As an example of classical music, Ludwig van Beethoven’s excerpt from “Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major” was chosen, and as a representative of rock music, an excerpt from the concert of the group “Muse.” Both performances made a positive impression and were played excellently. A rock concert brought more pleasure than a classical music concert. The reason for this may be the greater emotionality and energy of rock. On the other hand, classical music, “Despite all its value and importance, is, nevertheless, only a musical tradition among others” (Luzio 74). However, it should be noted that the melody is beautiful, and the orchestra performed it well too.
As for the differences between rock and classical, the first thing that comes to mind is the length of the songs. Most classical works are much longer, especially if they are operas. Rock music, on the other hand, lasts about four minutes on average, which is much shorter. Rock music is noisier, faster, as well as more impetuous, and thus, it creates a feeling of spontaneity. Classical compositions are strict and adjusted as if made under a ruler. They can also be loud and fast, but in a different way, in their own style. The second difference lies in the tools used by the musicians. Instruments that were used before the invention of electricity sound different. Almost all electronic instruments rely on electricity to sound acceptable. In addition to the tools themselves, the difference is in their set. Classical music most often uses instruments from the piano family and from the violin family. There is a wide variety of chords found in classical pieces. However, it is not known why, but many composers limited themselves to playing chords in only one particular key. At this time, rock music is not limited by any rules or regulations. Ordinary rock musicians most often use a simple I, IV, and V chord progression. These are chords in order, tonic, subdominant, and dominant chords in the scale.
It is highly important to understand the distinctions between focus and appreciation of both the performance as well as the work itself. One should be aware that classical music works are prominent for their structure and form. Under such conditions, the role of a performer is to express a degree of subservience to the following score. Thus, the music becomes the center stage of an audience’s attention. However, the core accentuation is mainly put on the performance when it comes to rock music. In other words, the nonformal properties of rock concerts are the objects of appreciative attention. Avraam holds the same thought, “I support that the ocular sense has dominated over the other senses within our modern society and has been developed through the rise of digitization into which young people are immersed” (2). Therefore, there is a shift in terms of senses used, utilized, and focused on, which is why rock music is more visual compared to the classical genre. The latter statement does not particularly mean that classical music does not contain ocular elements, but the emphasis of appreciation is sonic by design.
On the one hand, classical music often serves as a way to express complex and intricate emotions through the tone, crescendo or decrescendo volume changes, melody, texture, and form. Each element is used with a higher degree of precision and focus since the audience is appreciating through sonic or auditory senses primarily. On the other hand, rock taps into raw emotional states, such as anger, in order to deliver a clear message to its listeners. It heavily relies on verbal communication, visuals, and music itself to a lesser extent. Both genres of music, classical and rock, suited their audience and their corresponding time periods. More refined concerts could attend only the rich strata of the population, which confirms Lajosi, “in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, operas were presented mostly in the theatres of royal, aristocratic courts, but in the nineteenth-century public opera houses were built all over Europe” (8). Later, the audience began to expand, and not only could the upper strata of the population visit the exquisite opera. Nowadays, there are completely different people going to concerts. It all depends on the musician; anyone can choose the one they like best and go to the concert.
Moreover, it is critical to note that globalization is tightly tied to the Westernization of the world. It includes the permeating influence of the US in all essential aspects of social existence ranging from economics, geopolitics, politics, culture, and technologies to music itself. In other words, the age of modernization and information is primarily driven by the West. Rock music is among many instruments with a significant cultural and social impact, which became a separate genre despite its humble origins in the United States. “In classical music lies our entire Western tradition, the great concept of development up to the modern era, and the canon with its treasure trove of works from different periods” (Nagano and Kloepfer 9). Ethnomusicologists obviously play a significant role in safeguarding some of these slowly disappearing and often non-literate types of music. The numerous recordings released over the last forty years or so, the growing number of labels dedicated solely to non-Western traditional music, as well as a large number of troupes and musicians touring abroad, are all factors playing an important role in this safeguarding.
In recent years, the world has changed rapidly, and every day there is a new product that was not there before. The way people listen to music is affected by rapid changes. With the advent of the Internet, the experience of listening to music has changed significantly. The entire music industry has undergone significant changes in the way people do business, and the digital revolution has additionally changed the way people make music to a large extent. Music streaming turned out to be not only a convenient tool for the average user, who got immense music catalogs but also a salvation for the industry itself.
Works Cited
Avraam, Isidora. Visuals within Classical music concerts-How can we attract young audience? MS thesis. 2018. Web.
Lajosi, Krisztina. Staging the Nation: Opera and Nationalism in 19th-Century Hungary. BRILL, 2018
Luzio, Hugo. “The ontology of rock music: Recordings, performances and the synthetic view.” Filozofija i društvo/Philosophy and Society 30.1 (2019): 73-82.
Nagano, Kent and Kloepfer Inge. Classical Music: Expect the Unexpected. McGill-Queen’s Press, 2019.