Jacob Collier's videos with WIRED, so I would suggest those.
I wholeheartedly agree. Music is arguably one of humanity's greatest achievements. Its one of the few things we can actually be proud of as humans. Good music (whatever your version of that is) has the power to take people away from their everyday worries and concerns and give their minds a break from our endless dramas and games of comparisons. Im an RN, and Ive always argued that music should be a medical speciality. It has healing power, and I have witnessed this many times over. Its then a frightful paradox that we must superimpose our ideas of comparison (what the expression "genius" is) and classify some as art and others not art. Kinda defeats the purpose, wouldn't you say? I cant help but think that the very composers described as such would be rolling in their graves.
I'm A Genius
jk this video applies to many things
@@Objectisalive I didn’t know you like musicology! How surprising
By saying that certain people were "ahead of their time" we can also mean something different. It seems as if over the centuries music developed along certain logically necessary ways - monody was followed by polyphony, tonal harmony was followed by atonal music, and so on. Monody is simpler than polyphony, so it came first. Therefore people who were able to "look into the future" were simply able to see slightly earlier than others where things could go next.
I'm not denying that - as you said - the way certain composers pushed things forward influenced later generations, but their contributions were at the same time based on the possibilities "latent" in the music of their own time, and really just waiting to be explored by someone or other. And very talented people were able to notice those possibilities earlier than others.
We don't of course mean that they were able to see future events, in the same way that certain Saints were able to (Jesus himself saw Jerusalem as the city strictly associated with military events of the end days, and it seems likely this will come to pass in one form or another - it's hard to call it a self-fulfilling prophecy, since Christian presence in the Holy City is unfortunately negligible).
All be that as it may, composers like Beethoven, or Chopin, or Schoenberg were able to see "latent" possibilities in music before others, they saw were things could go next. And in that sense only they were "ahead of their time".
I hope you keep uploading these are great! Perhaps you are a genius?
Very interesting. I will say genius is a very western concept...there are no genius in folk/ethnic music till...the seventies?...Genius is related with the idea of capitalism. Why would you lose time writing new music if we have Beethoven and you can play it from sheets we sell? But...why that have changed?...capitalism is tricky....always going forward and changing...like you said...pianomania in the UK during the sixties (maybe this phenomenom -middle classes playing instruments- existed before, as you said) definetly has something to do with The Beatles, The Kinks and the whole British Invasion.
One of historic music battles in the popular music field in Chile is between Los Jaivas and Los Prisioneros. The first ones are like Pink Floyd (ethno influences with psychedelic prog-rock) and the others are Punks with great social commentary. Many people in Chile says Los Jaivas were genius (because they were more complex and experimental), while Los Prisioneros are just fun. However, Los Prisioneros weren't cheap punk...they crafted pop structure to the best. So...there is this classical debate from chilean identity...in one hand...the indigenous/hippie/60's music from Los Jaivas vs the political and satirical message from Los Prisioneros. It would be simple just to say that they were born in different contexts...that's obvious...Los Jaivas are from the 60's 70's and Los Prisioneros from the 80's...and they don't play the same music...but the fact is that discussion haven't been solved....people can't say Los Prisioneros were great...they love them...but canno't say they are "good". That's pathological or at least paradoxical. One could say that's just because people tend to disguise ignorance with snobbism (Los Jaivas =genius vs Prisioneros=punks)....But the most interesting thing is not that both bands are great...the interesting thing is that problem obviously come from dictatorship regime, which erased most of chilean music...so...that void caused a problem with representation in chilean culture...making people see Los Prisioneros and Los Jaivas as opposed. Problemas like theses seem to be solved in others countries, like brazil, where you have a strong relation between contemporary and traditional. It was blended forever in the 60's-70's...even if they had a dictatorship too...but the 60's - 70s still seem to be crucial to understand the place of music in the 21 century.
Is Trump an genius