Being able to tell famous composers' music apart

[houseofblackleaves]

Have you ever litstened to a classical peice without knowing what it is and you automaticly go "Hey! That's totally Beethoven's work" or "That just SCREAMS Rachmaninoff in your face!!" So... what is it about their music that makes it so you can tell it apart so well?  (if you can)


For me, I can tell it's beethoven when it's played in a minor key, then all the sudden it just starts sounding like.... beethoven.  It's hard to explain, but the styles that I can recognize are those of Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Beethoven, and somtimes Tchaikovsky and Medtner.

[henrah]

I can easily recognise Rachmaninov and Liszt from listening to the harmonisations. Liszt mostly has a simple melody on top of a single harmony theme that expands and develops quite a lot, and Rachmaninov does the same but has a constantly changing harmony in terms of themes and motifs.

I can recognise Beethoven when he uses pedalling, and those odd but beautiful changes.
Henrah

[mlha]

The first time I heard Chopin's cello sonata, I didn't know it was his, but just knew it had to be.

[Tash]

every composer has their own style, and listen to enough of them and you'll start recognising their particular favourite chord progessions or in orchestral music, combinations of instruments, etc. listen to enough and you'll become a full pro!

[jas]

It's funny how you can often recognise a composer's work without knowing why. I can usually recognise, say, Rachmaninoff, but I'm never sure what it is about it that I think is Rachmaninoff-ish.

[steve jones]

I tend to listen out for the little cliches - particularly at modulations, cadences etc. Sometimes they can be melodic, as in Chopin.

But its an interesting question, and one I cant fully answer. Usually you just tend to know if its a composer you're familiar with.

SJ

[abell88]

I remember when I was young, listening to the radio and saying to my  non-musical mother something like, "Wow, Mozart! The great thing about Mozart is how you can always tell that it's his music, because it just sounds so Mozart-ish" - after which the announcer came on and told us that the piece was early Beethoven 

[Tash]

It's funny how you can often recognise a composer's work without knowing why. I can usually recognise, say, Rachmaninoff, but I'm never sure what it is about it that I think is Rachmaninoff-ish.

that's why you research it

[jlh]

that's why you research it

Yeah, and if are taking a music history class or piano rep class, you'll be expected on the exams to give reasons to back up your assumptions about the composer's works.