I do believe that dance and music in general are important innate parts of our being. Spiritually, I think that it is good for our soul and can give us a higher perspective on our life and choices whether it is screaming with Coal Chamber, listening to a ballet, or hearing your favorite hymn. Early people would have taken part in this activity at an early part of development as it surely developed into higher forms with society and human culture.
I am not sure what exactly would constitute the first dance to modern day standards, but the emotional and social significance is probably the telling factor. People dance to communicate a feeling, emotion, or event to their audience. It is also a very powerful feeling to be the dancer and feel perfectly aligned with the music or emotion that you’re displaying. Cave people probably took part in a primitive form of what we consider dance today.
Babies respond to music. In fact, in neonatal units, they play classical music. It has a healing power that has not been explained yet. I played music to my daughter when I was pregnant and even read to her because the power of nonverbal and verbal communication is so important. My daughter would move to music when she was a newborn. If you think about it, lullabies help babies go to sleep which is another expression of music’s power. I was involved with dance when I was younger. I took tap, ballet, and clogged (yes, I am a redneck) until I thirteen. It was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have done. I was also in flag corps in high school where we did a lot of dance; including my favorite which was to music by Chicago. This was really one of my fondest memories of high school. Dance puts you in a different state of mind mentally and physically.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Critical Analysis Two
The Moonlight Sonata is a piece of work that really grabs all of your attention and can somehow relate to whatever is going on in life. It was composed in 1801 by Ludwig van Beethoven. It was immensely popular when it was released in 1802. It is a 6 minute long piano sonata with three main parts. It is one of the most popular piano sonatas that Beethoven completed. Many people may not know who wrote it, but have heard it through their lifetime. The title and beginning of the sonata give the impression that it is a love story, but is this the real story behind this work?
It was originally called Quasi una fantasia which means almost a fantasy. It is the Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor. It was not until 1832 when a music critic, Ludwig Prellstab, compared the work to a beautiful moonlight shining upon Lake Lucerne.
The composition of this sonata is interesting because it does not follow the traditional sonata pattern where the first movement is in regular sonata form. Usually a sonata has three or four movements that follow the pattern, “fast, slow, fast, and slow”.
The first part is in Adagio Sostenuto. It creates a calm, meditative state of mind. The musician has to play this part with great delicacy and without dampers since it is marked, “si deve suonare tutto pezzo delicatissimamente e senza sordino”. It is played mostly with the right hand with a triplet rhythm accompanying it on the left hand. The musical theme of the first part may have been borrowed from a German ballad. It has been called, “one of those poems that human language does not know how to qualify”.
The second part is in Allegretto. This part of the sonnet is very small. It has been suggested that it was thought up as a bridge between the first and third part. It is denser in consistency. It fades away and prepares the listener for the tumultuous third part.
The third part is in Presto Agitato. It is twice as long as the other two parts. It is representation of a storm. Beethoven evokes a lot of passion and emotion into this part of the sonnet. It may be representative of the struggle Beethoven is feeling himself because of his internal struggles.
Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the most well known and renowned musicians and composers of all time. He wrote over eight hundred different works. Interestingly enough, there are hundreds of his works that have never been recorded. He was also an expert with chord progression and used these skills to his advantage to communicate to his listeners.
This piece has a very interesting background. Beethoven was visiting the Burnsick family when he wrote this piece. He had fallen in love with one of his students. The seventeen year old Countess Guilietta Guciardi was also in love with Ludwig. However, they were not allowed to marry because of her parents’ forbiddance. This was a significant blow to Beethoven who dedicated this sonata to her. Critics have stated that this is really not the reflection of a romantic moon lit night as some suggest, but a funeral hymn showing his hurt feelings in a way only Beethoven could.
This song represents life to me in a strange way. It starts of calm and happy with discord in the background. It has a lot of tempo and rhythm changes that are intertwined with the main melody. It tells the story as it gets more exciting or dynamic. In the end, you have to make peace with yourself and your faith to go on. It is really like a movie for your ears and mind because everyone can enjoy and relate to the theme of the music.
An activity that I would like to do when I am teaching again involves songs like this. I will not only try to introduce music like this to my students, but show them how this type of music can be used and enjoyed in their life. An interesting activity may be for them to listen to this song and then come up with a story to go with it. It would be interesting to see all the different perspectives and ideas students may come up.
I played this sonata to my daughter when I was pregnant and it was on her mobile and lullaby CD, as well. It is such a moving, emotional piece that I wanted to share it with her as early as possible. I think it is one of the moving pieces of music made.
This piece of music is one of the most famous in all of classical music. It is known for its power and personal relationship given from the composer to the listener. It is one of the rationales that I have for believing music is one of the most profound languages. There are not language or dialectic barriers. Anyone can hear this music and feel strongly about it.
The link I choose fort this music was a youtube video that showed works of art depicting Beethoven. I thought it was neat to intertwine the physical art with the music. It gives a dynamic point-of-view.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vQVeaIHWWck
It was originally called Quasi una fantasia which means almost a fantasy. It is the Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor. It was not until 1832 when a music critic, Ludwig Prellstab, compared the work to a beautiful moonlight shining upon Lake Lucerne.
The composition of this sonata is interesting because it does not follow the traditional sonata pattern where the first movement is in regular sonata form. Usually a sonata has three or four movements that follow the pattern, “fast, slow, fast, and slow”.
The first part is in Adagio Sostenuto. It creates a calm, meditative state of mind. The musician has to play this part with great delicacy and without dampers since it is marked, “si deve suonare tutto pezzo delicatissimamente e senza sordino”. It is played mostly with the right hand with a triplet rhythm accompanying it on the left hand. The musical theme of the first part may have been borrowed from a German ballad. It has been called, “one of those poems that human language does not know how to qualify”.
The second part is in Allegretto. This part of the sonnet is very small. It has been suggested that it was thought up as a bridge between the first and third part. It is denser in consistency. It fades away and prepares the listener for the tumultuous third part.
The third part is in Presto Agitato. It is twice as long as the other two parts. It is representation of a storm. Beethoven evokes a lot of passion and emotion into this part of the sonnet. It may be representative of the struggle Beethoven is feeling himself because of his internal struggles.
Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the most well known and renowned musicians and composers of all time. He wrote over eight hundred different works. Interestingly enough, there are hundreds of his works that have never been recorded. He was also an expert with chord progression and used these skills to his advantage to communicate to his listeners.
This piece has a very interesting background. Beethoven was visiting the Burnsick family when he wrote this piece. He had fallen in love with one of his students. The seventeen year old Countess Guilietta Guciardi was also in love with Ludwig. However, they were not allowed to marry because of her parents’ forbiddance. This was a significant blow to Beethoven who dedicated this sonata to her. Critics have stated that this is really not the reflection of a romantic moon lit night as some suggest, but a funeral hymn showing his hurt feelings in a way only Beethoven could.
This song represents life to me in a strange way. It starts of calm and happy with discord in the background. It has a lot of tempo and rhythm changes that are intertwined with the main melody. It tells the story as it gets more exciting or dynamic. In the end, you have to make peace with yourself and your faith to go on. It is really like a movie for your ears and mind because everyone can enjoy and relate to the theme of the music.
An activity that I would like to do when I am teaching again involves songs like this. I will not only try to introduce music like this to my students, but show them how this type of music can be used and enjoyed in their life. An interesting activity may be for them to listen to this song and then come up with a story to go with it. It would be interesting to see all the different perspectives and ideas students may come up.
I played this sonata to my daughter when I was pregnant and it was on her mobile and lullaby CD, as well. It is such a moving, emotional piece that I wanted to share it with her as early as possible. I think it is one of the moving pieces of music made.
This piece of music is one of the most famous in all of classical music. It is known for its power and personal relationship given from the composer to the listener. It is one of the rationales that I have for believing music is one of the most profound languages. There are not language or dialectic barriers. Anyone can hear this music and feel strongly about it.
The link I choose fort this music was a youtube video that showed works of art depicting Beethoven. I thought it was neat to intertwine the physical art with the music. It gives a dynamic point-of-view.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vQVeaIHWWck
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