How to Listen to Classical Music: Fugues

A Complete Introduction to Fugues.

This video looks at Fugues, and how they work. It considers the great fugues of Bach, as well as surveying fugue from Britten to Bernstein, Handel to Beethoven. It looks at fugal technique - the exposition, subject, answer (tonal and real answers), and also the countersubject and episodes, and the concept of fugato. It then considers a variety of techniques, including canon, augmentation, diminution, inversion, stretto, and double fugues. The video also teaches us what counterpoint it. The background music in the beginning is the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, and then the fugue looked at is from Book 2 of Bach: The Well-Tempered Clavier.

While many people use classical music for studying, relaxing and relaxation, or sleeping, far fewer people actually enjoy listening actively. Due to the difficult state of music education, most people don't know how to follow a symphony, or how the best composers wrote and structured their works. While it has been proven that classical music can be beneficial to the mental development of babies and kids, I believe it has life enhancing qualities for all ages, and as an art form deserves to be shared, whether through outreach, or tutorials and lessons like these.

Classical music, at its best, can be richly emotional, and I believe that its emotion can be unlocked by anyone willing to follow these guides through. The principles that I will go through apply to all music, whether live in concert or on CD or Spotify, and whether you're listening to Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Handel, Brahms, Chopin, Wagner, Verdi, or Puccini, and whether listening to Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Orchestral, Choral, or Chamber music.

Many programs suggest that learning an instrument such as the piano, violin, guitar, cello, oboe, clarinet, or singing in a choir, is crucial for music appreciation. Well I think these skills, as well as learning to read sheet music and training your ear, can be extremely useful, I believe that almost anyone can learn to enjoy classical music with minimal training and music theory. Therefore, this short series will be very light on music theory, and will only use it when necessary to highlight certain forms such as sonata, rondo, and other typical forms.

While I originally got into classical music via movie scores and film composers such as Howard Shore, John Williams, and Hans Zimmer, I discovered this way of listening which has completely changed the way I approach and enjoy classical music. I hope through these videos I can share that with you.

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