What to Listen For in Music

'One of the most helpful, sensible, and enjoyable discourses on the subject ever published.'-Victor Record ReviewIn this superb analysis of how to listen to music intelligently, Aaron Copland raises two basic questions: Are you hearing everything that is going on?  Are you really being sensitive to it?  If you cannot answer yes to both questions, you owe it to yourself to read this book.  Whether you listen to Mozart or Duke Ellington, Aaron Copland's provocative suggestions for listening to music from his point of view will bring you a deeper appreciation of the most rewarding of all art forms.  This classic work, the only book of its kind written by an eminent American composer, features:- Chapters on contemporary music and film music- Recommended recordings for each chapter- A selected list of books for further reading and reference In this edition, leading music critic Alan Rich continues Copland's discussion of contemporary music for today's listeners and traces the composer's success in bringing music lovers 'closer to the magical mysteries of the music we can hear and want to hear better.''By far the best thing of its kind yet to appear.'-Modern MusicWith a Foreword and Epilogue by Alan Rich and a New Appreciation by Leonard Slatkin

Aaron Copland-'s well-known and highly regarded compositions, performed and recorded extensively throughout the world, include the Pulitzer Prize-winning ballet Appalachian Spring, and the film scores of Our Town and The Heiress.

What to Listen for in Music Aaron Copland: America's Musical Voice
Foreword
Introduction
Author's Note for the 1957 Edition
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Preliminaries
2. How We Listen
3. The Creative Process in Music
4. The Four Elements of Music—I. Rhythm
5. The Four Elements of Music—II. Melody
6. The Four Elements of Music—III. Harmony
7. The Four Elements of Music—IV. Tone Color
8. Musical Texture
9. Musical Structure
10. Fundamental Forms—I. Sectional Form
11. Fundamental Forms—II. Variation Form
12. Fundamental Forms—III. Fugal Form
13. Fundamental Forms—IV. Sonata Form
14. Fundamental Forms—V. Free Forms
15. Opera and Music Drama
16. Contemporary Music
17. Film Music
18. From Composer to Interpreter to Listener
Epilogue: "Since Then"
Appendix I
Appendix II
Appendix III
Suggested Bibliography for Further Reading
Index