The Classical Music Era - Essay Example

The Classical Music Era Introduction According to John blacking, the sweetness of a given piece of music all depends on the emotional drive it brings to the ear of a listener. This has become true over time because it is evident that the technical language of music is less understood by many people who listen to music. This might be the reason as to why some pieces of music may be liked by somebody whereas when another person listens to the same, he or she doesn’t like it. From this hypothesis it can be concluded that music is regarded good or bad depending on how the ear perceives it and not how the musical features are included in the music. Individual notes on a staff have various pitches and the choice of pitch should be done with much care because very high pitches in a musical performance may distract the ear hence the musical piece may have a negative perception from people. This paper focuses on the various musical features that are used in writing music and how these features affected music in the classical era. Music is composed of various musical features that form the technical part of music because they are normally written in musical language that can only be interpreted by people with musical knowledge. A piece of music involves various notes with varying pitches arranged harmonically on a staff but with all these variations and additions, music can’t make sense to everybody unless words are inserted to match the notes. However some notes contain pitches well organized to make a very good melody pleasing to the human ear. Musical pitches are produced by a varied genre of instruments including membranophones whose stretched membranes vibrate when they are beaten to produce sound e.g. drum sets and aerophones which when air is blown into them, they vibrate to produce sound e.g. flutes. Chordophones, on the other hand, produce sound when a string on the instrument is plucked and such instruments normally have a resonator that amplifies the sound produced. The use of instruments in music brings makes it lively and more enjoyable even when the words are not being understood by the listener (Antonella & Cova 41). Good music involves a melody that is well arranged to produce the best form and notes harmonized to create correct chords that do not clash. When analyzing a particular piece of music, one can be able to tell the meaning of the song from the pitch and also the speed intervals at which the notes are organized. For instance, it is almost obvious that romance songs are slow in nature while party songs are a bit faster and livelier. Patriotic songs such as national anthems have also been composed and they are normally accompanied by too much instrumentation (Patrick & Seçkin 33). The Classical Period Music This is a musical period that has been in existence in the Western music history since the 11th century up to-date although some alterations have been made in the present-day classical music. The era is split into various music performances in vast periods of time including the medieval, renaissance and baroque periods. Western music gave a clear guideline on the pith and speed of various rhythms used in composing classical music hence there was little alteration of the kind of music produced by artists in the classical period. The types of instruments that are used in the classical era are changing with time as people migrate through centuries. Although pianos, harpsichords and organs are widely used instruments, most musical compositions under the classical era are symphonies hence make use of the symphony orchestras. Further upgrading brought the use of electric instruments such as electric guitars in the 20th and 21st centuries (Elena 207). This era even included the romantic era which started in the 19th century and the reason as to why this music depicted a sense of romance is the fact that the arrangement of its melodic lines was changed, giving it more emphasis. There was also the use of emotional elements in their music making it more colourful and relevant for romance. During this time, composers could even write music basing on real life experiences with the piano as the new upcoming instruments. Many composers are known for composing in the classical era including Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart (David 3). The Ludwig Van Beethoven Symphony Beethoven’s fifth symphony, written in the C minor key, gained much fame because of the relevance of the time it was composed. It just happened as a coincidence that the symphony was Beethoven’s fifth and having been written during the Second World War symbolized victory since the letter ‘V’ that starts the word ‘victory’ is the roman number five. This symphony gained fame in all the classical compositions since it was assumed that it campaigned for victory during the war hence it had come at a good timing (Elena 210). In the symphony four notes were used as the introductory notes and were repeated throughout the presentation as shown below: These four notes were even used by BBC world casts by playing them on drums to introduce their newscasts and bearing in mind the number of people who tuned into their casts in Europe, this symphony became well known by many people. The pleasing melodies were played in many concerts in the US due to good melodies produced by the various instruments in the symphony which include clarinets, oboes, flutes and bassoons, two of each type (Antonella & Cova 49). The symphony is organized in four movements of allegro and andante styles, each defined with its own different types of instruments playing and the whole performance lasts about thirty five minutes. In the writing the first movement, he borrows an idea of what classical composers that came before him used to do including Haydn and Mozart. The introductory dramatic phrases force an ear to pay attention and also introduce the theme of the whole symphony. The proper arrangement of the work is followed by a bridge whereby only horns are heard playing before the next theme is introduced. Beethoven decided to choose the C Minor scale in his compositions because they identify him and give him a sense of heroic character. Beethoven attributes the art of repeating the first four notes of the symphony to the aspect of bringing a unifying factor in the work i.e. when the notes are repeated in all the four movements, the unifying factor of the symphony is enhanced (Patrick & Seçkin 39). In his fifth symphony, Beethoven La Folia, which was a dance that accompanied his music but with a different rhythm usually a slower or faster one in comparison to the piece of music it backs. This dance style was used by other composers in the classical era hence Beethoven also chose it as a necessary tool to pass his message of the victory mood in time of war. In his composition, the Folia were at a faster rhythm compared to the rhythm used in the symphony. The trombones and piccolos are the instruments that marked performance in the last movement of the symphony (David 5). Conclusion The classical period consists of music compositions with melodies have short phrases, regular rhythms and their textures are always homophonic. The music pieces are normally highly repetitive with instruments commonly used including the string, brass woodwind and percussion instruments. Performers of all types of music should try and work on their compositions in such a way that people get the true picture of what was other composers’ minds so that the right message is got. This is because in the present era, the technical musical compositions of music may not be analyzed, but the ear-appealing part will determine whether a particular work will be appreciated or not (Elena 220). Works Cited Carù, Antonella, and Bernard Cova. "The Impact of Service Elements on the Artistic Experience: The Case of Classical Music Concerts." International Journal of Arts Management 7.2 (2005): 39-54. Gabor, Elena. ""Tuning" the Body of the Classical Musician." Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management 8.3 (2013): 206-23. Georges, Patrick, and Aylin Seçkin. "Black Notes and White Noise: A Hedonic Approach to Auction Prices of Classical Music Manuscripts." Journal of Cultural Economics 37.1 (2013): 33-60. Lowenthal, David. "From Harmony of the Spheres to National Anthem: Reflections on Musical Heritage." GeoJournal 65.1-2 (2006): 3-15. Read More