Dry and Monotone
Could never describe classical music
I'm always late to everything. I blame my kids, but I was pretty bad at getting places on time before them too.
Recently I've been listening to Symphony Hall on Sirius XM. Without fail every time I get somewhere right before I need to be there the music gets super fast and it feels like it's rushing me out of the car.
Ah goosebumps.
Classical music is “dry monotone music lacking emotional appeal,” said a random internet stranger when I asked for ideas to write this post about.
At first I was like, that's nice. Wrong. But nice. At least you knew what you wanted to say and could articulate it.
However classical music is anything but “dry and monotone.”
Classical music is so much more than that. It has body. So much body. It has highs and lows. Longs and shorts. Every piece tells its own story.
There are pieces that quite literally tell a story and are narrated like Peter and the Wolf.
This symphony tells a story about a boy who plays with a wolf. The music plays with your emotions, when it is soft and melancholy to portray the bird. To the loud crashes of the wolf trying to catch it.
There are also pieces like Erotica, Beethoven's 3rd Symphony. It doesn't tell a specific story but when you listen you feel as though you have heard a piece of someone's life told through music.
There may be no words. But that doesn't mean there is no story.
Dry.
I don't know how anyone could use Dry to describe any type of music. It is the most fluid thing we subject our ears to.
I'm sure they meant it lacks contrast. Which is also inaccurate. Classical music is some of the most contrasting music out there.
The contrast in counter melodies and themes with frequent changes from long notes to shorter notes, syncopations, gradual dynamics, unpredicted pauses, and a variety of keys would change gradually, or suddenly to express a particular emotion the composer wants to project.
All kinds of music include most of these changes. But every piece of classical music has every single one of these things. Nothing about that is dry.
Monotone.
I'm not sure where to begin with this word.
Monotone means a variety of things. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary it means four different things.
1: a succession of syllables, words, or sentences in one unvaried key or pitch
2: a single unvaried musical tone
3: a tedious sameness or reiteration
4: a person unable to produce or to distinguish between musical intervals
It can definitely be concluded that classical music doesn't match any of those definitions.
If they were referring to the third definition “a tedious sameness or reiteration” I can agree some classical music does have an obnoxious amount of repetition. Any piece that has many variations on the same theme.
A theme and variation is a form of music that begins with a main melody (the theme) that is then altered or changed in some way throughout the piece. These alterations of theme are called variations.
That doesn’t make them sound tediously the same though. Music with many variations can even be beautiful and interesting. Some, some end up being less interesting pieces, but by no means monotone.
Maybe when they said monotone they were referring to lacking the types of sounds included in modern music. Things like synthesizers, electric guitar, and other electronic sounds.
But that doesn't mean monotone. It means it has created contrasting melodies from much less than modern musicians today.
Lacking Emotional Appeal.
Classical music is anything but lacking emotional appeal. That's what music is. That's all music has ever been. Appealing to people's emotions through sounds that are soothing to the mind and soul.
There is a whole branch of psychology dedicated to the study of how music and emotions are connected. Saying that there is a type of music that just skips this whole idea is crazy. I said it crazy.
This music may not have words, it might not be as high tech as newer music, heck it might be “dry” or “monotone” but it sure is not lacking in emotional appeal.
Classical music may not be this random internet persons cup of tea, but it is mine and if you are reading this it probably is yours as well. I hope you find some time today to enjoy some of our own slice of the paradise that is classical music.