9. Knowing the Background Information

Whether it is the audience, or whether it is the performer, knowing the background information of a piece of music greatly enhance the whole experience of the exposure. Background information of a piece of music include:

1) Genre/period that the piece belongs to …
Each genre/period has its unique characteristics. General characteristics such as articulations, use of pedals, choice of harmonies, range of dynamics, etc. vary from one genre/period to another.

2) The structure/form of that piece of music …
Knowing the basic structure/form of a piece of music could help the performer to look for meaningful benchmark. This benchmark could be the roadmap for structural planning, or it could be a landmark for memorization and thus help to internalize a piece systematically.

3) The composer’s life, music, and musical style …
Each composer has his/her own unique musical style. Knowing the biography or the story behind each composer would help the performer to understand more of the music and thus expresses a more meaningful performance. For example, opera music was one of the great outputs that Mozart was known for. When one is playing Mozart’s instrumental music, it would probably be more meaningful to think of the musical lines as vocal lines rather than a robot engine. Another example would be Mozart’s Piano Sonata K310 in A minor. This piece was written around the time of Mozart’s mother’s death. If the performer knows about this background information, the performing experience would be more insightful.

4) Other contemporaries of the same period …
Knowing the characteristics of other contemporaries of the same period is interesting too. Although there are similarities between composers within the same period, none has the exact same qualities. It would be interesting to see, to listen, and to learn their similarities, their differences, and their inspirations of each other. For example, Brahms and Schumann were closely related but their musical styles and outputs were different.

5) Other interesting information that might related to the piece …
Other information such as nickname of the piece, dedication of the piece, purpose of the piece, etc would be interesting to note. For example, it is interesting to know that Beethoven’s “Moonlight” sonata was not named moonlight by Beethoven; Haydn’s “Surprise” Symphony was named because of an unexpected sudden loud chord in the second movement; Handel’s “Water Music” has nothing to do with water within the music. It was written for a performance on the water (river); etc.

Knowing some background information of the piece of music would greatly enrich the whole learning and performing experience. For example, in the case of reading a poem, the reader would find it more insightful if he/she knows about the life and the style of the poet as well as the knowledge of the poet’s time period. Another example would be the case of playing a PlayStation game called “Dynasty Warrior”. The gameplay itself is great but repetitive. If one knows about the history and the popular culture of the stories of the Three Kingdoms Period of China, the gameplay as well as the characters development becomes much more vivid and colorful and thus much more fun. :) I believe that learning music is similar – knowing some background information would bring the performance into a higher level.

:) By the way, these background information could be served as the basis of writing programme notes (diploma level). Knowing and understanding the background information of a piece of music starting at an early stage/early age might make the programme notes writing easier. :)

Please also see Ten Tips to motivate your children or your student to practice