Why study music history?
On every first day of class, a student raises her or his hand and asks, “Why do we have to take this class? I know how to play music, why do I have to know the history?” Often people scoff at this question and say, “Silly undergrads! Why are you so lazy?!” But really, this is a good question. If you have a natural gift for playing music and you have honed your skills on your specialty up to this point, why bother with history? As someone who has dedicated the better part of her life studying music history, I have a few thoughts on the matter.
1. It is part of a liberal arts education.
Unless you are studying music at a conservatory, more than likely you are seeking a liberal arts education. This includes getting a well-rounded education in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Think about all of those core classes you have to put off until your senior year because you’re busy taking theory but everyone else takes while they’re freshman. Those help assure you are a well-rounded student by the time you graduate. There are many benefits to a liberal arts education, including gaining the ability to learn HOW to learn, the ability to see the world from someone else’s point of view, and it improves critical thinking skills by challenging students beyond their comfort zones. To the student who asks, “Why can’t I just play my horn?” the answer is you can. There is no requirement to have a degree to play your horn, but if you want to have a degree in music, you have to pass classes like music history.
2. You learn to talk about music.
“There is so much talk about music, and yet so little is said. For my part, I believe that words do not suffice for such a purpose…People often complain that music is too ambiguous, that what they should think when they hear it is so unclear, whereas everyone understands words. With me it is exactly the reverse, and not only with regard to an entire speech but also with individual words. These, too, seem to me so ambiguous, so vague, so easily misunderstood in comparison to genuine music…the thoughts that are expressed to me by music that I love are not too indefinite to be put into words, but on the contrary, too definite…the same words never mean the same things to different people” Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), translation by Leo Treitler, Reflections on Musical Meaning and its Representation
It may seem impossible at times for you to put something so obvious to you as music into words, but you have to learn how to express your thoughts about music. You may need to write program notes for a concert, liner notes for a CD, or even teach a masterclass. Communicating about music to other musicians and non-musicians is an essential skill, and one you practice during music history through class discussion and writing assignments.
While most music history class’s focus on his Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Felix Mendelssohn composed orchestral music, chamber music, keyboard music, choral music, oratorios, operas, and leider.
3. Musicians throughout history have found benefits of studying the music of others.
Even though the revival of historical music was not a popular phenomenon until Mendelssohn revived Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion in 1829, throughout history composers and performers have been inspired by music different than their own. Györgi Ligeti (1923-2006) often cited medieval poet and composer Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300-1377) as an influence. Sometimes this difference is not defined by time but by place or style. I like to remind my jazz students that Charlie Parker studied Stravinsky. No matter your specialty or skill-level, understanding the music of others will only make you a better musician.
Charlie Parker’s Koko
Igor Stavinsky’s “Firebird” Suite
Legend says that once Stravinsky heard Bird perform Koko in a nightclub, where he integrated a quote from the “Firebird” into a solo.
4. It’s fun, I promise!
Every person who makes it into a music history class loves music. It they did not, they would not be spending their valuable time and money earning a degree in music (see point 1). As an exercise on the first day of class I like to have every student write down why they love music and share it with the class. It’s a little ooey-gooey, but it’s a good exercise for all anyone who has dedicated their life to this art form. The fact of the matter is music is hard. It consumes your life, demands the health of your entire body, and crushes your heart and spirit from criticism. On the flip side, music is an all-consuming, world-wide phenomenon, which unites cultures and gives glimpses into higher plains of understanding. Music can divide as fast as it unites us. Music is power. When you stop for a moment and remember why you love music, Music History seems like the greatest class you can take. For an hour, three times a week, you get to experience music from distant times and places, hear the stories of musicians just like you, and emerse yourself in different musical cultures. It’s all about perspective. Just pretend like each time your enter music history class or sit down to study, the Doctor is inviting you into the Tardis and you are begging to go hear Du Fay’s Nuper Rosarum Flores at the dedication of the Cathedral in Florence.
BTW- Doctor Who’s theme song is actually an important part of music history, too.
This post will probably grow as time goes on. Why do you think it is important to study music history?