Classical music knowledge

There are two types of music, one is symphony and light orchestral music, and the other is dance music, pop music and jazz music.

Classical music often refers to serious music, and also refers to some recognized classic works.

Generally, the number of performers is less than 10, and classical music is called chamber music. When each instrument plays a part, the ensemble of two instruments is called a duet, the ensemble of three instruments is called a trio...The ensemble of eight instruments is called an octet, but piano trio, string quartet and The piano quintet is the most popular. Those with more than ten people are called chamber orchestras. Large-scale instrumental music performances are called orchestral music, and modern orchestras are also called symphony orchestras and symphony orchestras. The number of classical symphony orchestras is more than 30 people, sometimes as many as 100 or 150 people. Bands that play light music and jazz music are generally called small jazz bands. They usually have a small number of people, but light music bands also have more than 30 people. Modern dance bands do not use string instruments but simply use brass and woodwind instruments as the main melody instruments, which is completely different from the Viennese waltz band.

In the configuration of a large orchestra, the number of string instruments accounts for about 60%, the number of woodwind instruments accounts for about 15%, the number of brass instruments accounts for about 15%, and the number of percussion instruments accounts for about 10%. Usually the violin is in the front left, the alto is in the center right, the cello is in the front right, and the double cello is in the far right. Behind the string instruments is the woodwind section, with the timpani in the center of the back row. Snare drums, cymbals and other percussion instruments are on the left side of the timpani. The brass section is to the right of the timpani. The harp and piano are in the middle left.

The orchestra has 4 main parts:

(1) String instruments

Violin, viola, cello, double bass (bass).

(2) Woodwind instruments

Flute (transfer), piccolo, oboe (English horn), clarinet (recorder, clarinet), bassoon (bassoon, bassoon) .

(3) Brass instruments

Trumpet, trombone (drawn pipe), French horn (French horn), and tuba.

(4) Percussion instruments

Timpani, bass drum, snare drum, cymbals, triangle, bells, gongs, xylophone, celesta, etc.

The element of music is sound. Composers cannot express emotions clearly like words, but can only use sound to arouse people's emotions. The four basic elements of music are rhythm, melody, harmony and timbre. Rhythm reminds people of physical movements, and melody reminds people of spiritual emotions. Music expresses its emotions through differences in melody, speed of rhythm, pitch of sound, changes in harmony, and differences in timbre. For example, major keys represent happiness and majesty, minor keys represent sadness and melancholy; tense and short rhythms represent excitement and anger, gentle and long rhythms represent gentleness and softness, strong pitches represent enthusiasm, low and weak sounds represent tranquility; dissonance It represents struggle and dispute, consonance represents peace and tranquility; trumpet represents war, oboe represents pastoralism, etc.

How to enjoy music?

Everyone listens to music according to their own different appreciation abilities and hobbies. For the convenience of analysis, we divide the appreciation of music into three aspects.

(1) Aesthetics

Listening to music is purely for the pleasure of music. It only seeks to be pleasant to the ears. It is just a perceptual appreciation. It does not require any form of thinking and allows the appeal of the music. Transport yourself into a fantasy realm. For example, when you are doing something, turn on the speakers and immerse yourself in the music absentmindedly. At this time, the appeal of music alone can bring people into an unconscious yet charming state of mind.

Aesthetics plays a very important role in music, but it should not be allowed to take up too much place. Even at this early stage of listening to music, a more meaningful approach to listening should be adopted.

(2) Expression

All music has the ability to express, and there is always some meaning behind the notes. This meaning constitutes the content of the work and can arouse emotions. This is emotional appreciation. .

(3) Pure music

In addition to the pleasant sound and the emotions expressed, music also exists in the notes and the processing of the notes. In order to follow the composer's ideas, consciously explore the structure of the music, changes in themes, and the use of the composer's techniques. This is intellectual appreciation and an advanced stage of music appreciation.

Most listeners are not fully aware of this third aspect. The wise listener must be prepared to increase his awareness of the musical material and its development. He must listen more consciously to melody, rhythm, harmony and timbre. What is particularly important is to follow the composer's ideas and understand some principles of musical form.

The ideal listener is a person who can both enter music and transcend music. He appreciates music while criticizing music, and constantly deepens his understanding of music.

The only way to understand music is to listen. Only by listening carefully from beginning to end until you are familiar with it can you deepen your understanding. When you hear a melody and can recognize it, you You have the conditions to enjoy music. If you can hear the differences in how different performers perform the same piece of music and understand the composer's ideas, then you have already entered the door to appreciate music.

Music has the ability to express itself and thus has a certain meaning, but it cannot be expressed clearly in words, and there is no need to find appropriate words to express the meaning of music.

Music expression methods can be roughly divided into two categories: absolute music and program music. Music that takes music itself as its purpose is called pure music. It is composed only of sounds and forms and has no clear connection with anything other than music itself. Most instrumental music, such as symphonies and sonatas, fall into this category. Music that implies literature, thought, painting and other contents with specific titles is generally called title music.

Sonata is an instrumental piece containing four independent movements. Each movement has an independent structure and style, and is played by piano, violin and cello respectively. When played on the piano, it is called a piano sonata, when played on the violin, it is called a violin sonata, when played on the cello, it is called a cello sonata, and when played as chamber music, it is also called a sonata.

Concerto is an instrumental piece played by a solo instrument and an orchestra on an equal footing. Concertos usually feature violin, piano, cello or flute as the solo instrument.

A symphony is a sonata-type instrumental piece played by an orchestra. It is usually divided into four movements. The complexity of the tone and the richness of the colors are the highest among all pieces of music.

Suite is an orchestral or piano suite composed of several short pieces connected into one, each of which is relatively independent.

Overture (Overture) originally refers to an instrumental piece played by an orchestra before the opening of an opera, oratorio or dramatic score. However, in modern times, there are single-movement orchestral overtures specially composed for concert performance.

Preludes are mostly short orchestral pieces, often used as the prelude to large-scale musical compositions and film dramas.

Intermezzo is music played between the acts of a drama or opera. It has the function of suggesting scenes and changing the atmosphere of the audience. It also has an independent form of work. Its form is relatively free and its length is relatively long. Short.

Toccata is a free-form keyboard piece that can display various gorgeous techniques.

Serenade is a kind of solo or instrumental music played outdoors at dusk or night. The music has a lingering and euphemistic mood.

Nocturn (Nocturn) is a kind of elegant and romantic music with a singing melody, often with exquisite decorative sounds, and accompaniment with arpeggios or chords. It is a branch of serenade.

Impromptu (1mpromptu) is an improvised instrumental piece.

Ballade originally meant to tell a story, and is a kind of instrumental music with a lyrical and romantic character.

Study is a piece of music used to improve instrumental performance skills.

Scherzo, also known as scherzo, is a kind of instrumental music with fast speed, active and clear rhythm, and often sudden contrast between strong and weak.

Humoresque is a piece of music that is free and free, characterized by humor and fantasy.

Capriccio is a general name for music composed by a composer based on his imagination. It is a kind of free-form music that expresses rich changes.

Rhapsody is an instrumental piece of music composed by a composer for heroic, national or emotional themes.

Fantasia is an instrumental piece characterized by fantasy and free-spiritedness. It is a short instrumental piece with a romantic color and no fixed form.

Pastoral has a soft melody and is pastoral music developed after imitating the instruments used by shepherds.

Gondoliera is slow and swaying music with beautiful and smooth melody.

Variations are instrumental music based on a certain theme, using various methods to perform successive changes. Symphonic poems are also called tone poems. They were first created by Liszt and usually express poetic and artistic literary works. It has only one movement in terms of sexual content and can be freely used in terms of structure and musical form. It is a symphonic work that is much shorter than a symphony.

March is music used to accompany the progress of a group. It is mostly in four beats and emphasizes the downbeat. Usually played by wind instruments, it is often used by the military to keep ranks in line and boost morale. There are also marches for weddings, funerals, and triumphal celebrations.

Lullaby (Berceuse), also known as lullaby, has a simple form, slow speed, soft and lyrical main melody, and swaying rhythm, simulating the swinging rhythm of a cradle to make babies fall asleep.

Chorus was originally a German folk song and Christian hymn, and later became an instrumental piece.

Dance music is divided into 6 types. ①Waltz, also translated as waltz, is a three-beat dance music with one beat per measure, which is both practical and artistic. The accompaniment consists of the first beat of the bass and the second and third beats of the treble chord. The main melody is fluent and stretched, and the harmony and musical structure are simple and clear. ② Gavotte, a French dance music with a lively atmosphere in 2/2 time. ⑧Minuet (Minuet), originally a French folk dance, has a medium speed of 3/4 time. It is a dance music with slow speed and elegant style. ④Mazurka, a medium to fast three-beat Polish folk dance, popular in rural areas. ⑤ Polonaise (Polonaise), together with the Mazurka, is a representative dance of Poland. It is popular in aristocratic society. It has a strong and gorgeous feeling in the warm atmosphere. The rhythm is a unique triple beat, moderate speed and solemn. The rhythm is consistent. Also translated as Polonaise. ⑥Polka, a fast two-beat dance popular in Bohemia in the 19th century.

Divertimento is a light-hearted suite.

Romance was originally some lyrical songs and instrumental music with legendary narrative poems as lyrics.

Overture is one of the oldest instrumental music genres. It plays an important role in the development of other instrumental music genres, especially symphonies and symphonic poems. As the name suggests, an overture can be compared to the preface or introduction to a work. In music, it originally refers to a prelude-style instrumental piece before the performance of an opera, oratorio, cantata, dance drama or other dramatic work, that is, it is mainly of a slapstick nature. music. However, this early stage music was very simple. It was actually just a few loud horn blasts, equivalent to three bells before a modern theater performance.

The oldest folk market stage or puppet show performances were like this, and even in Italian operas at the beginning of the seventeenth century, such as Monteverdi (1567-1643) opera works, this was sometimes the case.

At the end of the seventeenth century, two different types of dramatic preludes began to appear - French overtures and Italian overtures. The so-called French overture was created by Lulli (1632-1687), the founder of French national opera. This kind of overture begins with a grand, majestic, slow, and often march-style introduction, followed by a fast and active piece of music, mostly written in a polyphonic style, and finally repeats the slow music at the beginning, or End with a slow minuet. This French opera overture has a "slow-fast-slow" structure. The Italian overture, on the other hand, can also be divided into three obvious sections, but its opening section is fast, active and powerful, with a slow, song-like melody inserted in it, and finally a fast-paced dance section, which is often used The rhythm of Italian folk tarantella or kig. In this way, Italian overtures form a "fast-slow-fast" structure. This Italian opera overture was mainly created by the Italian composer A. Scarlatti (1660-1725). This overture can be said to be the prototype of the multi-movement symphony that appeared a century later. Since French opera at that time was mainly used for the festival celebrations of the Bourbon dynasty, while Italian opera had a wider audience, it is natural that Italian opera overtures are not as "graceful and noble" as French overtures in terms of style and content. However, these two kinds of opera overtures from the 17th to 18th centuries have no profound connection with the content and mood of the opera itself. Because the frivolous audience at that time were always busy entertaining their friends before the characters were introduced, the theater was not quiet. The composer also knew that the audience never paid attention to the performance of the overture, so he did not want to spend more time in this aspect. As a result, it has become commonplace for an opera overture to be used multiple times in different operas, and neither the author nor the audience cares.

As an art form, overture has become an important part of drama, which began in the second half of the eighteenth century. At that time, when the German opera composer Gluck was carrying out opera reforms, he set an epoch-making criterion for the overture - he wrote in the preface to his opera "Alcestis": "I think the overture should It hints at the theme of the work and prepares the audience emotionally for the drama they are about to watch." The overture to Gluck's opera "Iphigenia at Aulis" is one of the outstanding examples of this kind of opera overture at that time. This kind of ancient opera overture created by Gluck was not finalized until the end of the 18th century. It basically adopts the structure of sonata form. Most of Mozart's opera overtures fall into this category.

The easiest way for an opera overture to maintain an organic connection with the opera itself is to directly extract the fragments from the opera that are most closely related to the development of the play or the melody that best embodies the character of the opera protagonist ( such as arias, etc.) as the theme. The overture to Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni" and the overture to Glinka's opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila" are examples of this. However, some overtures have no thematic connection with the opera itself, such as the overture of Mozart's opera "The Marriage of Figaro" and the overture of Rossini's opera "The Barber of Seville".

Beethoven’s overtures are of great significance in the history of music. In a small genre such as overtures, he used simple, concise and highly summarized musical images to express profound ideological content; he The dramatic overture has far exceeded the general "introduction" function, and has become a concentrated expression of the central content of the entire dramatic work.

However, Beethoven's talent was concentrated in the symphony after all, and the development of the overture finally fell to his young contemporary, Weber, the father of German romantic opera. Weber's opera overtures are closely related to the opera itself, whether in terms of musical theme or emotional color, and become a kind of exquisite sound and picture that leads the listener into the emotional atmosphere of the opera.

Weber's operas "The Free Shot", "Oberon" and the "Euranti" Overture are all masterpieces of this type of work.

The first half of the 19th century was the golden age of romantic opera overtures. After that, the influence of the overtures obviously faded. There are two reasons for this: First, some composers in the second half of the 19th century, such as Wagner, believed that the opera itself was enough to illustrate the plot of the dramatic story, and the overture did not need to involve the content of the story. Therefore, many composers tended to compress The scale of the overture. I would rather switch to a shorter genre like a prelude, which is limited to brewing an emotion in front of the curtain; secondly, the new audience of the Lyric Theater at that time generally came to watch the performance sincerely, and also had a certain ability to appreciate it, so they also There is no need to delay the opening moment with loud music. The result is: like the opera "La Bohème" by Italian composer Puccini at the end of the 19th century, there is almost only an introduction of a few bars, and it immediately switches to the first act of the opera.

In addition to opera overtures, many composers in the 19th century were also keen to create a new type of overture that did not function as a "preface". This kind of overture was not subordinate to any dramatic work, but it often brought It has a title and is related to certain poetic content, such as the images and plots of classical literature or folk creations, as well as pictures of folk life. This kind of independent title overture is called a concert overture. Its founder is the German composer Mendelssohn. The first such overture written specifically for concert performance was his "A Midsummer Night's Dream" overture. There are many title concert overtures, such as Mendelssohn's "Fingel's Grotto" Overture, Glinka's "Spanish Overture", Tchaikovsky's "1812" Solemn Overture and "Romeo and "Juliet" Fantasy Overture, etc. Some of these overtures are actually a variant of the title symphony or symphonic poem.

In the history of music, the classification of musical instruments is usually closely related to orchestration. The classification of musical instruments not only reflects people's (national, human) living habits and folk customs, but more importantly, it also reflects the content of music life, music forms, scientific and technological levels, and the level of science and technology at that time and at various stages of human understanding. Productivity status... One of the most important classification methods of ancient Chinese musical instruments is the "eight-tone classification method", which divides ancient Chinese musical instruments into eight categories based on the materials used to make them. The Western Zhou Dynasty (about 11th century BC - 771 BC) has appeared.

"Guoyu? Zhou Yuxia? Lingzhou On Music" states: "Therefore, the heavy instruments should be made small, and the light ones should be big. Therefore, gold should be used for feathers, stones should be used for angles, and tiles should be used for palaces (tiles are earth). , pottery, refers to xun, etc.), the bamboo is still discussed, and the leather wood is heard. "The eight tones are gold (such as bells, duo), stone (such as chimes), silk (such as qin, harp), bamboo (such as Xiao, Chi). There are eight categories: , Gu (such as Sheng, Yu), earth (such as Xun, Fou), leather (such as Taoist drum, Jiangu), and wood (such as Bangzi, wooden fish).

There is another way of classifying folk music, which roughly divides musical instruments into four categories: blowing, pulling, playing and playing. For example: blow (suona, xiao), play (huqin), play (sanxian, pipa), play (dulcimer, yunluo).

Western music uses a classification system of five categories:

(1) Woodwind: recorder, flute, instrument with single or double reeds (later made of metal), Such as oboe and bassoon;

(2) Brass pipe: made of metal, originally made of wood. Early objects could only play the natural scale or even the overtone series within two octaves, such as trumpet and French horn. , tuba;

(3) Percussion: drums, cymbals, castanets;

(4) Keyboard: from the original natural-tone keyboard to the later Janko four Partial keyboards (there are no equivalent traditional Eastern instruments), such as pianos, harpsichords, and pipe organs;

(5) String instruments: silk strings range from textiles, intestines, whale baleen, and steel to Nylon...such as lute, violin, guitar, harp.

Kurt Sachs (1881-1959) and Hornbostel studied and classified musical instruments from different eras and cultures according to acoustic principles, and in 1914 (the first year of his life) (The outbreak of the war) designed a set of terminology to distinguish five major categories of musical instruments [later known as the "Saxophone (Musical Instrument) Classification"]:

(1) Body-sounding instruments: musical instruments made of natural sounding materials , such as chimes and triangles (2) Membrane musical instruments: musical instruments with stretched membranes, such as timpani, snare drums, and waist drums;

(3) Air-sounding musical instruments: including reedless pipe vibrations and reeds using free vibrations Tongue instruments, such as organ and sheng;

(4) String instruments: string instruments, such as violin and sanxian;

(5) Electronic instruments: electronic and Electroacoustic, such as electronic keyboards and electric organs.

The eight-tone division method is a classification method that existed in history and is no longer used. It reflects the level of science and technology in ancient China, as well as the social situation at that time that emphasized craftsmanship, technology, and light theory and scientific research (and its impact on the humanistic form). The eight-tone division method is actually a relatively elementary technical division method. Because there has never been "science" in Chinese history, only craftsmanship and technology, this classification unfortunately fails to reflect and implement the principles of science. According to this classification, bronze drums and chimes belong to the metal category, while pottery bells and copper bells belong to the earth and metal categories respectively. Therefore, the eight-note method may not be practical for actual music performances, organizations, and activities. It only reflects the preliminary arrangements and attempts to organize things by ancient Chinese scholars. The blowing, pulling and playing vividly reflects the playing method of the instrument. Folk music is usually used for weddings and funerals or for self-entertainment, and there is no fixed band establishment. The number of participants and the method are relatively flexible. Usually one person plays several instruments at the same time. People who play Yueqin together may also be able to play Pipa, Ruan, etc. of this type. Moreover, folk music instrument learning and teaching are master-apprentice style, with strong characteristics of manual workshops and crafts. The classification of blowing, pulling and beating is easy to understand and consistent with the characteristics of the craft, similar to the difference between a plasterer and a leatherworker. Therefore, it is widely circulated among the people and occupies a dominant position.

The classification of Western classical musical instruments actually has strong handicraft characteristics and is not scientific - for example, today's woodwind instruments are all made of metal, while the original brass instruments were made of wood. But the names of wood pipes and copper pipes have been fixed - and not systematic. The reason for its existence is that there is another systematic and theoretical law behind it: the orchestration method, which makes this classification method have its practical value and rules. Orchestration is the art of composing for an orchestra, focusing on the timbre, technique, performance and effective range of instruments, as well as the combination, use and arrangement of the score. Fundamentally speaking, the orchestration method is based on this musical instrument classification method as the starting point, basis and application guidance, and also enables this Western musical instrument classification method to be effectively applied - although this application may not be strictly scientific, it embodies the with scientific spirit and ideas.

The so-called "saxophone (instrument) classification method" is actually not a quasi-instrument classification method. It is just a classification of musical instruments based on the five terms (not even concepts) proposed by Sachs. Although it has initially achieved systematization and structure, it is not completely accurate and scientific - in fact, because the sounds used in music The extensive, complex, and diverse materials... determine that the tools used to produce such sounds are becoming increasingly sophisticated and infinitely complex (including playing methods). Our taxonomy is always catching up, which is the pride of human science and the itch of art. On the one hand, the musical instrument classification is committed to a rigorous scientific system, and on the other hand, it also needs to effectively guide the ever-changing music and music life and practice. It cannot be achieved overnight. The "Saxophone (Instrument) Classification" is the best classification that already exists. It is the most scientific and rigorous classification among all musical instrument classifications at present. We should continue to build this building, enrich it, and improve it. . This even requires the efforts of several generations, because this subject is increasingly incorporating more and more scientific components and technical content, and more importantly, the structure is becoming more and more complex, the content is becoming richer, and the content is becoming more and more vivid. Modern and future music.