In the concert hall that attracts thousands of people, you can not only enjoy the symphony performed by 107 people, but also listen to extremely popular and interesting music lectures. In the 1950s and 1960s, many teenagers in the United States and Canada They all gained their knowledge of music through the teachings of music master Bernstein. The following is a chapter taught by Bernstein - "What is Classical Music"

What words can be used to summarize classical music?

What word should be used to replace the word "classical" in classical music? We just want to explain what "classical music" is through these more popular terms.

But as long as the arrangement is not like jazz, it is classical music? People often say "I really love music", which means they like Handel's music (classical music) rather than Spike, but there is also good jazz and good pop songs that you can't describe as "good" The difference is that there is a good Handel and there is a good Spike. Therefore, we have to drop this word.

Then people use "serious" to describe classical music, but some jazz is serious too, and what could be more serious than the war drums of African warriors (typical of jazz)? Therefore, this word does not work either.

Then some people use "learned" to mean that only very smart, well-educated people can understand classical music. It's obviously wrong. Because many people who love Beethoven are not like Einstein.

What about the term "artistic" music? Many people use this word to describe the difference between Beethoven and Daley Brooke, but that doesn't work either because there are just as many people who think jazz is art, and it is. If we are trying to use symphonic music, that excludes music written for solo piano, solo violin, or string quartet, which of course are all considered classical music.

Perhaps the best word ever invented is "long hair," because it was coined by jazz musicians themselves to disparage any music that was not theirs. But I've seen a lot of jazz characters with long hair on their heads, so I thought this one wouldn't work either.

Since none of the words are correct, let me find the correct word by first clarifying the differences between different types of music. The real differences are when composers write so-called "classical music" , he will write down the notes he wants to sing, and the notes he wants to sing are indeed instruments or sounds, even down to the number of instruments or sounds. He will also write down the instructions he can think of to tell them in as much detail as possible. Everything is known, how fast or how slow it should be to assist the performer in delivering exactly those notes he has come up with. Of course, there aren't enough words in the world for a performer to know everything the composer wanted to write, but that's what excites the performer.

The performers are only mortals, so each guess is slightly different: for example, I believe you all know the melody of the opening phrase of "Symphony of Destiny". Sing it to me. The first conductor gave the last note a special depth, which was the longer one, like this "weak weak weak strong"; the other conductor also tried hard to figure out what Beethoven really wanted, maybe feeling that the first note in that note was The positioning is particularly emphasized, like this "strong weak weak weak"; another conductor, perhaps not as faithful as the previous two, may decide that these four notes should be played with more emphasis and more solemnity, like this "strong strong strong strong" , we have all heard these versions, but apart from these differences, which are due to the different personalities of these three conductors, they still conduct the same notes, the same theme, and use the same instruments. Their purpose is also the same, which is to let Beethoven's notes on the score were brought to life in the way they thought he intended; this meant that what they called "classical music" could not be changed except because of the individual personality of the performer. This music is timeless, unchangeable, and precise.

"Precision" may be exactly what we should call it. We call it "precision music" because it has only one way of performance, and that way was told to us by the composer himself.

But if we take the pop song "I Can Only Give You Love, My Baby," there are endless ways to perform it. It can be sung by a choir, or by Louis, Armstrong, or Maria Callas sings, or anyone sings, it can be performed without words, it can be played with a jazz band, a symphony orchestra, or a toy flute, slow or fast, passionate or sentimental, loud or complex, it doesn't matter, it can be played just once , or repeated fifteen times. You can use any key or even change the following chords. Even the tune itself can be changed and you can improvise. (The master Bernstein used several playing methods to express the same song) None of these methods are wrong. To the special performers who did it at the time, each one seemed right and suitable for the performance venue. This song There's no rule that a song has to be performed this way, which means it's not exact music, it doesn't have to be performed exactly the way the composer wrote it, and in fact, a pop singer should never perform it exactly the way the composer wrote it every time. The same thing happens with ballads, but more righteously. Because no composer dictates how it should be performed, and even more so in the case of jazz, it improvises, creates music as it is performed, and almost never bothers to write it down.

So now we at least have a better word for classical music, which is "accurate music", although it's possible to think of a better word than "accurate" to describe what is commonly called classical music, let's No more using the wrong word "classical".

Classical music has another meaning

Why is this word wrong? There is indeed such a thing as classical music, but what we are talking about is indeed a different kind of thing. Classical music refers to a very long-lasting time in the history of music called the classical period. The music written during that era is called classical music. Now let's get a little idea of ??what happened in the Classical Period, which lasted about a century from about 1700 to 1800, what you all know as the eighteenth century.

It is the perfect rule

Let me try to take the past fifty years as an example. What was America like at that time? It was still being developed and full of newly arrived pioneers living a hard life. At the same time that a new country was being built from the ground, Europe was very different. Europeans were no longer exploring and nailing wood; they were trying to perfect what they had already established. Europe was an age of rules and regulations, and Making those rules and regulations as precise as possible is the basis of classicism. Taking rules to perfection, it created classical architecture, classical drama and classical music. Classical music is music written in an era when people were pursuing things. People tried their best to have music in perfect form, like a beautiful ancient Greek vase. The names of two musical giants, Bach and Handel, especially Bach. Ha, he collected all the rules that the composers before him had experienced and played with, and tried his best to make these rules as perfect as humanly possible. Take the form of "Escape Song" as an example. The rules of "Escape Song" are a bit like what you buy When assembling the set, the accompanying instructions tell you exactly how to build a house, a train or a Ferris wheel. Take his "Brandenberg Concerto No. 4" as an example. First, the viola plays the theme, then the violin is added in the second part, four notes higher, and then in the third part, another fifth note is played. Only the violin joins, then in the fourth section, cello and double bass, and finally, in the fifth section, the flute. This piece isn't just five separate pieces, it's all tied together.

It is also cheerful, witty and interesting

Fifty years later, everything has changed, and their music is completely different from Bach's. How did that change happen? Could it be that the Democrats went to Chicago for a rally and voted to change the music style. No, it happens naturally. People in the era of Haydn and Mozart thought Bach's serious "Escapes" were old-fashioned and boring. They wanted something new, not so complicated, but elegant, delicate and pleasant music with beautiful tunes and simple accompaniment, which is exactly the same as that of Bach. The era coincides with that. The ladies and gentlemen of the court of that era wore silk linings with lace cuffs and jeweled fans, which produced elegant music for them.

And its most important feature is the melody, and the melody must be good. Listening to Mozart's "Concerto in C Major" now, no one can write the same melody as Mozart. It is as full of rules and regulations as Bach's "Escape", but there are many other rules - they want simple and pleasant music, this simple and pleasant new music, another characteristic is It's fun, cheerful, witty, and energetic. Listening to "The Prelude to the Marriage of Figaro" is very interesting, it's like riding a roller coaster full of laughter and good mood, leaving you breathless. In fact, classical music is very fun.

Wit, humor, and fun are important parts of the music of Haydn and Mozart, but it also has grace, elegance, intensity and many other things, but the most important thing is that it has classical beauty, and establishing a balanced form is As rigorous as Bach was with his "Escape", it seeks perfection and is therefore classical.

It is even more eternal

So what part of emotion is placed in music? People always think that feeling and emotion are the main things in music, making you feel something, sadness, pain, victory or spiritual joy, but the wonderful thing is that Mozart and Haydn can make you feel those feelings, great composers Whenever you create music, you will feel deep emotions, because he is great, because he has something to tell you in the music, so the music of a great musician will last forever, maybe forever. That eternal quality is perhaps the most important meaning of the word "classic". Classic is something that will last forever.

Beethoven, the master of the classical music period, summarized the rules of Mozart and Haydn and carried them forward. He was the last person in the classical period and the first person in the romantic period.