What to Listen for in Music by Aaron Copland "Been Bookin'?" Book Review

Aaron Copland is a famous music composer and is best known for his Appalachian Spring as well as Fanfare for the Common Man. After studying music in Europe, he found that listening to music and truly listening to music were two totally different things and therefore, the idea for What to Listen for in Music was born.

What to Listen for in Music delves deep into the crevices of music and for a average person, may get deeper than can be comprehended. Although I do suggest reading this book at some point in your life, I also recommend knowing a bit about music beforehand. Copland goes into several aspects of music such as fundamental forms including fugues, sonatas, variations, and sectional, film composition, melody, harmony, the creative process of making music, musical texture, tone color, and much more. Again, it is strongly advise to have a slight background in music before picking this book up.

Overall, What to Listen for in Music does a fantastic job of explaining several aspects of music that the average person would not pick up. Here is one of my favorite excepts throughout the book that describes how an average person does not truly listen to music; 

"The simplest way of listening to music is to listen for the sheer pleasure of the musical sound itself. That is the sensuous plane. It is the plane on which we hear music without thinking, without considering it in any way. One turns on the radio while doing something else and absent-mindedly bathes in the sound. A kind of brainless but attractive state of mind is engendered by the mere sound appeal of the music (Copland p. 7)."

I personally learned a lot just from reading this book. Copland gives the reader the option to listen to examples of works that explain what he is writing about, but I did not choose to listen this time. This is exactly why this will be a book I will HAVE to read again.

I rate this book with 4 notes!

4 NOTE RATING

Hookability: 3.5 notes

Story: NA

Writing Style: 4 notes 

Overall: 4 notes