I have the kindle version of this book, and I really enjoyed reading it.

It was wholly instructive to hear from a composer of the caliber of Aaron Copland about how to listen to music analytically and with focus and intent.

It is written in an engaging way making use of generally non-technical language to make it as accessible to as many people as possible.

It is a whirlwind tour of classical music from the baroque period through classical and romantic periods and even including atonal and serial music, such as Stravinsky and Schoenberg.

Each chapter ends with a selection of recommended works to which to listen, and this applies today, although the suggested recordings are extremely outdated as the book was published in 1957.

Despite the books age the lessons that can be learnt are invaluable and we have a wealth of new recordings of the suggested works to pick from to study.

All in all, I really enjoyed (paid link) What to Listen For in Music by Aaron Copland and would recommend it.

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4 responses to “What to Listen for in Music – Aaron Copland”

  1. steelydanforthewin Avatar

    I’ve always loved analyzing music, and I thought there to be a skill associated with it. Now I know! I can learn….

    1. Julian Froment Avatar

      Absolutely. We can all learn. I think there are so many things that appear at first glance to be a black art, or only for the talented few, but truthfully I believe we can all learn whatever we want. It just takes work. Sometimes a lot of work. Thanks for the comment.

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