“How We Listen To Music” Aaron Copland
The essay "How We Listen," by Aaron Copland was published in New York, both an individual attitude and the aim attitude occur in each separate plane that is being described. The individual attitude is where everything is taking place in the listeners mind, where as they are unaffected by the world around them. Aaron Copeland stated we all listen to on three separate planes which are; the sensuous plane, the expressive plane and the sheerly musical plane.
Many people listen to the sensuous plane as described by the author as what we listen to for the sheer pleasure of the way the music sound. People hear this music without even knowing that it exists. There is an attitude being displayed here, because
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Many listeners in this plane hold an individual attitude because the music always seems to play a role in the listener’s life, where as it might reminds them of something or someone. The author talks about how the question of “how close should the intelligent music lover wish to come to pinning a definite meaning” (Copeland, 1939). It becomes personal, going in their mind the true meaning of what they are listening to, yet they are unable to explain it. This helps the listeners to experience different types of feeling. Though the author didn’t say much about the third plane which is the “sheerly musical plane” but the author explained it as the pleasurable melody sound of music and expressive feeling it brings along. The sheerly planes, the listener must know the principle of the music in order to follow the sweetest of the music. Sheerly music is easy to understand because of the melody and tune it produces.
The three planes of music are basically what we are experiencing today, which is why most people have their own genre of what they listen to. Most people feel the power and energy when listening to metal which falls under the sensuous plane, while others would take metal as their expressive plane.
The author’s tune in this essay is somewhat curious. Though it’s the suitable tune for writing; because, the author is a well known writer and composer, so everything he says is out of experience and his personal feelings towards the three planes of
Besides, Copland suggests that music can be understood regarding notes, which Hamad illustrates through shapes and diagrams. Still, Copland argues that professional musicians become too conscious of musical notes that they become so engrossed with their staccatos and arpeggios that they ignore the profound aspects of music (1077). But, Hamad believes that the notes and technicality of music is also a deep part of it and should be observed. I think that Copland is right and if this factor continues, there is a fear of losing the musical expressive plane. Also, similar to what Hamad advocates for.
Frank Ocean once said, “When you 're happy, you enjoy the music. But when you 're sad, you understand the lyrics.” Why does one have to be sad to “understand the lyrics”? Evaluating a song and being given the ability to relate enhances one’s respect for the composer. For example, when one first listens to “Danny’s Song” by Kenny Loggins, they probably believe the song is about love, however, once a person analyzes the lyrics the realize that the song is actually a story of a couple who are having a baby boy.
If one thinks that music can arouse such emotions as well, the following problem is a problem about music, too”(Naar).Hichem Naar is telling a person can get emotions which turn into passions for music and that
“How We Listen” begins by providing us with a detailed description of Aaron Copland’s background and accomplishments, then moves on to briefly describe his views and ideas that are expressed in the rest of the passage. In the introduction, we are presented with Copland’s theory that divides the activity of listening to music (specifically the classical genre) into three categories; sensuous plane, the expressive plane, and the sheerly musical plane. The sensuous plane allows the listener to simply relax, take in, and appreciate the beauty of the music.
In her essays, Elena Passarello explores how the voice can be able to define human beings, refine them, as well as its ability to connect people to each other. Also, it is a masterpiece that easily explains and breaks down the relationship between a song and a birdsong. Elena is inspired by her acting background to writing the book and collection of essays which result in a nice blend of personal narration and reportage. Elena carefully sets to find out what is the true feeling of making an utterance and what it really means to study the concept of human vocalization.
At last, the Narrator understood that "All I think about music is that not very numerous individuals ever truly hear
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In his hole he says “there is a certain acoustical deadness in my hole, and when I have music I want to feel its vibrations, not only in my ear but with my whole body” (Ellison 7). In his hole, he is lifeless and meaningless, but music makes him feel alive. The meaning of music makes him feel less invisible. He understands the history and importance of the music and “not only entered the music but descended, like Dante, into the depths” (Ellison 9). Like Dante’s Inferno he goes deeper into the music and finds the meaning.
The second plane is known as the expressive plane, and here it is easier to understand how Copland felt about expression in music. Aaron Copland states, “my own belief is that music has an expressive power, some more and some less, but that all music has a certain meaning behind the notes constitutes” (Copland, 9). This is a very crucial statement to the understanding of this particular plane, Copland believes that each and every piece of music in the world has a meaning behind it, regardless of how significant or insignificant it may be to the
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