Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Friday, August 28. 2020

Book du Jour: What to Listen for in Music

The first edition of Aaron Copland's classic What to listen for in music was first published in 1939.


I consider the book to be equivalent to a college introduction to music. It is serious, but written in a friendly style.


I make a rough distinction between Folk music (including things like traditonal folk music from wherever, Country, Rock, Blues, Rap, Jazz, Hymns, Gospel, Broadway, etc), and music which demands more attention. Right or wrong, that's how I think but I love a lot of it.


There is a large grey zone between those rough categories. Copland's Appalchian Spring, for just one example. For another, Verdi's operas were what gondoliers and street-sweepers sung at work. 


The only music that truly annoys me is Rap and Praise Music.


By the way, who is Taylor Swift? 



Posted by The Barrister in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 13:57 | Comments (11) | Trackbacks (0)

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The lyrics of the singer-songwriter not entirely unconnected with the title of this site demand rather a lot of concentrated attention, in order to be appreciated.
#1 DeGaulle on 2020-08-28 14:59 (Reply)
And even then make no sense whatsoever. Perhaps drugs help.
#1.1 barnhill on 2020-08-29 11:00 (Reply)
re The only music that truly annoys me is Rap and Praise Music.

I would add Disco to that list.
#2 feeblemind on 2020-08-28 19:09 (Reply)
Jazz sucks.

I don't know much about Taylor Swift but she does a kick ass version of Tom Petty's American Girl.
#3 jack on 2020-08-29 01:05 (Reply)
May I recommend Robert Greenberg's Great Courses series, (1) Understanding the Fundamentals of Music, (2) How to Listen to Great Music, and (3) Concert Masterworks. He has other courses, too.
#4 bob sykes (Link) on 2020-08-29 08:39 (Reply)
I could not agree more.
#4.1 Bird Dog on 2020-08-29 09:27 (Reply)
I could not agree more.
#4.2 Bird Dog on 2020-08-29 09:27 (Reply)
I'm not a huge fan of jazz, but I listen to it occasionally. Duke Ellington was a serious composer of music. I'd say he approaces the same level as the classical era composers.
#5 Jack Walter on 2020-08-29 09:32 (Reply)
Not a fan of much post-WWII jazz either, but a lot of the music from the Big Band era is tons of fun and displays a lot of imagination and musicianship. Same for later practitioners of the style like Count Basie and others.
#6 Hairless Joe on 2020-08-29 10:13 (Reply)
When I was five years old, I sat by the radio in our living room (no TV in Texas in those days), and listened to a rendition of "Deep Purple" by a black ensemble (never learned their name). It was the most beautiful thing I ever heard, and everything I ever needed to know about listening to music (really listening I learned that day.

That said, I despise rap, which I don't regard as music at all, and am not too fond of modern jazz.
#7 RebeccaH on 2020-08-29 11:04 (Reply)
I have recently found shape note singing and t is very primal and enjoyable to listen to. Not long term but glad to have experienced it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4liEuDm8ac
#8 Robert Moffett (Link) on 2020-08-29 15:09 (Reply)

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