In order to be able to "listen attentively" to music, the prepared
listener has to know what to attend to.

In my over 30 years of teaching at Northeastern University in Boston,
it never occurred to me that having my students remember particular
compositions had a valid educational purpose.

As far as classical music goes, there certainly are guideposts that
composers placed in their compositions for the listener.  Composers
wanted to communicate with listeners.  Haydn said, "my musical language
is understood in the whole world." The guideposts were form-schemata
that all classical and many romantic composers repeated over and over
again.

Once listeners recognize these guideposts, a concert program that
discusses "the recapitulation" would make much more sense.

David Sonnenschein
www.anatomyofmusic.com

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