Reddit reviews What to Listen for in Music (Signet Classics)

I'm trained in Jazz and Classical, so the chords will run through my head whether I like it or not. Then I usually notice the instrumentation, rhythm, how tight they are as an ensemble, etc. (I can usually tell if a soloist knows the changes or not- hasn't been a hinderance, just funny sometimes).

Knowing theory has made me enjoy music more, in fact. I disagree with the people saying it takes the magic away. The important part is not allowing your analytical, objective listener to overpower your emotional, subjective listener. They should both be there, but an imbalance of analysis will suck your enjoyment dry. Knowing the language of music gives you access to the conversational, thematic realm of it. You notice and pick apart the different themes/phrases with new brain tools, which allows you to analyze the piece on a deeper, thematic level. This is why I believe people studying theory tend to eventually gravitate towards Classical and Jazz once they get these tools, as their brains enjoy picking apart the once indecipherable intricacies that popular music doesn't for the most part offer.

As for learning basic analytical skills, Aaron Copland wrote a book called What to Listen for in Music that covers this topic without getting into too much technical detail. He intended it to be a book the complete layman could use to learn the art of really listening to the conversational/thematic part of music.

If you want a cold analysis of these songs, the easiest way to practice this would be to get your instrument and figure out the chords behind these songs, then write them down. Your brain will get better at it, and start picking up characteristics like root/scale degree, inversion, chord quality, etc. almost immediately.

The great American composer Aaron Copland wrote a lovely book that may serve as a primer for you. What to Listen For In Music

Copland's What to listen for in Music was really good, but more geared to the classical novice; still worth the read, nonetheless.

Toch's The Shaping Forces of Music was a serious eye opener for me as a composer. It really out everything I was learning in school into perspective and helped me make sense of the purpose of all that I was being taught.

Rimsky-Korsakov's Principles of Orchestration was a very good book that showed me all the idiosyncrasies of writing for symphony in a very clear manner.

Aaron Copland wrote a book just for you, called What to Listen for in music.

All sheet music in the public domain (all music by composers who died more than about 75 years ago) is free at IMSLP.org

It's a book about music, but it's a classic: What to Listen for in Music by Aaron Copland

This is probably the best book for introducing people to classical music. It can be a bit technical but nothing horrible and will give you the terminology to understand the podcast fully.

https://www.amazon.com/What-Listen-Music-Signet-Classics/dp/0451531760

What to Listen for in Music by Aaron Copland is a great book for learning how to listen to music more attentively. Also, you can't go wrong with Dorling-Kindersley's Eyewitness Companion to Classical Music. I grew up flipping through that volume - it's a lot of fun to read and is very informative. If your local library has magazine and newspaper subscriptions, they may have a subscription to Gramophone Magazine which is an excellent guide to classical music recordings. If not, their website has a lot of resources for free. There are lots of other great resources listed in this thread, like Adam Neely's youtube channel. It takes a while to build

It sounds like you want to be better at two things. First music theory, second criticism.

I'm not super knowledgeable with music theory, but my first stop would be What To Listen For In Music by Aaron Copland.

What to Listen for in Music (Signet Classics) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0451531760/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_aVIqzbTVJ8Y32

You can also search Amazon or Powell's for music theory books. Music Theory For Dummies seems like a decent starting point, if you don't know where else to go.

If you've got music theory classes nearby, you can sign up for that. They may be available through a university or community college. You may find a private instructor. Check Jazz At Lincoln Center's Jazz Academy YouTube channel for some help.

Criticism is tougher for me. I think the best approach is to read and listen to critics, and see what makes sense. I'd suggest The Onion AV Club, Pitchfork, and AllMusic as general destinations for criticism. Go to Metacritic, look up albums that you know, and read every review. See how other people are responding, and pay attention to the language they use to describe the music.

I'd also recommend the Song Exploder podcast, to give you a sense of how music is actually made. That would give you three ways to look at music (theory, criticism, and production).

Geared more towards the music side of your question, I'd recommend Aaron Copland's What to Listen for in Music. Great little summary of how to approach music from an untrained listener's perspective. Accessible to non-musicians in his writing style and theory, as well as very broad so as to be applied to almost any kind of music. Just bear in mind it was written in the 50s.

I'm sure most libraries would have a copy.

> How much of a place do you think theory has in the composition of (I'm hesitant to use this term, but...) popular music? I've met very skilled and successful guitarists that could not, for the life of them, tell you what a "major pentatonic" was, but were very capable of playing in groups of people, improvising complex riffs, and composing great pieces of music.

I think that there are plenty of spectacular musicians who have no grasp of theory and the like (see: Jimi Hendrix), but there are plenty who have enhanced their music incredibly through its use (see: Muse, Radiohead). I don't think that theory is necessary in the slightest for a successful or talented musician, but it can't hurt. Some of the greatest improvisers of the past century may not have been great theorists, but they learned from people who learned from people who were theorists. Prime example: Duane Allman, in my opinion one of the greatest guitarists of the century, learned a great deal from John Coltrane, who, through his studies in bebop and avant garde classical music, learned a great deal about advanced musical techniques.

Short answer? It has a place, in my opinion, but isn't at all necessary.

>Somewhat related: If you had one book to recommend on theory, composition, and history, what would it be?

One book... wow, that's hard. If you're looking for a classical music intro, then there's not much better than Aaron Copland's small little volume What to Listen For in Music. It's only 8 bucks, and is a great intro to a lot of the fundamentals of theory, composers, a bit of history... hell, I'll send you my copy if you PM me.

>Somewhat unrelated (maybe): I am a really big fan of the "discordant" sound that you hear in bands like Deerhoof ( [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBiKE0x4IPo -- Ignore the video), however, I've been unsuccessful in trying to create similar sounds. How do they do that thing where they make it sound like they're playing the "right wrong notes"? (Hopefully I communicated this successfully...)

I can't say I'm familiar with that particular band, but what they're doing in the song you posted is playing a repeated patten and then shifting the whole thing one half step (fret) up/down. So, it always sounds like the same pattern, but with some variety. If you're going for that effect, find a pattern you like and see what you can do by shifting it up/down, starting it on a different string, etc.

Same concept here, John Coltrane, using the same 4-note pattern, starting on a different note each time. Sounds like the wrong right notes, right? I think that's what you're going for.

If you want to talk more about this, I'd be happy to. As for now, I hope that helps!

You'd better check from the source -- a renowned composer: https://www.amazon.com/What-Listen-Music-Signet-Classics/dp/0451531760

It is on amazon where you can "look inside". The table of contents gives you a good idea of the scope. There are a bunch of other excerpts in there, so you can get an idea of the writing style.

Copland's book, What To Listen For In Music, is excellent.