Thursday, March 19, 2020
a reflection on paul hindemith essays
a reflection on paul hindemith essays Paul Hindemith was revolutionary and a musical genius. Many people who lived around the same time saw him as nothing more than an untalented noisemaker. Granted, these people didnt have all of the various forms of music that we have today, but untalented would not be a word I would use to describe Paul Hindemith. He helped begin the last great change in classical music from the Romantic Era, which was very tonal and diatonic, to 20th Century Modern Music, which is extremely atonal. Diatonic means within in the key. In other words, everything sounds nice and pretty. There are no weird noises, no funny pitches. Atonal itself is defined as the avoidance of the traditional musical tonality, or in laymans terms, it sounds very weird. Paul Hindemith was born in the German State of Hesse in 1885, and grew up in Germany. After he completed his studies at the Conservatory of Frankfurt-am-Main, he was appointed conductor of the opera orchestra (1915-1923). In 1921, he also helped organize the famous Amar-Hindemith Quartet, in which he played viola. In 1927, he became the composition teacher at the Musikhochschuk in Berlin (Germany). In 1934, Hitler banned his work in Germany because of its extreme modernism. Around the same time, Hindemith was forced to flee the country of his birth after being openly opposed to Hitler and the doctrines of Goebbels. (Emory University, website). The doctrines were documents written by Dr. Joseph Goebbels recording the history of the Nazi party (Encyclopedia Britanica Online). In late 1939, he moved to the United States, and became the composition professor at Yale University. He was only there until World War II ended. After the war, he returned to Europe to take the position of the professor of composition at Zurich University. He died from a heart attack in a hospital in Frankfurt in December of 1963. The earliest known works of Hindemith were written in the year 1913. There wer...
Monday, March 2, 2020
Introduction to Pronouncing the French Alphabet
Introduction to Pronouncing the French Alphabet French pronunciation can be one of the more difficult aspects of learning French, especially for English speakers, but with time and practice, it is definitely possible to develop a good French accent. It important to do so eventually. In French, pronunciation is a very big deal. Phonetics, the system and study of sounds uttered in speaking a language, in short, the way a language is pronounced, is taught in every language school serving foreigners. Students are drilled in opening their mouth, pursing their lips, hitting the roof of their mouth precisely with their tongue and other techniques involved in speaking French correctly. Consonants and Vowels The French alphabet has the same 26 letters as the English alphabet does, but of course, most of the letters are pronounced differently in the two languages. In addition, French has five accents: four for vowels and one for a consonant, which English, of course, does not have. Vowels are the most problematic for non-native speakers, especially speakers of Germanic languages like English and German, who do not use the muscles in their face and mouth as much as the French. In the table below, start at the top with the links to pronunciation guides for French consonants and French vowels. Links to Detailed Letter Pages Then click on the capital letters in the table below and youll move on to the letter pages, each of which offers a detailed description of the pronunciation of that letter, including letter combinations, numerous examples and information about the accents that may be used with that letter. For each letter, note the rules governing its pronunciation, and follow them. When you are comfortable with pronouncing letters, proceed to the French Audio Guide, which illustrates with sound files, rules of the road and examples how to pronounce 2,500 French words and expressions. Remember that there is only so much you can do to improve your pronunciation on your own. At some point, you will almost certainly need to take a class, go to France or hire a private tutor. Online pronunciation lessons like these can never take the place of interaction with native or fluent speakers, but at least they can help you get started or supplement what youve already learned. Allez-y! Pronounce the French Alphabet Consonants     Vowels ​ A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z
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