Classical vs. New Age Music Essay Example

soothing tones of classical pieces such as "April Morning" and the worshipping attitude of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" can be compared to the relaxed, meditative approach or the spiritual sensation that New Age can have. Being a modern composer of classical music, Debussy's "Claire de Lune" has the tone and instrumentation of a Western Art work yet uses intervals and sequences of a more meditative, New Age-like feel.

Instrumentation is both a similarity and a difference between classical and new Age music in that their relation is like a Venn diagram - there are instruments shared by the two and ones which are unique to each respectively. The piano as well as string and woodwind instruments are used in both genres of music. But while the classical branches out to include older instruments such as the organ and the harp which New Age does not incorporate, the latter stop at what have traditional been considered musical instruments.

Steven Halpern, a major composer of New Age music creates pieces which typically consist of a piano or flute as well as the music of nature: a bird's chirp, a waterfall, an owl's hoot, and the ocean's waves. However, the backgrounds of composers of classical music differ greatly from those of the New Age genre. Western Art musicians often studied long and hard at musical conservatories in hopes of composing for royalty and nobility to make a living.

In contrast, anyone with a love for rhythm and sound can make New Age music. While nowadays, composing New Age music would hardly even put gas in your car, unlike the composers of classical work, there's no pressure to

please or to compete. New Age music is made to enjoy music, life, and the diversity throughout all peoples and their tastes for sound. Works Cited www. dartmouth. edu/~music33/Mus33projects www. classicalarchives. com en. wikipedia. org/wiki/New_Age_music www. newagemusic. com