Tuesday, August 31, 2010

music theory

There's so much to blog about - Frank Rich's latest column, Krugman's latest, Beckstock, how much I can't wait for Autumn, etc. etc. But I just feel like talking about music theory today.

First - I finally discovered the term for "classical" music. The term classical has always been problematic because it has several meanings. The first is, according to Wikipedia:

But then it gets to the goods:

THAT is it! "Common practice period." That's what most people mean when they refer to classical music. I don't think the term is ever going to catch on, but I'm glad I finally learned it.

Music geeks of course know that the Classical period of music is a subset of the common practice period, preceded by Baroque and followed by the Romantic period. The Classical period was a mere 90 years, from 1730 to 1820.

Wikipedia also has a good article on cadence, complete with audio samples of the various cadence types, including the most awesomely named Phyrigian half-cadence.

Schroeder is admirably clear-headed about life.