What Music Means to Me
May 29, 2012
Interview with Robert Sheldon, Part 2
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In Part 2 of my interview with composer, Robert Sheldon, he continues to share insight into his music for band as well as his feelings about music education and the future of instrumental music in our schools.
More episodes from What Music Means to Me
Sep 14, 2017
Intersection of Life and Music
The premise of this podcast is that there are all sorts of connections between music and life. In each episode I have shared observations about some of these connections. The idea of making connections between music and life, of being a musician whose musical life is integrated into his broader life, is something I learned from my teacher and mentor, Dr. Ken Laudermilch. In the preface to his very excellent book, An Understandable Approach to Musical Expression, Ken explains that his goal is “to identify musical concepts that enhance or beautify our music making. It is, in a very real sense, a search for truth.”
I don’t think it is an exaggeration that truth about life can be seen in music.
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Jun 6, 2015
Two important "Music Lessons"
In other episodes of this podcast, we've discussed life lessons that music can teach us. In this episode, we take a look at two more important character lessons one can learn from studying and playing music.
One of these, the value of contributing your efforts to something bigger than yourself, may seem obvious considering that a lot of musical experiences come from participating in an ensemble like band or chorus.
The other “music lesson” that we’ll look at, the benefits of delayed gratification, may not be so obvious at first, and yet studying music is particularly well-suited to delivering this lesson in a subtle but compelling way.
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Mar 7, 2015
The Powerful Language of Music
Many people compare music to a language. You may have even heard a music teacher say to you in school, “Music is an international language all people can understand.” Of course more recent multicultural studies reveal that the music to which these teachers are referring – Western, tonal music – is actually a European idiom expressed in a nomenclature that developed around the year 1,000 especially in Italy.
Just as an author uses words, grammar, metaphors, and more to create a novel, a composer uses the language of music - notes, rhythms, and more - to create a piece of music. When we say that a composer "writes" music, we assume he or she is using some musical vocabulary and that in writing the music, he or she is trying to communicate something.
Let’s take a closer look at the communicative power of the language of music!
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