by Gary Powell

We think we listen to music from left to right like we read. When we whistle a tune, most of us whistle from left to right. Melodies undoubtedly move from left to right. That’s how it’s always been.

So, when the disc-jockey on the radio plays “name that tune”, playing a half second of the song’s most uninteresting part, why do we still recognize it? It’s hardly moving in any direction, yet we might instantly recognize it and win a couple of movie tickets.

What’s at play here is your very personal brain’s recognition of a complex combination of musical elements: elements like instrumentation, texture, timbre, chordal voicing, chordal inversion, equalization, ambient sound, room reverberation AND….. whether or not you were hearing this song while getting your first kiss!

Music is deep. It almost defies explanation………………………….ALMOST!

Analogy might be the best instructor here. And, each of these analogies below has a rich musical heritage that is expressed in musical terms. This is the nature of learning music. Read music, don’t read music, educate yourself or shun study altogether. The music doesn’t ask or need to be understood. But, if the following statements make any sense to you whatsoever, you may possibly be interested in becoming a musician.

It’s a dynamic snapshot that may or may not predict its next picture.

It’s the only place where you are in the present, the past and the future at the same time.

The vertical gives meaning to the horizontal and the horizontal gives context to the vertical.

It’s a flag of a dozen layers of fabric stitched atop one another where one can clearly see all the patterns at the same time….all the while it passes by on horseback while your back is turned.

It has the passion of fire, but consumes nothing.

It’s something your mind can understand even when you cannot.

Lecture Level and Requirements


Is music appreciation an aptitude that is inherent or can it be learned? These are a series of exciting exercises to discern how your own personal brain perceives music. This is an excellent way for young people to decide how present music will be in their lives. Can be adapted for any level secondary and above. Inclusive of non-musicians.

All Content of Gary Powell’s Site is Licensed Under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License

.

by Gary Powell<\/p>\n

We think we listen to music from left to right like we read. When we whistle a tune, most of us whistle from left to right. Melodies undoubtedly move from left to right. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always been.<\/p>\n

\nSo, when the disc-jockey on the radio plays \u00e2\u20ac\u0153name that tune\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, playing a half second of the song\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most uninteresting part, why do we still recognize it? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hardly moving in any direction, yet we might instantly recognize it and win a couple of movie tickets.<\/p>\n

\nWhat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s at play here is your very personal brain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s recognition of a complex combination of musical elements: elements like instrumentation, texture, timbre, chordal voicing, chordal inversion, equalization, ambient sound, room reverberation AND….. whether or not you were hearing this song while getting your first kiss!<\/p>\n

Music is deep. It almost defies explanation………………………….ALMOST!<\/p>\n

Analogy might be the best instructor here. And, each of these analogies below has a rich musical heritage that is expressed in musical terms. This is the nature of learning music. Read music, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t read music, educate yourself or shun study altogether. The music doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ask or need to be understood. But, if the following statements make any sense to you whatsoever, you may possibly be interested in becoming a musician.<\/p>\n

\nIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a dynamic snapshot that may or may not predict its next picture.<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
\nIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the only place where you are in the present, the past and the future at the same time.<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
\nThe vertical gives meaning to the horizontal and the horizontal gives context to the vertical.<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
\nIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a flag of a dozen layers of fabric stitched atop one another where one can clearly see all the patterns at the same time….all the while it passes by on horseback while your back is turned.<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
\nIt has the passion of fire, but consumes nothing.<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
\nIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something your mind can understand even when you cannot.<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n

\n

(Copyright 2005 Jesmax Music, BMI)<\/center>
\n<\/center><\/p>\n
\n
Lecture Level and Requirements<\/span>
\n
\n
\nIs music appreciation an aptitude that is inherent or can it be learned? These are a series of exciting exercises to discern how your own personal brain perceives music. This is an excellent way for young people to decide how present music will be in their lives. Can be adapted for any level secondary and above. Inclusive of non-musicians.<\/text><\/span><\/font><\/em><\/p>\n
All Content of Gary Powell’s Site is Licensed Under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License
\n
\n<\/a>.<\/center><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":432,"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37\/revisions\/432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}