Reflection Prompt

Listening Twice

Hearing one song as a formalist and then as an expressionist

This unit presents two theories about how music creates meaning. Formalists argue that music's value lies entirely in its internal structure: the relationships between tones, rhythms, and harmonies. Expressionists argue that music refers to emotions and experiences beyond itself: a minor key sounds sad because it connects to our experience of sadness. This reflection asks you to try both ways of listening on the same piece.

The prompt

Choose a piece from Watch & Listen or a song you know well. Listen to it twice, with headphones if you can, and write three short paragraphs:

  1. The formalist listening. Ignore feelings and stories. Describe the structure: the tempo, the rhythm, the melody, how a theme or motive returns, how loudness changes.
  2. The expressionist listening. Now listen for what the music seems to say. What feeling or experience does it express, and which sounds make you say so?
  3. Your verdict. Which listening taught you more about this piece? Could you give the first account without the second, or the second without the first?

Whichever side you take, support it with specific moments in the music ("at about the second minute, the strings drop out and...") instead of general statements. Specific listening is the skill this unit is built to teach.

Your Reflection

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