Characteristics

Given the extremely broad variety of forms, styles, genres, and historical periods generally perceived as being described by the term "classical music," it is difficult to list characteristics that can be attributed to all works of that type. Vague descriptions are plentiful, such as describing classical music as anything that "lasts a long time," a statement made rather moot when one considers contemporary composers who are described as classical; or music that has certain instruments like violins, which are also found in other genres. However, there are characteristics that classical music contains that few or no other genres of music contain.^{[examples needed][8]}

[edit]Literature

The most outstanding and particular characteristic of classical music is that the repertoire tends to be written down. Composers and performers alike are typically highly literate in understanding notation. The written quality of the music has, in addition to preserving the works, led to a high level of complexity within them.

[edit]Instrumentation

The Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra performs Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony.

The instruments used in most classical music were largely invented before the mid-19th century (often much earlier), and codified in the 18th and 19th centuries. They consist of the instruments found in an orchestra, together with a few other solo instruments (such as the piano, harpsichord, and organ). The symphony orchestra is the most widely known medium for classical music.^[9] The orchestra includes members of the string, woodwind, brass, and percussion families.

Electric instruments such as the electric guitar appear occasionally in the classical music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Both classical and popular musicians have experimented in recent decades with electronic instruments such as the synthesizer, electric and digital techniques such as the use of sampled or computer-generated sounds, and the sounds of instruments from other cultures such as the gamelan.

None of the bass instruments existed until the Renaissance. In Medieval music, instruments are divided in two categories: loud instruments for use outdoors or in church, and quieter instruments for indoor use. The Baroque orchestra consisted of flutes, oboes, horns and violins, occasionally with trumpets and timpani.^[9] Many instruments which are associated today with popular music used to have important roles in early classical music, such as bagpipes, vihuelas,hurdy-gurdies and some woodwind instruments. On the other hand, instruments such as the acoustic guitar, which used to be associated mainly with popular music, have gained prominence in classical music through the 19th and 20th centuries.

While equal temperament became gradually accepted as the dominant musical temperament during the 18th century, different historical temperaments are often used for music from earlier periods. For instance, music of the English Renaissance is often performed in meantone temperament. Keyboards almost all share a common layout (often called the piano keyboard).

[edit]Form

Whereas the majority of popular styles lend themselves to the song form, classical music can also take on the form of the concerto, symphony, sonata, opera, dance music, suite, étude,symphonic poem, and others.

Classical composers often aspire to imbue their music with a very complex relationship between its affective (emotional) content and the intellectual means by which it is achieved. Many of the most esteemed works of classical music make use of musical development, the process by which a musical idea or motif is repeated in different contexts or in altered form. The sonata form andfugue employ rigorous forms of musical development.

[edit]Technical execution

Along with a desire for composers to attain high technical achievement in writing their music, performers of classical music are faced with similar goals of technical mastery, as demonstrated by the proportionately high amount of schooling and private study most successful classical musicians have had when compared to "popular" genre musicians, and the large number of secondary schools, including conservatories, dedicated to the study of classical music. The only other genre in the Western world with comparable secondary education opportunities is jazz.

[edit]Complexity

Performance of classical music repertoire demands a significant level of technical mastery on the part of the musician; proficiency in sight-reading and ensemble playing, thorough understanding of tonal and harmonic principles, knowledge of performance practice, and a familiarity with the style/musical idiom inherent to a given period, composer or musical work are among the most essential of skills for the classically trained musician.

Works of classical repertoire often exhibit artistic complexity through the use of thematic development, phrasing, harmonization, modulation (change of key), texture, and, of course, musical formitself. Larger-scale compositional forms (such as that of the symphony, concerto, opera or oratorio, for example) usually represent a hierarchy of smaller units consisting of phrases, periods,sections, and movements. Musical analysis of a composition aims at achieving greater understanding of it, leading to more meaningful hearing and a greater appreciation of the composer's style.

[edit]Society

Classical music regularly features as background music for movies, television programmes, advertisements and events. Nessun dorma from Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot for example was the theme tune for the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

Add caption

Musik Seni (Art Music)Musik Seni merupakan pengelompokan musik ke arah Musik klasik dan musik-musik sejenis yang dinilai secara tingkat nilai sejarahnya selain dari nilai seninya. Musik jenis ini lebih digunakan untuk merujuk jenis-jenis musik yang sangat patuh kepada teori-teori musik dan biasanya sukar untuk dipahami orang awam (kecuali yang sudah mulai tau akan gaya Musik Populer).Musik KlasikMusik klasik biasanya merujuk pada musik klasik Eropa, tapi kadang juga pada musik klasik Persia, India, dan lain-lain. Musik klasik Eropa sendiri terdiri dari beberapa periode, misalnya barok,klasik, dan romantik.Musik klasik merupakan istilah luas, biasanya mengacu pada musik yang berakar dari tradisi kesenian Barat, musik kristiani, dan musik orkestra, mencakup periode dari sekitar abad ke-9 hingga abad ke-21.[1]Musik klasik Eropa dibedakan berdasarkan dari bentuk musiknya, non-Eropa dan musik populer terutama oleh sistem notasi musiknya, yang sudah digunakan sejak abad ke-16.[2] Notasi musik barat digunakan oleh komponis untuk memberi petunjuk kepada pembawa musik mengenai tinggi nada, kecepatan, metrum, ritme individual, dan pembawaan tepat suatu karya musik. Hal ini membatasi adanya praktik-praktik seperti improvisasi dan ornamentasi ad libitum yang sering didengar pada musik non-Eropa (bandingkan dengan musik klasik India dan musik tradisional Jepang) maupun musik populer.Dahulu musik klasik di Eropa terutama digunakan untuk keperluan lagu di Gereja ataupun lagu untuk pengiringan Raja. Sejalan dengan perkembangan, mulai juga bermunculan musik klasik yang digunakan untuk keperluan lain, seperti misalnya musik klasik yang menggambarkan visual secara audio, contohnya lagu Cat and Mouse yang menggambarkan kucing mengejar tikus.Musik Populer (Popular Music)     Musik Populer merupakan jenis-jenis musik yang saat ini digemari oleh masyarakat awam. Musik jenis ini merupakan musik yang sesuai dengan keadaan zaman saat ini, sehingga sesuai di telinga kebanyakan orang. Beberapa genre musik yang termasuk Musik Populer adalah Pop, Funk, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Gospel, Underground, dan lain-lain. Genre musik ini dapat ditemui di hampir seluruh belahan dunia oleh karena sifat musiknya yang hampir bisa diterima semua orang.

[sunting]

[sunting]